If someone had told me six years ago that I would become a Pilates instructor, I would have first asked what Pilates was, and then… laughed. Mostly bedridden, with an excruciatingly sore back, severe sciatica, and two spinal cysts that caused my entire right leg to freeze with pain, making me unable to move it for hours, I definitely didn’t feel capable of helping anyone else. I didn’t even know how to help myself.

Unable to work, I was in so much pain, I would drag myself out of bed to go to a gym that specialised in back pain, push myself through the exercises and then drive
home and collapse from the pain. Throughout the years, I felt like I had tried everything: physios, osteopaths, and massage … yet I was still in immense pain.

So much so that it would take me 20 minutes to get my socks and shoes on and get my bag and jacket to go out!
So I had surgery to remove the two spinal cysts that were squishing the nerves in my spinal column.
After healing from surgery, I was still in immense pain. The surgeon said, “Well, it’s not your back, that’s looking fine!”

My sister looked at me and said, “Dell, you’re still not right, you need to do something, go to Pilates!” I was like “what even is that?”.
Feeling like I’d done everything, and nothing was working, I reluctantly booked in for a private Pilates session.

Well, the rest is history. I am now pain-free, active, and strong and for someone who thought I was going to live the rest of my life in pain, I now still feel a sigh of relief when
I realise I am pain-free. It still needs maintenance. I start to feel the pain coming back when I lapse in my Pilates sessions for a month or so, but honestly, for a small maintenance schedule, life without pain is so worth it. Plus, Pilates is so much fun that “move it or lose it” now seems like a pleasure even to be able to move.

Having lived my whole life not really into sports, I’m now realising how good it feels to move.

In my previous life, I was an actor, enjoying the community of dance parties in a paddock with fairy lights, and I worked in and made films and television.
I rather enjoy a laugh and helping people feel at ease.

I am fully STOTT trained, hold a diploma in Clinical Pilates, and apply scientific principles and training to my classes. I am also on the Committe for the national Osteoarthritis Summit, the national and international committee for changing the Osteoarthritis narrative, and involved in other research projects. As a science nerd, I ensure that people get as much benefit as possible from attending my classes.