I’ve always done fitness, and love to move. 

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In my prime I was physically fit. Then things changed. I completed the Three Peak Challenge (pictured above) and injured my right hip joint. I went through a divorce and my work became very busy. I had to stop doing all the fitness activities I loved because of all my commitments. Gradually, I became less fit, muscles wasted and complications started to surface in relation to my hip joint.

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My hip and back started to totally lock up, which was extremely painful. I felt like the Tin Man from The Wizard of Oz. I went to the GP, then specialists, I had all the tests and injections… but nothing reached the root of the problem. I needed a long term solution that didn’t involve drugs, or oil. 

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But at the same time as desperately wanting my pain to go away, I was suffering from depression. There were things that I hadn’t been dealing with.  Buried deep down.  I was carrying them around with me like a heavy black bin liner of emotional garbage.  

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I turned to a local Pilates class. My hip & back began to unlock and I could finally sleep again.  What a relief!

But there was something else I wasn’t expecting. It was how Pilates helped me mentally. For the first time, I stopped feeling like as if some big bloke had his heavy boot on my chest.  I could breathe. I wasn’t worrying about stuff during the class.  I had a sense of freedom and lightness.  I was so busy focusing on every movement, that I had no space in my head for anything else.

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I went back for my second class, and felt even better. And I kept going. And now, years later, I’m still doing it.

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And my current story? I am fulfilling a childhood dream which is to experience living abroad. I set up my original business in Dulwich, originally called Sophie's Pilates but now known as Pilatestar, which I continue to manage remotely, ensuring all my clients continue to enjoy their sessions and maintain their community. Whilst I experience Pego, Spain. I’m spending the year refurbishing an apartment, but also building my online business, so I can reach even more people like you!