The Team
The Team
Nikki Hey
Nikki Hey is a STOTT trained Pilates instructor from Johannesburg. She’s been teaching Pilates for many years. When she lived in South Africa, her main focus was teaching private sessions from her home studio. Since moving to the UK in early 2016, she’s started teaching a large number of group classes including 2 for Jessica Pilates in Frimley on a Monday morning.
Nikki comes from a very active and sporting family background. Her parents were sports people and her eldest sister a professional ballet dancer. Nikki did everything from gymnastics to cricket but had a true passion for running/sprinting. Unfortunately, this resulted in a recurring knee injury, which is what led her to Pilates. Nikki was amazed at how beneficial she found Pilates to be, not only for her knee but also her entire body!
Nikki has a true passion for helping people out of pain. She’s a lively and vibrant character who makes her classes both challenging and fun. With a lot of experience in 1:1 work, she has a keen eye for detail and is very hands on, ensuring that all the clients in her class are performing the exercises correctly. Nikki’s witty humour certainly adds to her abdominal workouts!
Coleena Reid
Coleena started practising Pilates to help her recover from a serious back injury and chronic lower back pain. She immediately recognised that the focus on posture, core stability and alignment were the key to her recovery and she now enjoys an active life free from back pain. Coleena was so impressed by the way in which Pilates improved her health and lifestyle that she decided to train as a Pilates teacher with Body Control Pilates so that she could share the benefits with others.
In her classes Coleena likes to focus on moving safely with good alignment whilst building and maintaining good core strength, stability and flexibility. She encourages her clients to work hard and guides them through some of the more challenging exercises, as and when they’re ready to do so, whilst keeping them smiling!
Coleena has recently returned to her home in East Horsley after 12 years working in Qatar and is delighted to have joined the team at Jessica Pilates.
Jo
“Jo emigrated to Australia twice before she was ten years old and has lived and worked in Italy, New Zealand, Australia, France, Germany and Holland.
Whilst working as a Team Leader for a 24×7 Support IT company, Jo found the Stott Pilates classes she attended for 13 years greatly beneficial in both, improved flexibility, strength and body awareness. The stress relief, pain reduction and time to focus on herself were extremely beneficial to her mental health and kept her motivated whilst still working full time.
Jo is a motorbike rider who took early retirement at 55. She was encouraged to retrain as a Pilates Instructor, which was just the opportunity Jo had been looking for to learn more about Anatomy and Physiology, important elements to ensure the client gets the most out of a class. This led to Joanne training with Pilates Training Solutions, qualifying in 2021 before joining the Jessica Pilates Team.
Jo now teaches in Surrey and Hampshire, and strongly believes that the combination of Pilates, and a friendly relaxed atmosphere, means Pilates becomes more a holistic therapy, than merely an exercise class.
With her gentle ways of teaching, she encourages clients to focus and listen on their own body during class.”
Liesel Gaumann
Liesel was born and raised in Sydney, Australia and moved to the UK in 2017. Having spent many years training in athletics and classical ballet, she has always understood the importance of remaining fit and active. Her passion for Pilates began early on as it supplemented her activities and helped her improve her strength, stamina and flexibility.
After gaining a degree in Psychology, Liesel went on to work in a corporate environment for a number of years. Unfortunately, however, this made it much more challenging for her to take care of her body. Sitting for extended periods and having limited time for exercise lead to a loss of strength and the onset of lower back and knee pain. Turning once again to Pilates not only served to improve Liesel’s symptoms but also her quality of life. Because of this Liesel was inspired to train as a Pilates instructor with HFE so that she could share with others the life changing benefits Pilates can offer and that she has experienced firsthand.
Liesel has a calm, empathetic teaching style, making sure each class is varied and tailored to individual needs. She believes strongly that loving what you do is key to success and so ensures that her classes are not only detail-oriented but also a lot of fun!
Jen Holtzhausen
Jen, also from South Africa, has always led a very active lifestyle and was involved in swimming and hockey at school. She began attending Pilates classes at the age of 16, and has had a passion for this method of body conditioning ever since.
