Our Team
We’re incredibly proud that our Pilates teachers are certified to the highest standards in Australia and exclusively through courses recognised by the government and by our industry governing body. Each has dedicated hundreds of hours to their initial Pilates teacher training and are committed to ongoing continuous professional development to deepen their skillset. You can expect each of our teachers to have their own personality, interests, teaching style, and sense of humour.
Rachael Wright
Studio Director
Rach has been a ‘mover’ all of her life; dancing as a tiny tot, climbing, biking and running through childhood, and then competitive in the dance world into her late teens. Hailing from Scotland, she studied a BA (Hons) in Dance in the late 2000's while living in Edinburgh, at which time she was introduced to Pilates as a way of managing back pain that was hampering her dance practice. Blown away by the impacts of a regular practice - it changed her relationship with movement forever.
In 2010 Rachael pressed pause on a 12 month travelling stint through Asia and Australia, and set her feet down in Sydney eventually committing to the Diploma of Professional Pilates Instruction with Polestar Pilates. She opened Room For Movement in 2015 and now has her roots firmly set in the Inner West.
Rachael is fascinated by the power of spoken word and language, and their ability to transform the experience of moving the body. Managing a trifecta of chronic health conditions she's particularly interested in making movement accessible to people who might benefit from a nuanced approach to exercising while managing pain.
She takes pride in her ability to communicate with people from all walks of life. While caring and respectful, she'll challenge your perceptions of what you think you're capable of- and likely change the role movement and exercise play in your life.
Read Rachael’s full Pilates origin story here.
Amanda Lansdowne
Professional Teacher
After discovering Pilates as a powerful remedy to ongoing knee pain in 2009, Amanda quickly developed a passion for the practice and completed her Cert IV of Matwork Pilates (2014) & Diploma of Professional Pilates Instruction (2017) with Polestar Pilates.
Amanda has an enduring enthusiasm and energy for the Pilates work and it really shines through in her commitment to continuing education. She’s done countless trainings to deepen her knowledge of the Pilates work, including Pre & Postnatal and Pelvic Floor post-graduate training with the Center for Women Fitness; and training in the area of bone density and osteoporosis with Buff Bones. Amanda has also completed Slings Myofascial training with Art of Motion, earning a Slings diploma in 2020. This specific training allows her to view the body and human movement through a myofascial lens- with this she delivers a really unique Pilates experience. In her sessions and classes clients create space in their spine and joints while building strength in a functional and thoughtful way.
When she’s not at Room for Movement, Amanda can be found out on the trails training for her next trail running event; she also has a bit of a green thumb and thoroughly enjoys cultivating new life in her Inner West garden.
Lilly Wicks
Professional Teacher
Lilly started her Pilates journey over 20 years ago when she starting work as an allied health professional. Initially Pilates was just a new way to exercise and relieve daily stress, but she soon discovered new ways to move and connect with her body whilst building strength.
Pilates mat work is Lilly’s first love and she believes it is the foundation to linking all other studio equipment. After developing her own practice in a small studio environment, Lilly was inspired to further her interest in Pilates by completing her Certificate IV in Mat Instruction (Polestar) in 2016, and then completed her studio certification and full diploma with Polestar in 2018. Lilly has completed targeted post-graduate training to support pre and post-natal women to build strength, and move through daily work and family life with confidence. Lilly is also our "Return to Exercise" Pre-natal Course Lead Teacher. Additionally Lilly has undertaken specific training to support people living with a range of conditions such as scoliosis and osteoporosis who will need a considered approach to their programs.
Passionate about ensuring everyone can access and enjoy Pilates in a safe and supportive space, Lilly loves working with people to find out what helps them feel comfortable, confident and strong in their movement. Expect a fun and creative approach to moving with Lilly, with a focus on pilates foundations and functional movement.
Christine Tongue
Professional Teacher
Completing her Diploma of Professional Pilates Instruction with PilatesITC (2020), Christine has continued to lean into the original Pilates principles of precision, control and concentration and really channels these in her individual focused approach to teaching movement. She prioritises a strong mind-body connection and a calm nervous system as the foundation of pain free movement, and her unrivalled attention to detail makes her expert at reframing movement to promote a sense of curiosity - perfect for clients with persistent pain. Overall she takes a therapeutic approach to teaching Pilates where variation in exercise intensity is valued highly.
Christine has furthered her movement and Pilates education with countless courses and training, most notably in the ScolioPilates method, and more recently through the EDS ECHO recognised Integral Movement Method training for hypermobility with Jeannie Di Bon.
She welcomes clients of all sizes and genders, neurodiverse folks, and people with fear or anxiety around movement.
When she’s not at Room for Movement Pilates, Christine enjoys dancing, afternoon naps with her cat (Elliot), and hiking in her native New Zealand.
Cherrie Whalen-David
Professional Teacher
Following years of working in hospitality and corporate roles, Cherrie made the huge move over to the Pilates world after falling in love with the method, and completed her Diploma of Professional Pilates Instruction with PilatesITC in 2020.
