I’m Victoria, the visionary behind the Ordinary People Academy. With a wealth of experience and expertise in wellness, I am dedicated to empowering others to succeed in their wellness businesses while balancing the joys of motherhood.
I am not only a wellness guru but also a loving mom to Alisdair, aged 3 years, and balancing the demands of entrepreneurship with the chaotic joys of motherhood.
I have an MA Honours degree in English Literature & Sociology; an MSc in Marketing and various Certificates and Diplomas in youth and community work, training, and facilitation skills.
I founded award-winning charity Stretch & Play in 2006 and developed Stretch NI in 2009, focusing on working with adults. I moved to Scotland in 2012 and expanded work into teacher training courses with StretchBodyMind (now the Ordinary People Academy).
I have over 30 years of yoga practice and two decades of teaching experience. I have been a Pilates instructor since 2006 and a Yoga Alliance Professionals Senior Yoga Teacher since 2012 and, through my high touch small group and 1:1 courses, I have personally trained hundreds of Yoga and Pilates professionals.
My dedication, expertise, and nurturing spirit have transformed countless lives, and my commitment to excellence continues to inspire wellness professionals worldwide.
It’s my most sincere hope that we blanket the world with breathwork. We have enough medication and talk therapy already.
This CIMSPA (Chartered Institute for the Management of Sport and Physical Activity) endorsed and IPHM (International Practitioners of Holistic Medicine) accredited qualification teaches the skills, knowledge and competence required of an individual in order to work with clients on specific breathing techniques in both 1:1 or group sessions online or in-person.
Learners will cover:
• The anatomy of the lungs; gaseous exchange; the breath-brain connection, the nasal cycle; and the physical and mental benefits of breathwork.
• How to hold (safe) space for breathwork; creating a trauma-informed space; and basic facilitation skills.
• How the breath impacts the vagus nerve and its connection to the parasympathetic nervous system; polyvagal theory; and polyvagal wellbeing.
• The structure of a breathwork session and how to build momentum with music and motivational cueing (i.e. what to say and what to play).
• The content of a breathwork session with an in-depth study of 6 unique breathwork exercises.
• Advanced Facilitation skills – planning for emotional and physical reactions; modifying for different audiences/special populations; exploring medical research studies.
• The Business of Breathwork – first steps to setting up a business; your facilitator career; advertising, marketing and sales; ethical considerations.
Certification Requirements:
It is expected for trainee Facilitators to have a regular breathwork practice and go on their own personal journey. Ideally, this will be documented, although it is not directly assessed. Instead, assessment for this course is by: ~Attending 90% of the live calls.
~Watching 100% of the videos.
~Completing a case study and creating a Breathwork session for that person using the templates supplied.
~Receiving 3 one-to-one breathwork sessions, leading 3 one-to-one breathwork sessions, and facilitating 4 group breathwork sessions. (Self-evaluation and participant feedback must be completed for these). The self-evaluation should be sent to me no later than a week after completing your one-to-one and group breathwork sessions. You don't need to send me participant feedback but instead share this with your Facilitator for them to add to their self-evaluation.
~Completing a final teaching practicum.
Victoria will personally evaluate your performance and send you an IPHM-accredited Certificate or suggest ways to improve your performance as a Breathwork Facilitator if you need to resubmit.
| Professional Summary | BiographyContactLocation |
| Professional Summary | BiographyContactLocation |
