I came to Pilates the way a lot of people do - sideways. I was teaching high-impact fitness classes and playing a lot of golf, and I needed something that would help my body keep up with both. Pilates did that, and then some. My posture improved, my movement felt easier, and I noticed a kind of calm settling in that I hadn't expected. It wasn't dramatic. It just worked.
What struck me was how quickly it carried over into everyday life - and into my golf. That connection between how you move in class and how you move out in the world is something I'd never really thought about before. Once I saw it, I couldn't unsee it.
I wanted to understand it properly, so I trained as an instructor - and I've been teaching ever since. I'm not interested in Pilates as a performance. I'm interested in what it does for you when you're not in class: whether that's playing golf for longer, getting through a working week with less pain, or simply feeling more like yourself.
When I'm not teaching, you're likely to find me at home with my cats, Bubbles and Winnie, experimenting in the kitchen, or working my way through my latest course. I'm always learning - it's just part of how I work.
I hold a Level 3 Mat Pilates Instructor qualification, a Level 3 Personal Trainer qualification, a Level 3 Breathwork Coach qualification, and a Level 2 Exercise to Music qualification - the last of which underpins the Fit & Strong classes I run in Potton.
I'm currently completing a Level 3 Diploma in Teaching Reformer Pilates. It's the first qualification of its kind to be nationally recognised in the UK, and that matters to me. I've learned over the years that not all training is equal, and I make a point of going to the best schools in the country when I'm adding to my practice.
There's also a diploma in culinary medicine ticking along in the background - something I'm pursuing for my own interest and understanding rather than as part of what I offer here. It's the kind of thing that quietly informs how I think about looking after yourself well.
Keeping up with good, accredited training isn't about collecting qualifications. It's about making sure that what I bring to class is genuinely useful to the people in it.
