Instructor’s Profile



DIONE COWLEY
Qualifications:
- Personal Fitness Trainer / Sports Performance Trainer
- Stott Pilates / Body Control Pilates – Instructor (Equipment and Accessories)
- Douglas Heel – Muscle Activation Therapy
- Groote Schuur Hospital – Cadaver work
GYROTONIC®
Equipment:
- Pulley Tower Combination Unit – Level 1 / Level 2
- GYROTONER®
- Jumping Stretch Board
- Leg Extension Unit
- Archway – Level 1
- Therapeutic Applications for Pelvic Girdle and Shoulder Girdle
GYROKINESIS®
- Level 1
- Happy Moves
- Body Rolling (YBR)
- Table Treatment
- Breath Work
From a very young age I have always wanted to move, I remember dancing to fitness tapes in the bathroom so I would not be disturbed, doing yoga from a book using the carpet as a yoga mat.
I rode horses and took a lot of falls. At the age of 8, I had an accident which fractured my jaw and my spine. From the age of 14, I started having back pain and instability throughout my spine. Having countless physio and chiropractic treatments to help with the pain, I decided to take the responsibility of rehabilitating my own body. This is where my passion for the human body and it’s amazing ability to heal itself started.
An opportunity to live and study in Cape Town in my late 20’s allowed me to study at ‘The Sports Science Institute’, where I passed with Distinction as a ‘Personal fitness Trainer’ and ‘Sports Performance Trainer’. It was here that I was able to assist and practise my skills on the Springbok Rugby team and a professional kayaker.
I decided to branch off and study Pilates to help with the pain in my spine. I studied the Stott Method (Canadian) and later The Body Control Method (UK) which helped immensely but during this period. I was introduced to a Physiotherapist, Shari Rosenberg, for my injuries and she introduced me to the Gyrotonic and Gyrokinesis Methods.
Everything changed in my body from this moment forward. My pain was considerably reduced and a marked difference in the strength in my body was felt. My passion and love for Gyrotonic exercise started from this point onwards. I sold all my Pilates equipment and opened my first studio offering the Gyrotonic method in 2007 in Cape Town.
After leaving South Africa, I moved to the Vendée in France and opened Zelah Fitness Studio where I currently teach now.