About
Suzy Gibbons Mitchell – About me…
We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.” – Aristotle
I danced professionally after leaving Middlesex University including three years with Magpie Dance. This was my first experience of working and teaching adults and young people with learning disabilities, an environment where everything I had previously been told about what an ideal body resembled was challenged. I was already exploring the notion that an ideal body simply doesn’t exist.
Fast forward 25 years of teaching, Pilates, Fitness, Yoga, even Aqua classes for a time, and I’m still learning, still curious & still loving teaching.I always say I don’t teach movement; I teach people.
Frustrated people, stressed people, tired people. I teach people who just want to be pain free and I teach people who struggle to just breathe at times. I use any means at my disposal, Pilates, Yoga, myofascial release and I’ll even leverage time with my dogs if that motivates people to keep going.
In a world increasingly more static and immobile the effect on people’s health and mental health is alarming, chronic pain, chronic illness, extreme anxiety, the list goes on. I teach people how to feel more comfortable and stronger in their own bodies, from the smallest ways to the biggest.
Health should not be a luxury item we aspire to own one day but the focus of each and every day. I help my clients through 1-1 tuition, Pilates classes (in person & online), through my On demand library of videos.
I teach my clients to stay inspired by their bodies and not be at war with them.
Our health and our bodies are a gift not to be taken for granted, to move freely and without discomfort and pain, well that’s the aim we all need to keep working towards, the hardest part is sometimes just stepping your foot out the door, the rest is just being ready to learn, listen and all too often just to stop and breathe.
Move. Breath. Smile…repeat.
Suzy
Philosophy
“You are unique, and if that is not fulfilled, then something has been lost.” – Martha Graham.
Our bodies are designed to breathe deeply and to move with ease, sadly, we often place taking care of ourselves at the end of our daily to do list and frequently don’t get to it at all..
Our bodies and minds are magnificent examples of evolution at its best and all-too-frequently we fail to pay attention to both until the faintest cracks – sometimes major – start to appear.
I believe if we can learn to pay a little more attention daily, we can indeed make significant progress in how we move through life and therefore how our bodies and minds age. We can physically and mentally learn to not only survive but thrive as we do.
Whether it’s using Pilates, Yoga, Mindfulness or simply taking a walk, we can all adopt better daily habits. What we do today will show up tomorrow so it’s essential to learn to listen to our bodies innate wisdom and pay attention.
The extraordinary gift of daily movement practice is that the same exercise can have an entirely different effect on the body from one day to the next.
In short, the Pilates and Yoga work on multiple levels. Just as no day is ever the same, no one body I teach is the same from one day to the next.
Whilst respecting the legacy of Joseph Pilates Classical Mat sequence my classes are never the same – maybe that’s because equally, my perspective changes from one day and one client to the next.
The truth is I never thought I would be a teacher. The profession seemed to choose me. And I’m so glad it did because I’ve found it more ultimately satisfying than anything I’ve ever done in my life.
I’ve seen bodies transform, mindsets change, and lives turn around as people have gained physical strength, an ability to encourage a flexible body and attitude and an all-round healthier mindset.
I’m truly blessed to be able to bring my passions to others daily and more broadly through my retreats..
As a teacher I believe you never stop learning and I am fortunate enough to regularly train with some of the most experienced and respected teachers in the world from multiple disciplines.
Their influence, faith and love of movement and health has inspired me more than I can even begin to describe.
I am a better teacher for their generous sharing of the work, they have shown me what it is to teach, and to embrace the power of Pilates, Yoga & movement in all our lives.
Recommendations
Below are links to websites of some individuals in whom I have absolute faith. Since movement is just one part of the puzzle, I encourage you to take a look:
