Heather Thompson-Barker
Studio Founder & Owner
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.

Leigh Anderson
Beauty Therapist
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 Laing
Reformer & Mat Pilates Instructor
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.

Susan Mallinder
Lifestyle Medicine Specialist
Susan is our Lifestyle Medicine Specialist who works alongside us as well as being the founder of her own wellbeing company Flow Wellbeing. 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 1-2-1 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 Buckland
Massage Therapist
Josefa is a Swedish 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.

Kirsty Lyon
Breathwork Facilitator & Holistic Mind Body Coach
Kirsty is our trauma informed Breathwork Facilitator and Certified Holistic Mind and Body Coach. She is passionate in teaching others about the mind body connection, and she knows how intricately linked each system and emotion is.
After experiencing chronic health issues, Kirsty decided to take the holistic route to healing and believes in a somatic approach to mind body issues, the most powerful for her being breathwork. She discovered firsthand how conscious connected breathing has the power to release trauma stored in the body, relieving physical and mental imbalances, and rewiring the subconscious mind. Kirsty’s sessions are designed with conscious breathing and sound vibration to leave you feeling deeply fulfilled with a sense of peace and relaxation.
Kirsty spends as much time as she can outside in nature where she feels at her happiest, she loves to write and work on creative projects in her spare time and believes in the healing power of humour and sharing stories.

Meet the Team
Our Team is our greatest asset.