Before she moved to the UK, Jen was a swimming instructor for young children. When she moved to the UK she decided to further pursue her love of Pilates and so completed her diploma in Human Anatomy and Physiology. She subsequently qualified as a matwork based Pilates instructor with Future Fit and has been teaching for Jessica Pilates ever since.
Jen is a bubbly young lady with lots of energy. Her love for Pilates is evident in her teaching, which encourages her clients to work hard whilst having fun. Jen’s keen thirst for knowledge means she’s always undergoing continued professional development to improve her teaching, as well as her ability to help her client’s achieve their goals in health and fitness.
Megan
Megan is a Level 3 Certified Pilates Matwork Instructor, with a background in teaching languages and dance.
She has been practicing Pilates since the 1990’s for the benefits of maintaining posture and balance, pain prevention and increased energy. Megan continues to expand her knowledge base by attending various Pilates courses.
Megan loves to share the joys of the Pilates method so that clients can also benefit as she has. Megan is also a qualified Yoga instructor and spends her free time hiking.
Megan lives by the Joseph Pilates quote: “ Change happens through movement and movement heals”.
Lynda
Lynda has been practising Pilates for over twenty-five years and the Joseph Pilates quote ‘Physical fitness is the first requisite of happiness’ resonated with her so much, that she decided to train as a Pilates instructor. Teaching Pilates for almost five years now and continuing to invest in her learning and development as an instructor, training with leaders in their field to extend her skills and repertoire.
Lynda continues to expand her knowledge of Pilates through attending new courses and classes. Lynda is passionate in placing Pilates at the core for anyone wanting to embark on – or enhance – their own true path to optimal wellness.
When she’s not teaching or doing Pilates, Lynda can be found swimming in her local lake or on her mountain bike.
Sylvia
Sylvia is a BASI Mat certified Pilates Instructor, and another South African to join the team!
Sylvia says “Growing up as an active person I have always valued physical strength and agility. I started doing Pilates after my second daughter was born in 2011 to restore my body in preparation for marathon running. Pilates has since become my passion and joy to teach and instruct. The versatility in the exercises and the deep focused knowledge of your body that is developed enables an individual to feel more confident and stronger overall. Getting in shape shouldn’t be a punishment. It’s an amazing and empowering lifestyle decision that anyone can make. I believe in finding the pleasurable side of fitness; and while there may be an aching muscle or two along the way, the benefits to your body are worth the challenge. I have developed my classes by working with a variety of people, and constantly adapting my program to the needs of new clients. I try to cue and instruct classes articulating the objectives and muscle focus in each exercise. I thoroughly enjoy hearing about client’s positive feedback and respectfully take on board recommendations to help clients get the most from their Pilates experience.”
Paula
Hi, my name is Paula and I’m a mum of 3 teenage children and my little dog Eddie.
I started my career working in the corporate IT sector before working for the NHS. As the children got older I found myself increasingly frustrated with life behind a desk and decided it was time to make a change. With that in mind, I left my job to re-evaluate where I wanted to be and the rest as they say….
So here I am several years later having totally retrained as a Personal Trainer and Pilates Instructor. I get to spend my days (mostly) outside working out with others or in the Pilates Studio helping people to move their bodies with awareness and control, whilst building confidence and strength. I thrive on inspiring and motivating people to reach their goals and dreams. What more could you ask for in a day’s work.
A little bit about me, being outside is what I love best and where I am at my happiest. If I’m not out walking with my dog, you’ll find me running around some of the gorgeous trails we have around us getting filthy in muddy puddles and more.
Anneliese
Hello! My name is Anneliese. My love Pilates started when I used to attend a local Pilates class back in 2015. I found the benefits invaluable. I come from a corporate background originally and found I was always a little agitated sitting at a desk all day.
As an active gym goer and qualified Personal Trainer, I decided to take the leap and train as a Pilates instructor. In 2017 I trained with Drummond Education and qualified as a Mat Pilates Instructor. I am a huge advocate of movement and being mindful and present. My classes are calming yet encouraging, I always want attendees to come away feeling they have worked out but feeling lighter.
In 2020 I decided to move away from the corporate world and have been lucky enough to freelance for local businesses and train privately. Clients have varied in ages and abilities. I have taught in class environments as well as one to one and small groups.
I love spending time with my family, jogging and getting creative with my daughter.
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