An Exercise Physiologist with a person-centred approach

My Approach

I value your lived experience

I take a person centred, evidence based and trauma informed approach to my work as an Accredited Exercise Physiologist. This means that I value your insights and lived experience above all else. I respect you as the expert in your own life and seek to collaborate together on how to get to your goals.
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I understand that there are many emotional, social and physical factors that affect our ability to sustain movement in the long term. I will work with you to understand these and tailor a movement strategy around them.

My work is both LGBTQIA+ and neuro-affirming, drawing from my own lived experiences. I support chronically ill and disabled individuals. I embrace people of all shapes and sizes and have created YMS to support them first and for most. I respect and hold space for people with chronic disease and mental illness, and warmly welcome individuals from all cultural backgrounds.

Your Movement Space was established to be a serene harbour for those who have had negative experiences in the medical system and seeking a movement experience that goes beyond the usual "exercise more" mantra. Here, we prioritise personalised, compassionate, and inclusive approaches to movement, ensuring that everyone's unique needs and circumstances are acknowledged and respected.

About

Ellen's Qualifications

Ellen is an Accredited Exercise Physiologist and Personal Trainer with 8 years of experience in the fitness industry. They have worked in commercial gyms, pilates studios and clinical setting before opening Your Movement Space.

Some of my qualifications include:
- Certificate 3 & 4 in Fitness, FitNation
- Bachelor of Exercise Physiology, University of New South Wales
- Safe Exercise at Every Stage (SEES 1 & 2) – eating disorder and exercise.
- Certificate IV in PilatesMatwork and Reformer, Breath Education
- Motivational Interviewing, Tara Macgregor
- ACT for Beginners with Russ Harris, Psychwire

I am a member of Exercise Sport Science Australia (ESSA) and adhere to their scope of practice for Exercises Physiologists and well as their code of ethics.

Values

The Core Values That Inspire YMS

Evidence-Based

My evidence-based care includes your lived experience, my clinical experience, and relevant scientific literature that applies to your unique situation and goals.

Collaboration

I collaborate closely with my clients, recognising that rebuilding your relationship with movement is a journey we must navigate together. I aim to share my insights on movement in collaboration with your lived experience.

Self-Compassion

I will encourage you to explore kindness to yourself and become less judgmental of your body and its abilities.
I will hold space for your self-compassion until until you can hold it for yourself.

Inclusivity

I welcome all individuals to Your Movement Space. I hope to create a place where everyone, from all backgrounds, feels safe to explore movement at their own pace.

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FAQs

Frequently Asked Questions

The most common questions received from clients reaching out to me

What is an Exercise Physiologist?

Accredited Exercise Physiologists (AEP) are health professionals that specialise in using exercise to help manage and prevent chronic disease and injury. AEPs complete a four-year university degree and are trained in helping their clients achieve behaviour change that improves their long-term health outcomes. AEPs are trained to work with a large range of people including folk with neurological, respiratory, metabolic, musculoskeletal, and psychological conditions

What is the difference between a Personal Trainer and an Exercise Physiologist

Exercise physiologists are allied health professionals, they have:
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- Completed a four-year university degree.
- Often work in clinical, hospital, sports, or gym settings.
- Been trained to manage the administration and prescription of exercise for managing chronic diseases, mental health, persisting pain as well as overall health and wellness.
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Personal trainers are fitness professionals, they have:

- A certification 3 & 4 in fitness from TAFE or the equivalent, often takes 6 months to complete.
- Often work in gyms and fitness centers
- Primarily trained to help the general population (people without disease and injury) reach their fitness goals (i.e getting their first push-up).
- They are not trained to work with people who have chronic medical conditions.

How can an Accredited Exercise Physiologist (AEP) help me during my ED recovery?

There are three main areas that eating disorders generally effect - your relationship with exercise, relationship with food, and your mind.
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Accredited exercise physiologist’s (AEPs) role is to address your relationship with movement and prescribe a safe level of exercise that doesn't interfere with recovery but allows the individual to gain the health benefits associated with movement. AEPs also help clients address the underlying unhelpful beliefs/habits around exercise that contribute to the ED pathology and work towards improving their overall relationship with exercise.
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Engaging in dysfunctional exercise habits driven by the ED is associated with an increased risk of relapse, poorer treatment outcomes and worsening of psychopathologies. Making dysfunctional exercise habits a very important area of ED treatment.

Do you provide exercise with the goal of weight loss?

Your Movement Space was created as a safe space for individuals of all shapes, identities and cultural backgrounds to pursue the health benefits of movement without a focus on weight loss. As a result, Your Movement Space is not focused on achieving weight loss goals.

Is Your Movement Space affirming for the trans and gender diverse folk?

Your Movement Space (YMS) tries to create a space where anyone of any gender identity can feel comfortable. At YMS we respect your privacy, you do not need or expect you to disclose anything about your identity unless you think it is relevant to your care. We will only ask for your pronouns in your registration form and respect them though our work together.
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Ellen, the director of YMS, identifies as gender nonconforming and strives to make sure they can provide a safe place for the trans community to access gender affirming movement.

Are you services eligible for any Private Health or Medicare rebates?

Yes, Accredited Exercise Physiologists (AEPs) are recognised allied health providers by Medicare and most private health insurances, depending on your level of cover.
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To receive a Medicare referral, ask your General Practitioner (GP) if your eligible for the Chronic Disease Management Plan (CDMP). This will allow you to access 5 partially rebated sessions with an AEP per calendar year. The rebate for sessions on the CDMP are approximately $57.50 per session. Please note that EP is not yet covered on the Eating Disorders Treatment Plan (EDTP).
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For private health claims please contact your provider to see if your current level of cover includes EP. Rebates vary across providers from partial rebate to full coverage of the session fee.

Does Your Movement Space see National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) participants?

There are ample options for street parking in the vicinity, with durations ranging from 1 to 2 hours. Please note that some parking spots require payment through meters, while others are timed. If you are unfamiliar with Kirribilli, I recommend arriving 10 to 15 minutes early to
allow yourself sufficient time to familiarise yourself with the area.
For those utilising public transportation, Your Movement Space is conveniently located just a 5-minute walk from Milsons Point train station.