Jessica Gowen
Owner/Director
CORE Buckhead & CORE Westside

Jessica founded CORE’s flagship location in Buckhead in 2006 in an effort to create her own ideal work environment: a positive, friendly and professional Pilates and Gyrotonic studio that attracts and retains outstanding teachers while providing exceptional customer service. She opened CORE Westside in October 2009 to bring CORE’s unique approach to a wider audience and to provide more opportunities for group class instruction.  

Her mind-body wellness journey began in Washington, DC, in 1998 where she took Pilates mat classes at Excel Movement Studios while working as an editor for a public policy oriented publishing firm. After experiencing the transformative effects of the Pilates Method, she left the policy world to teach Pilates full-time.  

After studying Pilates for six years, Jessica discovered Gyrotonic® exercise in 2004. She loved how Gyrotonic complimented her Pilates training and challenged her to take her work – as a practitioner of the methods and as a teacher – to a much deeper level. She has completed certifications for Gyrotonic, Gyrokinesis and all of the specialized Gyrotonic equipment. She was fortunate to be certified in both systems by creator Juliu Horvath. She is an Authorized Gyrotonic Pre-Trainer.  

Jessica believes that continuing education is crucial to every Pilates and Gyrotonic instructor’s continued growth. She has taken hundreds of hours of continuing education courses around the country covering a wide variety of subject matter including working with post-rehab clients who experience back and shoulder pain, refining her use of voice and touch, teaching Pilates to pregnant and postpartum women, modifying exercises for those with osteoporosis and challenging elite athletes with the Gyrotonic method.

Jessica is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Allegheny College, where she earned a B.A. in political science in 1997. She also holds a Master of Public Management degree from the School of Public Policy at the University of Maryland at College Park. A Decatur native, she lives in Ormewood Park with her husband, daughter and son.

Certifications

    * Comprehensive Pilates Certification, Excel Movement Studios, 2002
    * GYROTONIC® , Level I, 2006
    * Gyrotonic Jump-Stretch Board, 2006 & 2007
    * GYROKINESIS®, Level I, 2007
    * Comprehensive Pilates Certification (Bridge), Power Pilates, 2007
    * Pilates National Exam, Pilates Method Alliance, 2007
    * Gyrotonic for Golf, 2007 & 2010
    * Gyrotonic Leg Extension Unit, 2007 & 2009
    * Gyrotonic Pre-Trainer, 2008
    * Gyrotonic Archway, 2009
    * Certified Pre- and Post-Natal SpecialistTM (Pilates), 2009
    * Gyrotonic Gyrotoner, 2009 & 2010
    * Therapeutic Gyrotonic Applications for the Shoulder, 2010
    * Annual Gyrotonic and Bi-annual Gyrokinesis Update courses