The quality of your pilates experience will
depend greatly on the quality of your teacher.
You need someone who can both understand
your history, your injuries and your
limitations, but can at the same time see a
strong, healthy body waiting to emerge; a
teacher who is confident enough and
competent enough to lead you on the journey
to find the body that you want.

All of our teachers hold Body Control Pilates®
Certification. Each of them are passionate
about bringing the benefits of pilates to your
body and to your life.

The Team

DONNA POURTEYMOUR - Owner

Donna came to Pilates with an injury ridden body as a
result of too many extreme sports coupled with too many
hours spent on airplanes. Those injuries combined with
then having two children in less than two years, and her
body was a mess.  At 35, she felt old.  She tried every
kind of alternative therapy to relieve the pain and regain
some strength and movement.

Eventually an osteopath referred her to Pilates, which
healed her body dramatically in only a few months. She
was hooked. She practiced the method passionately for
another 5 years and then feeling stronger, younger and
more able than in her early 20s, she decided to train with
Body Control Pilates with the intention of bringing the
method and its extraordinary benefits to others. She has
since become a supervising teacher for Body Control
Pilates, helping their teachers-in-training in completing
their practical teaching work on their journey to
certification. She has also completed several hours of
continuing education with Ellie Herman of New York. Ellie
is a pilates master, inventor of the Pilates Springboard
and author of several pilates books.

After relocating from Cheshire, Donna opened Cobham
Pilates in 2006.  Her vision of Cobham Pilates is a place
where – with some intense hard work – everyone can
find the healthy back and body that will ensure them the
wellness to live the life they envision.

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HAYLEY WORKMAN

Hayley discovered Pilates in 2002 while working in the
fitness industry. She understood the need for a "pilates
body" after training for her first London Marathon and
experiencing ankle and knee problems. After orthodics
failed to correct her problems, she turned to pilates and
found that it began to correct the imbalances throughout
her body. Her posture, strength, and flexibility greatly
improved and now, 5 years down the line and 4 London
Marathons later, she hasn't suffered another injury. She
became qualified as a pilates teacher in 2003 and
continues to combine pilates with her thriving personal
training practice.  She joined Cobham Pilates in 2007 all
quickly became a favourite teacher of many of our
clients. Hayley will soon be adding the patter of tiny feet
to her household so we look forward to welcoming her
back in the studio soon!

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CHERRY HIRST

Cherry had an active university life swimming and
playing water polo, but years of office work in
international marketing took their toll. There were no
compelling reason such as illness or injury for taking up pilates- just bad posture, tiredness and a saggy
tummy.  Cherry began to practise Pilates regularly after
the birth of her first child, resulting in a leaner, longer
and stronger body. The best thing for her was improved
posture, more energy, and increased body confidence.
This gave her the drive to train as a Body Control
instructor, and specialise in pre and postnatal
clients.  Cherry joined Cobham Pilates in 2008. Her
clients love her ability to work them hard but to have
compassion for their limitations. They are amazed that
she can remember every small detail of their medical
history and yet knows when they aren’t pushing
themselves to where they could.

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JANE ASPDEN

Jane took up Pilates in 2003 to strengthen her back after
a suffering a lateral prolapsed disc. In doing so, she
rehabilitated her back and in the process discovered an
exercise she absolutely loved. She then trained and
qualified with Body Control Pilates in 2006. She spent the
next two years living in Canada and the Bahamas which
enabled her to bring the Pilates method and its benefits
to people who had never had an opportunity to
experience it. She is passionate about teaching and
brings a tremendous empathy and understanding to her
clients. She returned to UK and joined Cobham Pilates in
early 2009 and has quickly become a popular member of
the teaching team.

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MERYL QUINN

Meryl trained as a dancer and actress from a young age;
she has many LAMDA qualifications in acting and went on
to complete a BA (Hons) Degree in Dance. Unfortunately
in her final year she became injured due to many years
of extreme training in Ballet and Jazz. Meryl was told she
could no longer dance to a professional standard. She
turned to Pilates to help with her injuries and has never
looked back; she found her body changed in ways she
could never imagine. She became stronger and more
internally connected than she ever was with her dancing.
This encouraged her to train with Body Control Pilates,
and Meryl now teaches Pilates alongside dance and
drama and is passionate about using Pilates to help
prevent injuries, particularly in young people. Meryl
joined Cobham Pilates in 2009. Her matclasses were
instantly popular.

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