Inspiring Lives 02: Work, Yoga, Pilates & Being a Mother
Inspiring Lives 02: Work, Yoga, Pilates & Being a Mother
A look into how the modern family juggles working, being active and parenthood.
We spoke to Ruby McCormack, working mother during the day and qualified Yoga & Pilates teacher during the evenings, about how she manages to fit everything in a week. She also let us know a little bit about why MORI has become her chosen go-to babywear essentials brand.
Having lived in Scotland, Hong Kong, New York and Canada before returning to her birthplace of London, one could say Ruby McCormack’s life has always been actionpacked.
Obsessed with dancing from a young age, it’s no surprise that her formative years spent studying ballet and contemporary dance helped to influence Ruby’s passion for Pilates and Yoga. Practising from the age of 14, Ruby is now a fully qualified Pilates, Pre and Postnatal, Booty Barre and Astanga Yoga teacher.
Offering lessons from the Twickenham home she shares with husband and digital expert Peter McCormack and their two sons, Quinten and Tiernan, you’d be forgiven for thinking this was Ruby’s day job. Between lessons, supermum Ruby also holds down a job as a Project Manager and Development Consultant in the financial services industry.
The very definition of a contemporary family, the McCormacks are one of a growing number of modern families who eschewed becoming parents in their youth in favour of building exciting and rewarding careers first.
We sat down with team McCormack over their famous “Pancake Sunday” to find out more about their contemporary lifestyle and the importance they place on nurturing and self-development.
Hardworking and relentlessly active, Ruby cites the support of Peter and her mother as being the key to her professional and personal success; “I’m very lucky to have a husband that is very involved with the kids and supports my crazy need to pack lots in with working and teaching and at times studying as part of my professional development.”
But that’s not to say that everything always goes according to plan in this bustling household. Admitting that “we don’t always get it 100% right”, Ruby cites one occasion where she forgot parents’ evening, an experience she describes as “mortifying”.As active at the weekends with the family as they are at work, Ruby, Peter and the boys often “go for walks, jogs, play squash or go swimming”. It’s a love for the Tate and Saatchi galleries that often takes Peter and the boys into central London, giving Ruby an opportunity to squeeze in an extra Yoga or Pilates class.
“I’m very lucky to have a husband that is very involved with the kids and supports my crazy need to pack lots in”.
Acknowledging that she “has enough energy” for the whole family, it’s things like clothes shopping for the children that Ruby finds “a little bit dull”. And it’s due to her busy lifestyle that MORI’s regular baby clothing deliveries are a godsend.
A fan of MORI’s no fuss approach to baby fashion, Ruby believes that MORI fills a much-needed gap in the unisex baby clothes market due to the quality, durability and price per-wear offered.
“MORI’s very quick, very easy and there’s no thinking involved – all great things when you haven’t had enough sleep!”
Citing one of her favourite MORI products as the baby Yoga pants because she loves “the material, the design and the cut”, Ruby longs for a pair of her own. “I personally look for comfort in the clothing that I wear so it’s nice to have that reflected in the clothing that my children wear as well.”
“MORI’s very quick, very easy and there’s no thinking involved – all great things when you haven’t had enough sleep!”
Believing that it’s important to have some luxury babywear too, Ruby also loves MORI’s soft cashmere blanket or, as she fondly calls it, “baby’s first cashmere!”.
As we say goodbye and leave Ruby and her adorable family to get on with their Sunday, it’s clear that for the McCormacks, another adventure is always just around the corner.
Photography: Lucy Birkhead Videography: HOP Productions