Lucia Poulter
Co-founder and lead instructor
There are few Pilates instructors anywhere with the experience, qualifications, and breadth of knowledge that Lucia brings. Trained across four continents over 26 years, she is one of a small number of instructors in the UK to hold Comprehensive BASI certification, the most rigorous standard in the profession.
In that time she has worked with professional dancers, elite athletes, golfers, rugby players, and hundreds of other clients simply trying to move better and feel more like themselves.
Lucia co-founded Luma in September 2025 with Max, bringing that depth of experience to a studio built around a single conviction: that exceptional teaching, in small classes, produces results that nothing else can match.
Unmatched experience · Invested in your progress
From Cape Town
to Edinburgh
Lucia's path into Pilates began with a curiosity that became a calling. She started her training in Bermuda and North Carolina before returning to South Africa to complete her Comprehensive BASI certification. In Cape Town, she deepened her practice further, certifying as an Ashtanga yoga teacher and collaborating with Body Technology, before opening her first studio, Re:form.
From South Africa she took the work further afield, teaching in Thailand, Indonesia, and across the UK. She worked with a wide range of clients during this period: professional dancers, competitive athletes, golfers, rugby players, and people at every stage of life navigating injury, recovery, and the ordinary demands of staying well in a body that is always changing.
The body, given the right practice, is capable of more than most people expect.
Alongside her teaching, Lucia completed a BSc in Psychology at the University of Buckingham, graduating in 2021, followed by a Diploma in Clinical Hypnotherapy. She is registered with the General Hypnotherapy Register and the Complementary and Natural Healthcare Council. It is a combination that sits naturally alongside 26 years of movement practice: an understanding of how the body works, deepened by a formal grounding in how the mind does too.
Five years ago, Edinburgh became home. Before co-founding Luma, Lucia taught at Balanced Physiotherapy and Pilates, building a community of clients who valued the precision and depth she brought to every session. In September 2025, she and Max opened Luma: a studio designed from the ground up around the quality of the practice.
In July 2025, Lucia had a total hip replacement. Her recovery exceeded her consultant's expectations. She was back on the Reformer within weeks and teaching not long after. The experience reinforced what 26 years of teaching had already shown her: the body, given the right practice and the right conditions, is capable of more than most people expect.
Her Approach
Experience and training
Comprehensive BASI (Body Arts and Science International) certification
Internationally certified Ashtanga yoga teacher
26 years of teaching experience in Reformer Pilates
BSc in Psychology and DipCBH GHR & CNHC Reg
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Teaching philosophy
Lucia's teaching is built on a conviction that precision matters more than volume. And that the quality of attention brought to each movement is what separates a practice from one that simply passes the time, to one that transforms the body.
Her teaching is direct, anatomically grounded, and unhurried. She believes the foundations are where the practice lives, and that everything else follows from getting them right.
Private sessions with Lucia
A lifetime of experience,
just for you
When you book a private session with Lucia, you get something that group classes cannot offer: 50 minutes of her complete attention, built entirely around your body, your history, and your goals. With 26 years of teaching experience and Comprehensive BASI certification, she brings a depth of anatomical knowledge and movement analysis that is rare in any studio.
Lucia on Pilates
Lucia has written the majority of the guides on the Luma blog. Her writing applies the same standard to explanation that she applies to teaching: precise, accessible, and built around what people actually need to know.
She writes the way she teaches: without unnecessary jargon, without filler, and with a clear view of what actually makes a difference.
If you have a question about Pilates, there’s a good chance she has already answered it.
Questions about Lucia
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26 years. She began her training in Bermuda and North Carolina, completed her Comprehensive BASI certification in South Africa, and has taught across four continents since.
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Lucia holds Comprehensive BASI certification, one of the most rigorous Pilates teacher training programmes in the world, and is an internationally certified Ashtanga yoga teacher. She also holds a BSc in Psychology as well as DipCBH GHR & CNHC Reg.
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Lucia teaches Reformer Pilates across all levels at Luma acorss the week. View the schedule to see when she’s available.
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Yes. Private 1:1 sessions with Lucia are £90 for 50 minutes. Private 1:2 sessions are £135. View all pricing or get in touch to book.
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Yes. Lucia has extensive experience working with clients through injury rehabilitation and post-surgical recovery, including her own recovery from a hip replacement in 2025. If you have a specific condition or history, get in touch before booking so she can advise on the right starting point.