Health Retreat Program and Fitness Manager – Rachel Brooks
Rachel has been training clients at Brookleigh since the Health and Spa opened in February 2010 and has a Bachelor of Science degree in Kinesiology. Kinesiology is the study of Human Movement.
Rachel’s studies involved courses that had an emphasis on Human Performance and Health Promotion. This field of study was an obvious choice for Rachel, as she has always been interested in Health on both a personal level and in helping others to achieve their optimal level of health and fitness. This includes the aged, young adults and middle aged persons. Rachel also has a soft spot for children and the prevention of health-related disease. She has also completed her training in Australia in Pre and Post Natal Personal Training so she is ready to assist you with preparing your body for giving birth and also continuing your fitness journey after birth!
Rachel has put her passion and knowledge to use working as an instructor and coordinator for fitness programs. She herself has trained at a high level and played University Basketball, achieving great team success and learning about discipline and positive mental attitudes. Rachel has also achieved personal success in trail running. She placed 2nd, 3rd and 1st in her first three races with the Perth Trail Series last year and finished 1st in all 4 races that she competed in during 2017. She also found herself competing in a 50 k Ultramarathon just 9 months after taking up trail running and finished in 1st place with this event. Her focus has shifted back to basketball, where she currently plays in the State Basketball League for the Kalamunda Eastern Suns.
Rachel’s experience as a high achieving athlete and her Kinesiology background makes her uniquely capable at helping you to find the tools to achieve your personal best. Her biggest goal for ALL of her clients is for them to consistently finish their day with energy to spare!
Rachel believes “What we are able to do with our bodies is a gift. Using that gift to the best of our ability is honouring our health. It’s very important to listen to your body and pay as much attention to it as you do to other areas of your life. Sound health is a lifelong pursuit and while it may be only one factor in your life, it gives you the freedom to enjoy all the other areas of your life.”
Rachel also has personal interests in Nutrition, the food industry, and cultures and attitudes relating to health in general. Rachel is a registered exercise professional with Fitness Australia and holds her Certification III and Certificate IV in Fitness from the Fitness Institute Australia. She leads 1, 3 and 5 Day Health Retreats , 1 on 1 Personal Training sessions, Bootcamp classes, bush walks and helps with the GR8 Bodies Weight Management classes.
Nutrition and Weight Management – Penny Schouten
Penny is qualified in Nutrition and Weight Management, Psychology of Weight Management, Exercise to Music and Fitness Pilates.
With over 17 years experience, Penny is passionate about helping Brookleigh’s clients reach their fitness goals through Gr8 Bodies and Fitness Pilates Classes.
Penny’s clients’ comments speak volumes:
‘Wonderful for stretching out the aches and pains of everyday life.’
‘The class is relaxing yet great at developing core strength. It’s making me fitter and far more relaxed. Penny is a great leader and makes it all good fun.
Yoga Instructor – Tanya
Tanya’s journey through Yoga has been interesting yet profound. From being a regular Pilates student she was encouraged to try Yoga, and has been hooked ever since.
As a teacher, Tanya’s passion lies with the ancient practice of Hatha Yoga, however she has been practicing various forms including Iyengar, Ashtanga and Yin Yoga
In mid-2015 Tanya completed her 250h Yoga Teacher Training with Yoga Alliance Australia.
Through Yoga you can develop physical strength, but you also develop strength in the mind and spirit. Tanya believes Yoga has helped her to become a better person & identify changes that she has needed to make in order to grow as an individual. Tanya wants to pass this knowledge onto her students, nurturing and guiding them towards being able to explore their physical capabilities and open their mind and heart in the practice of Yoga.
Meditation Instructor – Robyn
Natural and Organic Cuisine and Spa Products
During your Health Retreat at Brookleigh, you will have the option to eat cuisine that is organic and sourced locally from the Swan Valley. The food will always be prepared fresh and you will enjoy a large variety with your meals as we believe in experiencing many tastes.
In 2014, the RSPCA named the Swan Valley Australia’s first humane food region. This means there is a strong regional commitment to supporting the welfare of animals and producing high quality, healthier, tastier food. Consumers can be assured that the meat chickens have been able to scratch and forage naturally, breeding pigs are not confined to stalls and hens can lay their eggs in a nest.
