The heart of the IB Pilates educational program belongs to our development team.
Kristen Veltkamp, MS, PT, CSCS, NCPT is our program founder and Montse Cosin, PhD, NCPT, Master Ballet teacher ISTD, Gyrotonic Trainer is our International Education Director and Workshop Coordinator.
Together, Kristen and Montse bring over 50 years of combined experience in the Pilates, movement science, rehabilitation, dance and fitness industries.
They have worked collaboratively with an advisory team to develop a Pilates program that allows our graduates to be Pilates instructors capable of providing intelligent movement instruction using the method that Joseph Pilates shared while integrating current research in movement science including neurophysiology, motor control, and biomechanics to develop effective and balanced movement programs for clients individually and in small group settings.
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“It is an honor to teach clients and instructors more about balanced and healthy movement. I enjoy sharing what I have had the privilege to learn and I love watching the graduates of IB Pilates ® be able to do the same with their clients!” - Kristen
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Kristen
KRISTEN VELTKAMP, MS, PT, CSCS, PMA®-NCPI
IB Pilates ® Program Founder
Director of Integrated Balance Education
IB Pilates ® Principal Instructor
Kristen Veltkamp is Founder/Director of Integrated Balance Education and IB Pilates ® Certification Programs.
She has over 25 years of movement education experience and is committed to a program that provides instructors with an education that emphasizes critical thinking and integrates the original work of Joseph Pilates and other first and second generation teachers with current research and sound principals in neuro-motor control, anatomy, kinesiology, and tissue mechanics.
Kristen has experience training with Stott Pilates, Pilates Guild® , and Power Pilates® educators and completed over 1000 hours in apprentice work. Kristen earned a bachelors degree in Exercise Physiology from the University of California, Davis in 1994 and her Master of Science and Physical Therapy degrees from Duke University in 1996. She was introduced to the Pilates Method in Boulder, Colorado while working at Mapleton Sports Medicine. She quickly recognized the tremendous value in the movement and its application to clients along the wellness spectrum – from the developing child to the elite mover to the client needing rehabilitation. Kristen earned her initial comprehensive certification through Polestar Education. Kristen founded and later sold Pinnacle Performance, LLC in Salt Lake City, UT. During this time she served as an Instructor Trainer for Polestar Education from 1999-2003 where she trained several Physical Therapists, Chiropractors, and other movement specialists across the country.
After moving with her young family to Louisville, Kentucky – Kristen with the initial help of Kathleen Harper who is the owner of Pilates Plus and Manager of Good Vibrations Movement Co. began to develop curriculum for Integrated Balance. Kristen finalized the curriculum an offered the first IB Pilates ® training in the fall of 2004.
She has experience as a physical therapist in orthopedics/sports medicine, women's health, spine health, vestibular rehab and has additional training in healing touch, manual therapy through NAIOMT, and is a certified Strength & Conditioning Specialist. Kristen served as adjunct faculty and clinical faculty at the University of Utah, division of Physical Therapy from 2000-2004, under the direct supervision of Dr .Eduard Gappmaier who specializes in cardiopulmonary physiology and exercise and multiple sclerosis. She has served as a consultant to the US Olympic Training Center, women's health centers, and Division I/II Athletic Programs, ballet companies, and professional athletes across the country.
Kristen grew up in the Reno/Tahoe area, but as an adult/professional she has had the opportunity to live in 11 of the 50 United States. The experience of living in several places has given her the unique opportunity to work with and learn from several gifted professionals in the fields of neurophysiology, physical/occupational therapy, electrophysiology, audiology, psychology, chiropractic/ naturopathic medicine, and sports/dance medicine. She continues to work collaboratively with these experts in their field to better provide services for her clients and to continually improve curriculum for the students at Integrated Balance Education.
Kristen currently lives in Bowling Green, KY with her husband and two sons. She serves as a consultant at several studios including:
Coredination – Brecksville, OH
Core Pilates & Yoga – Lousiville, KY – IB Pilates ® Host Studio
Absolutely Pilates – Bowling Green, KY
The Spot – Bowling Green, KY
Advanced Rehab – Helena, MT
MONTSE COSIN PMA®-NCPI, PH.D
IB Pilates® International Program Director
Montse runs her studio in Miami, where she works as a trainer, teacher, and coordinator of the international curriculum for Integrated Balanced, LLC. She is also the training director and Master Trainer for Integrated Balanced at Zolo Pilates, located in Cuernavaca, Mexico.
Her passion for physical activity and teaching dates back to her early days as a dancer and her more than 40 years of international experience as a classical ballet teacher for the Imperial Society of Teachers of Dancing (ISTD). Montse has been teaching Pilates since 1991 and is certified in both mat and apparatus by Stott Pilates, Peak Pilates, Integrated Balanced Pilates, and Julian Littleford Body Conditioning. She is a Nationally Certified Pilates Teacher (NCPT) through the Pilates Method Alliance and an international speaker at Pilates, kinesiology, and dance seminars for both professional and amateur dancers and Pilates instructors across Latin America, Europe, and the United States, in congresses as well as private events. Additionally, she is a certified Gyrotonic® instructor, a "Breast Cancer Exercise Specialist" through the Pink Ribbon Program, Inc., and an authorized Scolio-Pilates® practitioner. She is also certified as a Health Coach by the Institute for Integrative Nutrition in New York and is a Reiki III practitioner.
Montse holds a degree in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from the Autonomous University of Madrid and earned her doctorate cum laude with a thesis on the Molecular Mechanisms of Rheumatoid Arthritis.
In 2016, she was appointed Pilates Day Ambassador by the PMA. She is a regular presenter at international Pilates conferences, including the PMA conferences, where she has presented seven times. She has also contributed to the review of the Spanish translation of the Pilates certification exam (PMA) and, more recently, the NCPT exam in 2023.
Montse works with dancers and high-performance athletes internationally, assisting them in their training, as well as with children, the elderly, and individuals with disabilities. She also specializes in working with people with scoliosis using the Scolio-Pilates® method, collaborates with breast cancer patients by assisting in their rehabilitation through the Pink Ribbon Program, and contributes regularly to TuPilates.Video. Every month, she coordinates the Consello de Bruxas discussion group on the Pilates4K podcast.