Biography
Mark Ghazal is a master certified personal and athletic trainer. His experience in a wide variety of holistic and performance modalities has been fueled a by life-long desire to understand the way the systems of the human body can work together to create a balanced life of health, fitness, and nutrition.
Before establishing Bal Fit, he was an active holistic and performance practitioner at several high-profile training centers across the United States. Throughout his time at these different facilities, he found a lack of integration between standard fitness trainers and the benefits of a true, holistic lifestyle. This prompted Mark to expand his knowledge through courses at the CHEK institute, an industry leader in holistic fitness and advanced training programs. While enrolled in the institute, Mark was able to start his journey of learning and applying exercises for Corrective Mobilizations, Stability Exercises, Postural and Stretch Assessments, and Holistic Conditioning Exercises.
Following his time at the Institute, Mark continued his learning under renowned French osteopath, Guy Voyer. The SOMA training and SOMA Therapy courses he had taken under Guy offered him the knowledge of how the entire body and it’s underlying fascia can be manipulated through specific techniques such as fascia normalization. Mark integrates this knowledge about the underlying components of the body into every one of his trainings.
On top of his continued education in the world of SOMA Training & Soma Therapy, he has studied in a wide variety of other modalities including Golf Performance Training, Pilates, Tai Chi Chuang, and traditional Tao practices (Iron Shirt Chi Kung, Healing Love, Chi Nei Tsang, and Inner Smile).
Mark currently resides in Santa Barbara. In his free time he enjoys meditating, reading, and playing basketball. He loves to travel, listen to music, and above all, spend time with his family.
Certifications:
Continental Organization of Registered Fitness Instructors and Trainers
Certified Fitness Instructor
International Sport Sciences Association/Master of Fitness Sciences with Dr. Fred Hatfield
Certified Fitness Trainer (CFT)
CPR/AED and First Aid
Olympic training, biomechanics, kinesiology, etc.
CHEK Exercise Coach
CHEK Golf Performance Series Coach
Stott Pilates Mat Intensive Plus
Gray Institute CAFS: Certification in Applied Functional Science
Soma Training Certification:
Level 1 – Certificate of Applied Trainer
Course 1: Abs
Course 2: Lower Limbs
Course 3: Upper Limbs and Trunk
Course 4: Squat
Course 5: Periodization
Level 2 – Certificate of Advanced Trainer
Course 6: ELDOA 1 & 2
Course 7: Myofascial Stretching
Course 8: Specific Proprioception and Awareness
Course 9: ELDOA 3 & 4
Level 3 – Diploma of SOMA Trainer, to be completed Jun. 30, 2020
Course 10: Circulatory & Respiratory Techniques
Soma Therapy Certification:
Level 1
Course 1: Pumping of the Lower Limbs
Course 2: Pumping of the Upper Limbs and TMJ
Universal Tao Center:
Certified in Inner Smile, Six Healing Sounds, Microcosmic Orbit, Chi Self Massage, Iron Shirt Chi Kung, Healing Love, Tai Chi Chi Kung (Yang Style), Chi Nei Tsang. Studied Fusion I, II, and III, plus Iron Shirt II and III (tendon and bone practice), and
Lesser, Greater and Greatest Kan and Li
Tai Chi Chuan (Chen and Yang style)