Profile of Annette Loudon
General
I am a qualified and experienced instructor of Yoga
and Pilates and a Personal Trainer and Masseur, accredited through the
following organisations: YTAA (Yoga Teachers Association of Australia), FIA
(Fitness Institute of Australia), Fitness Australia, ATMS (Australian
Traditional Medicine Society) and PIA (Pilates Institute of Australia). I am a
member of the Australian Traditional Medicine Society Ltd (member
number: 19019)
I have been doing contract teaching and massaging
while living in remote central Australia.
In 2010 I shall be living in Hobart, to undertake my Masters degree in
yoga and secondary lymphoedema for women having treatment for breast
cancer.
A former teacher, researcher and manager in Adult
Education, I hold graduate and post-graduate qualifications in various areas of
education, teaching and management.
Continuing with training and education has always been
a high priority.
Yoga
I was first introduced to Yoga upon completion of my
university studies, when I lived in Bali for 12 months in 1975. It was
part of the daily life of my Balinese family, and included morning and evening
practices of postures, chanting and meditation, as well as times of fasting and
meditation to coincide with festivals according to the Balinese calendar.
It is said in Yoga that the right teacher will come at
the right time. And, in fact, teachers have appeared to instruct me at
key points in my life, whether in the practices of postures (asana), meditation
(raja yoga), breathing (pranayama) or karma yoga (the yoga of work)
I qualified as a Yoga teacher in 1994 with Yoga for
Health in England, as I had always wanted to teach Yoga to people with
illnesses. The Yoga for Health Foundation specialises in teaching Yoga to
people with Multiple Sclerosis. Since becoming a teacher of Yoga, I have
continued to study with teachers from many of the different styles of
Yoga. My teaching has been heavily influenced by Satyananda Yoga.
My classes cater to a wide range of student ability
and experience, from gentle to advanced. I have always taught people with
disabilities, both in specialist classes and within my regular classes. I
also teach specifically for the Multiple Sclerosis Society; for Encore, a
program for women who have had treatment for breast cancer; for
Interchange, youth of intellectual impairment; for the Spastic Centre,
youth and adults with cerebral palsy. I have taught numerous specialist
classes for people with hearing impairment, including the profoundly deaf, and
relaxation for people on probation has been part of my teaching through the
Northern Sydney Institute of TAFE. I have worked closely with DARTS
(Disabled Alternative Road Transport Scheme) to develop a Yoga class for their
clients and have trained my replacement teacher. Other specialist classes
that I teach include “Yoga for back-pain” and developmental squads for elite
athletes, both able-bodied and disabled, through the Department of Arts, Sport
and Recreation. I continue to teach these groups and individuals.
I am committed to everyone being able to practise Yoga
with support and encouragement to bring out the benefits to living that Yoga
can bring.
Pilates
In 1996, I first started attending Pilates classes,
which increased my knowledge about alignment and core stability. I
completed my Pilates teacher training in 2001. Give me In 2007 I gained my
Certificate IV in Pilates through Network. Since commencing teaching
Pilates in 2001, I have seen many of my students’ lives change.
In the therapeutic setting, Pilates is excellent for
readjusting the body when there are muscle imbalances. The use of
core-stabilising muscles in every Pilates movement re-creates good posture and
good postural awareness which also carries over to how people move in their
daily life. Many of my students are elite athletes, both able and
disabled bodied, and we have been able to improve their performance in their
sport.
I have found that my students like the progression of
the Pilates exercises, as they can connect better with their own improvement.
I continually upgrade my qualifications, as well as
working with physiotherapists and chiropractors, in order to keep well-informed
and enthusiastic in my teaching.
Personal Training
I completed my Diploma in Exercise Science through FIA
in 2001, including Certificate IV in Personal Training, Working with
Special Populations and Workplace Assessment. I include Yoga and Pilates in
the personal training sessions that I develop for my clients.
Massage
I have qualifications in Remedial Massage and
Lymphatic Drainage from Nature Care, St Leonards. I had previously
studied massage when living in Bali and as part of my Chi Gong (a Chinese
energy practice) training, so putting it into an accredited qualification has
been a natural progression. I have run specialist courses for the
Multiple Sclerosis Society and for the Arthritis Australia, for juvenile
arthritis sufferers.
My aim in massage is to balance people’s energy
levels, ease or get rid of any muscle imbalance or tension they are
experiencing and create health and relaxation for them.
Forest Yoga Massage and Pilates
Forest Yoga, Massage and Pilates, a business which I
set up in 1995 and then managed for the next 13 years, held classes 6 days a
week, day and evening, with an average of 150-200 students each term.
In July 2008 I closed my general classes in order to
travel around Australia. However, I have continued to do contract work
with the above-named organisations, locum work if teachers are away and private
teaching, as well as producing DVDs, writing articles, presenting seminars and
writing books.
