Heather is the founder and owner of Sano Studio. She is a Beauty Therapist with over 20 years of experience in the Beauty & Wellness Industry and a Certified STOTT PILATES® Instructor with a Diploma in Clinical Pilates teaching Mat & Reformer Pilates.  

She is passionate about helping people improve their own health and wellbeing through a person-centred approach.  

She has a rare genetic disease commonly known as Brittle Bones which causes a mutation in the way her body produces collagen. This makes her bones and tissue very delicate and susceptible to breaking or damage. 

Pilates has reformed her body, from a rehabilitation patient to a physically strong and confident Clinical STOTT PILATES® Instructor. Today she is the strongest she has ever been and has managed to stay (mostly!) injury-free. 

Although she cannot change her genetic makeup her experience in the wellness industry has made her passionate about helping people push past limitations safely and not accepting that those limitations will define you and what you can achieve to improve your overall health and well-being.

After having her first child, Leigh decided it was time to have a more fulfilling job. That is when she left her day job to start her career in beauty therapy. She became a beauty therapist because she is passionate in helping people feel like the best version of themselves.

Leigh is a HNC qualified beauty therapist who studied at Edinburgh College and graduated in 2019. She went on to work in a local salon specialising in facials and massage before taking a career break to raise her two children. Leigh is excited to get back to work and help her clients to improve their health and wellbeing. She is a passionate believer in self-care and enjoys delivering treatments which offer deep relaxation and improve skin health.

Leigh feels her best when she is with her family enjoying the outdoors or cooking together at home.  She enjoys all things creative in her spare time and loves to cosy up with a good book.

Caroline is a qualified Pilates mat and reformer instructor. She originally completed her Matwork teacher training with BASI and went on to complete her certificate in Mat and Reformer with Breathe Education, an evidence based Pilates training programme. Caroline discovered Pilates around 17 years ago in London and instantly fell in love with it.

Having witnessed first-hand the positive impact of Pilates on her own life, especially during pregnancy and postpartum recovery, she is passionate about empowering others to discover their strength and resilience.

Caroline’s classes are for all abilities, focusing on strength, flexibility and body awareness. She’s a big advocate for the benefits of Pilates not just for physical health but mental well-being too. You’ll find

her classes offer a good mix of dynamic flow, challenge and fun!

When she’s not teaching she enjoys spending time with friends and family and muddy walks with her bouncy young lab Poppy and the odd waterskiing when she can!

Susan is our Lifestyle Medicine Specialist who works alongside us as well as being the founder of her own wellbeing company.

Susan is passionate about improving your wellbeing and wants to help you live your best life. She does this by listening to your needs and assessing the whole you. When you visit Susan, you can expect her to use a customised blend of East Asian therapies and Traditional Chinese Medicine to strengthen your mind, body, and spirit. Her blended treatments can ease symptoms, working with nature to bring harmony and balance to the body.

Her treatments range from cosmetic acupuncture to helping people suffering from pain and ailments to seasonal pick me ups. She offers a range of treatments to balance the body, heal after falls and help with professional sports conditioning and performance. Her treatments include a range of therapies from acupuncture to cupping and red-light therapy to name a few.

Everyone is warmly welcomed by Susan.

Josefa is our Sports and Remedial Massage Therapist at Sano Studio. She offers a holistic and person-centred approach to massage. Massage is such a beneficial tool for wellness and Josefa looks forward to sharing this with the Sano community. Whether you are having massage to alleviate a particular condition or regular maintenance massages, Josefa will work with you to ensure you get the maximum benefit out of your sessions.

Josefa trained as a massage therapist with Scottish Massage Schools and is currently continuing her studies with Advanced Massage Techniques School, completing a Diploma in Remedial and Sports massage. She retrained as a massage therapist, following a varied career, because of a deep interest in all aspects of wellness and a desire to help people.

Josefa has 2 young daughters, who both enjoy regular massages! She also enjoys sea swimming, sitting by a fire on the beach and (naturally!) Reformer Pilates.

With 20 years of experience Dee is passionate about helping people reduce stress and overwhelm so they can start to feel better and create balance in their lives - Yoga is a big part of this. Dee works to create space for people to take time for themselves and enjoy a moment of peace.

As the mother of a neurodivergent person, Dee understands intimately how difficult life can be at times. This is why she is particularly interested in offering gentle, restorative-style yoga classes that offer us the space, and time needed to relax more deeply.

Alongside her yoga training, Dee’s class is informed by her years of experience as a wellbeing practitioner. Her class offers a mix of gentle yoga movement, breathwork, relaxation, meditation, restorative yoga poses, and Yoga Nidra. There are no pretzel poses in her restorative class!

When not being a Mom, you will find Dee with a book, journalling, walking, meditating, eating and thinking about womaning up enough to go for a wild swim.

Irina is a STOTT trained instructor teaching Reformer Pilates. She is passionate about making her clients feel welcome and confident to make the most of their reformer workout and feel good in their bodies. She brings a calm and positive attitude to her classes as she supports the clients on their pilates journey.

With a background in dance, Irina has always been passionate about physical movement and exercising in ways to nurture both the body and the mind. When she discovered Reformer Pilates, she instantly loved how it challenged her body to become the healthiest and strongest it has ever been and helped release any mental and physical tension.

When she’s not doing Pilates, she will most likely be immersed in a good book while enjoying a strong cup of coffee or be outside playing tennis.

Emma is one of Sano Studio's Certified Pilates Matwork and Reformer teachers and she is passionate about the physical and mental health benefits of movement. 

Being a professional ballet dancer is what led Emma to becoming a Pilates teacher. She trained as a dancer at KS Dance in Cheshire and since graduating has danced professionally in the UK and Europe. She started Pilates early in her dance training, continuing to practice throughout her training and career. As she found Pilates so valuable herself, in 2021 she embarked on a Pilates Matwork training course and qualified in June 2022. She then trained to be a certified reformer Pilates teacher with STOTT Pilates. 

Emma is excited to be teaching at Sano studio, sharing her knowledge in a fun and safe environment. Emma is still dancing and goes to ballet class when she can. When not in the Pilates or dance studio, she enjoys going for walks in nature and finding cute cafes for coffee with family or friends. She is learning German and would like to travel and explore Germany more.

Aoife is one of Sano Studios Reformer Pilates instructors. She trained in London, and is now instructing in and around Edinburgh.

Aoife graduated with a BA in Dance & Drama from Performing Arts Studio Scotland in 2021. During her studies, after noticing a significant development in her training due to her taking up Pilates, she completed her Mat Pilates with the EnergyWise Academy. Since then, Aoife has travelled to Costa Rica, working with a circus company - Circo Fantazztico, worked as a Pilates & Barre instructor in Healthy Options, an exclusive health resort in Vassiliki, Greece and has undergone her 500hr YTT in Rishikesh, India.

Incorporating her knowledge of dance and yoga, her classes create a practice focused on strength, elongation and alignment. She is a firm believer that movement creates movement and she aims to make you feel better than you did when you entered the room. 

On her days off Aoife enjoys exploring what Edinburgh has to offer, whether it’s walking one of its many hills or finding hidden gems around the city. Passionate about movement, she also enjoys taking a dance class or training in the aerial arts when she can!