Body & Soul
Staff Profiles
Aaron Case (Chiropractor)
Dr. Aaron Case was a previous Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist and Personal trainer at Body and Soul for several years while studying at UBC before going back to school to become a Chiropractor. Dr. Case uses his passion as an avid runner and marathoner to focus heavily on soft tissue treatments, sports medicine research, gait analysis and rehab to promote active recovery in his patients.
Alexina Alexander
(Yoga & Pilates Instructor + Certified Craniosacral Therapist)
Alexina Alexander graduated from UBC with a Bachelor of Human Kinetics and currently works as a Yoga and Pilates teacher at Body & Soul. She is certified in Pilates and has spent 2 years taking module theory courses. She has also spent many hours of internship at the Dianne Miller Pilates Centre. Alexina has completed the YogaFit Teacher Training and the YMCA Power Yoga teacher training. She has been practicing yoga and meditation for 10 years and is an avid runner and hiker. Recently, Alexina became certified in craniosacral therapy through the Upledger institute. In addition, she is in her final year of Naturopathic Medical School. Her greatest joy is assisting others in realizing increased well being and health.
Brendin Schievink (Personal trainer)
Brendin is a Certified Personal Trainer through CSEP. He is currently in his third year at UBC in the Human Kinetics department specializing in Kinesiology. He grew up in Port Alberni on Vancouver Island where he enjoyed playing hockey, baseball, wakeboarding, fishing, and anything outdoors.
Brendin has played competitive hockey his entire life in. His biggest accomplishment in his hockey career was in Abbotsford where his team won the PIJHL championship and finished with a silver medal in the Provincials. He is currently playing in a competitive mens league in Coquitlam as well as intramurals at UBC.
Brittany Eidsness (General Manager & Frontdesk)
Brittany Eidsness’ passion for holistic health and wellness took root at a young age.
While still in secondary school, Brittany worked with the YMCA in Chilliwack, BC for several years, gaining valuable experience and knowledge working with children and families to promote wellness through fun and creative recreation. During her time with the YMCA, Brittany created and led many programs aimed at increasing physical fitness and health awareness in youth and their families.
This passion led her to pursue formal education in nutrition at the University of British of Columbia. To further develop her expertise, Brittany has also been accepted to study at the Canadian School of Natural Medicine.
When she’s not coordinating all the moving parts of Body and Soul, Brittany enjoys jogging at Jericho Beach, working out at the gym, and playing fun recreational sports like flag football and dodge ball (just like the movie!).
Brittany’s love for travel has taken her on a number of great adventures, including trips to destinations in Southeast Asia, and Mexico; with many more to come!
Be sure to hi the next time you come in!
Christine Chard (Personal Trainer)
Christine’s active lifestyle, and passion and enjoyment for health and fitness, has led her to become a BCRPA certified personal trainer. She graduated from the University of Calgary with a Bachelor of Kinesiology, which sparked her interest in human physiology, the way the body works and performs, and maintaining a healthy lifestyle. Her love for athletics began at a young age when she first started competitive swimming with the West Vancouver Otters Swim Club. Christine’s commitment toward swimming and her drive to succeed led her to Calgary, where she trained with and competed for the University of Calgary Varsity team. She competed in the CIS University Championships for her four varsity years, as well as at the Canadian Olympic Trials, World Championship Trials and other National level meets. While in Calgary, Christine also coached the 10 and under swimmers with the University of Calgary Swim Club.
Since graduating from UofC, Christine has spent two years living and working in Sydney, Australia. Working as a personal trainer and pre-school teacher, she made sure to take full advantage of the waves, beaches, and fun, laid-back lifestyle. Water sports such as surfing, sailing and wakeboarding are just a few of Christine’s many outdoorsy passions. Now living in Kitsilano, you may find her jogging along Jericho beach, snowshoeing or hiking Grouse Mountain, or snowboarding at Whistler! Christine is very enthusiastic about traveling, and hopes to live and work abroad again as she found the experience extremely fulfilling. She is currently attending the University of British Columbia for her Bachelor’s in Education, in order to pursue her other passion, being teaching.
Dave Gillam (Personal Trainer)
David Gillam graduated from Memorial University of Newfoundland with a Bachelors of Kinesiology Degree in 2006. After completing his degree he remained in Newfoundland working primarily in a rehab setting and worked with a wide variety of clients. During this time he completed his CAN-FIT Pro and PGAP certification. In 2008 David made the move to Vancouver in search of sun and was pleased to discover there was an abundance of it here, although he is continually informed otherwise. Working now at Body and Soul David is able to combine his rehab and fitness experience to help clients of all ability levels achieve their goals.
When not working David can be found riding the streets of Vancouver as he attempts to break into the semi professional cycling ranks in BC. No stranger to competition David has previously been a member to Canada’s National Triathlon and Duathlon team competing in numerous National, Pan-American and World Championships.
