Our Team

Risa Mathews, MA, Owner & Director

Risa Mathews has owned and operated Boditree Pilates & Healing in Vancouver since 1999. Prior to this time Risa was residing in Sydney, Australia, where she was attending grad school and also operating her first Boditree Pilates studio in Sydney’s Eastern suburbs. Risa sold her Sydney studio in late 1999, and opened Boditree in Vancouver soon after returning home. Risa has successfully integrated a number of healing modalities into the Pilates environment, which has shown to assist participants in managing pain and better prepare them for physical exercise.

Risa has created, published, and trademarked a number of protocols that are now being shared via online course offerings. Risa has researched and created these protocols to help manage the following, but not limited to: chronic pain, injury, rehabilitation from surgery, plus a multitude of conditions such as but not limited to scoliosis, Parkinson’s disease, MS, learning disabilities, joint replacement, emotional trauma, post-surgical rehabilitation, and pre and post-natal conditioning. These online courses are meant to give fellow instructors and movement therapists an opportunity to study with Risa, without having to travel to Vancouver.

Risa holds a BA from Simon Fraser University (1990) and an MA from Macquarie University (1995), and has a background in dance, aquatics, teaching, publishing, and public speaking. Since creating the online workshops, Risa has presented workshops in Honolulu, New York, Toronto, and Vancouver. Boditree Releasework is now approved for PMA CEC points for all students who download these online workshops!

Throughout 2017, 2018 and 2019, Risa traveled to a number of cities in North America to present Boditree Releasework TM, a unique approach to pre-Pilates developed by Risa over the last 20 years she has owned and operated Boditree Pilates and Healing. Mid 2019 Risa was invited to be featured in Darien Gold’s radio program, “All Things Pilates”. A few months later, Risa was invited back for a second interview, where she discussed her views on the late Ron Fletcher’s enormous contribution to the Pilates Method.

Diana Vezhel

Diana is a local Pilates Instructor who originally moved from Kazakhstan and has been teaching in Vancouver for 3 years. Diana has been attending Boditree’s Classical Pilates Mentorship and joined our team of dedicated Instructors in 2024. We are thrilled to welcome Diana to the Boditree teaching roster!

Sally Kim 

Sally discovered her passion for Pilates during the pandemic. The moment she stepped into a studio, she knew, “I want to be a Pilates instructor.”

Originally from Edmonton, Alberta, Sally completed her teacher training at Aligned Pilates under the mentorship of Carmen (a student of Jay Grimes), gaining a deep understanding of Contrology and classical Pilates. She began her apprenticeship in 2022 and proudly earned her certification later that year.

Through her training and daily practice, Sally has learned that Pilates is more than exercise. It’s a mindful connection between body and mind. She finds peace, focus, and constant growth through movement and aims to help others experience the same.

Now based in Vancouver, Sally is thrilled to join the Boditree Pilates team, where she continues to share her love of movement, alignment, and mindful practice.

“Until you step into the studio and experience it yourself, you don’t truly know your body. After a few sessions, you’ll start discovering new things and you’ll fall in love with Pilates too.”

Karen Sager

Karen has completed her training in Classical Pilates at Boditree Pilates plus additional workshops with Risa. Prior to teaching, Karen was a dedicated Boditree client for many years. After a massive cycling accident requiring surgical bolts and screws, Karen transitioned from a fitness client to a post surgical healing client with the studio. Having experiencied the powers of Boditree strengthening for such a massive injury, Karen joined Boditree’s teacher training, and dedicated her professional life to helping others heal with Pilates. Karen is living proof of the power of classical Pilates at overcoming injury!