Gourmet Cuisine from the Swan Valley in Western Australia
During your stay at Health and Spa at Brookleigh, meals will be enjoyed at the award-winning Stewart’s Restaurant. Here, Head Chef uses his knowledge and innovation to create balanced, healthy, gourmet dishes full of flavour and freshness. Where possible, ingredients are sourced locally from the Swan Valley seasonal fare and the best that Western Australia has to offer.
Health Retreat at Brookleigh also provides menus with choices of food from the Swan Valley Café. The Swan Valley Café is a vegetarian restaurant in Perth offering vegan, raw, coeliac, gluten free and dairy free options. Their emphasis is on making nourishing food that is good for the soul.
Health Retreat at Brookleigh incorporates the use of Valley Teas which is a range of Naturopathic herbal teas formulated and hand blended in Western Australia. Valley Tea was founded in 2010 by Julie Wallace, co-owner of the Swan Valley Café and an experienced Naturopath dedicated to natural healing. Julie started Valley Tea after seeing a lack of easily accessible herbal teas formulated to help with specific symptoms.
You will find honey in your room from The House of Honey, which is only minutes up the road from Brookleigh, which proudly specialises in raw, pure, unpasteurised and unadulterated varietal honeys. They practice harvesting honey only when their bees have capped the cells allowing the honey to fully ripen and mature into an exceptional taste. The House of Honey’s guarantee to you is to provide premium top quality West Australian honeys with intense flavours and the highest nutritional value using traditional and sustainable farming methods.
Whilst completing your retreat program you can be sure that your energy and nutritional requirements will be met in the most delightful way.
Joi Pure – Organic Spa Products
JOI Pure aromatherapy products are created in purpose-built premises set amongst natural bushland in the picturesque locale of Brigadoon in the hills of the Swan Valley, Western Australia.
The JOI team are committed to providing pure, natural skincare products that use only the finest of nature’s organic ingredients; genuine therapeutic quality pure essential oils, certified organic virgin plant/nut oils, virgin beeswax, pure floral hydrosols and infusions, pure plant and herbal extracts. All ingredients contained in our formulations are certified organic unless unobtainable in this form.
e.g.vitamin E which is naturally plant sourced and GMO free but not available as certified organic.
All JOI Pure products are carefully prepared in small quantities to ensure optimum quality, freshness and effectiveness of each product and to avoid the use of strong toxic preservatives. Where possible all products are packaged in recyclable dark glass to maintain the integrity of the natural ingredients and to assist in the preservation of the precious environment we live in.
In keeping with Brookleigh’s theme of immersing yourself in the Valley experience, Brookleigh’s Health Retreats will take you to the picturesque and unique Bells Rapids. The country side and coastal plains are enjoyed during a circuit trail walk/hike alongside the Swan River and all fitness levels can be catered for with differing options of trails. Many flora and fauna, including kangaroos, can be seen during these walks and it is a refreshing way to begin your day.
Guinot Institute Paris
For more than 40 years, GUINOT’s mission has been to make women more beautiful using exclusive and innovative beauty care methods.
For Guinot, it is the beauty therapist, the beauty professional, who combines his or her expertise with Guinot beauty care methods in order to obtain results which are immediately visible.
The son of a plastic surgeon, Jean Daniel Mondin, GUINOT’s Chairman and CEO, chose to study pharmacy and obtained a doctorate. Endowed with the expertise thus gained, Jean Daniel Mondin redefined the concept of “cosmetics” through his own perspective and his medical roots.
He is one of the few people in the world heading a cosmetics company who has also achieved a high calibre scientific degree. His education prompted him to establish a technologically advanced laboratory implementing the accuracy of pharmaceutical standards.
Guinot decided to exclusively entrust beauty salons with its treatments. Only these businesses have qualified beauty therapists that can perform professional beauty treatments. Women thus found, in the form of the beauty salon, a place of business where the beauty therapist, as a “beauty doctor”, prescribes the most suitable products for the skin. Today Guinot has become “the benchmark” for beauty salons.