Our Studio
We live and breathe what we do here.
Our studio and classes are all designed with you in mind.
Our ethos is to support you to move while developing a deep appreciation of your body as you do.
We want to help you make movement an integral part of your life.
Whatever your shape, size, age or fitness level we are here to support you in feeling positive and comfortable in your body.
Northlake Pilates is a boutique Reformer studio in Wanaka,
New Zealand
Our studio has space for six students in a class. Yet, we're equally small and charming enough for a private session if you so wish.
We want you to leave with a love for movement and feeling comfortable and positive in your body. When you join us for a class you’ll be guided through a practice that is tailored to your ability and meets your body wherever it happens to be that day.
You will feel nothing but love and support on your journey with us and we cannot wait to meet you.
Meet Caroline,
“My approach to teaching movement reflects my deep appreciation of the human body. I believe our health is determined by a feeling; what matters most is knowing ourselves and how we feel; physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually.”
Caroline is the guiding light behind Northlake Pilates. She brings her nurturing and empathetic spirit; you’ll be cocooned within it as soon as you walk through the studio doors.
Caroline's own journey with movement began at a young age with a background in classical ballet. It was during her first year at the New Zealand School of Dance in Wellington that she discovered the holistic sanctuary that Pilates offered for both her physical body and mind.
After gaining her BA in Contemporary Dance and heading out to see the wider world she eventually returned home to New Zealand with a commitment to understanding more about the human body and a desire to share her passion for this particular way of moving.
After training to teach Barre fitness back in 2014 Caroline felt drawn to teach the same style of Pilates that held her body together through the rigorous days of professional ballet school. That same year she began the Polestar Pilates Comprehensive Diploma and quickly became an advocate for mindful and holistic movement training.
In 2016 she opened her first studio in Auckland with the intention to provide tailored movement training to people struggling to fit into mainstream fitness offerings. The studio's popularity "mushroomed" and she has been actively sharing her message about the benefits of movement ever since.
Caroline can also be found on the faculty for Polestar Pilates NZ, she is a mentor and her role is to guide and support teacher trainees towards their 450 hour comprehensive Pilates teaching certification.
Caroline believes that movement nurtures not only the body but the mind and soul too and it is this philosophy she brings to and shares with those who come to move with her at Northlake Pilates.
When you join her for a reformer class or private appointment you’ll be embraced by her compassion and remember the joy that movement offers, the power of presence and the beauty of balance.
Our People
Our team of qualified, experienced teachers are at the heart of our studio. As we said earlier we live and breathe what we do at Northlake Pilates, we can't wait to meet you at the studio soon!
Sarah Wisson
Sarah is a fully qualified UK-trained Osteopath with over 25 years of clinical experience. She is the owner of Triple H Osteopathy and provides specialist treatment to humans and animals in the Central Otago Region.
Sarah’s level of commitment to her patients and their families is no secret to the community in Christchurch, where she had been based for 20 years before making the move to Wanaka.
After a year-long visit to NZ in 2001 Sarah’s love for the lifestyle here became clear; it combined everything she loved in seeking adventure and the outdoors. It is this sense of adventure and zest for life that makes her empathy and enthusiasm so evident in her teaching and in the treatment she provides to her human and animal patients.
Having been a high level competitive athlete since her teens, rehabilitation has been a natural part of Sarah’s life and she inspires all people to accept and embrace it. As our lives change, what we seek and ask from our bodies naturally changes too. Sarah believes we need to nurture, empower, and strengthen our bodies to adapt as we do.
Pilates has been a passion, necessity and part of Sarah’s life for years. Her deep understanding of the human body and the desire to empower clients to be part of their recovery/fitness pathway led her to seek out the BASI Comprehensive Pilates teaching certification which she completed in 2020.
Sarah is delighted to be part of the team at Northlake Pilates Studio; a place that values all the aspects of her own osteopathic practice - integrity, empathy, enthusiasm and highest standard of service and care.
You will be clearly guided and supported on your Pilates journey with Sarah when you meet her in the studio.
Elisa Humitsch
“I want to be able to move well for as long as I am alive; to get up and down from the floor; I want to be able to play until I’m 99 and help others to do the same by offering tools to find what is helpful for each individual. That is my goal, my motivation, my mission.”
Elisa is the owner of Project Body here in Wanaka where her talents as a fascial bodyworker are valued by the community through her Massage & Movement Therapy offering. Originally hailing from Austria, her heart has been anchored in New Zealand’s mountain playground for the last 16 years. Elisa is a big outdoor enthusiast; she loves nature, hiking, skiing, free-diving, exploring different countries and their cultures, conversing in different languages, connecting and surrounding herself with like-minded and soul-celebrating people.
Elisa’s own journey with movement began at the age of three with Classical Ballet and soon expanded to Jazz, Hip Hop and Contemporary Dance. This variety of movement allowed her to express herself and feel connected to her own body. She spent her childhood immersed in the outdoors - skiing, hiking, ice skating, running, cycling and swimming and in doing so, learned the importance of physical fitness, enjoyment of moving the body, and having healthy body awareness.
In her late teens Elisa learned she had scoliosis in her lumbar spine and was referred to Physiotherapy. This is where she was first introduced to Pilates as a way to manage her daily pain, improve postural awareness, and increase her strength and mobility. Elisa started to become more interested in the human body and it's functions, because she wanted to understand her own body better and learn how she could influence her healing process and prevent her scoliosis from progressing.
Experiencing the benefits of movement and hands-on modalities like Pilates, Yoga, Massage, Osteopathy, Acupuncture and Self-Myofascial Release is what inspired Elisa to gain her certifications as a Yoga Instructor in 2016, a Remedial Massage Therapist and Pilates Instructor in 2019 and a Myofascial Release Practitioner in 2020. Now, not only can she support herself better, but she helps other people with overcome their own limitations and assists them to live and enjoy a physically stronger, healthier and happier life.
Elisa is thrilled to be part of the fantastic team and mix of people at Northlake Pilates Studio. She says the studio is a “feel good place” where “feel good movement” is key, welcoming people from all walks of life.
Laura Webster
Laura’s Pilates journey began in 2010 during a physiotherapy placement in her home country, Latvia. At the time Laura was a third-year physiotherapy student; she thought she was simply learning standard exercises for back and hip injuries. However she soon discovered these exercises were based on the principles of Pilates. This revelation completely changed the way she saw rehabilitation, and Pilates quickly became a cornerstone of her work.
Laura completed STOTT Pilates Mat training in 2020 and Polestar Pilates Reformer training in 2024.
With over a decade of one-to-one client experience and group class teaching, Laura has developed a style that is functional, mindful, and informed by her physiotherapy background. She strives to find the fine balance between attention to detail and freedom of movement, guiding clients to move with awareness, strength, and confidence.
Laura holds a Bachelor’s degree in Physiotherapy, a Master’s degree in Nutrition Science, and is a qualified massage therapist.
She is the founder and face of Body Recharge, a boutique massage and movement clinic in Wanaka.
Laura believes that learning never stops — over the years she has trained in a wide variety of manual therapy and movement techniques.
After becoming a mother, she has developed a keen interest in women’s pelvic health rehabilitation and is bringing her expertise in this area to our Postnatal Reformer Pilates classes in Northlake
An active person herself, Laura loves exploring the outdoors in all seasons and enjoys a wide variety of movement.
For Laura, Pilates is the constant — the foundation that keeps her strong, mobile, and free to move however she wants.
Pilates Teachers
Our highly dedicated teaching team is growing!
We'd love to talk to you if an opportunity in Wanaka, NZ is of interest to you.
