Meet The Mover: Kathryn Parker
Apr 30, 2023Name: Kathryn
Location: Melbourne, Australia
Age: 32
Profession: Physiotherapist
Can you tell us about who you are & what you do?
I work as a physiotherapist at a service specialising in progressive neurological diseases like Motor Neurone Disease and Huntington's Disease. I see people at home and help them to maximise their independence and quality of life as their disease progresses. I've worked with neurological and palliative clients for most of my career. It's a real honour to spend time with people in their homes and help families through some incredibly difficult situations.
Outside of work I'm a pretty regular person. I am newly married to my delightful husband after 13 years. I enjoy spending time with family and close friends but I like my own space to recharge. I love drinking coffee and cooking, and need no excuse to spend all weekend baking and feeding people.
How did you come across Amy's classes? And when?!
Instagram, I think I was following a photographer that Amy had worked with. It was late 2021, Melbourne was balls deep in an eternal lockdown and I'd probably been scrolling for 45 hours straight.
How does the platform compare to other forms of movement you've tried in the past?
I followed Amy's socials for a few months before signing up to the platform. She seemed to know more about anatomy and movement compared to an average yoga teacher, which appealed to me as a physio. Until lockdown I was still a member of a functional group training gym and had done this style of exercise for many years and was very fit... but I found that I was tired of smashing my body five times a week, and was tending to go to more of their yoga and Pilates classes instead. I was also becoming more conscious of diet culture thinly veiled as health and wellness. So many gyms claim "health" as their major objective but you still have to get on a scale and track your body fat to enter a 12-week challenge. As a physio I am very aware of the many positive benefits of exercise unrelated to weight loss. I asked myself why I was literally paying a lot of money to be fed diet culture at the gym; it's nigh impossible to avoid diet culture in these kind of environments. I emailed Amy asking about her stance on this and whether she talks about weight or diet during her classes and she replied saying "nope, never" so I signed up!
What would you say is the biggest impact the platform has on your life?
Having access to hundreds of classes and a daily schedule means that I can move exactly how I want or need to move on a given day. I'm way more likely to move, even for just 15 minutes, because of Amy's platform. Her classes are challenging but nurturing and they are helping me to give up on the idea that I have to look like an Instagram model or move like the hyper-flexible girl at the front row of every studio to do yoga. It's just practicing a skill and I don't have to be perfect for it to be valid. I'm slowly learning to accept my hips for how they are (wide and stiff!!) and maybe that's not the worst thing in the world and they're also pretty strong.
Also let's not forget that I literally flew to ITALY to hang out with Amy + co in 2022! It was the trip of a lifetime and I made a bunch of new friends.
What's your favourite thing about the platform?
Amy yelling at her cat for shitting in a pot plant.
Your favourite class or category?!
I have many favourites. The coffee crew and 10 minute vinyasa classes are perfect for when you can't be bothered but kind of want to move. I enjoy long slow flow vinyasa classes like Nervous System Reboot and Slow Humble Strength. Groundhog Day is a good challenge.
Tell me, what greatness are you achieving this year?
Body acceptance. And renovating my house.
And what are you surrendering or moving on from this year?
The desire to impress and please everyone I meet, and spending time and energy on people who give me nothing in return.
Any closing words, thoughts or feelings?
I'm trying to think of something profound but I've got nothing. Drive safely, and always sprinkle a bit of salt on your choc chip cookie dough before baking.
Enjoy below my practice space during our home renovations and thankfully now after!
