MY JOURNEY: From a Passion for Teaching to Health & Wellness

I must have been around seven years old when I first announced, “Mummy, I want to be a dance teacher.” At the time, I had no idea that more than twenty years of my life would be spent doing exactly that.

Dance was a huge part of my childhood. My mum taught Ballroom and Latin American dance (long before Strictly made it fashionable), and from around the age of eight I spent most afternoons moving between her school and another local studio, where I trained in ballet, modern, and tap. I don’t know where my desire to teach came from — but I do know that I started helping in classes at just eleven years old, and from the very beginning, I loved it.

Teaching initially meant early Saturday mornings in freezing church halls, sweeping floors, washing up, and making endless cups of questionable instant coffee — all for the reward of half an hour actually teaching before lunch. But my teachers recognised my enthusiasm and gradually gave me more responsibility. I was hooked.

A lifelong love of teaching

What has always fascinated me is the challenge of helping very different people understand the same concept. Analysing what someone needs, then breaking things down into clear, logical steps to help them progress, still lights me up.

In the early days, that might have been how to point your toes. Later, it became how to stay on axis for a triple pirouette. Today, it’s more likely to be helping someone understand core stability, movement efficiency, or the stress response.

While these may seem like very different topics, there’s a clear thread running through them all: a fascination with the human body and how it works. Balance, alignment, control, resilience — these principles underpin dance, Pilates, strength training, and wellbeing alike.

A turning point in Greece

In 2005, I opened my own dance school in Greece. Alongside dance classes, I began offering Pilates-based sessions to local mums. Teaching non-dancers how to move with precision, balance, and awareness was a completely new challenge — and to my surprise, I loved it. Looking back, I now see this as a pivotal moment: the beginning of my shift from performance-based teaching to broader movement and wellbeing work.

A change of direction

When I returned to the UK in 2012, my life changed in many ways. One of the biggest was stepping away from dance teaching. As a single mum, the after-school and evening hours dance required simply weren’t workable.

At a crossroads, someone suggested I train as a Personal Trainer. My initial reaction? Horror. I’d never been a “gym person” — I preferred Pilates and movement-based training — and I barely knew what half the machines were for.

But the more I explored the idea, the clearer it became: this wasn’t about gyms. It was about teaching, anatomy, movement, and helping people understand their bodies — all things I already loved.

Discovering the missing piece

As I began working as a Personal Trainer and Nutritional Advisor, I assumed my days would revolve around exercise and food. Instead, I found myself spending a huge amount of time talking about stress.

Stress, it turned out, was the missing piece — both for my clients and for me. Helping people integrate movement, nutrition and stress management became the foundation of what would later become Shaw Lifestyle: a truly holistic approach to physical and mental wellbeing.

The importance of listening

In hindsight, this evolution also brought another part of me fully into my work: the listener.

From my school days onwards, people have always seemed to talk to me. In college I was affectionately nicknamed “Dear Liz” — the resident agony aunt — and that role followed me through into adult life. I genuinely enjoy listening, and people often tell me they feel heard.

Combine that with my love of analysis and problem-solving, and the work I do now feels like a natural culmination of everything that came before.

One of my most meaningful client testimonials simply says:

“I think the main difference between Liz and other personal trainers is that Liz listens.”

For those seeking real, sustainable lifestyle change, I believe listening, trust, and communication are just as important as expertise. This remains true whether I’m working with someone in person or online — a challenge I continue to embrace and love.

Bringing it all together

At its heart, Shaw Lifestyle is built on teaching, listening, analysing, and guiding — helping people understand what they need, then supporting them step by step to get there.

Looking back, the journey makes perfect sense. At the time, I was simply following what felt right.