Back to work

In this month’s blog, Silver Linings founder, Chrissy speaks to long-term Silver Linings client Lucy about her wellness journey so far and how she manages her work/life balance and makes time to prioritise her wellness with a little help from our expert team!

So Lucy, tell us a little bit about yourself?

I’m a language and special needs teacher in Oxfordshire. Love gardening, growing veg, keeping bees and chickens and sewing my own wardrobe.

What’s your current fitness/wellness schedule? 

After long stressful work days I like to relax with a yoga class. On my ‘day off’ I love either the barre or barre cardio class and also like to start the weekend with one of these too.

What are your ‘go to’ disciplines/classes/teachers and why?

The barre and barre cardio classes – they never get boring, are always challenging and feel like a really efficient use of time. Chrissy you are so encouraging, with us every step of the way and bring fun to each class. I also love the Yoga and stretch classes – again fantastic instruction and variety. If I can make a live class then that is great for keeping you accountable, but I am also just as happy working through the extensive library of classes.

Where do you do your sessions – do you have a dedicated space at home?

I shut the door of our bedroom upstairs and manage to work out on a mat at the end of our bed – a relatively small space but I can do anything from HIIT to stretch in the same space.

Describe some of the challenges and some of the rewards/positives on your wellness journey so far?

It can be hard to get yourself on the mat or even past the warm up of a barre class but there is always a sense of achievement after doing a class. I love feeling stronger and more able to tackle whatever the day/week brings. Also, really rewarding to notice how you get stronger/more able to tackle the challenges. Great sense of ‘me time’ when I carve out some space just for myself. I used to find it really hard to even touch my toes but through sticking at the stretch exercises I have noticed slow but gradual change and am now so much more flexible. After a day at the desk I find the yoga classes indispensable for a good de-stress. 

What do you tell your children about fitness and wellness?

Both girls are keen to be active – dance, swimming or indeed following along with my workouts. It’s a fine balance with girls in their teenage years of nurturing positive body image and not letting them get sucked into Tik Tok advice! On the whole I don’t tell them too much but hopefully lead by example of keeping fit and sticking to it.

What would you like to achieve this Autumn/what are your current wellness goals?

I’ll be working much longer hours from September so really hope to still be able to carve out the time to workout. I would like to keep up my current level of flexibility and strength and I really should try to work on my cardio fitness. 

I absolutely love working out with Silver Linings in my own time in my own space and am so grateful for the strength of body and mind it gives me. It’s fun when you add in new classes/ try different things as well as keep up with the regular classes.