In 1991 I took a leave of absence from my employment as a physiotherapist to travel to the South Pacific where I explored (and taught fitness classes in exchange for a place to exercise while travelling). It was in New Zealand as a backpacker that I found Les Mills and discovered BodyPump, BodyAttack and BodyStep (taught on wooden boxes) and Newbody. That trip changed my life forever. Travelling to that part of the world was a dream that I had since I was a little girl (to see Kangaroos in the wild and to learn how to scuba dive on the Great Barrier Reef) and upon returning from this 5 month trip Patch hired me to become a director to oversee Group Fitness classes in all of his clubs. When I told my mother I was resigning from my job as a physiotherapist to take on this new position at GoodLife she said “Mo, you aren’t really going to quit your job to become an aerobics instructor for the rest of your life” to which I replied, “Oh yes I am, and I plan to take it to the top and build myself a career that allows me to teach and train instructors and share my passion for helping people become healthier through fitness.” And, that’s how my dream job began.
My sister and I do have some very important things in common:
- A need and passion to be fit and healthy and to manage our hip ailment in order to age gracefully.
- We both have partners who support us taking care of ourselves and being active in fitness. (I actually introduced my husband to fitness after we met at GoodLife).
- We both enjoy group fitness (it just took Pauline longer to discover that she did).
- We both have learned how to listen to our body (from totally different ends of the fitness perspective).
Whether you learned to love it, or were born to love it – find something about fitness you’re passionate about, and take full advantage of the many benefits it can bring to your life!
Mo