Get to know your studio teachers - Aoife Rowden
Get to know your teachers at Victoria Rose Pilates Studio…
Aoife Rowden, a marvellous Fully Qualified Classical Pilates teacher sat down with me to chat all things Pilates and more, have a read to get to know her better!
Welcome Aoife! So tell me about your Pilates journey
First time I tried Pilates it actually didn’t really register with me! I was dancing in London at the time and doing so much other stuff, it was very different to what I now teach so I think it went a little over my head.
Some years later I moved to Norwich and found a class. I was teaching Yoga at the time and joined the Pilates class as a Yoga teacher. I thought ‘wow, what is this! Where has this been all my life’.
I continued to take classes of all types and then came across Classical Pilates and was hooked.
so your training is in classical pilates?
Yes, I trained with Pi Studios in Battersea. First starting out with my Classical Matwork qualification, and then later building in my Full Comprehensive to teach across all pieces of apparatus in the studio, using the Classical Pilates method.
When I started my training in the Matwork it was just off the back of one of the lockdowns, and I didnt know if the training was going to actually go ahead. It was touch and go!
But we had just gotten the go ahead from the government that if you were doing education you could continue and do what you needed to do. I had to do a lot of training on zoom!
I did lots of practice, lots of teaching Mat classes and I’ve not stopped since. That was in 2021 so it’s been 4 years solid of teaching Mat Pilates and it never gets boring!
Since your Matwork training you’ve gone on to do further training?
Yes, so doing the Classical Matwork you can’t help but figure out that it is part of a bigger system. I had been taking classes using the apparatus and figuring it out in my body, seeing the connection between that and the Mat.
Then it was like ok it’s time to go for the apparatus training, again at Pi Studios. Of course!
I’ve now been teaching the whole system about a year.
So, everyone is going to want to know what kind of teacher would you say you are?
First and foremost I am a Classical Pilates teacher, so I will teach you the original Joseph Pilates system. That can be strong work to some people because it can be demanding and challenging, but I will guide you and encourage you through it.
For example I won’t shy away at teaching a beginner a press up, which is a big strong move, and I will teach you how to do that. You will do your best at it, and don’t expect perfect but I will ask you to do your best.
I do also love breathing, that is a real focus for me to find the deeper connections and layers to the movements.
I would say I am a very focused teacher, I will give you 100% and I just love Pilates. So if the client loves it, I’ll love it and we’ll love it together!
What can people expect from their first class with you?
So in an Intro session we will do a little bit of Matwork, literally just you and your Mat, no springs. Then we will move onto the Reformer, covering the basics of the repertoire on there and then some exercises on the High Chair and Cadillac. Giving you the fundamentals of the Pilates movements, lots of detail and figuring out things like anchoring the pelvis & how to use the equipment.
ok so we now know about you as a teacher but we want to find out more about Aoife the person too! so what do you do when you are not doing pilates?
I think about Pilates, I dream about Pilates, I talk about Pilates! Ha no, so my hobbies are I love gardening. I am counting down waiting for spring so I can get in the garden.
I also have a quite arty side, being quite crafty and making things. I have got myself a knitting pattern that I want to start this year.
I also have my doggie, my sweet little Alma! She’s a puppy, 8 months old and she’s absolutely gorgeous. I just love spending time with her, walking her and cuddling her.
will she visit the studio?
I hope so! She’s a very good girl and she just loves people, so she will love it here!
You can take session with Aoife right now. She will be delivering Private Solo sessions and also delivering some of our Introductory Courses throughout the year.
Grab a spot with her now by clicking here.
You might even meet sweet Alma too!
“patience and persistence are vital qualities in the ultimate successful accomplishment of any worthwhile endeavour”