L: First of all – how did you end up in New Zealand!?
A: My husband and I had an opportunity to work for a fitness company here – initially, on a short term contract that was subsequently extended. Six years later, we’re still here!
L: What’s the Pilates scene like in New Zealand? Where do you teach?
A: I teach at Abundance Mind-Body in Wellington/Porirua. Surprisingly, we are one of very few classical Pilates studios in New Zealand. That’s why we connected with Core a few years back – there was no classical Pilates presence, yet there was certainly demand for it. The scene in general is a few years behind the USA, and a lot of ‘studios’ are very small, one-person operations. Our aim was to bring classical Pilates into a more mainstream offer so that New Zealanders could get a sense of what classical Pilates is like and what it could add to their lifestyle. We’ve had professional rugby teams, actors, and dancers train in our studios since we started offering the classical work.
L: Besides Pilates, how else do you keep healthy and in shape?
A: I do a lot of yoga, running and hiking, and I love horseback riding. I came back to it about a year ago – it is very humbling to try to re-learn a sport as an adult! Pilates has been instrumental in helping me along and also in keeping me injury-free.
L: As the only Core faculty in New Zealand, how do you keep inspired to continue leading Pilates Teacher training?
A: I drive Kim and Sarah crazy with questions!! Really, though – I read voraciously – not just Pilates info, but anything to do with anatomy, athletics, or fitness training for different populations. I love looking for ways to incorporate Pilates into different segments of the population and different sports. We’ve grown the Core graduate base here quite a bit since we’ve started, and many of them keep in touch with questions or come in for teacher workouts. Some of the best learning and inspiration comes from those interactions – it keeps me on my game.
L: What’s been the biggest challenge moving your family from New York to New Zealand?
A: Having my family! When we moved here, it was only me and my husband. Now, we have two young daughters (and two dogs). It was a lot to take on without any family or close friends nearby…but we wouldn’t change any of it.
L: How do you think Pilates can evolve to keep up with other fitness methods?
A: Pilates has been such a steady force in the fitness industry for so many years, yet it’s never reached that tipping point that modalities like yoga and cycling have reached. I’ve always thought that the reasons for that are a) many people don’t understand how Pilates can benefit any activity/lifestyle, and b) Pilates is hard and isn’t necessarily ‘fun’ the first few times you do it. These are hard points to address on a broad scale – it’s kind of like Pilates needs an image consultant.
L: What do you do to prepare when approaching a Core Pilates NYC Teacher Training course?
A: A bunch of neurotic things…I read through the manual (again) and make notes based on prior training courses, or something that’s in the training videos that I don’t want to forget to highlight. The week of the course, I’m in the studio every day doing my own workout in whatever modality we’re training on that weekend, literally talking to myself as I do the exercises to practice the different cueing we review in the course.
L: You used to work at Equinox. What are your thoughts on big chain gyms (such as Equinox) versus the movement toward boutique fitness studios?
A: Big chain gyms are struggling with what is ultimately two choices – drop their prices significantly, or pump resources into programming and customer ‘experience’ to compete with the boutiques while they figure out how to navigate the landscape with so many new studios in the game. It’s a tricky time for big box fitness clubs. Equinox is its own animal, really – they’ve always been more of a lifestyle brand, have more of a boutique studio mentality and commit an impressive amount of talent and resources to programming and member experience. I imagine what will challenge them is their growing portfolio and also that their prices now make them the ‘middle’ – less than boutique studios and more than a basic gym. That’s always a hard place to be from a pricing perspective.
L: Are there teaching opportunities available in New Zealand for grads of Core Pilates NYC’s teacher training programs? How could Pilates certification grads find out about potential opportunities? Are placements usually long term, or do studios sometimes hire NYC instructors for a smaller chunk of time (we’re talkin go to New Zealand during the NYC winter ;))
A: The NYC winter is definitely the time to come! We always have teaching opportunities available in Wellington and Auckland – other cities would be limited to mat at this stage, but that could change in the future. New Zealand is very small (there are more sheep than people…and no, I’m not kidding), and so if a Core graduate is visiting or living here for any length of time, it’s always worth getting in touch. Even if we don’t have a studio near their destination, we can usually reach out to a studio in the area and assist with a placement.
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Who is buying their plane ticket right now? I mean…
Peace, love & c curves,
Laura