Member Feature – Michaela Bright

Our new member feature posts are designed to acknowledge members who are particularly aspirational.  We know that every single one of our members are special for a myriad of reasons but occasionally certain members come to our attention for doing something particular that we’d like to applaud them for.  These posts are meant to be a high five for something awesome as well as a nudge to everyone else to take a deep breath and barge through whatever might be holding you back right now.

We’ve chosen Michaela Bright to be the subject of our first member feature.  Michaela has been a member for the past 3 years and is a well-known and loved member of the Inspire family.  Following the recent blow of being made redundant Michaela took the bold step of retraining to be a Sports Massage Therapist which it turns out is something she’s incredibly good at!  Michaela is proof that if you have a dream you should go for it.

Quite a few of our other members have been to Michaela for therapy and we’ve heard nothing but great things about her skills, manner and effectiveness.

So, here’s a little more about Micheala, her experience with Inspire and what drove her to retrain as a manual therapist.

Q. You were already someone who took care of your health with regular yoga sessions so why did you join Inspire Fitness in the first place?

I decided to joint Inspire with my daughter Lauren so that we could do something fun together to boost our fitness levels and to help her get back into fitness after having my grandson.  We didn’t want to join a traditional gym as they can be slightly intimidating and as Inspire was ladies only we thought the atmosphere would be more friendly.

Q. How have you found your fitness has changed since joining?

I have always been fairly flexible from over 15 years of Yoga, but I actually think that the strength training has improved yoga practice in all areas due to increased stamina.

Although not my original reason for joining the gym, my weight has dropped by just over a stone and I now have much better muscle definition.

Last year I had the confidence to wear a bikini again on holiday and my strength was noticeably improved on a recent kayaking challenge that I took part in.

Q. As someone who now has extensive knowledge of how the body should work what do you like most about the eGym circuit?

I like the ability to adjust the machinery especially when I have overworked certain areas, the machines are very easy to use, and the circuit gives me a good basic and allows me to add my own exercises to boost working the individual muscle groups or to add some cardio.

The changes in the programmes every 6 sessions doesn’t allow the muscle memory to become complacent and therefore helps maximise every workout session.

Q.Recently, following a redundancy, you decided to train as a sports massage therapist, what attracted you to do this?

I had time to sit back and think what I wanted to do when I grew up! ? The things I enjoyed were Yoga, the gym and the regular massages that I got.  I felt that as I was nearly 50 a PT maybe wasn’t for me, and I could never aspire to be as good a Yoga teacher as my instructor Naomi Seager so I decided to retrain as a Sports Massage Therapist, the idea was then encouraged by the instructors at the gym and by my friend Sam Bramley who owns Active Potential Therapy.

Q. How did you find the training?

First I had to encourage my brain to learn something that wasn’t maths based.

Day one we had to name 3 muscles / bones in the body……. I knew 3!!

5 months later, after over 60 hours of classroom study, 2 practical videoed assessments, 2 exams and 28 case studies later I passed levels 4 & 5.

Q. What do you enjoy about being a sports massage therapist?

I enjoy making people feel better when they leave than when they arrived, and I get to talk (to them or at them) which is another hobby of mine!

Q. Are sports massages just for people who run a lot or play regular sports?

Definitely not, in the past weeks I have had more gardening back injuries than anything else.

Generally, I see a range of people from those who are very active to those who could do with being more active.

Massage can help with many things from stress and headaches to enhancing performance and improving range of movement.  (see my poster in the gym for details of the many benefits of massage)

Q. How could a sports massage help someone who considers themselves quite sedentary?

Massage is great for improving circulation, decreasing inflammation, improving digestion and many more effects of being sedentary.  70% of my regular clients have desk bound jobs and a maintenance shoulder and back massage can really help reduce the stresses held in these areas.

Q. Where do you work and how can someone get in touch if they want to try a massage with you?

Please email m.bright1@btinternet.com or message me on 0790 000 8688 alternatively grab me in the gym