Our Stories
Some fabulous stories from all of the Jane Thomas Pilates family
Traudi’s Story
Pilates saved my life… Dramatic you may think? But It actually did!
Allow me to introduce myself — I’m Traudi, one of the Jane Thomas Pilates team of Coaches and I Love life!
However, rewind 2 years and sadly that was not the case. After a ski accident left me immobile in a restrictive straight leg splint for 3 weeks — I even had to sleep In the darn thing — not surprisingly I was at an all-time low in my life. Below you can see me being lifted by paramedics off the piste.
In the past if I had discomfort In my body I always turned to my Pilates repertoire for some relief. However, with this injury I needed Jane’s expertise and advice on a one-to-one basis, to literally get me back on my feet again, so I could become strong enough to return to class.
Of course Jane never fails to deliver, I went away from our Studio session with a series of exercises to strengthen my knee but, much more than this, I was given a lifeline — Pilates!
I couldn’t think of anything positive to come of my ski injury at the time — I sustained a ruptured ACL & torn MCL in my left knee — for those of you who were wondering. When my orthopaedic surgeon said to me Why would you want to ski again after this? I replied Because I want to…
His comment was like a red rag to a bull to me, and I was determined to prove him wrong…
Anyway, today I can honestly say — hand on heart — the accident changed my life for the better. Pilates has become my life: I now teach 8 regular matwork classes each week, and I love helping others to gain strength in both mind and body through their Pilates.
I’m not going to lie — my knees were knocking, but I did it! We had a fantastic week of skiing with friends and family, I felt proud of myself and stronger than ever, and the even better news Is, I didn’t need to use a knee brace to help support my knee, my muscles were all the support It needed 💪🏻 thanks to my Pilates.
Take good care in this wintery snowy weather we’re experiencing… Well done to those who braved the, ‘Beast from the East’ last week and made it to class.
See you again soon on your mats
Love Traudi 💕
Jacquie’s Story
For The Wedding
My daughter got married at the end of August and for many months of planning prior to that a fair majority of my sentences began “For the wedding...” Amongst all the lovely, exciting things we arranged there was one feature that, for me, may have tainted the day; the fact that I was in constant pain due to osteoarthritis in my knee and a long standing lower back injury which had left me in chronic pain for more than a decade. I had been through the normal routes for medical care; GP, Physiotherapist, Podiatrist, X-ray, MRI, painkillers and anti-inflammatories. Nothing has made any significant, long-lasting improvement and I found it very frustrating that no single medical professional treated my body as a whole, but only addressed isolated symptoms at any one appointment. The pain affected every aspect of my normal daily life and was so bad at times that I would be unable to carry out the most gentle of tasks, such as getting up or down the stairs at home.
So, this is where I thank my dog, Sydney, because without him I wouldn’t have been out walking one day and met, for the first time, a neighbour of mine who also happened to be out walking her dog. We got chatting (as dog walkers tend to do) and, to cut a long story a bit shorter, she mentioned that her pain and mobility had been improved greatly by taking up Pilates. Now I’ve been extremely cautious about any formal exercise that I don’t have full control over for the years I have suffered such chronic pain, but my neighbour seemed so positive about how Pilates had improved her symptoms that I couldn’t fail to be interested. It got me thinking; what if I could do something “For the Wedding...” that would mean that I could really enjoy the day without being hampered by pain, or having to sit things out because my pain wouldn’t allow me to join in? Surely, it was worth a go wasn’t it?
Contacting Jane Thomas Pilates, without a word of exaggeration, is the one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. Jane immediately recognised my description of the pain and truly understood my concerns and hesitant approach to anything that I perceived could set me back. Her knowledge of how the body works is astounding and I very quickly grew to trust her. We started off gently and gradually in one-to-one sessions and she taught me to start to trust my body and listen to what it could do given the right exercises. I call them the tools in my Pilates tool box; that I can pick out according to what my body needs on any one day. I have become stronger in body and mind; I’ve learnt to recognise what my body can do; I can see huge improvements in my quality of life and I have found a new hobby that makes me happy.
So, the wedding weekend arrived and I had become strong enough, through Pilates, to have one of the best days of my life seeing my only daughter get married and to party on into the night. I can’t thank Jane enough for helping me achieve this; she has been marvellous.
I have new goals now that Jane is helping me to reach. Although I no longer say “For the Wedding”, I’m saying “For the Operation” and I am positive enough to know that soon I will simply be able to say “For Me”.
Mary’s Story
Pilates and Me…
For those of you who haven’t met me yet in classes, I am Mary Bodle and I joined the JTP Family in April 2016.
Here is a little bit about me, my journey into Pilates and how it has changed my life for the better.
When I was much younger and before I went to University I did actually attend Jane’s Pilates Classes every week. I loved Pilates and what it did for me. However, once I went to University, I couldn’t find an Instructors’ style of teaching that suited me — soon Pilates was no longer a priority.
From University, I went on to study for my Post Graduate Certificate in Education and became a Primary School Teacher. Even though I was living back in Loughborough life got in the way and I never returned to Jane’s classes. I made the difficult decision to leave Teaching in 2013, swapping my hectic teaching life for a PA’s position in Leicester, which turned out to be just as hectic! Time flew by and before I knew it I was married and expecting Baby Bodle No.1.
Pregnancy with Baby Bodle No.1 was no fun.
I suffered with horrendous morning sickness (why they call it ‘morning sickness’ I will never know — morning, noon and night sickness would be a more appropriate name) lasting throughout the entire pregnancy.
Due to my increased BMI I also suffered with Gestational Diabetes and had to take daily aspirin as I was more at risk from Deep Vein Thrombosis and other conditions.
In November 2015 after a long, hard and at times risky birth, Ellen arrived and made us a family of three!
Then…
Something inside me clicked!
I knew that I had to change the way I lived so that I would set a good example for my daughter. She needed to have the healthy upbringing that I had had so that she would be equipped to deal with life. Pilates was the tool I used to help me achieve this!
At this point I should probably say that Keith (Jane’s not so better half) is my Dad! If you have been in my classes you will know this as I constantly confuse everyone by referring to him as ‘Dad’ — sometimes I swear when I do a taster session that the potential clients look at me and think why on earth is her Dad going to contact me?
I began teaching for Jane Thomas Pilates in April 2016 and since then have been teaching 6hrs a week. I love my Pilates time. I love the clients, my groups, the challenge and the fact that there is not a session that goes by where I don’t learn something new.
I feel privileged that I have the skills and expertise of Jane to call on allowing me to grow as a Pilates Coach. I have truly discovered the gift of Pilates.
All of a sudden, Baby Bodle No.2 was on the way!
During my pregnancy I took a number of further qualifications including my Pre/Post Natal qualification which gave me confidence to teach Pilates while pregnant, and also offer the gift of Pilates to women who are expecting a baby or are returning to fitness after giving birth.
I continued to take my Pilates classes right up until the summer term, and finally hung up my Pilates hat (temporarily) at 35 weeks pregnant. You can see me (left) at that time.
The arrival of Lily in August 2017 was the polar opposite of the arrival of Ellen. Lily was born at 2.24am after a very short and problem free birth.
In fact we were all home, after calling in for a McDonalds Breakfast by 9am. In my defence, the hospital actually chucked us out before breakfast was served — so what else was a girl to do? ;-)
In the last photo (right) you can see me only a few weeks after Lily was born. I feel great, I love my Pilates and what is has done for me, and I love being in the JTP team.
