I am a student and practitioner of movement and creative arts. I offer classes, coaching, and private tution from the studio I built at my home in Ainslie, Canberra. Everyone is welcome, whether you are just starting out, or looking to take your practice to the next level.
I am on a path of exploration in the spiritual realm while at the same time pursuing a deep physical education through training and teaching movement.
Teaching is my greatest joy in life. I share what I’ve learned so far about movement and eating and continue to learn each day from my students.
About Tom
My story starts with food and eating. Of course. Food is an integral part of our culture and stories so it’s no different for me.
I started started cooking from an early age, and began occasionally making dinner for the whole family before I was 10. My first ever job was washing dishes at the only fancy restaurant in town and it wasn’t long before I was involved in making food there too. This love of creating and sharing food for people to enjoy very nearly led me to become a chef after I left school. However, the hours that those in the service industry are required to work so others can enjoy their efforts dissuaded me from that idea. Instead, I decided to study science, specifically as it relates to ecological systems and sustainability. This study led to a 10 year career in agricultural research and development and biosecurity. I had spent time working with most of the primary food production industries in Australia by the time I decided to teach movement.
That decision came after, in 2011, after a few years of denial, I was shocked to discover I didn’t have the strength to lift myself up to sit on my kitchen bench. It was a pivotal moment that spurred me to confront the problems created by years of not moving and poorly considered eating habits for my goals. So, I studied nutrition avidly in my spare time and managed to lose 25kg within six months. Hooray!
BUT. This obsessive focus on weight loss led to other problems and it has taken years of continued practice to improve my relationship with eating to the point where I enjoyed my love of food and learned to eat in a way that supported me. That journey continues as new seasons in life bring change my needs.
The journey I went on with food and eating opened my eyes to the world of physical practice. I had always shunned the physical side of life, opting instead to be cerebral. Once I stumbled across “bodyweight training”, I immediately fell in love with the way this type of practice seemed to carry over very directly to other aspects of my life.
So, naturally, I became obsessed. By the time I was 30, I was deeply involved with training to the point that I somehow managed to train 6 hours a day, 6 days a week while working full time. “How could that be sustainable?” you might ask. I had never felt stronger, more capable, and freer in my life. I learned an enormous array of physical skills and felt great. Or so I thought… (Foreshadowing!) At this time I changed careers and started to teach movement in an attempt to share all those benefits with as many people as I could.
The more I taught, the more I realised something that may seem quite obvious. It’s not feasible for almost anyone to be training as much as I was. Indeed, after 4 years training like I was, it wasn’t feasible for me anymore either! It wasn’t sustainable. Eventually I realised that my habit of becoming ‘obsessive’ had bitten me again.
I stepped back and began to reconfigure my ‘obsessions’ so that they were supporting me. I questioned everything about my decision to change careers and teach movement.
In this questioning I became more certain that even if 6 hours a day, 6 days a week isn’t feasible for everyone, neither is 0 hours. Or even the 2.5 hours a week the Australian government recommends. Movement is so important to how the human body operates, that whilst we don’t need to train like an athlete, as much movement as possible (with as much variety of movement) should be built into our lives. Training to increase strength, remove restrictions through mobility, try new ways of moving, have more fun, and open up options is fundamentally worthwhile for everyone at any age.
So, I built a small studio at my home in Ainslie, Canberra with the intention of creating a space to help people do just that. I work with people to build strength, become more mobile, try new kinds of movement to nourish their bodies, have fun doing the things they love without worrying about injury, and find a way of eating that works for them. I focus on one-to-one coaching because it allows me to truly meet every individual where they are right now and help them to create a movement practice that supports them and opens up options in their lives that are meaningful to them.
Now
Qualifications and Study
Current student of Harry Williams - Holistic Movement
Current student within the Precision Nutrition Academy (continuous ongoing nutrition education)
Cert IV in Fitness - Master Trainer AIF
4 years study in the Praksis Practitioner Program
Precision Nutrition Level 1 Certified
Precision Nutrition Level 2 Certified
Movement X Seminar, Melbourne February 2018
Movement Camp 2019
Gymnastics Bodies Foundation 1 Seminar November 2017
Bachelor of Interdisciplinary Studies, Sustainability ANU 2011
