Meet Lisa

Expert Pilates Instruction

Calgary, Alberta, Canada

With over a decade of Pilates & Clinical Experience

Certifications:

  • STOTT PILATES® Comprehensive, advanced level

  • Functional Range Conditioning Mobility Specialist

  • Functional Range Assessment Specialist

  • Functional Gait Specialist with Gait Happens

  • Lower Body Biomechanics with David Grey Rehab

  • Pilates for Neurological Conditions

To date, Lisa has expanded her training in Dubai, Kuala Lumpur, Seoul, Copenhagen, Vienna, Milan, Toronto, Calgary, Rome, New York, Washington, Chicago, Montreal and online.

Unlike many movement teachers, Lisa was not athletic or into any type of fitness when she was younger.  She was uncoordinated and easily discouraged by her lack of movement acumen that she really didn’t do much.  

In her early twenties, she started running, which was put on hold during her two pregnancies and subsequent recoveries.  When her 2nd child was only a few weeks old, she heard a pop in her foot while she was kneeling down on the floor playing with her older toddler.  This “event” was the precipice of Lisa’s journey into Pilates and Mobility.  Fed anti-inflammatories for over 4 years, and put into different pairs of generic and custom orthotics, Lisa was told by a sports medicine specialist not to ever expect to be able to run again as she had a broken bone in her foot that had never healed properly. 

Pilates specialization & expertise

In the meantime, Lisa had turned to Pilates while living in the UAE, as her usual methods of treating back pain through alternating chiropractic and massage modalities weren’t available.  Hearing that Pilates was good for back pain, and desperate for relief, Lisa tried Pilates as her only resort and was quickly sold.  Within 4 sessions, Lisa no longer had her usual back pain symptoms, and was soon taking 4 pilates classes per week.

When a move to Saudi Arabia looked imminent, Lisa took the Pilates matwork teacher training so she could continue to practice pilates on her own.  With practice teaching part of the training, Lisa was surprised at how much she liked actually teaching and sharing her passion for Pilates with other people.  The summer after her training ended, Lisa practiced her matwork repertoire daily with the intention to learn more about the exercises in order to teach them to others better.  To her surprise, after 3 weeks of daily Pilates practice, Lisa’s foot no longer hurt and she took a chance and went for a run.  And then went running again a few days later.  And then a few days later after that.  And so resumed her regular weekly runs.

My personal experience with various injuries, combined with the informed application of my training has shaped my approach to ultimately allow me to serve more people with their own unique histories.

This is about more than a tight core.

After moving to Qatar in 2014, Lisa took her reformer training, slowly adding to her skills as a Pilates teacher.  Working at a Physiotherapy Clinic, Lisa also worked with many different clients in rehabilitating various injuries. In the meantime, Lisa was running with more frequency in Doha.  Over the 7 years that Lisa was in Qatar, she finished training to the advanced level on all pieces of Pilates apparatus.  In the fall of 2016, Lisa had an emergency hysterectomy after hemmoraghing during a gynecological procedure that required an infusion of 8 units of blood and 12 units of Plasma.  With the goal of running her first Marathon that upcoming January, Lisa used her Pilates training to help her recover and maintain her level of fitness.  5 weeks after that disastrous procedure, Lisa got 2nd place in the 10k category in a locally run race.  2 months after that, Lisa placed 7th in the 2017 Ooredoo Marathon with a time of 3:45:22 in her first ever Marathon.  In 2018, Lisa was sidelined by a stress fracture in her sacrum and was unable to compete in the race.  In 2019, Lisa placed 2nd in the Ooredoo Half Marathon Category, and that same summer got 1st place at the Wadi Bih 72km UltraMarathon through the mountains of Oman.

In 2020, Lisa was once again off with another stress fracture and subsequent IT Band injury.  Running 6 days a week was proving to be too much at this point and after accumulating layers of running injuries, Lisa decided to focus on healing her body.  After being told her injuries were because she was “too old” by a doctor at the world-class sports hospital in Doha, Lisa sought out to understand her injuries and heal herself through the lens of mobility work with Functional Range Conditioning.

Within a month of employing FRC protocols, Lisa had managed to sort out a lingering 3 year hamstring issue that more traditional methodologies had failed to resolve.   Being completely sold on the science behind the FRC system, Lisa proceeded to attain the Kinstretch (group FRC) and Functional Range Assessment qualifications.

Upon returning to Canada in 2022 and still motivated by her previous running injuries, Lisa trained and became certified as a Functional Gait Specialist with Gait Happens. Complimenting this additional training, she took a lower body biomechanics course with David Grey from David Grey Rehab.

Lisa continues to search for methodologies rooted in science that can be additionally helpful for wider populations. Her current physical endeavors (outside of Pilates and Mobility work) include running (of course!), cycling, weightlifting, climbing, and rowing.

I’m loving Lisa’s challenging classes. I’m gaining strength and perfecting technique in a super fun and fast pace class. My back was previously aching at work due to long periods of standing but I now have a stronger body and no pain at work. I also have found that the exercise I do away from Lisa’s class has improved in performance. I am able to endure more challenging exercises and work out for longer. Thank you Lisa!! Xx -Karen