Case Studies
"I first started with Laura as my personal pilates trainer at the beginning of October 2014 . I am 61 and do a number of strenuous outdoor activities, including mountain walking, dry stone walling and an acre of garden. These are very important to me and I want to be sure I have the strength and flexibility to continue with them over many years to come. After a trial pilates session, as a birthday present, I began to think it would help me and approached Laura for a one to one training, so that I could learn some basic techniques, before joining a class. She is superb trainer with a real talent for motivating people and I found a steady rhythm through regular sessions. After Christmas I joined one of her monthly workshops where a class is followed by practice and improvement, it was exceptional and I came away wanting more. From there I joined one of her regular classes which have a real buzz and I Loved it and I kept going with personal training on a monthly basis. She has a terrific personality and empathy with her classes, learning everyone’s name and being able, even in quite a big group, to help put right poor technique and build strength. I have noticed a real improvement in both my strength and flexibility so that even after a 6 hour day dry stone walling I have no twinges in shoulders, back or knees. Currently she is helping me improve pilates technique. I knew I had plateaued and wasn’t progressing as fast as earlier. Without me telling her precisely where I saw problems she identified the exercises I was struggling with completely accurately, from what she had seen in recent classes. That thought sums up her perception and care for those learning with her. Thanks Laura for helping me learn something new and exciting." Mary
"I have been doing pilates and yoga every week with Laura for over a year now and I can honestly say I have never felt better. I am someone who has always done exercise but never stuck to anything for long periods of time until now. I started yoga and pilates for two main reasons, toning and posture. I have always suffered from really bad posture and before training with Laura it used to hurt to straighten my back fully, but now my posture looks better than ever and I suffer no pain. The best part was when I went to a wedding recently and was asked repeatedly if I had grown, well that was such a compliment to me. The classes and workshops have helped to improve my posture and make my body look the best it has ever been and thanks to that my confidence has grown in leaps and bounds. Sometimes classes are as much about the teacher as the actual exercise itself. I definitely have nothing but great things to say about Laura, she really is the nicest person and at the same time the ultimate professional. You can tell she absolutely loves what she does and that really rubs off on whoever she is training and I always come out of her classes feeling much more positive and refreshed, but at the same time having had an amazing work out. Thanks Laura I have found a love of exercise and myself again." Dawn
"I was so fortunate to find out that Laura provided a personal training service through a friend. I have now been working with her for 7 months and my health and fitness have improved drastically. I have already lost 4.5 stone with another stone to go to my target weight. More importantly, I now have the fitness to enable me to go on all day mountain walks again with my family, which is amazing given that prior to starting with Laura walking upstairs got me short of breathe and longer walks brought on severe back pain. The key to the success of Laura's training is that it does not feel like I have been on a diet or an intense workout programme, more that Laura has tuned the programme for me to balance realistic amounts regular exercise with excellent advice on nutrition as well as introducing me to new healthy and very tasty food options. The training sessions educate and really motivate as well as enable me to practice an evolving and varied Pilate's session. I am sure I am eating as much as before, but now eating smarter and ensuring I get regular light exercise. As a consequence, the weight has dropped off and I have toned up amazingly. I am really confident that it will be easy to hit my target weight and maintain it, particularly with Laura's ongoing support. I didn't have any expectation that a personal trainer could have helped me so much, I have been amazed by what I have been able to achieve with Laura's support, and would very strongly recommend anyone wishing to lose weight, improve their health and flexibility book a session with Laura immediately!" Professor Jonathan
"Our New Year’s resolution for 2013 was to take up Pilates as my husband and I felt it would help with niggling back issues and also to improve our overall fitness and strength. Our first choice as instructor was Laura as I already knew how professional and capable she is from the personal training she had done with me at the gym. Every 2 weeks or so Laura arrives with a big smile on her face, exuding masses of positive energy and sets us to work on a Pilates routine carefully geared to our strengths and weaknesses. In the 8 months that we have been learning Pilates with Laura we have made huge improvements in our technique and have enjoyed every session immensely as there is always a lot of fun involved as well as hard work! Being able to train in your own home with an instructor like Laura makes it very easy for us and she constantly updates and changes our routines as we progress. As well as the exercise Laura is extremely knowledgeable about nutrition, physiology and personal wellbeing and we have learnt a lot from her, she is also the most positive person you could meet and really makes you want to try hard at everything you do! We are really looking forward to the Vitality week in September and wish her all the very best with her business development as she really does deserve it!" Alex and Gav
"Laura Daglish has the full package. Body, mind and soul! This dynamic young practitioner has something for everyone, and really knows her stuff. From exercise through to diet and total well being she can advise and guide. Something for men or women of all ages. I was pleased to have helped guide Laura in her Masters Degree and wish her great success. " Ginny
"Laura's advice has completely changed my diet and I feel fantastic as a result. Her exercise classes are fun and she is always encouraging and supportive." Carly
"I would recommend Laura to anyone interested in keeping and maintaining a healthy lifestyle. I have found her to be encouraging and positive every step of the way. She can always come up with good ideas to keep you motivated and on track. Her part in my journey to health and fitness over the past year has been huge and I can't thank her enough! I have changed from feeling sluggish, miserable and overweight to someone with more energy, more physical flexibility, and a slimmer figure. I have a more confident feeling about myself and my body image and have to thank Laura and her positive and inspirational ways for this." Janet
"I began personal training sessions with Laura as I wanted a personalised Pilates-based programme for dealing with my back problem. I had previously tried sports physiotherapy and a chiropractor, but was looking for a more preventative approach. From our first meeting, it was obvious that Laura really listens to your needs, likes and dislikes. She worked with me to develop a programme which would work within my everyday life, and which I could stick to and build upon. She quickly picked up my 'weak spots' (both physically and psychologically!) and gently pushed me towards reaching my goals. I had always been a little apprehensive of personal trainers as being a bit scary, but Laura was very supportive, gave me lots of encouragement and motivated me to keep going. She was always keen to adapt my programme to ensure that it challenged me, but safeguarded the weak areas of my back at all times. The lifestyle and diet advice was really helpful too - I'm pretty healthy but Laura gave me new ideas for boosting my energy and incorporating little daily routines to help keep me flexible and pain-free. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend personal training sessions with Laura to anyone. It has been worth every penny! I don't live in the UK but will definitely be joining in with the vitality weeks!" Gill
"Combining exercise, nutrition and discussion Laura has enabled me to progress more in 2 months than the previous 6 months of my recovery from a broken back from a snow boarding accident. While I understand I still have work to do to be able to move 'normally' again, Laura has provided me with the belief it will happen. Not just through talking through the positives but the remarkable physical improvement I have made thanks to her exercise routine and change of diet. The work I've done has all be worthwhile as we can already celebrate the success of being able to raise my arms to open the fridge & cupboards and enjoy the time taken to create my latest culinary masterpiece! :-) To move from Nutella on toast to full on roast chicken dinners is a surprising but happy achievement that I was not expecting when initially signing up to be trained by Laura. I look forward to each session knowing the significant improvements I will make from each activity as we aim to enable me to live a normal active life unrestricted by movement and pain." Alison
"Laura has been my personal trainer for 2 years and the benefits for me are now very clear. I am fitter and better motivated to exercise than I have been for many years. Laura and I set out some specific fitness objectives for the two years and together we have achieved all of them. She is very professional and skilled at ensuring the programmes are tough enough to be challenging but at the same time within reach. This technique has been particularly beneficial to me in ensuring that I stay motivated. Laura’s new structured classes have been extremely insightful both challenging me to take on new activities (Pilates) and reminding me of lifestyle skills which tend to get pushed to the back on ones mind (Diet and Relaxation being two of them). Laura is by far the best personal trainer I have used and over the years I have some excellent ones so a well deserved accolade." Grahame
"Laura's Pilates classes and healthy workshops are inspiring, encouraging and good fun. I have done both Laura's Pilates classes in town and in the university gym, and her classes cover a wide range of effective exercises, whilst trying to make you feel good about yourself as well. I love her classes and I can really recommend them. On top of that, Laura offers personal training as well, both food and exercise related and she will tailor her exercises to your personal preferences. I implement her advice on a daily basis and it has really improved my lifestyle and health." Sophie
"I have attended Laura's Pilates classes for the last eighteen months. I am not a "gym bunny" so this was a complete new experience for me, During this time I have been amazed at my ability to progress to some of the most challenging moves within Pilates. I felt like a wooden doll when I started attending the classes but Laura's ability to offer "easier options" if struggling means that I have always left the class feeling positive and energised by my success throughout the session. This class has definitely had an impact on my core strength and inner well being as a result of the relaxation at the end of the session. I am no longer wooden and feel fitter, stronger and happier as a result so much so that I am now confident to tackle other classes which Laura offers I now think I can call myself a "happy gym bunny!!!" Carol
"Over the past three years Laura has returned to the University of Cumbria to teach on the undergraduate Drama degree. She has combined her understanding and knowledge of; nutrition, exercise and drama in order to help our students acquire better technique and develop key skills as performers and actors. In particular our students have been taught the importance of improving their; posture, core strength, balance, co-ordination and breathing as a means to increase their expressive range and control in performance. Laura has proven herself to be a versatile, knowledgeable and capable tutor whose patience and focus is valued and appreciated by staff and students alike. Laura has been a pleasure to work with as a colleague, and an inspiration to learn from as a student." Dr. Jeremy