Our Instructors
Our studio operates as a collective, meaning each teacher runs their own individual practice. This allows clients to choose an instructor whose approach, experience, and offerings best suit their needs. On our studio calendar, you’ll find a shared schedule and teacher profiles to help you explore what’s available..
Our Team
LAUREN BRANDT RMT NPCP
Lauren Brandt is a clinician, Pilates educator, and massage therapist based in Victoria, BC. With over two decades of experience in movement and manual therapy, her work bridges clinical understanding with thoughtful, accessible Pilates education.
Lauren is a Balanced Body Educator and leads Pilates teacher training both in person and online. She is known for teaching through a clinical lens while honouring the uniqueness of each body, helping students and clients build confidence, clarity, and practical skill they can apply immediately.
She is the founder of LÜ Pilates, a studio collective designed to support independent teachers, students, and movement professionals in growing sustainable, values-driven practices.
Founder
JANELLE KIRZINGER
Janelle is a Balanced Body-certified Pilates instructor and has been teaching classes and private lessons since the beginning of 2018. After taking her first Pilates class, she knew that this was exactly what she was looking for and that it would be the perfect compliment to her Kinesiology degree. Her love of Pilates grew as she began to understand how this form of movement offers the opportunity to challenge your body and clear your mind.
Janelle believes that any type of physical activity you choose should be fun and enjoyable to make exercise feel less like work. She works to create a welcoming environment to help everyone feel comfortable and teaches classes meant to help you feel stronger and more mobile by helping you to improve how you move in and out of class. As a life-long learner, Janelle is always searching for new opportunities to expand her knowledge and she is currently pursuing a Diploma of Acupuncture.
Instructor
InstructorHEATHER MARTIN
Heather found her love for Pilates in the fall of 2020 when she began working privately with an amazing teacher to help her build strength safely to help manage symptoms of Hypermobility Spectrum Disorder(HSD). Her own experience with Pilates, and the relationship that she built with her teacher, inspired her to pursue becoming a teacher herself from very early on in her Pilates journey.
She became a certified Balanced Body mat instructor in 2024 and started her comprehensive training program shortly thereafter. Having completed her training, and currently working towards her full comprehensive certification, she really loves to see just how the whole Pilates system works together! She truly believes in Pilates being accessible and inclusive, and that everybody and every body can benefit from Pilates. What makes Pilates so wonderful is just how adaptable it can be and how it meets you where you’re at.
Heather looks forward to sharing her passion for Pilates and feel-good movement with others in a welcoming, compassionate, empowering, safe, and non-judgmental environment through small group classes and privates.
InstructorSYDNEY MCCOWAN
Sydney is a dedicated Pilates instructor with over 18 years of experience and a deep understanding of pain, trauma, and the desire to remain active. She began her Pilates journey in the early 2000s during recovery from radiation therapy and has since used the practice to rehabilitate from multiple injuries and surgeries.
Sydney is a comprehensively certified instructor in both STOTT Pilates and Balanced Body Pilates, with training rooted in classical lineage through master instructor Jaqueline Martin, a student of Jay Grimes. She has also completed extensive additional training across Pilates, barre, yoga, and chronic pain-focused modalities.
Her background includes working as a physiotherapy assistant and supporting clients of all levels, from professional athletes to those navigating ICBC or WCB claims.
InstructorDANA CARTER
Dana Carter is a movement educator with decades of experience in Pilates, Yoga, and Barre.
Drawing from her Diploma of Clinical Pilates, years of experience working in clinical settings as a Physiotherapy Assistant, and teaching both small and large group classes, she is passionate about supporting instructors through evidence-based Pilates Continuing Education, workshops, and mentorship.
Dana’s teaching style is thoughtful, practical, and inclusive, with an emphasis on safe, creative sequencing, real-world application, and current movement science.
She has supported and mentored hundreds of instructors locally as well as internationally and values collaboration, ongoing learning, and meeting teachers where they are in their professional journey. Dana is also an author and anatomy educator who believes that movement education should be accessible, empowering, and grounded in respect for individual bodies.
