KAREN INGRAM

𝐖𝐡𝐲 𝐝𝐢𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐏𝐢𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐬 𝐜𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐬?
In my early 20’s I had surgery on my lower back. Five years later my back problems came back tenfold. I was put on the list for a second back operation, which I desperately wanted to avoid. I started to explore other ways to get my health back. I tried everything from mainstream treatments like physio to eliminating foods like cheese! Eventually I came across Pilates and my road to recovery began. Relatively quickly I became pain free and in time the neurosurgeon I was under said I no longer needed surgery. I wanted to learn more about Pilates and to help other people suffering with lower back pain so I went on to train to become a Pilates Instructor. Today I can windsurf, ski, run… really anything I like as long as I keep regular Pilates practice as part of my life.

𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐩𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐚 𝐂𝐞𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐟𝐢𝐞𝐝 𝐏𝐞𝐚𝐤 𝐏𝐢𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐬® 𝐈𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐜𝐭𝐨𝐫 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐚 𝐏𝐞𝐚𝐤 𝐏𝐢𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐬 𝐌𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐈𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐜𝐭𝐨𝐫?
I was attending a Pilates development weekend in London run by Body Control Pilates and attended a workshop being run by Zoey Trap. The workshop was one of the most inspiring Pilates presentation I had ever been to. I stayed behind to chat with Zoey and asked her how I could learn more about Peak Pilates® approach to teaching and classical Pilates. She suggested I went off to Belgium to do my Peak Pilates Certification Level I, so I did. I loved it! I have always loved teaching and training people to teach, so when I had the opportunity to apply to become a Peak Pilates MI I jumped at the chance.

𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐝𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐏𝐢𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐬 𝐜𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐬? I love to see the change in people’s bodies, to be able to make people smile and loose themselves and their daily stresses in that one hour of Pilates. The most rewarding moments are when someone tells you they no longer have back pain or that they went fishing for the first time in 3 years and it didn’t hurt. One of my clients turned up to the studio last summer in a convertible classic Morgan sports car. He had a massive grin on his face. He told me he hadn’t been able to get in or out of his car for 3 years because of back pain, and that now having done Pilates he was back behind the wheel! Not many jobs give that kind of satisfaction.

𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐚𝐝𝐯𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐠𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚 𝐂𝐞𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐟𝐢𝐞𝐝 𝐏𝐞𝐚𝐤 𝐏𝐢𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐬 𝐈𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐜𝐭𝐨𝐫?
Teaching Pilates can be really rewarding. The Peak Pilates courses are a great way to develop your teaching skills and deepen your knowledge of Pilates. The more you put into the course the more you will get out of it. Enjoy the time spent practicing your own technique, and practising and observing teaching. Never hesitate to ask questions.