Accredited Exercise Physiologist MESSA SESNZ
STOTT PILATES® Certified Instructor
BSc Kin, University of Alberta, Canada
I have a passion for helping people get moving, especially people that are experiencing pain, dealing with a chronic illness, or experiencing an issue in their body that stops them from doing all the things they want to do. Watching my clients reach their goals of getting back on the golf course, “forgetting” to take their crutches or pain medication, or finally running that marathon is what gets me out of bed in the morning!
Originally from Canada, I travelled to Perth in 2007 to complete my BSc in Human Movement, and my career as an Exercise Physiologist began in early 2008. I was lucky enough to work directly with some of the city’s top orthopaedic surgeons, rehabilitating patients before and after a range of surgeries including joint replacements, tumour removals and tendon repairs.
Initially I used gym-based exercise and hydrotherapy to rehabilitate my clients, but was always experimenting with different movement modalities and learning everything I could about working with the human body. Discovering Pilates was one of the biggest breakthroughs with my own body as well as the people I was working with.
My chronic headaches and neck issues from a whiplash injury were gone, and I was amazed at the progress my clients were making. I started work at one of Perth’s biggest Pilates and Physiotherapy companies in 2010 to immerse myself in Pilates training, and studied with teachers in Perth, Melbourne, Oregon and Vancouver who brought different specialities of knowledge to their rehab work.
This opened up my insight and experience working with a wide variety of clientele from small children to a range of athletes; cyclists, footballers and netballers. In 2012 I became a Certified STOTT PILATES Instructor, working in the studio with private sessions and small groups, as well as teaching mat and Reformer group sessions.
After the birth of my son in 2013 I started a mobile Exercise Physiology business in Perth, WA as a way to keep practicing my passion while balancing my home life and caring for a little human. Seeing the lack of information and care about exercise and rehabilitation during pregnancy and the postpartum period, I began further study into women’s health and created an online program for new mums navigating their way back to exercise.
The business in Australia developed, and I spent the next few years teaching Professional Development for exercise professionals across Australia in the areas of Women’s Health and Pilates. But the pull of family became strong as our boys got older, and we made the move to New Zealand at the end of 2019. Starting out of a tiny room at the Rowing Club in Oamaru in January 2020, I was unsure if my business had a future in a small town in the South Island where our profession had little recognition and funding.
It turns out Oamaru was the right place at the right time for our family and my small business, by mid-year I was looking for my own space to create the dream business. The space on Harbour St was beyond my wildest dreams of the ultimate movement studio to bring together everything I’ve learned over the years, and the most amazing team walked into my life at the right time to create the collaborative health centre that was always on my mind.
Get in touch at any time if you have questions, comments or feedback as Movement Hub is a dynamic space that will be constantly evolving for the health and wellbeing of our wonderful little town!
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