Our Story

We’ve all been there – we schedule our days so full that we forget to schedule downtime. I have always been a person with many things on my plate – in the same period that I completed my Management degree, I completed my Pilates certification, taught dance and fitness part-time, and worked at a yoga clothing store.

Once I started working full-time in the investment world, I still kept my plate full – working at my corporate job during the day and teaching Pilates at night. I worked this way for several years, and I understand how easy it is to get so involved with work or other commitments that dedicated personal time gets forgotten. I know what it is like to get up at 5 am to get to work before the stock markets open, attend meetings all day, and not leave the office again until dark. There were more days than not when all I wanted to do at the end of the day was to get sushi take-out and laze around on the couch all night.

Even while working those long days, I knew how important it was to keep physically active. So when I felt exhausted at the end of the day and the last thing I wanted to do was to workout, I did. I found that doing thirty minutes of Pilates (or sometimes, only five minutes!) helped me de-stress and unwind, and re-energized me for the next day. That commitment to my scheduled workout time probably saved me from early career burnout.

Eventually, I came to a crossroads in my career and decided to leave the corporate world to pursue what I am most passionate about, teaching Pilates and movement. I love how using breath with movement leaves us feeling open, energized, and strong.

When I became a mom, it became even more important to fit in movement whenever, and wherever I could. I realized that the GYROTONIC® method and Pilates work was exactly what I needed to strengthen my mind-body connection and to restore my core and pelvic floor.

I am inspired daily working one-on-one with women like you because I can relate to how hectic your life can be. What I love most about teaching is watching clients transform their bodies from the inside out and seeing how happy it makes them feel!

When I’m not in the studio, I can be found spending time with my family, making protein energy balls, and drinking oat milk lattés.

Meet Lorissa Gilmore

Lorissa is a Pilates, GYROTONIC®, and GYROKINESIS® teacher based in Calgary, AB. She was first introduced to Pilates while in the Modern Dance program at Grant MacEwan College in Edmonton, AB. Following university, she balanced working for investment firms and teaching Pilates part-time for a few years before deciding to leave the corporate world to devote her full-time efforts to her studio, Flow Pilates & Wellness.

Lorissa received her Classical Pilates certifications from the Dianne Miller Pilates Center of Vancouver and Embody Pilates in Canmore, and has been teaching since 2001.  Her passion for movement led her to travel to New York City and Miami, where she certified as a GYROTONIC® and GYROKINESIS® trainer. Lorissa is a Pre-Trainer for those wishing to become GYROTONIC® trainers and loves sharing this innovative movement system with all of her clients.

Lorissa maintains a busy practice teaching clients in South Calgary.