I’m a mum to my two beautiful babies: Allegra and Leo, a partner in crime, a Sports Physiotherapist with a Research Masters degree and high performance background, owner of City Edge Physio Clinic & Movement is Medicine believer. Being an ex-athlete I am committed to the health of my body and mind, and always looking for that 1% advantage (currently 3 months in to a plant based diet). I love fitness in the form of running, boxing, yoga, & pilates, but is my appreciation and passion for movement that has been an awakening journey for my mind and body. I now LIVE stream movement and fitness sessions and this is where I find a space to teach my learnings.
MY STORY
I was born into a sporting family, my mother’s passion and love for sport and competition far outweighs anyone’s I know. Annoying as this was for me as a teenager because of her embarrassing loud cheers or fist pumping on a win, it is what I am now most grateful for. My mother offered encouragement to live to your potential, she knew and lived her passion and gave us opportunity to do the same. My mother’s dream was to experience an Olympic Games and together we sat in the Stadium and watched Cathy Freeman win a gold medal at the iconic Sydney Olympics.
This is how I became to be enrolled in 7 different sports at the age of 8. One for every day of the week. Being incredibly shy this was somewhat hard for me turning up every day to group exercise and training but I did it. My mother thought athletics would be good as she was an athlete and I had the signs of having quick little legs. When I started little athletics I won a few races, and the feeling of winning and being recognized made me feel good. I continued on this journey. I started to train and I had a coach and a fully designed weekly training program by the time I was 15.
My identity was formed for me and finally signs of confidence!
‘Merryn she is the fast runner. ‘
In my school years I was determined to keep my identity, so I pushed and pushed myself at training. This identity became so important to me that training in the depth of winter, torrential rain and until I vomited made sense. Looking back, these years gave me the foundations of discipline and the ability to know the feeling of satisfaction from hard work paying off. I also experienced great friendships with like-minded people and a sense of community that I believe fosters these qualities to allow us to achieve our goals. Looking back I wish I had enjoyed the ride a bit more. Stopping to be grateful. I was doing everything for my body and little for the mind.
With a career in Physiotherapy I knew quickly my goal was to be working with an elite international sporting team. I started working at the New South Wales Institute of Sport and then became a Physio for Athletics Australia. I love to work in high performance sport where people live out their goals and dreams on a daily basis. For me personally, this also drove me to look better, be in physical shape and achieve and learn as much as I could. In this time I started to realise I was without balance I was running 6 days a week (being a cardio junky). I was never slowing down enough to let my mind stay still. What I learnt from here was the importance of balance and connecting the mind and body.
Working through this journey of mind and body connectedness had me at ashrams, yoga retreats, meditation and mindfulness trainings and immersions. But it wasn’t until I had my daughter Allegra I developed a new understanding of being present, balanced and slowing down. I faced the challenge to build my body back from a traumatic birth and loosing 50% of the strength in my right leg. I was faced with many physical restrictions with fitness and exercise. Slowly I practiced and learnt the art of mindful movement and what I now call my ‘Movement Medicine.’ Allegra’s energy is intense and although exhausting she is teaching me every day to love and appreciate moving without purpose.
It is my mission throughout this website to share the tools I have found to be most helpful in my journey to perform, slow down and maximise potential. My years helping clients fix their bodies has often not only been the Science but it has been my personal experiences. I have created this website to share my experiences so people can have access to these tools online and practice them anywhere. I also invite people to engage with me face to face for a consultation on injury, posture and performance.
