STEPHANIE FOWLER, BSc (HONS), Dip ITEC, RCST
TAI CHI BACKGROUND
My martial arts training began in 1992 at the age of 17. After starting with Kung Fu and a few other other martial-art styles, I found Tai Chi Chuan in 1993 and have been practising it ever since. I became a registered instructor with the Tai Chi Union Of Great Britain in 2002. While my training began in Yang-style Tai Chi, I moved to Chen-style Tai Chi in 2001, which is now my main practice.
I have been fortunate to train with many top masters from all over the world, most notably my current teacher Master Wang Haijun. To further my own practice, I have regularly travelled to China to train with other masters including the current Chen-style lineage holder Grandmaster Chen Zhenglei and 12th-generation successor of Chen-style Tai Chi Master Fu Nengbin. Other noted masters I have trained with include Grandmaster Chen Xiao Wang. I have also practised another internal martial art, Bagwa, for a number of years, as well as Qigong.
I have performed at Tai Chi and Martial Arts demonstrations and events around the world, including in Budapest, and at Hong Kong Day at the races at Royal Ascot. i have also successfully competed at an international level, gaining a silver medal and bronze medal in the open hand and sword events at the International Taijiquan Exchange Competition in Jiaozuo, China in 2007.
Alongside privately-run Tai Chi classes, I have also taught at a number of events and festivals, including for Islington council and EC1 New Deal, and I have run classes at gyms and centres such as Virgin Active, GLL Better (formerly Aquaterra Leisure) and the Islington Chinese Association. While my training and classes are mostly based around the more traditional Chen-style Tai Chi practice, I have taught dedicated push hands classes, weapons and classes for wheelchair users and frail elderly.
I enjoy working with people of any age or background, and have many years of experience teaching older adults with complex needs and those with learning difficulties for Hackney Council. I have developed chair-based Tai Chi routines and classes, and run more general seated exercise classes too. This has enabled me to combine some of my therapeutic knowledge with more traditional Tai Chi skills. I also work with corporate groups, and am available for private lessons. For a current class schedule, please click here.
THERAPY BACKGROUND
I began training as a therapist to complement my work teaching Tai Chi. I started my Craniosacral therapy studies in 2003, gained my ITEC qualification as a massage therapist in 2004, and qualified in Craniosacral therapy with the College of Cranio-Sacral Therapy in 2005.
These first qualifications triggered an interest in the body's viscera (internal organs) and their connections within the body - physically, functionally and emotionally. My first visceral course was with the Upledger Institute, and I then completed the full visceral modality of working with the Barral Institute. I have been fortunate to train directly with renowned French osteopath Jean-Piere Barral, both through the Barral Institute and CPDO. I have attended various other courses to enhance my skills, including a workshop in qigong tuina with Bruce Frantzis, and approach each client on an individual basis, using a mix of skills and therapies to best suit each person's needs.
In 2006, I started working as a tutor at the College of Cranio-Sacral Therapy in London. I am currently a registered practitioner with the Craniosacral Therapy Association of the UK and worked as the Editor of the CSTA's in-house magazine The Fulcrum from 2014-2019. I also run postgraduate workshops through the Blue Turtle collective.
In my spare time, I enjoy hiking and cycling, and have been on a number of self-supported bike tours in countries including in my birth country of New Zealand. I also enjoy exploring London and the UK with my dog, Bobby, a rescue lurcher.