Hola! I’m Natasha Castellano and I help women and men to honor their bodies’ need to be physically active so they can develop a stronger body and mind to be able to live a healthy and happy life.
Personal Trainer Certification with American Council on Exercise – ACE
Health Coach Certification with American Council on Exercise – ACE
Cancer Exercise Specialist with Cancer Exercise Training Institute
Pilates Comprehensive Certification with Peak Pilates
Spinning Instructor with Mad Dogg Athletics
Natasha was born in Los Angeles, California, and then moved to Lima, Peru when she was five-years-old, where she grew up with her father and sister. Now married with two daughters, ages 30 and 25, Natasha has always loved to exercise.
In 2000, her father died of colon cancer; this dificult event caused her to have a new perspective on life. While taking care of her father, she discovered that exercise was helping her deal with stress and stay more focused. For Natasha, exercise was not about becoming a size 0; it was about developing a stronger body and mind to be able to better deal with any circumstances presented in life.
In addition to loving exercise, Natasha has always felt the need to help others. She began volunteering in the pediatric department at a cancer treatment hospital following her father’s death. She primarily helped with Aprendo Contigo, a program that provides stability and confidence to children confined to a hospital bed and those undergoing treatment as outpatients. According to Natasha, “It was a wonderful experience and I learned so much from the kids…. mostly how they can get all the strength they lack physically from a strong positive mind.”
In 2002, Natasha with her husband and two young daughters, moved from Lima to Germantown, Maryland, to begin a new life. She arrived in the U.S. determined to change people’s lives. She first became a certified Spinning instructor and then continued her education with a certification in personal training, specializing in Cancer Recovery and Pilates. In 2008, after having worked for Fitness First Health Clubs for 5 years, she was promoted to head trainer at the Germantown location.
In October 2009, Natasha resigned her position as head trainer to begin her own business: Kallpa Fitness. She taught Spinning at Washington Sports Club, Fitness First and Golds Gym for a total of 17 years and Pilates at Washington Sport Club, Fitness First, Golds Gym and Anytime Fitness for a total of 10 years.
She currently trains clients with a mind-body approach in clients’ homes, virtually, and through Pilates one-on-one training at her in-home studio. She also teaches Spinning and Pilates Mat classes virtually.
Personal Trainer Certification with American Council on Exercise – ACE
Health Coach Certification with American Council on Exercise – ACE
Cancer Exercise Specialist with Cancer Exercise Training Institute
Pilates Comprehensive Certification with Peak Pilates
Spinning Instructor with Mad Dogg Athletics
OUR MISSION
The name Kallpa Fitness was inspired by the Inca Empire’s strong and stable architecture. Kallpa is a Quechua (language of the ancient Inca) word for strength. Interestingly, the Incas created their temples without using mortars. The rocks used in construction were sculpted to fit together by repeatedly lowering one rock onto another and then carving away any sections on the lower rock where dust gathered. The tight fit and concave shape of the lower rocks made the walls extraordinarily stable. In fact, the stones fit together so well that even a knife could not penetrate the seams in the walls.
Similar to the Incas constructing their temples, at Kallpa Fitness, we strive to help our clients achieve a strong and stable body through mindfully constructed training programs.
MISSION STATEMENT
To provide each client with the opportunity to increase mind and body strength to be able to function efficiently and effectively. This will thereby enable the client to live a happy, healthy, and well-balanced life.
Our mission is accomplished through the use of personal training focused on cancer
exercise training and the Classical Pilates method and viewpoint. As interpreted by Joseph Pilates, physical fitness is attainment and maintenance of a uniformly developed body with a sound mind fully capable of naturally, easily, and satisfactorily performing our many and varied daily tasks with spontaneous zest and pleasure.