Unique workout helps mum through dark time

A Central Queensland mum has created a class to empower women of all sizes and abilities.

Gillian Ketting created Resilience and Balanced Dance Fitness to empower women of all sizes and fitness abilities.

A CENTRAL Queensland mum has used her passion for dance and fitness to help her through one of the darkest and most challenging times in her life.

Gillian Ketting should have been celebrating the birth of her daughter, but instead was struck with grief when she lost her dad to cancer just weeks after she gave birth.

"I had an extremely tough pregnancy and when our daughter was only a week old we found out that there were no more options for my dad," Mrs Ketting said.

"My dad and I were extremely close and losing him has been the hardest thing I've lived through."

The mother-of-two became severely depressed, "barely functioning", and gained an extra 10kg on top of the 30kg she put on throughout her pregnancy.

After six months, Mrs Ketting decided to make a change for herself, her husband and her two children, Braxton and Mila.

She would go into the garage with her husband, turn on the music, and over time felt the weight lifting off.

"I have danced since a child and naturally always loved it, but never got lessons formally," Mrs Ketting said.

"For me, music and dance is medicine.

"I began to feel a little better about myself - and more equipped to deal with life again."

The couple created Resilience and Balanced Dance Fitness (R&B), which is what pushed Mrs Ketting's passion to help other women who may have lost their way.

The family relocated from Perth to Middlemount, which is when the business began to boom.

"I once thought I had to look a certain way to stand up in front of others and teach dance or fitness, and now here I stood embracing who I was, embracing the now and before I knew it I was organising a pop-up class in North Brisbane," Mrs Ketting said.

She hosted pop-up dance classes in Brisbane, Mackay and across Central Queensland to help inspire women.

"I wanted to help women embrace the now and love the skin they are in," Mrs Ketting said.

"I wanted to help women who, just like me, knew pain, the ones who found themselves in a dark place and unsure how to climb out. A safe place for women to embrace all that they are, to feel inspired and empowered.

"An environment for all women to come with no walls up, no judgment, a place just to dance."

Mrs Ketting is proud to be creating a community of women who magnify each others' strengths, build each other up and act as a support network.

"I also believe its important for us women to let our hair down, find something we love doing and a find a place where we belong," she said.

Mrs Ketting said her classes were unique and had been growing each week in Middlemount.

"It's an escape from work, an escape for us mummas to have an hour of 'me time' to fill our cups up and do something that makes us feel good," she said.

The R&B Dance Fitness classes run for an hour and are suitable for all fitness levels.

"It doesn't matter if you are a size 6 or 26, this is for all women," Mrs Ketting said.

"We have both high and low-impact options available, so you can take it at a pace you feel comfortable with."

Mrs Ketting is now looking at taking the classes to Emerald, after receiving a huge amount of interest on community Facebook pages.

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