Jessica Schlegel (Personal Trainer)
The passion of traveling brought Jessica to Canada a few month ago. First stop was Calgary. After visiting Banff, Los Angeles and Mexico she went on an almost four week road trip through the Yukon and Alaska. Finally stuck in Vancouver she decided to go back to her origin field of work. She is a sports instructor specializing in sports therapy raised and trained in Germany. Jessica completed her education after three years. During that time she had the chance to get to know different kind of sports like sailing, climbing, mountain biking, hiking, surfing, kayaking and a lot more. In her leisure time she was working at the gym as well as teaching kids in physical education and swimming. She loves to play volleyball and also coached a mixed-team in her hometown.
Working with people and show them how to get a healthier lifestyle is the main goal that she tries to reach. She is always looking for new studies and further educations. ..
Juergen Reinhardt (Personal Trainer & Nordic Walking Instructor)
Juergen is a German trained physiotherapist, manual therapist, and sports instructor specializing in sports therapy. Here in Canada, he works as a certified Personal Trainer. Juergen has worked for a variety of rehabilitation centres providing physiotherapy, rehab- and fitness training. In 1992, he worked at the Olympic base in Aspach, Austria training and rehabilitating athletes, in preparation for the upcoming Olympics. He just returned from a year in Germany where he worked as a Manual Therapist and Personal Trainer. Over the years, Juergen played competitive soccer, tennis and volleyball. He also competed in marathons. He presently enjoys biking, skate skiing, running and Nordic walking.
A lifelong raincoast dweller Lynn was born in Victoria and has been a Vancouver resident and called the Point Grey/UBC area home for many years now. Working in this community with Body & Soul doing shiatsu is a wonderful “coming together” of purpose.
Originally trained in sales and marketing, a career followed that included several industries and many great adventures. Alongside this, prompted by personal health challenges and an interest in wellness and alternative healing she began exploring and studying. As the saying goes “When the student is ready, the teacher will appear” and the path led to shiatsu and a master to study under. Right from the first few weeks of learning and receiving treatments in early 2002 the pull was undeniable.
Four busy years followed of business career by day and shiatsu student by night until the seemingly inevitable decision came in 2005 to return to school full-time and obtain certification. Lynn attended the year long Langara College/Sourcepoint Shiatsu 1100 hour Shiatsu Therapist course and is proud to be a Registered Shiatsu Therapist. Adding to the previous four years of intense practical study, the schooling covered Shiatsu pressure point and meridien theory, Traditional Chinese Medical theory and the conventional Western sciences of anatomy, physiology and pathology.
After graduation and launching her company, LifeLine Shiatsu, Lynn took some long awaited travels with her husband to Eastern Europe, Croatia, Spain, and Africa. Both Lynn and Ron are licensed private pilots and another trip saw them flying themselves from Vancouver to Columbia, S.A. hopping from country to country where she can practice another passion, Spanish.
A cause close to her heart is the work done with homeless youth by Covenant House and she donates her time on a regular basis as their resident shiatsu therapist.
If you ask her, she’ll unabashedly tell you that shiatsu and the path with it has had a profound impact on every aspect of her life and is a major factor in feeling joyful, healthy and very much alive.
Click here to read more about Shiatsu Treatment.
Marla Brillinger (Personal Trainer & Co-Owner) 
As co-owner of Body & Soul and Westside Gym, Marla’s time “on the floor” as a personal trainer, nutrition specialist and spin instructor has required some modification due to the challenges of operating a business. However, personal interaction with her clients and staff remains one of her most important priorities.
Marla’s quest for a viable balance between fitness, health and competition began early while she competed in swimming, running, gymnastics, and synchronized swimming. After being recruited by a national coach, she focused exclusively on running and eventually moved to B.C. from Ontario on a track and field scholarship and completed her undergraduate degree at SFU. After graduating from SFU, Marla embarked on a 15-month solo round the world backpacking journey with stops throughout Southeast Asia, India, Nepal, and Africa, New Zealand and Australia. Some of her many adventures included kayaking the Abel Tasman in NZ., whitewater rafting in Thailand, Nepal and the great Zambezi River in Africa, hiking in the Himalayas, surfing and rock climbing in Australia, and bungee jumping over the Zambezi River in Zimbabwe- the world’s highest bungee jump!
Upon her return to North America, she decided to cycle across Canada before embarking on her fitness career. She quickly began to expand upon her university degree by obtaining certifications in personal training, sports nutrition, spinning, and sales and consulting. She is a certified personal trainer through A.C.E. and B.C.R.P.A., a Certified Fitness Consultant and a Sports Nutrition Specialist. She is also a Certified Spinning instructor and a member of Can Fit Pro. Her love for adventure and cultural exploration developed into an adventure travel business where she was able to combine her love of extreme sports and adventure with the outdoors and different cultures.
