About Us
Mona Valdes MD
Studio Director, Owner
Mona’s background as a Medical Doctor is a tool that helps her evaluate her clients’ fitness needs. During her years of medical practice she learned the great benefit of a holistic approach in treating her patients.
Mona’s passion for Pilates was sparked by the realization that this method puts value on the body’s ability to heal. Once the mind-body connection is established the body can correct and transform itself . In order to understand Joseph Pilates Contrology method more comprehensively, she has been studying classical Pilates in depth.
She is an active mother of 5 who believes that Pilates is a means for people to engage in the activities and lifestyle that they love. The method allows continued performance at the highest levels, while helping to prevent injuries caused by muscular imbalances and bad habits.
Morgan Thiessen
Morgan moved to BC from Edmonton to pursue her Pilates career full-time. She is a Pilates instructor and professional ballet dancer. Morgan is STOTT Pilates and Garuda certified in Advanced Matwork (both Pilates and Garuda), Advanced Reformer and Apparatus (both Pilates and Garuda), and Garuda Barre.
She has been practicing Pilates since she was 13 years old, and kept up with this training consistently, to complement her ballet training. The love for Pilates bloomed and she began to see a new career right in front of her. Being able to help others with the knowledge she has gathered over the years is a source of fulfillment.
She has had the privilege of working with a great variety of clients, teaching private lessons to clients with past or present injuries. Her passion for Fascia work is a great asset to help clients with various auto immune conditions, active aging, as well as high level athletes like hockey players, figure skaters, and dancers.
Sue Inden, PT
Bistra Stoyanova
Bistra was introduced to Yoga and Mat Pilates when she was completing her Bachelor of Business Administration in Finance degree at the University of California in Los Angeles.
She loved the graceful and controlled movements, and the way Yoga and Pilates helped her improve her flexibility, balance, coordination, core strength and body awareness.
She started teaching Yoga first, shortly after she completed her first 200 hours of Yoga teacher training in November of 2013. In 2017 she completed her Mat Pilates certification with Body Harmonics and then added a few more modules and disciplines like TRX and Aerial Yoga. At the time though Pilates and Yoga were just hobbies and not a career.
Bistra began her full-time career as a comprehensively certified Pilates instructor after working in the financial planning industry for over 13 years. She started working at a few studios around the town, and joined V Pilates Studio, dwelling more into Classical Pilates as well as Rehabilitation Pilates under the mentoring of different Senior Pilates teachers.
She loves Pilates because she believes in the healing power of movement. She continues to learn from both her mentors and clients alike, as she believes that everyone can teach us something new and help us grow. She accepts the challenges and grows from the setbacks. Her passion is to educate more and more people about the benefits of Pilates and movement.
When Bistra is not working she enjoys spending time outdoors with her dog, or popping at the Pilates studio for a workout.
Kate Jessup
Kate holds a Bachelor’s degree in Anthropology and a Master’s in Leadership. Prior to teaching
Pilates, she worked for many years as the Manager of Accountants at a Lower Mainland private
accounting firm.
She discovered how significantly Pilates can affect positive change in a practitioner’s body and
through her own practice of 20 years, she fueled her interest in helping others to achieve the
same experience. She has been training with Mona Valdes at V Pilates Studio since 2020.
Kate received her National Pilates Certification in 2023 and continues to upgrade her skills through continuing education programs.
Kate uses her extensive background in learning and development to provide a customized
learning experience for students in her classes. Drawing on her experience and education in the neuroscience of learning, her goal is to support students to process information and transform it into movement. Kate strives to create an inclusive training environment with open
communication, her goal to enable students to incorporate their Pilates practice into their
daily activities.
Kate loves her dogs and her horses and dedicates her spare time to their care.
