Finding Happy Place
Hi! I’m Meredith, a Mum, Accredited Exercise Physiologist (AEP) and Pilates Instructor. My journey into exercise intervention began many years ago when I was working as a dispensary technician and I got a sneak peak behind the doors of the pharmaceutical industry. I remember thinking to myself as I attached the label to yet another box of statins – there has to be a better way! It was with that very thought I enrolled in my Bachelor of Sport and Exercise Science and continued on to complete my Research Honours in Health Science and Masters of Clinical Exercise Physiology Rehabilitation.
During my last couple of years at uni I was lucky to be taken under the wing of an AEP who owned and directed a Clinical Pilates studio in Western Sydney. This is where the real learning began. Not only did I study the Pilates Method, I was provided with ongoing mentoring and support from incredible AEPs and Pilates Instructors. Although a lot has happened since then, I still attribute a lot of my success to these incredible mentors, especially my ability to teach and connect with clients.
Whilst living and working in Western Sydney I met my love, who I shall refer to as BW from now on, who happened to be in the ADF – and so, defence life began. Our first move was just up the road to Newcastle, a place I immediately fell in love with. I secured a role working in a Physiotherapy business as an AEP in a clinical gym setting. Here I worked closely with Physiotherapists and Personal Trainers. I was exposed to a vast array of medical conditions and injuries and became a jack of all trades. I absolutely thrived on the varied cases and not knowing what would walk/hop/roll/limp/shuffle through the door next. Here I learnt the power of communication and its ability to bring together a client’s care team so we could all work towards the best possible outcome for the client.
Despite absolutely loving my job, I missed Pilates very much. I was only teaching 1-2 mat work Pilates classes a week and it wasn’t enough. In 2016, BW was deployed for a number of months. During this time, I took it upon myself to turn our dining room into a Pilates Studio. Thankfully, BW was a good sport upon returning home from deployment, he helped me to move the studio into the spare room (on the condition I give up my treadmill) and thus Happy Place Pilates was born. Happy Place Pilates became part of the family and moved with us in 2019, north of the boarder to South Ripley, Ipswich. In South Ripley, the Happy Place space was larger and it would’ve been rude not to take advantage of the extra space. So, Happy Place Pilates grew a little that year into a Clinical Pilates setting able to cater for small group and semi-private Pilates sessions as well as our corner stone private sessions.