Livin' it up at LIVe Pilates

Great start to my week with a Monday morning matwork pilates class at LIVe Pilates.

The class incorporated a lot of balancing on rollers, stretching with elastics, roll ups and (of course) mat work. Our teacher Nicole was very positive and encouraging, since there were only five ladies in our class today she was able to give each of us feedback and individual attention. Also because the class was small we were able to face our mats towards the teacher and mirror wall. I really liked that Nicole joined in many of the exercises with us, it was great to have a demonstration of how the movements should be done correctly.

The entrance to Liv Pilates Hillaries

I find pilates incredible for my posture and core strength. My love of pilates can be accredited to my awesome teacher Anna Harris at Moksha Yoga Uptown in Toronto, Canada. For my Toronto buddies be SURE to check out one of Anna's pilates classes or booty camps ASAP! www.annaharris.ca Love your work Anna, continue to build that empire lady!

PILATES is a physical fitness system and body conditioning routine that builds flexibility, strength, coordination and endurance in the abdominals, arms, legs and back. Joseph Pilates developed a system of mat exercises in first half of the 20th century with the intention of developing controlled movement from a strong core. Today, in addition to mat work, pilates can also use a range of apparatuses for progressive resistance training.

Check below for more info...

• DETAILS: Monday morning, 9:30-10:30am. Liv Pilates Hillaries. Ste C4, 32 Endeavour Road, Hillaries 6025.
• COST: $22.00 per class on a casual basis (cheaper if purchased as set of 10 classes or more, see website below for more details)
• TEACHER: Nicole
• BRING: Nothing required as Liv Pilates supplies mats and all props such as rollers, elastics and fitballs. I recommend wearing tight-fitting crops (lululemon athletica wunder under crops or astro crops are ideal) in preference to long pants as there was a number of balancing on roller exercises. You don't want to have to continuously hitch up your trouser legs or risk getting your feet caught up and tripping on them.
• BEST BITS: I liked that we faced the teacher and mirror so we didn't have to strain our necks to check our postures were correct. Was fun to practice stability on the roller, was my first time ever using a roller and was surprised and delighted at the focus required to stay upright. Something new to conquer!
• LIVe PILATES WEBSITE: www.livepilates.com.au

Ginny's Finding Fitness Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ (I've always loved pilates!)