To Zoom or Not to Zoom – That is the Question!

Up until the March Lockdown I had never done a live streaming class – as an instructor or as a participant, so I was unsure how it was going to work.

Would people be interested?

Luckily for me I had and continue to have a supportive group of clients who wanted to keep moving while the world stopped around them. They were more than willing to take the plunge into the world of Zoom exercise classes.

There were some initial bumps and IT glitches. Technology isn’t always 100% reliable and neither is one’s internet connection. Hello black hole!

Here we are now almost 6 months later and Zoom classes have become a normal part of our week and our class offerings. Going forward this is not likely to change, and only continues to evolve.

First off, a little bit more about our Zoom classes.

We offer Slow Flow Yoga, Qigong and Small Group Physiotherapy classes (formerly known as Clinical Pilates).

Our yoga classes are a slow and gentle form of Hatha yoga flow led by our Yoga Teacher Lily Kenny.

Qigong classes are taught by Adam Wiltshire. Qigong is a branch of Chinese Medicine, which can be described as a moving meditation, like yoga, pairing movement and breath, but working along the meridians of channels of energy (or Qi) flow.

Our small group Physiotherapy classes are taught by Melinda Luck and myself – bringing two different and unique styles, both utilising exercise principles from Pilates, Yoga and strength and conditioning. In our classes we can offer tips on improving your exercises technique so you get the most out of the prescribed exercises.

So, whether you’re recovering from pain or injury, returning to exercise or simply wanting to exercise safely, our classes will allow you to exercise at your level so that you can get you back to doing what you love.

We have 3 levels of classes, Restore, Rebuild and Refine to help you:

• Recover from injury
• Restore your mobility
• Rebuild your strength
• Refine your movement patterns
• Regain your confidence
• Redo your health

Redo Restore: Our foundations class – great for those new to exercise, returning to exercise, or recovering from an injury.

Redo Rebuild: Our intermediate class – great for those who have a good foundation and more confidence in the fundamental movement patterns.

Redo Refine: Our advanced class – best for those looking to take the strength to the next level – improve exercise capacity, stamina, balance and control.

Regardless of the class, you can exercise at your level with the various progressions given throughout the class. So depending on how you are feeling that day, you can work harder or back off if you need to.

So why would one want to participate in an exercise class via Zoom?

We understand that for a variety of reasons people are choosing to exercise from the comfort of their own homes. For a combination of health and personal comfort reasons we appreciate that many are not ready to come back into the studio.

We also understand that for some being able to roll out their exercise mat in their living room and clicking a Zoom link is an easy and convenient way to exercise. Lucky for us this has allowed us to stay connected with some of our clients who live further away.

Our variety of classes will help maintain, challenge, progress and develop your dynamic stability, strength and flexibility to help you realise your goals.

Zoom not for you? Or just prefer an in person class?

We are still offering face to face group Restore, Rebuild and Refine classes. These have been capped at a maximum of 5 people per class. We are taking all precautions necessary to ensure the safety of all class participants, including asking everyone to bring their own exercise equipment (mats, balls, bands). We provide hand weights which are easily cleaned after each use.

Next steps: Thinking of joining a Zoom class?

We always assess all of our clients before they join a small group Physiotherapy class so we can guide them to the best class.

For Zoom classes this is not required but is strongly recommended, particularly if you are working with any specific injuries or have goals you would like to work towards. This can be done face to face or virtually.

Yoga and Qigong classes do not require any assessment.

What you’ll need to do before your first Zoom class.

Download the Zoom for meetings app to your device. We recommend using a Laptop or tablet.

Test it out: Open the app and test your microphone and speaker to make sure they are working. Once the camera is on please ensure you will be visible when standing and lying down on your mat.

If you have any issues the first thing we recommend is to shut off your device and then re-start. If all troubleshooting fails get in contact here and we can arrange a time to sort things out for you.

Check out our online class descriptions and we hope to see you online soon!