Alexis Miller is a third-generation Classical Pilates Instructor, certified in Seattle and San Francisco in 2010.

Originally from Nantucket, Massachusetts, Alexis became interested in Pilates at Connecticut College, where she began taking mat classes twice a week before ballet class, and saw how dramatically it improved her dancing. As a dance major, she also studied Anatomy and Kinesiology. After earning a BA in Dance and French in 2004, she continued her practice at the Pilates Center of San Francisco. There she took mat and apparatus classes, and fell in love with the Pilates reformer. She noticed how continued Pilates practice helped improve her strength and flexibility and prevent and heal injuries. With a history of low back issues and sacrum and pelvis instability, Alexis found Pilates to be the key to surviving as a dancer. Even for her occasional neck and shoulder tweaks, she learned that having a strong core and center was helping her heal faster from injuries and preventing them from happening as often.

PCSF owner and later Alexis's mentor, Martt Lawrence, suggested that she go through the Metropolitan Pilates training program in Seattle, WA with Master teacher Dorothee Vandewalle. Alexis was certified in January 2010 by Vandewalle, who studied with Romana Kryzanowska, who trained directly with Joe Pilates. Vandewalle has an extensive training program comprised of 700+ hours of teaching, observing, and practicing the basic, intermediate, and advanced exercises on all apparatus and the mat. It also includes learning modifications for injuries and other ailments, so that in group as well as private classes you will be taught to work safely and effectively for your body. Alexis attends continuing education workshops every year with Master teachers such as Vandewalle, Jay Grimes, Kathi Ross-Nash, Alycea Ungaro, Mari Winsor, Chris Robinson, Sandy Shimoda, Blossom Leilani-Crawford, and MeJo Wiggin. In Oct 2022, Alexis joined Carrie Russo’s Pilates Teacher Mentorship Program to go deeper into a more comprehensive continuing ed experience, and to become a better teacher and student of Pilates!

Before moving to Asheville in 2010, she taught Pilates in San Francisco and in Geneva, Switzerland. She teaches classical Pilates to all bodies, including athletes, folks with scoliosis, arthritis, foot problems, low back pain, hip, knee, shoulder replacements and everything in between, plus pre-post/natal. Pilates is an excellent prep for a surgery and for post-PT/surgery training as well. In Asheville she is a regular student of yoga and recommends it to many of her clients because she believes it compliments Pilates beautifully. In addition to yoga, she also draws from personal experiences with dance, physical therapy, cranial sacral therapy, massage, integrative manual therapy, Alexander Technique, and Feldenkrais technique to have a better understanding of how the body works and moves.

Why the name Cisco? Alexis began calling her practice Cisco Pilates when she was teaching in San Francisco. She decided to keep the name when she moved to Asheville in 2010 and started her own business. She chose the name Cisco because of the two places where she most recently lived before moving to Asheville: San Francisco, and Nantucket, Massachusetts (in the area of Cisco). As it turns out, there is also a Cisco Mountain in Asheville! So, it was meant to be.

Alexis danced with RAWdance in San Francisco, and with Asheville Contemporary Dance Theater and Lindsey Kelley Dance in Asheville. She loves to move, so when not doing Pilates, she's checking out a yoga class, bike riding, walking, hiking, or hip hop fitness. You might see her around town performing in some obscure venue with her crazy dance friends in their group called The Accidentals. Alexis lives with her husband, Tom, and cat Leo in North Asheville.

Thanks to our collaborators

Many thanks to our photographers: Catherine Vibert Photography, Alison Fader-Brock, Adam Taylor Pictures and Melissa Barnes Photography for these wonderful pictures all over our site. Also many thanks to our amazing web designer, LightPress, and to Push Leads for doing all of the behind the scenes work on our site.