APPI Pilates Instructor (fully certified)
Colleen qualified as a Chartered Physiotherapist from the University of Ulster in 2004. She has had a number of posts in the main teaching hospitals of Belfast, gaining a wide and varied range of experience.
Her speciality now lies in the assessment and treatment of musculoskeletal disorders, including spinal pain, sports injuries and orthopaedics to name but a few. She became a fully certified APPI Pilates instructor a number of years ago and her love for Pilates has been growing ever since.
Colleen is a mum of 3 young children and has found Pilates a useful was to stay healthy whilst pregnant and shape back up after birth.
(nee O’Neill) BSc(hons), MCSP, SRP
Colleen Rowell
Our Team
WHAT IS PILATES?
Pilates is a mind and body exercise approach aimed at improving spinal stability and posture. It is a low impact form of exercise designed to strengthen the deep abdominals and gluteal muscles, which helps to support our lower backs and hips.
Pilates helps to improve body awareness while challenging the body to develop strength and endurance. By doing this you can see improvements posture, reduction in pain, increase in strength, flexibility and conditioning of the whole body.
Pilates is an excellent form of physical activity and is suitable for all ages and fitness levels. It is something that can be done individually or as part of a group, at varying levels and paces. It can be particularly beneficial for those with back pain, sports injuries, arthritis and stress related illness, as well as during and after pregnancy.
WHY CHOOSE PHYSIO LED PILATES NI?
Our Pilates instructors are Senior Chartered Physiotherapists, who spend a large part of their working lives assessing, treating and prescribing therapeutic exercises for a wide range of pain and movement dysfunction conditions. They have a wealth of knowledge and extensive practical experience in providing instruction for all levels in a safe yet effective manner.
We teach the APPI (Australian Physiotherapy and Pilates Institute) modified Pilates method. This is the only Pilates institute in Europe founded and directed by fully qualified physiotherapists. The APPI have modified the traditional Joseph Pilates exercises, founder of the Pilates technique, which were originally devised for elite athletes, to allow all abilities access to the many benefits it provides.
The exercises are graded so that we ensure you are recruiting the correct deep core muscles during the exercises. We then build up the load and balance requirements of the Pilates exercise, leading to more strength, stability and flexibility.
At Physio led Pilates NI you can feel assured that the exercises will be performed safely, effectively and modified to the appropriate level for you, under the expert guidance of an experienced Physiotherapist.
'Colleen is a very experienced, excellent Pilates teacher. The classes are focused, well structured and hugely enjoyable, due to Colleen’s great personality and her music choices! She vaires the programme from week to week, introduces different apparatus, and boredom is never an issue. Exercises are always well explained and demonstrated, and Colleen is careful to observe that students are performing them correctly. Each week, I leave the class with a sense of achievement and a lighter step. After several years with Colleen, moving from level to level, Pilates is an indispensable part of my life'
Kay McElvey
See what our clients have to say about us!
I joined Colleen’s first Pilates class almost 5 years ago, not really knowing what to expect. Nearly 5 years on and I hate to miss a class. I really feel a huge difference in my core strength, which was pretty rubbish to begin with. It helps with posture and everyday fitness and really helps in sport too. Colleen’s great at motivating, ensuring you go at your own pace but maximising your capabilities, always checking that you’re not doing anything to injure yourself & showing you how to correct anything you haven’t quite grasped. And she manages to do it with an easy manner and a sense of humour. You finish a class feeling you’ve worked but you’ve had fun too. I’d definitely recommend Colleen’s classes to anyone
Tracey McKittrick