“Three great passions have shaped my 25-year career so far. I have integrated them to create a holistic approach to our health and wellbeing.”
“I feel blessed that the path I’ve chosen has always been so apparent to me, a natural evolution that started when I was young. I was the sporty child who always had a love of movement. This evolved into a fascination with the body and its workings, and the nuances of being a human being. Three great passions have shaped my 25-year career; overlapping and complementing each other, they have culminated in my integral, holistic approach to health and wellbeing.”
Outside of work I’m often found outdoors – nature is my reset button. In equal measure, I like the beach – surfing or simply watching the waves – and green, open spaces for walking, ideally with canine company. Webster, my now-departed border terrier, and I covered many miles across England and beyond.
Travel is a big part of who I am, and favourite spaces on the planet include Perth in Australia and Monterey Bay in California. Both will forever hold a piece of my heart.
#1 | THE YANG
‘Yang’ is the physical. After completing a sports science degree, I launched my personal training business, then studied and began teaching Pilates. I’ve always had a deep love of studying the intricacies of the human body.
I was a marathon runner, and I loved anatomy and functional training, so my world had a very physical bias. But glandular fever forced me to slow down, drastically curtailing my training and prompting me to re-evaluate the intensity at which I was living. I learnt through experience the necessity of nurturing equally all aspects of our health, not just the physical.
#2 | YIN YOGA
This discovery changed me as a person and as a teacher. It was my gateway to meditation, breathwork and holistic practices. I’m fortunate to have studied with many gifted, generous teachers, but studying yin yoga with Paul and Suzee Grilley taught me not only to see and read the body afresh, but to shift from constantly striving and doing to appreciate simply being. I discovered how to soothe the worrier within by surrendering to the body’s innate wisdom.
Through yin yoga I came to understand the value of slowing down and turning inwards, rather than striving outwardly. I learned the hard way about the need for balance – that the yin must complement the yang. Today, holistic practices are fundamental to who I am.
#3 | FLOWER ESSENCES
Plant medicine and energy healing release the emotional blocks that can keep us in a state of imbalance and perpetuate physical illness. My work with flower essences and flower remedies has underpinned every step of my own self-development and self-discovery, a process that continues today.
We need a strong and healthy body; we also need mental stability and fluidity; and we benefit energetically from addressing our emotional imbalances.
The practices that I combine allow us to access these. Life lessons and personal experience have led me to trust these practices – reconnect you with who you are.
“Self-care is never a selfish act – it is simply good stewardship of the only gift I have, the gift I was put on earth to offer others. Anytime we can listen to true self and give the care it requires, we do it not only for ourselves, but for the many others whose lives we touch.”
Parker Palmer
I believe we truly evolve when we are doing the work and ‘embodying the lesson’. If you come to me for Pilates or personal training, it is you who will put the physical effort into becoming stronger or more flexible. If we work together with flower essences or meditation, the potency of the practice or the essence will facilitate an evolution within you, but ultimately it is you who will do the work that’s required to evolve.
If you crave space, peace and stillness, come to a yin practice with me. I facilitate the experience, but recognise that you must give yourself permission to put down your load for that precious 60 or 75 minutes so that these gifts become yours. No one can do this work for us, but the journey is so much easier and more fun when we have teachers, mentors, cheerleaders, support, guidance and knowledge in which to place our trust.
My passion is being all these things for you. ‘Holding space’ in which you can allow yourself to feel, and educating and sharing my knowledge through creatively structured classes, allow you to sense intention at every level of your being. Communicating my love of anatomy through my teaching develops your awareness of the structure of your body, enhancing your innate connection, your experience, and your results.
The practices that I value, as well as the teachings that resonate deeply with me, I have embodied and come to trust. I know both as a student and as a teacher that these practices work. We value different modalities at different times of our lives. My ambition is to share with you those that will add value to your present and for which you’ll be thankful in your future.
PILATES TRAINING
2003 : Modern Pilates Certification (Northern Fitness & Education)
2008/2009 : Stott Pilates Certified Matwork Repertoire Level 1 & 2 [Beginner & Advanced]
2009 : Ante/Postnatal Pilates (Australian Physiotherapy & Pilates Institute)
2013-2018 : Pilates for special populations: runners, cyclists, scoliosis – using small equipment (Australian Physiotherapy & Pilates Institute)
2021 Menopause Pilates
Menopause Awareness for Pilates Teachers.
YOGA TEACHER TRAINING
2014 : Vinyasa Teacher Training – 200 hrs (Divine Play Yoga, London)
2015-2019 : Yin Yoga Teacher Training and Chakra Meditation – 350 hrs
(Paul & Suzee Grilley, CA, USA)
2017 : Yin Yoga Teacher Training, Chinese Medicine, Meridian Nidra and Hip Anatomy – 65 hrs (Jo Phee, Utrech, Amsterdam)
2019 : Yin Yoga & Advanced Anatomy: acupuncture, embryology, fascia research – 32 hrs (Jo Phee, Berlin)
2020 : The Subtle Practices: Mudra, Meditation and Breathwork – 50 hrs
2021 : Devī tantric practices course – 50 hrs
2022 : The Embryo in us – Embryological development physiologically and energetically (Jaap Van der Wal)
FLOWER ESSENCES PRACTITIONER
2012 –ongoing: Australian Bush Flower Essences practitioner courses:
Australian Bush Flower Essences level 1 & 2.
Specific populations: women’s health and bush flower essences; animals and bush flower essences; mental and emotional health and flower essences; ageing gracefully with flower essences; numerology.
PROFESSIONAL BODY & MEMBERSHIPS
CIMSPA The Chartered Institute for the Management of Sport and Physical Activity
ABFE Australian Bush Flower Essence Practitioner
