About Me

If you know me from classes across South London, hello again. If you don't, I'm Melissa, a STOTT® certified Pilates instructor and this is a little bit about how I got here.

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I spent years working in live music events. Marketing, organising, building experiences, late nights and 17-hour days. I loved it, until I didn't. Covid brought everything to a full stop and for the first time in a long time, without all the noise and the pace, I had to sit with myself and actually ask what I wanted from life rather than just running through it.

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The answer, unexpectedly, was Pilates.

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I'll be honest, I started my instructor training for selfish reasons. I wanted to understand the method better so I could improve my own practice. I wasn't an ex-dancer, I hadn't found it through injury, I just genuinely loved it. It was the only form of movement where I'd found complete focus. The mindfulness aspect was ever present, there wasn't space to think about the email I forgot to send or what I wanted for dinner, just my breath and how my body was moving. I wanted to go deeper into that. What I didn't see coming was how much I'd love the teaching.

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I've been teaching full time since 2024. I completed my initial Mat and Reformer training with Studio Pilates Australia before going on to train with STOTT® PILATES (a globally recognised leader in Pilates education) where I hold my Reformer certificate and have completed my comprehensive training across all equipment — Mat, Cadillac, Chair and Barrels.

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Seeing people progress, physically, mentally and in confidence is why I do this.

 

I'll never forget the time during my first few months of teaching when an older client expressed how empowered the class made her feel, being able to take part in a group reformer class was something she didn't feel like she could do. Someone was definitely cutting onions in the studio that day. 

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