1) Tell us about your journey with barre and towards attending teacher training with Barre 2 Barre.
I’ve never considered myself a particularly active or sporty person and I had never stuck to any regular exercise regime. So when a very good friend gifted me a package of 10 barre lessons for my birthday, I wasn’t sure what to expect. The studio was quite near my office so I decided to walk there to check it out. I immediately felt so relaxed stepping into their tastefully decorated studio in Hong Kong Street. It smelt like a spa. I met Jess who taught me some modifications as I had a wrist and shoulder injury.
After my first lesson, my knees almost buckled as I walked down the steep shophouse stairs! But I found it challenging and continued to return again and again!
What appealed to me was how systematic the exercises were about exhausting one set of muscles before moving on to the next. I had seen how exercising improperly could actually do more harm than good. But barre just involved very small movements so there was no damage or impact to the joints. But could one actually get fit and toned from this? I got my answer a few months later – I could feel myself getting stronger and those stairs down were no longer a problem after class!
After about a year of attending classes regularly, I decided I wanted to deepen my knowledge and practice of barre and signed up for Level 1 Teacher Training in Koh Samui.
2) What new and useful discoveries did you make about yourself and/or your barre practice at the Koh Samui and Singapore teacher training? Any highlights of your experience at Teacher Training in Singapore and Koh Samui?
I signed up for Teacher Training because I wanted to understand what muscles the different exercises were targeting. This was all covered systematically during Teacher Training, and each of the exercises were broken down, including variations for each exercise and how to spot and avoid common postural mistakes when practicing each exercise.
For Level 2, we were each assigned to teach a mini 30 minute class to our own chosen playlist. I found the lesson planning process interesting and after the initial few minutes which were quite unnerving, I actually started to enjoy leading the mini class. Jess and my classmates were extremely encouraging!
3) Are there things you’ve learned or experienced in Teacher Training that apply to other areas of your life?
Yes, teaching a mini class was definitely a first for me! It was very intimidating but I was pleasantly surprised that it turned out alright. It does give me the confidence to step out of my comfort zone in other areas of my life.
As with anything you want to get good at; for barre, you only get as much as you put in and there are no shortcuts. Mindful practice and making sure you engage the right muscles for each exercise are so important.
4) Who would you recommend Teacher Training to?
Those who already attend class and want to improve and deepen their practice of barre will find the course useful. There’s only so much you can learn in a 50 minute group class but during Teacher Training, you really do a deep dive into each of the exercises and cover parts of the human anatomy that are relevant to barre practice.
5) What are your future goals with barre and Barre 2 Barre?
I hope to keep up with my regular barre sessions and may consider other courses in future.
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