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.
Beth Bynoe
Beth has been working out at Boditree for almost 10 years, as a committed Pilates advocate. In 2017 Beth decided to attend our inhouse instructor training program, and completed her studies in mid 2018. Beth’s background is in Law, and her change to being a movement educator has been an exciting and life changing experience. Beth now dedicates her time to teaching at Boditree 5 days a week!
Lindsay Cavanaugh
My name is Lindsay, I am a Vancouver-based classical Pilates instructor and fitness trainer who enjoys living an active and healthy lifestyle. My hobbies include hiking, cycling, nature walks, live music and Pilates of course! I am passionate about travel and have lived abroad in Europe and the United States in addition to visiting many other countries such as Bali, Thailand, Belgium, France, Spain, Germany and Scotland to name a few. My next adventure will be a trip to Costa Rica to spend time in nature and check out Pilates studios there! I am a huge animal lover and can’t wait to have my own dog one day (an Italian greyhound who can go on hikes and runs with me). Three words that best describe me are: approachable, knowledgeable and passionate.
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!
Antonella Dal Magro
Antonella has completed her Classical Pilates Training at Boditree Pilates. Originally from Argentina where she was a lawyer and studio owner, she retrained in the classical repertoire with Boditree and fell in love with the power of the work. Clients love Antonella’s gracious guidance and keen eye for corrections.