Meet the team

Ismini

I am a multi-award winning Movement and Rehabilitation Specialist.  I have been teaching Pilates since 2007 and The Feldenkrais Method® since 2020. I set up Ismini Studios to offer health and fitness solutions in Tonbridge and now offer exclusive appointments in Lewes. I am a fully qualified Pilates, Feldenkrais Method® and Child’Space Method® practitioner, Back4Good practitioner, Pink Ribbon Program breast cancer rehabilitation specialist, MS/neurological conditions exercise specialist and bootybarre®® teacher.
I created Intuitive Pilates mat classes so that I could introduced concepts of Feldenkrais making traditional Pilates exercises feel easier and more accessible to my clients. During the classes we may use small equipment such as foam rollers, Pilates rings, weights and more. I also teach private clients on the Pilates machines – reformer, tower, cadillac and chair. I teach The Feldenkrais Method’s Awareness Through Movement® group lessons online and give Functional Integration® private lessons. My classes are suitable for all, including those returning to exercise, since an initial assessment is required allowing me to make modifications for you accordingly.
I also offer educational workshops using both Intuitive Pilates and The Feldenkrais Method® working to teach you how to achieve ideal and optimal physical and mental wellbeing.

For me, Intuitive Pilates and The Feldenkrais Method® are a way of life, and I take a holistic approach to these modalities. I have been involved in dance and fitness from a very young age and first came across Pilates in the 1990s. I had suffered with back pain and sciatica during my second pregnancy and found that Pilates offered the perfect solution. During my third pregnancy I was able to continue with classes and salsa teaching right up to my due date.

I was awarded my Level 3 Pilates Teacher Certification initially by Future Fit Training and then Body Control Pilates. I continued my education with Body Control Pilates, qualifying as a Back4Good Practitioner having completed their Level 4 Low Back Pain Qualification, as well as attending other CPD trainings with various Pilates bodies including the Australian Pilates & Physiotherapy Institute, Michael King, and others.

Having exhausted all training available to me in the Pilates field, I was searching for that missing link and this led me to The Feldenkrais Method.

My passion for Pilates and The Feldenkrais Method® became a major part of my career and led me to become a Child’Space Method practitioner.

I graduated in The Feldenkrais Method® having completed a four year training with Garet Newell, founder of The Feldenkrais International Training Centre and then undertook the two year Child’Space Method® training, a Feldenkrais based method for babies and their caregivers, with Orly Gat.

I continue to undertake advanced training in The Feldenkrais Method® and The Child’Space Method® and I am a teacher of a three day introductory course to Feldenkrais.

Briefly, I have trained and attended workshops with international renowned trainers within the Pilates, Feldenkrais and Child’Space communities including Alan Herdman, Michael King, Eric Franklin, Mary Bowen, the Australian Physiotherapy & Pilates Institute, Zach Dacuk, Tracey Mallett, Nathan and Linda Gardner, Garet Newell, Ned Dwelle, Roger Russell, Scott Clark, Raz Ori, Ulrike Apel, Thomas Farnbacher, Orly Gat, Chava Shelhav, Ortal Schmidt, Barbara Laverone and more.

I believe that my approach makes me different to other Pilates teachers. I created Intuitive Pilates incorporating principles of Feldenkrais, Child’Space and Conscious Embodiment delivering a class that I believe is far more functional than traditional classes. I offer a confidential, organic and all-round approach that helps my students (clients) with postural problems, abdominal and back problems, neurological conditions, rehabilitation after injury or surgery, cardiovascular fitness, post-cancer care, ante- and post-natal fitness and more.  I have had amazing results with my students using my own unique intuitive movement sessions which I created from my vast knowledge gained through my immense and varied training.

I work in various specialist areas. I am a certified Pink Ribbon Program Breast Cancer Exercise Specialist.  I am known to be one of the Pink Ribbon Program’s most experienced UK breast cancer rehabilitation specialists, having worked with this client group for over a decade.

I also have experience in working with people affected by Huntington’s disease, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease, cerebral palsy and other neurological conditions. I trained with Mariska Breland, a leading force in exercise and Pilates for neurological conditions and have gained a certification in this field. I now also use The Feldenkrais Method® to achieve even greater results, so my students get the best of both worlds.

In October 2015, I was invited by Tracey Mallett to join her in LA to take the bootybarre® Master Trainer training. If you’re looking for a fun, energetic and all-round workout with a difference, then my bootybarre® classes offer you a fusion of Pilates, ballet, dance and yoga, with high-intensity cardio intervals.

I carry out full body readings before you begin any new exercise programme with me, having completed Conscious Embodiment training with Zachary Dacuk.

Currently, I am continuing to advance my training with further CPD courses in The Feldenkrais Method®, Child’Space Method® and Pilates in order to offer the crème de la crème movement lessons for optimal results.

SARAH BRANCH

PA/receptionist

I have worked at Ismini Studios as a PA and Receptionist since September 2020. I look after the day’s bookings, respond to clients, and keep an eye on invoices amongst other tasks on a day-to-day basis.

I enjoy working at the studio a lot. When a client I have booked in returns for more classes and enjoys the benefits of the sessions, it gives me great satisfaction. I have many years of experience communicating with customers from my time working at a high street bank, and the joy of helping clients has stayed with me.

Outside of work, I enjoy going on walks with my dog and cooking for my family and friends. I also like watching films and going out for dinner. My favourite pastime is attending my Intuitive Pilates class though, of course!

I am a naturally organised person which helps me keep on top of all that goes on at the studio. Communicating with clients is one of my favourite parts of the job, so I look forward to seeing you down here!