Welcome to Cascade Movement Center

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Founder, Cascade Movement Center

Lesley is a personal trainer, nutrition coach, yoga & group fitness instructor, outdoor enthusiast and mama of toddler twins. 

Lesley holds a B.S. in Human Physiology from the University of Oregon, and has been working in health & wellness for over 15 years. In 2016 after leaving her jobs as Assistant Fitness Manager & Yoga instructor for 24 Hour Fitness, Hollywood & The Yoga Space (Portland, OR), Lesley and her husband completed a 1700+ mile thru-hike of the Pacific Crest Trail. Upon her return from trail-life, Lesley founded PCT Fitness, a “Train at Home” Personal Training business. In 2017, Lesley co-founded a second business, Boho Yoga LLC, in her new home, McMinnville, OR. She was the co-owner/ manager of Boho Yoga’s brick & mortar studio until March 2024.

In May 2024, Lesley founded Cascade Movement Center (CMC) as a one-stop studio for dynamic, family-friendly fitness classes, nutrition and personal training services. CMC is Lesley’s life-long dream of a holistic fitness center come true. Her training style is a blend of mindfulness practices, yoga, functional strength, and conditioning. As a lover of science, Lesley does her best to stay up-to-date on all the current data about health and wellness and incorporates these findings into her classes and client resources. She believes that true, “holistic health” has many pillars outside of physical fitness and encourages frequent community engagement, spiritual connection, and lots of time spent in nature. Lesley loves to layer an awareness of the seasons and lunar cycles to her offerings and she empowers her students and staff to think outside of the (gym) box when training for various fitness goals. 

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A bit more about Lesley:

Lesley has always had lots of energy… Her parents kept her active in her youth with various sports, theater, and lots of community activities (Girl Scouts, church, school clubs, volunteering… etc). Having a full plate of weekly movement and engagement helped Lesley’s overall mood and her focus at school. However, after the sudden death of her mama when she was 13 years old, Lesley suffered from depression and gained over 60 lbs in a very short period of time. Over the next several years, Lesley leaned into her various communities for support to get her weight and mental health back on track. During this time, Lesley also began practicing meditation and spending as much time as possible outdoors (gardening, hiking & trail running). Her aunt, Pravajika Vrajaprana, a nun at the Vedanta Society of Southern California, was a powerful mentor for her during this time- and still inspires her to this day! 

In 2005, Lesley applied to be a theater student at the University of Oregon in Eugene, but switched her career path a year later to Environmental Science. During this second year, Lesley experienced physical and mental health challenges again. At one point, Lesley sought treatment for a horrible rash that appeared almost overnight and covered her body from head to toe. Lesley’s medical team diagnosed her with “stress” and gave her an unofficial prescription for yoga & meditation. 

After 2 weeks of returning to regular meditation, decreasing her workload and adding in bi-weekly yoga classes, her symptoms all but disappeared. After this experience, Lesley switched her career to Health Sciences via the Department of Human Physiology. 

Lesley dreamed of being a travel nurse or Physician's Assistant, but while working as a Certified Nursing Assistant in Long-term care, she met a Certified Personal Trainer who changed her life. This encounter opened Lesley’s eyes to a “Preventative Care” approach to health and wellness and she was immediately inspired to shift career tracks. Within a few months, Lesley passed her first Certified Personal Trainer exam and began working at 24 Hour Fitness: Hollywood in Portland, OR. 

Over the next three years, Lesley worked alongside a team of over 20 incredible trainers and group fitness instructors, eventually becoming an Assistant Fitness Manager. During this time, Lesley also completed her 200 hour Yoga Teacher Training (YTT) with Michele Loew, founder of The Yoga Space. Lesley started teaching yoga at The Yoga Space after her YTT graduation and it was here that she met her Boho Yoga co-founder, Rose Schneider.

Lesley and Rose opened Boho Yoga LLC, in 2017 in McMinnville, OR and operated a successful yoga studio together through the pandemic that supported the community with weekly classes and events. In early 2024, Lesley resigned from Boho Yoga to open Cascade Movement Center. 

Currently, Lesley is a practicing devotee of the Vedanta tradition and has been receiving meditation instruction from Swami Sarvadevananda of the Ramakrishna Order of Southern California since 2006. She loves being an active part of the McMinnville community and is an advocate for more local, inclusive birth and postpartum support as well as more accessible parks/ green spaces. 

Lesley loves to dance, sing, hike, raft, climb, play soccer, garden, attend community events, play with her kids & enjoy a great beer or beautiful glass of local wine after a long day of active play. She lives in McMinnville with her husband, three year old twins, and Motok, a 4 year old blue-heeler mix (aka “the first born”). 

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Lesley and her team of instructors at CMC look forward to helping you to achieve all of your health and wellness goals! Come join us today!