01 / MEET ALI
Hi, I’m Ali.
I teach Pilates by paying close attention—to how you move, what you feel and what changes when things start to click.
I’m a comprehensively trained Pilates teacher, hypermobility practitioner and founder of Moxie Pilates.
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I also know what it’s like to be capable, determined and still not quite understand why your body is behaving the way it is.
Details matter. So does how it feels.
02 / MY STORY
Learning the moves was only
the beginning.
I came to Pilates through recurring pain and a hypermobile body. Learning that I had hEDS gave me useful context, but it didn’t hand me a neat answer. I still had to do the work—and I still do.
I became quite good at Pilates yet could still be holding my breath, bracing and pushing through. It took me longer to realise that doing the moves and truly listening to and feeling my body, were not the same thing.
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Once I began to notice that difference, the work changed. Strong could still feel hard—but it could also feel organised, connected and right. I started to recognise when effort was helping and when tension was simply taking over.
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My experience reaches beyond back pain and hypermobility. Living with persistent pain and hormonal health changes led me to learn more about how the brain and nervous system shape pain. In my own body, feeling safer to move and bracing less, changed pain that had once felt inevitable. I don’t assume your experience is the same, but I understand how tiring it is when symptoms refuse to budge.
I didn’t need a harder exercise. I needed to notice how I was doing it.
03 / WHAT FASCINATES ME
The cool part is learning
to tell
the difference.
I notice the small things: when you speed up to get something over with, when one part of you takes over, when you stop breathing, or when a movement suddenly feels more joined-up.​
People often come looking for strength or flexibility. What they often leave with is a better understanding of their own body.
Sometimes I’ll ask you to pause. Sometimes we’ll simplify it. Sometimes I’ll give you more to do. The point isn’t to find one “correct” version; it’s to help you recognise what different choices feel like.​
Less about thinking how to move. More about feeling it.
04 / WHAT I PAY ATTENTION TO
More than one thing shapes how movement feels
No single diagnosis—or lack of one—tells me how you move. These are some of the things that might shape our work together.
Your sense of your body
Knowing where you are in space matters for everyone. Sometimes that internal map is less clear—particularly with hypermobility—and movement needs more useful feedback.
Pain and protection
Pain is shaped by many things, including the brain and nervous system. I keep that in mind without dismissing what you feel—or pretending Pilates has every answer.
How you take things in
Some people need fewer words, more time, less sensory noise or another approach. I’ll adapt the teaching rather than expect you to push through confusion.
05 / TRAINING & EXPERIENCE
Well trained.
Still learning.
My training gives me plenty to draw on. The person in front of me guides where we go and what we explore.
CORE TRAINING
Comprehensive Polestar Pilates Teacher
More than 600 hours of training across the full studio apparatus, plus many hundreds of hours teaching since.
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SPECIALIST PRACTICE
IMM — Hypermobility Practitioner
The Integral Movement Method for hypermobility and Ehlers-Danlos syndromes (hEDS) - to improve awareness, stability and strength.
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BROADER PRACTICE
Somatic & Nervous System Regulation Practitioner
How stress, sensation, attention and nervous-system state shape movement, with practical techniques to support regulation & body awareness.
Additional Training
SIRPA-Informed Professional (diploma)
Mind-body understanding of persistent pain and neuroplastic symptoms.​​​​
Buff Bones
Exercise method and considerations for osteoporosis and osteopenia.​​​
Pilates for Scoliosis
A workshop exploring Pilates considerations and movement choices for scoliosis.​​​
the attention it deserves.
Explore the studio →
THE STUDIO
Small on purpose.
Keeping Moxie small gives me the space to know the person and body in front of me—and give the work the attention it deserves.
06 / AWAY FROM THE SPRINGS
A few things that aren’t Pilates.
LIFE WITH ZIGGY
Ziggy, my Tibetan Terrier, makes sure I get outside regularly. Time to breathe.
RABBIT HOLES
Give me an interesting question and I will follow it all the way down. Movement, pain, brains, hormones, bodies—I’m very good at accidentally starting another course.
OFF DUTY
I’m usually walking, doing Pilates, the school run or finding space for another plant!
REALITY CHECK
I don’t float through life perfectly connected to my body. I still catch myself rushing and bracing too. The difference is—now I notice sooner.