Daniela and I share a love for many things, Pilates and South East London being two of them hehe. I've been lucky enough to meet Dani at LMP meet ups over the last couple of years and her energy is as positive and contagious as you'll sense from this interview. I'm so honoured to have you as a LMP member and a neighbour, Dani.

“Eat the cake, get the tattoo you always wanted, start the new hobby, get a new haircut… Life’s short and there’s no perfect moment. Go out there and live your best life.” Dani 💕

Where are you based?

I live in SE London with my partner and two sons. I moved to the UK from Germany in 2010 but initially lived in different parts of South London before settling in Forest Hill just before I had my first son in 2014. I never looked back, slightly biased but I do think that SE London is the best part of London (but then I know that many people would say that about their town or part of a city!)

How did you discover Pilates?

It has been a real journey for me. I work for a health charity and before the pandemic, we had Yoga and Pilates teachers coming into the office, teaching lunchtime sessions. I think my youngest was just around two when I signed up to my first ever in-person Pilates class at work. Not long after, the pandemic hit and like so many others, I moved my practice online.

I discovered Lottie over two years ago on YouTube and was immediately drawn in by her wonderful creative teaching style and fabulous cueing. I tried so many other online platforms over the years, but nothing comes remotely close to LMP. I always feel like something is missing in my day if I don’t manage to take one of Lottie’s classes!

What's your favourite class on the LMP Platform?

Oh wow, there are so many! I love using a prop, and generally a strong and steady flow. A class I come back to regularly is Day 6 - Theraband Pilates Mat - 24 Days of Pilates 5.0 #362. I love the use of the theraband here and I’m a big fan of inversions/roll overs!

Last year’s 24 Days of Pilates was the first LMP series I followed along in real time. I even got the t-shirt which I still wear regularly.

Do you have a daily non-negotiable or self-care habit?

I’m a simple girl really (some people would disagree though!): move well and eat well are my daily feel-good essentials.

I’m a pretty active person and I aim at half an hour of walking or running and then another half an hour of Pilates or strength training a day. I run 2-3 times a week and used to do quite long distances. After my last half marathon, I had to reduce my milage drastically due to a hip injury, but lately I had that itch again to perhaps do some longer distances again. I don’t make new year’s resolutions but perhaps that’s something I’m going to give a go in 2026. Probably nothing like a half marathon, but perhaps a chilled 10k around South East London.

And for the important stuff - what is your favourite food or do you have a favourite recipe you’d like to share with us?

Oh another very hard question! Food plays a big role in my personal and professional life, and I love all sorts of cuisines. I like simple, good ingredients and believe in less is more when it comes to food.

I’m probably happiest with a German-style Abendbrot (picky bits) which is basically a  plate of fresh bread, cheese, cured meats, pickles, maybe olives (not very German though but we’re open minded!), maybe a hardboiled egg, some chopped up veg…

My partner is vegetarian, so a lot of our family meals are veggie. I love Anna Jones’ recipes and have two of her cooking books on rotation. Her approach to seasonal, sustainable, uncomplicated food sits well with me.

In addition, part of my job is commissioning recipes for a print magazine, and I’m working closely with food writers and dieticians on articles around heart-healthy foods, so I spend a lot of time thinking about food and planning meals!

One of my favourite German dishes includes eggs and potatoes – two of my favourite things! It’s called Frankfurter Grüne Soße (green sauce). The traditional Hessian version has a distinctive mix of herbs in it, and it often gets blitzed in a blender so the sauce actually turns slightly green (hence the name). It’s traditionally eaten around Easter, but many people and restaurants would have it all year around.

Frankfurter Grüne Soße

Serving: 3

Ingredients:

600g potatoes, either baking potatoes, or white potatoes

500g Greek yogurt or sour cream (can be low-fat, high protein, whatever you fancy!)

Generous bunch of mixed fresh herbs such as chives, parsley or basil

Salt and pepper to taste

2 boiled eggs per person, fudgy or hardboiled

2 spring onions if liked, finely chopped

Serve with: parboiled potatoes or baked potatoes, lightly salted, and a fresh green side salad

Method:

For baked potatoes, preheat the oven to 200ºC/gas 6, and bake for about 60 minutes, depending on size. Pierce with a fork or knife to check they are cooked. Or, for boiled potatoes, bring your potatoes to the boil and simmer until cooked. Again, pierce with a knife to see if they are soft.

Whilst the potatoes are cooking or baking, make your sauce: chop your fresh herbs finely or blitz in a blender. Put sour cream or Greek yogurt in a bowl, season with salt and pepper. Add finely chopped herbs and mix well. Taste and add more salt and pepper if needed.

To boil your eggs, bring a saucepan of water to the boil. Individually lower the eggs gently with a spoon, and cook for 6 minutes for a fudgy yolk, or 7 minutes for a hardboiled egg. Shock eggs with ice cold water, peel off the shell and add to your green sauce (you can chop the egg, halve, or leave whole).

Assemble your plate: serve with potatoes (seasoned lightly with salt) and top with the finely chopped spring onions, if using.

Tip: If you fancy a bit more flavour, add a teaspoon of Harissa paste to your sauce for a German twist on Turkish eggs.

For the record, the picture is professionally styled and taken, my plates at home do not look like this! It’s from a community cooking book I helped putting together for my kids’ primary school.

Are you working on anything personally or professionally?

I work for a heart charity in health content. My team is producing wonderful print and multimedia content for people living with heart conditions or risk factors. I’m very lucky to work with very talented people and get to meet and engage with heart patients regularly.

In addition, I’m a qualified Pilates teacher. I completed my training at the end of 2024, as a personal challenge initially. With a full-time job and family, I just couldn’t make studio hours work so I set up my own little group in March 2025. It’s a very small group full of lovely people and I also cover local in-person classes now and then. Teaching Pilates is a hobby for me which I’m very passionate about. I don’t have any plans to make this my main job, but I’d love to deepen the connection with my little group and see what the future holds.

Personally, I’m not very good at resting. My busy monkey mind always needs something to do but in recent months I’ve been learning to take breaks, sit down, do nothing. It still doesn't come naturally to me, but it’s work in progress.

Are you reading anything at the moment?

Fun (?) fact: I actually studied literature and have a degree in Neue Deutsche Literatur (which is German literature between the 16th and 21st century). I read a lot in my 20ies but stopped reading anything meaningful when I first had children. That black hole where my pre-baby brain once used to be could only cope with really light and easy reads if any at all (nothing wrong with that obviously!). In recent years, I started reading more serious and complex books again which is nice.

I’m currently reading the Safekeep by Yael van der Wouden. I noticed a lot of people around me reading it so gave it go (I’ve been properly influenced!). I’m not very far in yet but it’s very promising. I love the atmosphere created and the subject seems intriguing, so fingers crossed it’s going to be a good read.

Do you have any advice that has impacted you and wish to share?

Eat the cake, get the tattoo you always wanted, start the new hobby, get a new haircut… Life’s short and there’s no perfect moment. Go out there and live your best life. If you can afford it and it doesn't hurt anyone, then do it. I lost one of my closest childhood friends at 32, she would have wanted this for all of us.