After taking a business management course at BCIT, Marla took a 4-month trip through Central America, traveling overland through Mexico, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Honduras, Belize, Costa Rica, and Panama. She spent her time volunteering at a children’s hospital, learning Spanish, getting her scuba diving certification, sailing through the Panama Canal and climbing the local volcanoes. She returned to Canada and took on a personal training and management position at Body & Soul. Six years later, she is now co-owner of Body & Soul and the Westside Gym. When not at work you will find her kayaking, running, cycling, enjoying island life and the outdoors and riding her motorcycle. She recently qualified for and ran in the Boston Marathon and was a gold medallist in the women’s sea kayak division in North America’s longest single day kayak race. She has recently added a rescue dog to her busy and active lifestyle.
Natalia Sanyal (Front Desk)
After testing the waters in the world of accounting,she realized her true passion lies in health and wellness, and in particular helping others in their own journey to well-being. Born in a developing country where the lifestyle is hardly healthy, there was nothing more exciting than moving to one of the most active cities in the world. Natalia joined the volleyball, track, and basketball teams in high school and has since kept up her fitness level, taking full advantage of the active lifestyle that Vancouver offers.She would love to open her ownfitness/wellness facility one day, perhaps in a less-priveleged country.She got her entrepreneurial juices flowing when she and her husbandopened a construction business in '07. One year later she decided itwas time to get a taste of working in the health & fitness field which led her to a Front Desk/Supervisory positionat Body & Soul where sheis able touse her past administrative experience.When she's notat work,she's working out, reading, drawing,enjoyingvarious recreational activitiesand working on hercertification towards becoming a fitness leader.
Rachel Shiu (Registered Massage Therapist and Certified Manual Lymphatic Drainage Therapist)
Rachel has always been a very active person with a strong interest in athletics. Rachel pursued these interests early in her life when studying kinesiology, working as a sports med trainer, and working as a personal trainer.
Rachel first discovered the value of massage therapy when it helped her recover from several sports injuries. Her interest peaked, Rachel decided to study massage at the West Coast College of Massage Therapy. She completed her full certification in the Dr. Vodder method of Manual Lymphatic Drainage (MLD) in 1996, and became a Registered Massage Therapist (RMT) in 1997. Rachel enhanced her MLD knowledge in 2000, when she had the opportunity to study at the specialized Dr. Vodder Academy in Austria – the leading institute of lymphedema research and MLD training in the world.
Over the past ten years Rachel has become an experienced and respected massage therapist. She has continued to involve athletics in her life and her work: she has been a bronze, silver, and gold medalist at the Canadian College National Badminton Championships; she participated in a badminton exhibition tour to Asia; and she received the All Canadian Athlete award from the Canadian College Athletic Association in 1999. Rachel has provided sport massage services to the Canadian Women’s Wheelchair Basketball team and with the Douglas College Badminton Team.
In addition to athletics, several major influences on Rachel’s career have been working within an Orthopaedic Sports Physiotherapy setting and working with palliative cancer patients.
Rachel is currently one of only four MLD therapists practicing in Vancouver. She specializes in the reduction, prevention and rehabilitation of scar tissue formation and has extensive experience with post surgical rehabilitation (knee/hip replacements, mastectomy/lumpectomy, reconstructive/plastic surgery). Rachel prefers using gentle techniques, and patient care and comfort are her priority.
Spencer Holowachuk (Personal Trainer)
Spencer is a UBC Human Kinetics graduate and works as a CSEP Certified Exercise Physiologist. Spencer applies a science-based approach to personal training in order to help clients achieve their health and fitness goals.
Spencer has a wide scope of experience as a health and fitness professional: he works as a kinesiologist, co-owns a volleyball-specific training company, volunteers in a cardiac rehab program and coaches Special Olympics athletes. From the clinical setting to elite athletics to Special Olympians, Spencer has a skill set that allows him to adapt his training style to meet each client’s unique needs.
As a former varsity volleyball player and beach volleyball national team athlete, Spencer has a strong competitive nature and applies it to a variety of sports and activities when he's not at work. Apart from athletics, Spencer is also a passionate traveler and student.
Tova has a rich background in health and wellness with roots in her studies at McGill University where she received a Bachelor of Science majoring in Psychology. She has spent a lot of time travelling through North and Central America and along her path, Yoga entered her life. She found its cohesive nature to blend her passions together and ignited the beginnings of her Adventure Yoga Travel Company (www.adventureyoga.ca). She became Yoga Alliance Certified at The Yandara Yoga Institute in Baja Mexico.
Additionally, she accomplished her Registration as a Holistic Nutritionist at the Canadian School of Natural Nutrition. Her specialty is how food relates to mood blending her background in Science and Psychology with Nutrition and Yogic Philosophy.
“ My intention is to share a healthy lifestyle with my students, clients and friends which encompasses every level of our physical, mental and spiritual body where we can find a place of ease, awareness, joy and balance. For me, wellness is about learning to work compassionately and with awareness”.