My career has been pretty varied: teaching maths in secondary schools, being a class teacher in a middle school, teaching English as a Foreign Language to adults and supporting parents who home educate. There's a common theme there though: a passion for the dissemination of knowledge and skills, which continues to be expressed now through my fitness and yoga instruction.

 

I took up running eighteen years ago and quickly discovered it was a fabulous way of keeping fit and controlling my weight. I always feel so much better - physically and psychologically - after a run. Like many other fitness enthusiasts, I believe regular exercise can contribute enormously to a positive self image and awareness of personal power.

About a year after I started running, I took up yoga. Yoga practice complemented my running beautifully: it balanced my physical strength and flexibility and enhanced my mental poise; it helped me learn how to be peacefully present, how to be guided by my emotions, rather than overwhelmed by them and how to relax. But more than all this, yoga, with its intriguing ancient wisdom based on the existence of an energy body that is fuelled by prana, or life force, the health of which is intricately connected with our physical health … just made sense.

… So I trained to teach it. My training involved a year-long Foundation Course with the British Wheel of Yoga followed by a two-year teacher training course with Friends of Yoga. I've found myself teaching adults and children in a wide range of settings, from story-telling yoga within theatre workshops and chilled yoga for sixteen year old schoolgirls to one-on-one remedial yoga for sufferers of back pain and power yoga for fitness …and I find myself loving it more and more!

To further my understanding of the physical body, I went on to undertake the internationally recognised OCR Certificate in Teaching Exercise and Fitness (levels 2 and 3) and the CYQ Personal Trainer Award. These courses helped me to really develop my understanding of human anatomy, physiology, health and fitness, subjects I find fascinating. Through my Personal Training work, I now get huge satisfaction from helping individuals work towards achieving the goals they want in terms of fitness and healthy living. 

I live in Chichester, West Sussex, with my two daughters (16 and 18). Aside from running, yoga and horseriding , I enjoy reading, writing, gardening, playing flute and piano, cycling and long walks in the countryside. My qualifications include:

• Future Fit Training's GP and Exercise Referral Certificate
• CYQ Personal Trainer Award
• Oxford & Cambridge RSA Teaching Exercise & Fitness
• Friends of Yoga (FRYOG) Diploma in Yoga Teaching
• British Wheel of Yoga (BWY) Foundation Certificate in Yoga
• RSA Cert in Counselling Skills for the Development of Learning
• BSc (Hons) Mathematical Sciences
• Post Graduate Certificate in Education