Form Fitness & Function
A Cost-Effective Approach of Blended Services!
ASHEVILLE PILATES STUDIO ... and more
Pilates ~ Alexander Technique (AT) ~ Rehab for Life
Fitness at 60+ ~ Walking for Exercise ~ Running Coaching
We also offer ONE-TO-ONE SKYPE SESSIONS
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How are we different?
We are teachers, not trainers
We want you to learn new skills that will improve your quality of life right away -- and for the rest of your life.
We have a unique combined approach
Ours is a “combo platter” of services that you can use separately or in any “Mix & Match” combinations you choose.
We offer Two for the price of One
You get the benefit of two seasoned professionals blending their expertise -- working together to reinforce your development.
We are cost effective
Instead of continuously paying someone to make you better, you can acquire the skills to make yourself better. For the cost of, say, a trip or a laptop, you can learn to confidently manage yourself over the long haul.
We let you share the cost
If you have one, two, three, four or even five friends who wish to share a specialized session with us, we can create one that meets your particular interests, needs and schedule. We also offer the option of half hour sessions.
We focus on ease of movement and calmness of mind
Our FFF services get you functioning freely, flexibly, and efficiently, and without needless frenzy.
We strengthen your brain as well as your body
Our emphasis is on improving your awareness of HOW you are doing what you are doing. We want you to choose thoughtfully rather than keeping yourself on “automatic pilot”.
We work with you as you are
We help you manage yourself under whatever conditions you are living, offering you hope, confidence and self-sufficiency now.
We teach you skills that you’ll use daily for the rest of your life
We want you to be your best self -- not just for one hour’s workout, one day at the office, one round of golf or one 10K race, but forever.
We have a significant depth of experience
Between the two of us, we share 40 years of teaching experience, and 50 years of running experience. We have taught hundreds of clients of all ages, abilities and conditions, and we have brought to them the joy, the pleasure and the satisfaction of having confidence again in their natural movement. This is reflected in the testimonials that they have offered us.
We offer online Skype Pilates and Alexander Technique sessions to help keep you learning and exercising.
We don't want you to lose momentum because of travel or the time constraints of a busy life. You can enjoy your Pilates workout in your home or office or take it with you on the road. You can have AT lessons and learn how to improve your poise, reduce tension and get rid of repetitive habits in your office or anywhere in the world.
TOM DESSEREAU is a certified, classically trained Pilates instructor who has taught in New York City since 1998. He started Form Fitness & Function, his successful private studio, in 2007 and opened a second studio in Asheville, NC in 2010. Tom trained with Romana Kryzanowska, Bob Liekens, Phoebe Higgins and Peter Roel. He has taught teacher training courses including Pilates for Runners and The Use of Touch and Stretching in Pilates Workouts. He has been a Shiatsu practitioner since 1990 and was trained at the Ohashi Institute in New York. A distance runner for over 30 years, Tom has completed 13 marathons (PR of 3:07) including seven NYC Marathons and one Boston Marathon.
He completed the 2007 Maratona d’Italia Memorial Enzo Ferrari pushing his 2-year old daughter in a baby jogger. For eight years, Tom coached the NYC Metropolitan area’s largest running team, the New York Flyers.
MONIKA GROSS has been a certified instructor of the Alexander Technique since 1985 and is a Teaching Member of the American Society for the Alexander Technique (AmSAT) and Alexander Technique International (ATI). She trained in New York City with Lydia Yohay (ACAT) and has had master classes with such renowned teachers as Marjorie Barlow, Patrick MacDonald, Marjorie Barstow and Walter Carrington. Originally from Chapel Hill NC, Monika taught AT privately in New York for 25 years until her relocation to Asheville in September 2010. She has been a performance coach for the consulting firm McKinsey & Company since 2003. She was 2011-12 Adjunct Instructor in the Hayes School of Music at Appalachian State University, teaching the Alexander Technique courses there, which are required for all Voice Majors. She is a Registered Somatic Movement Educator (RSME) with the International Somatic Movement Education and Therapy Association (ISMETA). She is an active founding member of ATMR, Alexander Teachers of the Mountain Region, where she works to promote a broader awareness of the Alexander Technique and its benefits to children and their parents and teachers, and to blue collar and low income workers in the Blue Ridge Mountain region and beyond. In NYC, she was a co-founder with Belinda Mello and Lindsay Newitter of Studio AT Large, a group of Alexander Technique teachers and students that provided information and free sample lesson "tastings" in a variety of indoor and outdoor locations in NYC, bringing AT to the awareness of a broader population. She is currently the Executive Director of The Poise Project a nonprofit with the mission of bringing the AT principles to a broader audience in order to teach people how to preserve their natural poise througout all stages and challenges of life.
Monika is a professional theater director, performer and playwright, and holds a BFA degree from the UNC School of the Arts. She is the Artistic Director of At-A-Site Theater, which produces theater in unusual spaces or in familiar spaces in unusual ways, spaces for theater and audience meeting unexpectedly. She is also trained in and performs Butoh dance. Monika has been a distance runner for 20 years and has completed 11 marathons, including three NYC Marathons (with a PR of 3:21), two Boston Marathons, the Chicago Marathon, and three Empire State Building climbs (with a PR of 17:12). She was the only American, male or female, to have ever won first place in any age group in the Maratona d’Italia Memorial Enzo Ferrari (2007).