Roots to Glow
About Me
Thank you for looking here! I’d like to tell you a little bit more about me and my journey to where I am today, from a personal and professional standpoint....
Personally
I love to dance, and despite having one of the worse physiques for Ballet, I pursued it wholeheartedly throughout my teenage years all the way into my early twenties. I love feeling beautiful and elegant when I dance. I love that I can express myself that way. However, I began to sustain too many injuries and I kept hitting plateaus in my dance.. It made me wonder whether I had been using my body properly and responsibly. It was then that I discovered Pilates as a body conditioning system; it gave me hope that I could prevent further injuries.
Eventually I learned better movement strategies that were congruent to how my body was made instead of fighting it all time. This helped me to recover from many long term injuries that I had accumulated over all those years. It also sparked a passion in me for healing through movement! We don't have to live and move in pain or discomfort. This led me to widen my teaching method and that is how I started on the GYROTONIC® and GYROKINESIS® Method. It was a long learning journey, and it is ongoing today. I continue to learn and discover the possibilities, pleasures and blessings of movement.
In 2014, I woke up from a nap with half of my face completely paralyzed. I was later diagnosed with Bell's Palsy. It was a very challenging time in my life. For 6 months, I was unable to have any facial expression at all without looking somehow distorted. I still have some signs of it today. My slow recovery, despite being only in my late twenties at the time, made me realize that my health wasn't in a good state. Before the Bell's Palsy, I did felt bouts of low energy and light throbbing headaches in the mornings. I had gas and felt bloated. My skin wasn't great, I often had rashes/hives/eczema and acne on my jaw and neck area. I had bad PMS symptoms with cramps requiring painkillers for relief every month....
My body had been giving me all these symptoms and signals but I didn't pay attention because I thought I was still young and I was staying active by doing lots of exercises! I thought that these are just common and normal symptoms because many people I knew had them. After the doctors ran out of things to prescribe for my Bell's Palsy and after trying many alternative therapies, it struck me one day that I had not been treating my body well all these while!! I was making my body work so hard with all my physical and work demands, but I didn't make sure I got the right nutrients and " building blocks" to function properly and to heal. I was basically living on takeaway food, nutrient-less processed and refined junk food, sugar and lots of coffees...
So, the Bells palsy was a wake up call. I started to change my diet and lifestyle. I learned how to cook in order to nourish my very nutrient-depleted and "abused" body. Soon there were major improvements in how I felt everyday. My energy levels went up. My menstrual cramps went away, and so did my skin issues. In fact, I sometimes get compliments from friends about my skin too, even though I hardly spend anything on skincare these days!! These improvements inspired me to look at well-being in a more holistic way and motivated me to be trained as a Nutritional Therapy Practitioner.....
My passion is to support and inspire others towards their optimal health and well-being. And my dream is to live in a self-sufficient and sustainable farm with healthy soil, happy animals and nourishing and toxic free produces.... sharing it with the love of my live, and a cute dog would be a plus !
Professionally
I grew up as a dancer in Malaysia, trained in Classical Ballet, Chinese Folk Dance, Chinese Classical Dance, Contemporary/ Modern Dance and Tap Dancing. I taught ballet as a RAD certified teacher.
I began Pilates training in 2004 and became a certified Polestar Pilates Comprehensive Practitioner in 2009. I have been teaching ever since.
You can read more about the Polestar Pilates Method here: https://polestarpilates.com
In 2008, I moved to Hong Kong. From 2009 till 2018 I taught Pilates,GYROTONIC® and GYROKINESIS®. My youngest student was 11 years old. My oldest client was 75!
I also continued to teach ballet until 2011.
I was certified in GYROTONIC® Method in 2010 and the GYROKINESIS® Method in 2017, and have been teaching with these method ever since.They continue to amaze and fascinate me!! These are my preferred methods for teaching my clients nowadays.
You can read more about these methods here:
GYROTONIC® -
https://www.gyrotonic.com/about/gyrotonic-method/
GYROKINESIS® -
https://www.gyrotonic.com/about/gyrokinesis-method/
There are some specialized applications for these methods, and I have trained in the following:
Applications for Scoliosis
Applications for the Shoulder Girdle
Applications for the Pelvic Girdle
Applications for Dancers
Applications for Hip and knees
Applications for Pre and Post Natal
Applications for Breast Cancer Survivors ....etc
I am constantly learning. To see the full updated list, here is my profile page: https://www.gyrotonic.com/trainer/24429/
In 2017, to create a more holistic approach to achieving overall well-being, I took up a nutritional therapy training program under the Nutritional Therapy Association (NTA). I was certified as a Functional Nutritional Therapy Practitioner in 2018.
To better support my clients in their personalised journey in changing their diet and lifestyle, I was also trained and endorsed as a PH360 Health Coach.
Learning never ends...... I am currently embarking on the first year of the Feldenkrais professional training.◡̈
You can read more about the NTA here:
https://nutritionaltherapy.com
And on PH360 Health Coaching here:
