Introducing The Wellness Station!
So Victoria, you're an experienced Physiotherapist, was Pilates a natural progression for you?
I was introduced to pilates at University during my degree, and it just gelled with me straight away. My very first job out of uni was a private practice in Australia, and I embarked on my first pilates training course immediately, which was the beginning of a pretty cool professional development mix of physio & pilates. So yes - pilates and physio really do go hand in hand, it's a fantastic way to treat my patients and merge between hands on skills and contrology!
Where and when did the Wellness Station begin?
The Wellness Station was born in April 2017, in a small town called Blenheim, in NZ. It's my home town (+ my husbands too!) and we'd just moved back across the ditch to start our own businesses. I took a giant leap of commitment and leased a pretty run down building which needed a good lick of paint, and worked part time at the hospital. I was so nervous that no one would come!! It took me 3 months of working both jobs before the station was busy enough to need me full time, and now there are 10 wonderful teachers & physios on board. I'm so grateful to our wonderful clients and all the support we've received.
Do you have any workshops in the near future?
We have some workshops in the making for 2020 - first up is pelvic health (we are pelvic health physiotherapists), outdoor movement sessions, and mindfulness + movement!
How would you describe a typical day at Wellness Station.
A typical day at Wellness Station - we are usually up with the birds running our first pilates classes for the day, then the physios run a combination of clinical pilates and private consults. Lunch time is a yin yoga class to break up the day, then an afternoon lull. We then start our afternoon/evening sessions, and shut up shop at 830pm. We have a fab group of dedicated hardworking teachers on board, who continue to show up and inspire our clients. There is always tea on the bench, and we enjoy the little snippets of crossovers of clients and lots of catching up in between classes... A great little community has developed here, there is always lots of laughs! We try not to take ourselves too seriously.
You offer many different classes, tell us about them.
Our main branches of pilates are divided into clinical (where we use reformers and small equipment to assist rehabilitation) and group classes where everyone works at the same pace. We have six reformers and a selection of small equipment. We break our yoga classes into flow, yin and runners. We also run kids yoga during the term and mums + bubs classes.
Do you have a wide variety of people visiting?
We do have a wide variety! Our ethos is that all are welcome, you don't have to look a certain way to move your body. And we strongly believe that movement should feel good, and teach you to love & appreciate your strength and flexibility, rather than a punishment for what you ate/did.
What advice would you give to someone beginning Pilates for the first time.
Find a studio/teacher that resonates with you. Pilates isn't always the same - it depends on who teaches it, whether it's mat or reformer - the list goes on. It may take a while before you realise how important it is for your body - but hopefully you do!
Tell us about your team.
Our team is the absolute backbone of Wellness Station. There are 10 vibrant, independent, intelligent girls who range from physios, osteos, accountants, artists, yoga teachers, stylists, mums - and I'm so lucky to have them all. They all work a variety of hours and shifts depending on what else they have going on - and it's always fun to get together outside of work hours. We learnt how to twerk and poledance for this years christmas do!
Do you have any plans to expand your studio to other locations?
I'll never say no - but right now, I'm pretty happy with where the station is at for the moment.
What is the most rewarding thing about being a part of the Pilates community?
The support! From online forums to facebook groups - everyone wants to see each other succeed - and all for the greater good of introducing pilates to anyone who will listen to us!