Alison is our senior Pilates and Spinal Rehabilitation Instructor. Being married to Dr Marc Martineau the founder of the Exmouth Chiropractic Clinic, she has always had a strong interest in health and fitness. This interest led her to participate in many sports and fitness regimes, but there was one discipline that she found to perfectly complement the principles of Chiropractic with which she was so familiar. This was the concept of Core Stabilisation and in particular the philosophy of Pilates.
Alison started to study the Pilates exercise techniques in great depth and realising that with the knowledge she had she had the potential to help people improve their health and well being, she enrolled at the prestigious Pilates Institute in London. After qualifying Alison set about starting up her new venture Exe Pilates located in a state of the art studio above the Exmouth Chiropractic Clinic.
Alison has found that working in conjunction with the Chiropractors at the Exmouth Chiropractic Clinic, and also with Anna Mazzierri and her team from the linked Massage Clinic, that she is able to offer an unparalleled service to her Pilate's clients. She encourages all her clients to attend a complementary Chiropractic check in order to be fully aware of any biomechanical issues that may be present; this enables Alison to be very specific with Pilates exercises and core stabilisation programs for her clients.
Though the science behind Pilates is very serious, Alison is passionate about making it fun, and many people attending her Pilates classes have been regulars for years, regarding the Pilates Class as a time when they are able to put the stresses and strains of daily life behind them and focus on their inner well being in a relaxed and convivial environment.
When Alison is not teaching she loves to go rowing, being a member of the Exmouth Rowing Club, and recently having competed in the World Coastal Rowing Championship. She is also a keen cyclist, runner, swimmer, scuba diver and skier, though juggling a busy work life combined with having three teenage children, leaves limited time for these activities!
Early 2009 heralded the arrival of male instructor Darren Bradley. He hadn't travelled far though, just upstairs from the Massage clinic where he also works as a sports massage therapist. Darren qualified with the Australian Physiotherapy and Pilates Institute, world leaders in modified Pilates and rehabilitation training.
Darren's fundamental belief that poor core stability and body awareness leads to poor posture, is the reasoning behind his marrying of the two therapies. He has treated clients with deep muscle massage techniques and then re-educated them with basic Pilates movements. For the last ten years being able to teach Pilates, which he is passionate about, has broadened his audience and made his classes fun for those that attend them. He was delighted to join our team and impart his knowledge and has since encouraged a greater male participation in the classes, dispelling the myth that a gym gained six pack is everything.
You may already know Darren if you are local to Exmouth, as he is often seen out and about locally, in all weathers, whizzing along the seafront or over the common cycling or running. He also competes for Croydon in the prestigious Surrey cross-country league, usually finishing in the top ten.