Positive, engaging, friendly, energetic and a teller of incredible stories, Cherrie connects quickly with clients on a personal level, and backs that connection up with an authentic teaching style that’s true to her personal values. She enjoys working with her clients' goals front of mind and helping them achieve the things that will impact their lives the most: whether that’s future proofing the body with a strength and conditioning approach, or addressing more specific goals for sport, work or moving without pain- she’s got your back.
Cherrie is particularly skilled at making the Pilates work accessible to a wide range of clientele, she enjoys the breaking down and layering of exercises to find the version that best suits the body. She also takes great personal satisfaction from helping clients cultivate a consistent exercise routine, and feel more connected to their body.
When she’s not at Room for Movement, Cherrie is an avid opshopper and book clubber, and can be found socialising, attending the theatre, getting her teenagers through high school, and occasionally popping up on your tv screen!
Cat Ryan
Professional Teacher
Catherine is currently completing her Diploma of Professional Pilates Instruction with a keen interest in women's health and hypermobility conditions such as Elhers Danos Syndrome.
Catherine is also a former international pole dance champion, having competed, performed, and taught pole dancing for close to two decades. Throughout her pole dancing career Catherine also practised and taught contortion, a form of skill based flexibility training. Contortion helped Catherine to better understand the unique training requirements of hypermobility, most of which is strength and stability training through Pilates. However, it wasn't until Catherine had her first baby that she truly realised the power and potential of Pilates as it helped to rehab her body after a traumatic birth and numerous related injuries.
Her teaching style focuses on quality and efficiency of movement, with the goal of mastering the basics so that her students experience the benefits of authentic pilates.
Celine Quentrec
Professional Teacher
Celine has a positive, encouraging and no-fuss teaching style. Her goal is to get people moving and gain confidence in their own abilities- often surprising them with a capability they didn’t know they had! Celine appreciates that getting to know each client’s personality, goals and struggles is also an important part of the process. This enables her to safely coax them out of their comfort zone to achieve movement in ways they had thought was no longer available to them.
Celine has a special interest in working with dancers and people experiencing shoulder and back injuries or discomfort. She enjoys working collaboratively with allied health practitioners and deepening her knowledge base with the clients.
Celine is Polestar Diploma of Mat and Studio Pilates and also has a Master in Marketing and Communications, and is a Fluent French speaker and conversational Spanish. Outside of the Pilates world, Celine also has a love of Latin dancing, travelling around the world and an advocate for equality at all levels.
Jaclyn Griffin
Professional Teacher
Jac’s Pilates origin story is like many others, having discovered the amazing benefits after seeking help for chronic headaches and back pain. Her first career was in the health sciences, working as a scientist in Pathology labs, then moving into the commercial world of providing training and technical support for scientists. In 2017, Jac decided she wanted a more personal connection in her work, so enrolled in teacher training with Polestar. Having to start with the Cert IV of Matwork Pilates Instruction was a daunting prospect having never even done a single mat Pilates class in her life! She loved the course so much, that she rolled (like a ball – pun intended) straight into the Diploma of Studio Pilates instruction, completing this with Polestar in 2020.
What really gets her nerdy brain going is the precision and the challenge that comes with even the most seemingly simple Pilates exercises. Sometimes, the tiniest tweak or an added prop (did someone say Oov?) can change an exercise from “I sort of feel it…” to “Aha! Now I get it!”.
Outside of the studio, Jac enjoys strength training and has spent a lot of time around strongman athletes and powerlifters.
Claire Neil
Professional Teacher
Claire was introduced to Pilates in 2007 while living overseas in Holland and fell in love with it immediately. Starting before her first pregnancy, Claire now has three boys between 9 and 14 and has had a regular Pilates practice in the studio and on the mat ever since.
In 2012 she started part time administrative work in a local Pilates Studio- where she was able to observe the teachers, connect with clients, and really begin to see the power of Pilates across the population.
After baby number three, Claire started down the pathway of Pilates qualification. Starting with the Polestar Mat Certification in 2014 she discovered she has a talent for creating the kind of energy needed for engaging group Pilates classes. She then went onto complete the Polestar diploma and become comprehensively trained.
Claire is fascinated by human biomechanics and the far reaching impact on all body systems from just one exercise modality. For her, the most powerful part of a regular Pilates practice is way in which it ties the mind and the body together through breath- one class of intentional and thoughtful movement is an incredible tool for keeping the mind in check.
These days she uses Pilates to manage a chronic health condition, to balance out her time at a desk in the family business (Philter in Marrickville), and to consciously step back into her body and mind every week.
Class with Claire is like a breath of fresh air, you’ll be met with empathy, a palpable passion for the work, and you’ll never be left behind.
Brooke Fowler
Studio Manager
After completing a Bachelor of Fine Arts at the University of Tasmania, Brooke moved to Sydney where she has been living and working as a graphic designer for two decades. It was after having her two children, her career took a twist, when she suffered a chronic health condition, which forced her to reassess her day to day stress levels. Brooke learnt the importance of self care, with Pilates playing a huge role, both mentally and physically. Brooke especially enjoyed the community Pilates introduced her to. In turn she was approached to work in marketing/client service roles for the studios she attended. Brooke loves the work/life balance working in this space has given her and being part of such an amazing team.
