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Lianne Rolls
My name is Lianne, I would like to share a little bit about myself and my journey into Pilates. It did not start like the majority of Pilates teachers from a background of dance, although I am always the first and the last on the dancefloor at any party, it actually started behind the wheel of a London Black Taxi.
I loved being a London cabbie, not your typical one I might add, but I just never felt that I was making a real impact on anyone's life. When my back started to feel the pressure of the 10-hour shifts, I decided to take a few private 1-1 Pilates sessions three times a week and within a few weeks my pain was gone. I wanted to share this with everyone, I knew that movement was the key but Pilates helped me understand how to move correctly. I was and always have been an avid enthusiast of movement, I lived in Thailand in my 30's where I qualified as a Hatha Yoga teacher I taught in hotels, my home, and even my daughter's school. I loved the real connection and impact that teaching Yoga gave me. I was aware of Pilates at the time but the qualification was just out of my reach as it required a commitment of 450 hours, over two years of training, and 100 hours of apprentice teaching, it was just not possible at that point in my life. It was a long time between then and now my life just got in the way but I found my way back to Pilates in my late 40s and boy was my body glad I did.
In 2020 like many people during and after the Covid Pandemic their lives changed, I had already started my Pilates training in London before Covid. I planned to split my working week between the two things I loved, London Cabbie and Pilates. I was 6 months into a two-year course and then lockdown happened. There was no work driving the cab but I was lucky enough to be given a job working for the NHS alongside the ambulance service delivering oxymeters and medication to isolating patients, it was a really scary time for me. It was the first 8 weeks of lockdown and it was so new no one knew what we were dealing with, I worked in the cab in full PPE and I was the first point of contact for some distressed people. It was whilst working for the NHS that I decided that I wanted to do more within my career to help people, if it was just helping people learn how to move again with ease and live pain-free then I was up for it. So I decided to make the bold move to leave England after the first lockdown in July 2020 and head to Spain, where the Pilates studios were still open. I thought it was only going to be until the studios reopened in the UK but the Pandemic and a new life path had a different plan for me.
Spain was a bright new beginning, I established a small studio with some wonderful clients that let me use their bodies for my 100 hours of apprentice teaching, and I am so thankful for their trust in me. I was and still am under the tutorage of the most amazing Pilates mentor in Beatriz of 9Lineas Murcia with her guidance and encouragement I finally achieved my success in passing my Polestar Pilates Comprehensive exam In June 2022. A long way from my 30s in Thailand but I do believe that if you are truly passionate about something you will find a way to make it happen. And so after 15 months of planning Pilates Ikigai was born, it is my happy place I hope that it can be yours too.
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