Running a business is hard.
Probably no new news there.
But never have I been more appreciative of that fact than throughout the last few years. Locking down a state is hard on anyone, but especially small business.
When something is hard, on one hand my brain is grappling with a situation and looking for ways to overcome it/make it less hard, but on the other hand it’s trying to integrate it into my evolution, growth, and learning.
To say I’ve learnt a lot over these last 3 years would be an understatement.
How the global pandemic has made small businesses pivot/changed/adapt has been incredible.
But you know what, it’s made me realise, more than ever, that what I do matters. The way I can impact lives is a responsibility that I don’t take lightly. Daniel Pink once said, “if you create something that can change people’s lives and you care about it, you have a moral obligation to go out and tell people about it”.
I know Pilates can make a positive difference to the amount of joy people feel in their lives and here’s why.
When we feel pain or aches in our body, we generally do less, eg, we have a sore back so we resign ourselves to the couch and not much else. But doing less often makes this worse. Science has proven that movement improves pain because of the effects of exercise, such as reduced systemic inflammation ,endorphin release, improved mental health and a greater expectation of recovery.
Pilates helps to access these benefits because it is a whole body exercise regime. It focuses on the strength AND the stretch, while practicing the control of the mind to muscle connection. Take the sore back example. PIiates will help reduce the pain not just because you work on your abs, but because it helps to improve alignment and posture, mobility in the hips and legs and will teach you about necessary things like improving your intraabdominal pressure, which will help improve stability around your centre.
When we decrease the pain we experience in our day to day lives, it increases those feel good hormones, we feel confident to get up and get out and do more things, even new things, like play ninja warrior with the kids or participating in a couch to 5km challenge, we’re more inclined to get back to those ‘old things’ we used to love doing, but had put into the ‘I’m too old for that basket’, like, sitting on the floor to do puzzles, dancing and playing sport for fun. When we participate in these moments in our life, we have more joyful experiences, and more joyful moments makes us feel happier and more content and better able to deal with the challenges life throws our way.
I’m so proud and so passionate about what I do. I know Pilates is just a small piece of the wellbeing puzzle, but it all starts with small changes, one thing at a time and that’s the value I see in delivering my work to others.
That’s why I’m beyond excited to bring to life our Balanced Escape event. Not only do I get to teach Pilates to more people and get them to experience the strength and confidence in their own bodies, but I get to do it in the flesh, with real humans, sharing the experience in real time. Melbournians had so much taken away in 2020/2021: friends, family, income, networks, the community, things to look forward to, it felt bereft and lonely at times. But having these events that I’ve been pouring my heart into over the last year has been incredible.
My Balanced Escape co-hosts Bethany, Gemma and Tegan have a few things they wanted to add and some interesting information about their business….
Bethany:
Women’s wellness is something so close to my heart, especially since becoming a mother. In the early days of having my first and second child, I gave everything of myself to them. This pattern continued as I welcomed my third and adjusted to the juggle of life as a family of five.
However, over time I began to lose myself and put my needs (including my health) last. I suffered from poor sleep, anxiety, autoimmune issues and digestive issues. My relationships were suffering and I knew I had to change something. Becoming an Integrative Nutrition Health Coach changed every aspect of how I looked after myself, and it didn’t take long for me to realise I was not alone.
As I continued to meet more women along my journey, common themes of selflessness, lack of self care and exhaustion emerged. Upon delving deeper into my own wellness journey, becoming a Yoga Instructor made perfect sense as I could easily support women with simple strategies such as breathwork and meditation to help them not only feel amazing but manage so many life situations. ‘You can’t pour from an empty cup’ is a driving factor in my passion for supporting women’s wellness. It is all too easy to slip into our caregiving ways and put others first.
However, when we put ourselves first, pour into our cup and take care of our own needs, we become a better version of ourselves and in turn can take care of others. Over time I have developed a real passion for food as medicine and enjoy sharing simple whole food meals that nourish our minds and bodies. I currently work as a nutrition coach for The Figure as well as offering private holistic health coaching and yoga classes as part of The Happy Republic. I can’t wait to give the attendees of Balanced Escape a little snippet of the breathwork and meditation I regularly do (both for myself and with my clients) to help women feel more in control, centred and calmer.
Gemma:
What we wear is an extension of ourselves. We choose what we wear each day & can choose to feel good! My ‘why’ is because I love to help women feel amazing and confident with their outfits. I do this by offering styling tips and showcasing colour (what a dopamine hit!) as it makes us feel good from the inside to the out!
I love to showcase our clothes in reels as full outfits to not just help women with putting their whole outfits together but also so they can see the clothes on a ‘real, imperfect body’ (mine!) It gives me great joy to be able to provide women with the latest Melbourne Fashion delivered to their inbox or social media feed at an affordable price! It’s almost as simple as clicking ‘like’ and it appearing in one’s wardrobe with my easy, ‘free local delivery’ service!
A lot of women don’t have time to look around for outfits or struggle to choose items so I hope to inspire women’s wardrobes in an easy, fun, light hearted way.
I believe fashion plays a big part in coming together as a community. If you're going out to be together with friends, it's the first thing you think of- what should I wear? Dressing up can change your mood. Along with the mood boost you feel after being together with your friends. Our event Balanced Escape Event is something I would go to (if I wasn't one of the hosts!) as it combines all of the things we (at times) struggle to balance in our lives. Experiencing the latest Spring/Summer fashions in the flesh, being one of them, with a 20% off on the day discount where you get to feel and try the clothes on but for an affordable online price! I just love that I can offer this to our community. Helping people choose their outfits to make them feel confident inside and out gives me great pleasure! Looking forward to seeing you in a few weeks time!
Tegan:
I am the proud owner of Relax & Unwind Massage Therapy. I always wanted to do something to help people, something that allowed me to make others feel great. But I struggled when I first left school to know what that job would be. We had our first son when I was 20, and being a young mum I struggled to get back into the workforce. I decided to go back to school when my son was 12 months old and I studied massage. At first I only wanted to do my cert 4 and I thought massage was only a relaxing thing. But shortly into my course I learnt that massage has many health benefits and I went on to study my diploma of remedial massage and then on to open my own business!
Fast forward a few years and we had our second baby and I knew more than ever that I loved helping other mums relax and help to relieve their pain and stress, because I knew how they were feeling, I could relate to them!
When I massage it grounds me and calms me, but my favourite part is when my beautiful clients get up off the table and are feeling so amazing, it’s the best feeling knowing I have helped someone to fill their cup!
In February this year I had a freak accident when we were camping and a tree branch fell on me and broke my L1. I was so scared that I would never walk again but with hard work, determination and selfcare I have smashed my recovery goals and am focused on helping others! That’s why I wanted to be a part of Balanced Escape, to work with that many women on their wellbeing at once, it was a dream come true.