MEET OUR TEAM

Group mat Pilates class using Pilates rings for upper body strength exercises.

ASHLEY JONES

OWNER + PILATES INSTRUCTOR

Ashley Jones, founder of Ascension Pilates & Wellness, is a certified Pilates instructor and energy healer, with over five years of experience in the health and wellness industry. Originally from Los Angeles, CA, she relocated to Citrus County in January 2024 with a vision to bring holistic, heart-centered healing to her new community. Her work is rooted in intention, whether through mindful mat Pilates, or Reiki infused sound baths, she leads with the belief that true wellness begins from within.


Ashley is deeply passionate about guiding others toward their best selves through a mindful approach to movement and healthy living. Her classes are more than fitness, they are an invitation to heal, grow, and discover your inner power.


Ashley’s mission is to inspire women to move through life with purpose, strength, and self-compassion. At Ascension Pilates & Wellness, she is building a community where women lift one another up, share in their healing journeys, and remember just how capable they truly are.

Group mat Pilates class using Pilates rings for upper body strength exercises.

MISSY SMITH

CPT + CORE SPECIALIST

Missy Smith is a certified personal trainer and RRCA Level 1 run coach with over 11 years of experience in the fitness and running space. A dedicated athlete herself, she has completed dozens of marathons, ultra-marathons, and trail races, bringing both expertise and lived experience to her teaching. After taking time away from personal training to welcome her three children (2016, 2018, and 2020), Missy returned to the wellness world with a renewed passion and purpose... this time with a focus on helping women feel strong, confident, and informed about their bodies.


Her personal journey through postpartum recovery, including her experience with prolapse, led her to dive deep into core and pelvic floor health. What began as hours of self-study and healing became a lifelong mission: to guide other women through safe, effective, and empowering core training. Now ACE-certified once again and pursuing a postnatal specialist certification, Missy is committed to making conversations around pelvic floor health and postpartum recovery both approachable and empowering.

Group mat Pilates class using Pilates rings for upper body strength exercises.

AMBER LANIER

YOGA INSTRUCTOR

As a wife and mother of two, Amber’s journey began with a search for holistic healing tools to help her feel more grounded and whole. Along the way, she discovered the profound impact the mind and nervous system have on how we experience life and how practices such as movement, breathwork, and meditation can create powerful shifts in energy. Over the past 10 years, these practices have transformed her from feeling lost, broken and fragmented to feeling whole, confident, and peaceful.


It is through this lived experience that Amber finds her passion for teaching and holding sacred space for others to experience the same transformation. In her classes, she bridges Eastern and Western modalities to help students cultivate awareness of the mind-body connection. She guides with humility, inviting students to quiet the mental noise, tune into their bodies, and connect with their hearts—creating lasting change that extends far beyond the mat, and apply to every area of life.


Amber’s intention is to share the medicine of yoga while remaining a lifelong student herself. She embodies the belief that the love and light within her honors the love and light within each of her students.

ARE YOU INTERESTED IN OPPORTUNITIES TO TEACH AT ASCENSION PILATES & WELLNESS

We’re always looking to connect with passionate female instructors who share our heart for movement, community, and growth.


If you feel aligned with our mission, and want to learn about opportunities to work with us click the link below.