My Journey With Pain & Movement

There was a time when I thought movement was just a way to achieve a certain size or weight goal. I believed it meant dragging myself to the gym, pushing through intense workouts with male trainers shouting in my face. I was in pain, and I hated it. Exercise felt like punishment, not a path to feeling strong.

For years, I worked long hours in hospitality — lifting heavy boxes, crates, and tables — pushing my body to its limits, thinking I was invincible. Of course, I didn’t know how to listen to my body. Back pain and knee pain started to creep in. I thought I could power through it. But the more I ignored the discomfort, the worse it got.

Here’s the funny thing: I was practising yoga four times a week, but my core was weak, and my ego was in the way. I was pushing myself in yoga as much as I had in every other part of my life, not realising I was doing more harm than good.

It wasn’t until my first yoga teacher training that I started to understand how the body really works. Anatomy became my new obsession. The training left me feeling like there was so much more I could learn and do to heal my body. So, I decided to train as a Pilates teacher as well. That’s when things really started to change. I deepened my understanding of how the body moves, and I began to feel more balanced and at ease. The pain that had once seemed constant started to fade.

I realised I had been working against my body all those years, and it wasn’t until I learned to truly support it — with the right kind of strength and alignment — that things began to shift. The more I learned about anatomy, the more in awe I became of the body — how extraordinary it is. I started to wonder, why do we push it so much? Why do we try to constantly mould it and change it to fit into a pair of jeans or a dress?

Here I was, more aware. Movement was no longer about pushing myself past my limits or achieving a specific look. It became about feeling good in my skin, about waking up without pain, and living my life with more freedom and joy.

When I stopped thinking about movement in terms of calories burned or muscles toned and started thinking about how it felt to be in my body, that’s when everything shifted. I learned to accept my body, not as something to be fixed or perfected, but as something to be celebrated and nurtured. I started to see not just what my body looked like, but what it could do.

Now, years later, and after completing 10 more training courses, I’m helping other women see this — how reconnecting with their bodies and finding movement that feels good can help them heal. Not just the body, but the mind, too. If you’re feeling stuck or in pain, know there’s a way out. Start small, be kind to yourself, and explore movement that serves you. Trust me, your body is capable of amazing things, and you deserve to feel at home in it, just as you are!