Hello there and welcome to my Pilates hub. My name is Frances Crooks and here is a little snippet of my background and how I fell in love with Pilates.
I qualified as a Physiotherapist in 2011 from the University of East Anglia. Despite doing some of my training in the NHS I went straight into work as a Private Physiotherapist treating lots of musculoskeletal injuries, from back ache to knee pain, joint replacements to headaches, sports injuries to arthritis and having a special interest in acupuncture. In that first year I completed my APPI level 1 matwork course enabling me to teach basic Pilates exercises in my clinic to help mostly with my back pain patients. It wasn't for another year or so, that I was asked to cover some classes for a colleague, and so I went on to do my level 2 matwork course which enables you to teach small groups. From here a huge passion has grown and I have now been teaching Pilates for about 7 years. I have attended numerous courses and conferences, and been taught by some of the best Pilates instructors in the World. I have built up a lovely working relationship with some of the other Pilates enthusiasts in Peterborough and very much enjoy going to conferences and developing new ways to teach with other like minded instructors. I still have my eye on courses I would like to attend and Pilates qualifications I would like to achieve over the next few years so watch this space.
Over my years of teaching, I have very much specialised in helping those with injuries build up some basic levels of fitness and take huge steps in their rehabilitation journey. I am proud to say that some of those people that attended my classes 7 years ago still come today! I love being able to get creative and adapt exercises so that ALL ages, ALL abilities and ALL injuries can be accommodated in my classes.
Over the past 3 years I have had to cut back on the number of classes I teach, to fit around life as a Mummy to 2 gorgeous little people. However I have a huge desire to reach more people with my classes, and have contemplated, many times, building a website to enable people to access my classes more than once a week. So here I am, writing to you 9 weeks into the coronavirus pandemic and finally bringing my classes to you in the comfort of your own home! I really hope you enjoy them as much as I do teaching them! My promise is to keep bringing you new and exciting session plans as often as I can film them.