InstructorLINDSAY PERREAULT
Lindsay Perreault, a highly accomplished dance instructor with over 17 years of competitive experience in Highland dance. Originally from Fenelon Falls, Ontario, Lindsay built an extensive competitive career including winning the British Overseas Championship and consistently placing in the top six at the North American and Ontario Provincial Championships.
Following college graduation, Lindsay began training at the National Ballet of Canada before completing the Dance Performance Program at George Brown College, expanding her knowledge across multiple dance styles. She was selected to represent Canada performing in four international productions including the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo (2012, 2014) and the Basel Tattoo in Switzerland (2013, 2016).
Alongside her performance career, Lindsay runs a very active teacher training program and has received Highly Commended recognition at the Associate, Member, and Fellowship levels with the British Association Teachers of Dancing (BATD). She has served as a certified adjudicator with the Royal Scottish Official Board of Highland Dancing (RSOBHD) since 2014 and volunteers as a competition organizer for local DRHDA events.
Lindsay specializes in helping competitive dancers realize and reach their full potential, placing strong emphasis on technical excellence, injury prevention, and building meaningful relationships with her athletes.
After six challenging years managing chronic Achilles tendinitis, Lindsay suffered a severe Achilles rupture in 2019. Following surgery, four casts, and relearning to walk, she discovered Pilates as part of her rehabilitation and was inspired to pursue Pilates training.
In 2024, Lindsay completed her Mat and Reformer Pilates Instructor Training with Balanced Body under the mentorship of master trainer Lauren Brandt. Her mission is to support competitive youth athletes—particularly dancers—by helping them understand their bodies, move more efficiently, and access Pilates as a transformative form of movement education.
InstructorCRYSTAL WILLIAMS
I started my Pilates journey in September 2024. Although, I have not been practicing long, I have truly found my passion. I have seen my body, mind and spirit dramatically change since introducing Pilates into my life.
I want to share my passion with others and help others fall in love with Pilates the way that I have. Living in a larger body has come with several obstacles and setbacks in the fitness world and Pilates has changed all that for me. Pilates has allowed me to see my body move in ways I never thought possible.
I began teacher training with Lauren Brandt through Balanced Body in September 2025 and I have completed all courses required towards a certification in reformer Pilates.
I would love to share my knowledge with all bodies and all levels of experience. I am available evenings and weekends for teaching one-on-one sessions or small group classes.
Please reach out to via text or call:
250.507.1734 or email me at: crystal.d.williams94@gmail.com.
InstructorANASTASIA Gambill
Anastasia Gambill has been studying and teaching movement since 2000. Originally from the United States, she has experience with many movement disciplines—including Pilates, yoga, dance, martial arts, somatic practices, and myofascial release—all of which inform her holistic approach to movement and healing. Her work is grounded in deep interest in anatomy, movement patterns, nervous system regulation, and a belief that mindful, breath centered movement is a highly effective tool for increased athletic power and stamina, rehabilitation, and long-term physical resilience.
She completed her first teaching certification through CorePower Yoga in 2008 and later pursued Pilates training through BASI Pilates and Balanced Body. Over the years, Anastasia has taught in a wide range of environments—from busy Pilates and yoga studios and fitness centers to formal professional ballet schools such as Oregon Ballet Theatre, as well as memory and elder care settings and running her own private practice therapeutic studio.
Anastasia’s teaching focuses on meeting each person where they are, offering both challenge and support so her students can successfully build capacity and integration in their bodies. She has worked with a wide range of clients—from professional and pre-professional dancers, competitive athletes as well as individuals navigating injury and surgery recovery, chronic pain, cancer treatment, stroke recovery, scoliosis, disability, and complex trauma.
Now based in Victoria, Anastasia spent her first year and half teaching and training with Susan VanCadsand of Victoria Pilates and leading yoga classes at The University of Vitcoria's CARSA rec center, while pursuing a Master’s degree in Kinesiology at UVic, where her research explores pain in professional ballet in collaboration with the artists of Ballet Victoria. Her teaching and therapeutic work—both in classes and private sessions—is dedicated to helping people move with greater integrity, awareness, and resilience. She is delighted to join LU's community of instructors.
Get In Touch
Not sure where to start or how to book a class, session, or studio time? We’re here to help. Reach out to us anytime, and we’ll guide you through your options, answer your questions, and help you find the right instructor or time for your practice.