Life is an ongoing journey, never give up
I always felt too much, too loud, too happy that from a young age I modelled my behaviour, and how I dressed with the people around me.
I was constantly shrinking to fit in, keeping quiet and not speaking up for what I wanted or needed.
Over the years I went from being a people pleaser to being unfiltered, from going out of my way to fit in to being me to finding my own voice, standing up and speaking out.
Through my lived experiences I am passionate about helping women see their own strength. To finally recognizing that they are strong, resilient, worthy and enough. It’s ok to have your own voice and speak up for what you want.
Let me take you back to where my story began.
I’ve always been very active, always moving and bouncing around, dancing in particular was a form of movement that always brought me joy. I started dance classes when I was 8 years old and in my early 20s, I decided to go to dance college to train professionally and make a career out of it.
I wanted to follow my passions instead of following the usual, expected path of going to university and getting a degree. This was the first time I found myself breaking away from the supposed ‘rules’ of society.
During my time at college, even though I was doing what I loved, I struggled with learning new dance routines and picking things up quickly, I was very hard on myself. Some of my teachers even told me I was going to fail and made me feel as if I wasn’t good enough.
I could have easily given up, and believe me I wanted to, but I’m pretty stubborn so I tapped into my inner strength and I worked harder than ever. I became my biggest cheerleader!
This period of my life really shaped the way I show up for others. Because I’ve witnessed first-hand people not believing in me, you will always find me as your biggest cheerleader, empowering you to stick to your goals and make lasting changes because I know how powerful this level of support truly is.
During this time I ended up with a knee injury, my knees had always caused me a few problems when I was dancing or taking part in sports but when I started training full-time the hours of classes each day were too much. While rehabbing from the injury, I discovered Pilates.
It was then that I first saw the value of Pilates.
I began to better understand the importance of foundational strength and fitness training in order to feel strong and confident in our bodies. It became clear to me that no matter your body type or goals this foundational work was essential. This was a pivotal transition for me and led me to my teaching career years later.
As someone who has always followed her passions, I began to explore this new option for movement and how I could potentially build a career out of it.
I did end up graduating from college, but I didn’t follow a career in performing, I decided it wasn’t for me.
I quickly realised at college that I suffered from performance anxiety, I used to put so much pressure on myself to not let everyone else down, I know this was also connected to people pleasing, something I spent most of my life doing, that desperate need to fit in and belong. It took me years to let go of the need to get a degree, to fit in and be like everyone else.
My time at college was also when my body image confidence started to be chipped away.
There was a heavy focus on what we looked like and how we presented ourselves, we were expected to wear makeup in classes and always look our best. Even though I was pretty comfortable in my appearance, looking back now I can see this was when a seed was planted that it was more important to look good than feel good.
The root of my mission for the work I do today is focused on how we feel over how we look and empowering women that no matter what they have been told before by others or society they are more than a body and they are enough just as they are.
This period of my life led me to the beginning of my teaching career. After teaching dance for a few years I decided to retrain in fitness, gaining qualifications in personal training and Pilates. I then taught fitness and Pilates alongside dance.
After several years teaching at the same school I took over the running of it and took my first steps into running my own business.
Starting something new
In 2016, I started saying yes to new opportunities to bring more fun into my life. When a friend asked me to try Swing dancing with her I thought it would be fun to try and it would be a great way to meet new people. I guess I was also looking for a way to be active outside of my work, a new challenge, a fun way to move my body.
When I first started I was a beginner again. Although I trained in dance for so many years, this was totally new to me, a new style, I was dancing with a partner which meant working with another person and having less control over what I was doing.
I found it really frustrating learning new skills, which brought back memories and behaviours from college. I started to put so much pressure on myself to get things right, but quickly learned that it’s ok to suck at new things! Over time, and with consistent practice, I gained confidence and improved my fitness while having an awful lot of fun!
Joining a new community brought many wonderful experiences and people into my life, including my partner. I started teaching and performing, I travelled for events, and it was at the centre of my social life.
I started focusing on having fun with my movements and lifestyle and began to strip away the need to be perfect or master it quickly.
Having fun and building confidence as you take on new challenges and learn to do new things is such a core value for my business today and is a big focus when I'm teaching or working with clients now.
I realised how joyful it was to be able to still move my body and fit in fitness, it’s really about fitting movement into your life and that looks different for everyone.
Never be afraid to change paths
In 2018 I made the decision to close my dance school and change paths to focus more on my Swing dancing, Pilates and personal training.
I walked away from the business, knowing my heart wasn’t in it anymore.
Even though it was a difficult decision, I allowed myself to change paths so I could grow and evolve. By closing one door others opened and I was able to focus my energy on my other passions.
In March 2020 like most of the fitness industry, I had to scramble to take my business online.
I’d used Zoom before so I contacted all my clients and we began online classes and personal training. I loved the freedom and flexibility so I stayed online and began working on growing this new business model.
I again trusted my gut and intuition and followed my heart when I took the decision to walk away from most of my
in-person teaching and focused my energy on practically building my business from scratch.
In 2021, I went back to studying and elevated my expertise by gaining a diploma in clinical Pilates, it was a year-long, very in-depth course.
I updated and enhanced my knowledge of working with pain, injuries and rehab, we covered the importance of strength and cardiovascular fitness and how to take a holistic view of our well-being by looking at all the other factors that can affect us like stress, sleep and regular activity.
During my time studying we looked at the latest research and guidelines from around the world and I saw just how important regular movement and strength training is, for everyone, myself included.
This really ignited my passion for adding fitness and strength training into my Pilates work. I am now passionate about teaching foundational strength and movement and helping people build habits to fit in around their busy lives.
During my year of studying, I also met many wonderful people and joined a community of people around the world who had the same passions as me, this community has continued to provide support and friendships. Again showing just how important a supportive community can be to our lives, helping us to achieve our goals and stay motivated.
Take up space
I’ve grown as a person so much during the last few years, that I began to discover the true mission behind the work I do.
I started learning about body neutrality and body image resilience, so I could provide these resources to my clients.
The pause that the pandemic offered allowed me to realise what was really important in my life, the people and the activities I enjoyed.
I realised how much energy I had spent on how I looked and what others thought of me. I learned that none of this was my fault. It's the way we as women especially, are conditioned from a young age.
We learn to fit in and shrink ourselves literally and figuratively.
I love to teach women fitness, because I know the power movement can have on someone's confidence, strength and resilience.
I incorporate my background and my experience in dance and movement and fitness and Pilates to help you not only build physical strength and fitness but also build internal strength, resilience and confidence in yourself and what you are truly capable of achieving.
I know with support and a community of people who have the same desire to make changes and do things their way, in a way that works for them it will be a lot easier.
Today I support women via online virtual personal training, fit health and fitness into their busy and unstructured schedules and effectively establish quick sustainable habits they can stick to so that they feel strong and confident in their own skin.
I can’t wait for the opportunity to get to work with you!
Grab it TODAY
Learn how to build sustainable movement habits and fit fitness into your already busy schedule.
With this tracker and bonus training video series you will be able to:
Track your progress: By tracking your daily movement, you can build awareness around your habits and see your progress over time.
Identify patterns: The fitness habit tracker can help you identify patterns in your movement habits and make adjustments as needed to create sustainable habits that fit your busy lifestyle.
Fit fitness into your schedule: With prompts for quick and effective movements and my top tips to help you fit fitness into your busy day, even when time is limited.
Printable or digital: The fitness habit tracker can be printed and used as a physical tracker or used digitally on your phone or tablet for easy access and tracking on the go.