We are well settled in our beautiful new studio in Maunu with its spectacular view. All the machines are in constant use by old and new clients alike and there is already a bit of a waiting list for the more popular times. That is why we have a 24 hour cancellation policy. There is always someone waiting to jump into any vacant times.
I still recommend doing some Pilates at home to keep your muscle memory strong and the rhythm of your work flowing. If all else fails, be sure to practice your wall work, no equipment needed.
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Mindfulness is becoming more and more recognised as an essential part of any exercise programme and Pilates fits the bill for this as well as for strength and flexibility. It is also recognised that correct breathing patterns enhance exercise so do try to follow my breathing instructions, even if it's just to keep breathing and not hold your breath.
It is an absolute pleasure to be back to work with you all in my studio and we're looking forward to a great year.

We have received a conditional offer on Hatea Drive so fingers crossed. I will keep you posted on whether the sale goes through or not. 
Whatever happens with the sale, I am taking some months off work from the beginning of June this year. Simon has the opportunity to take all his accrued leave in one four month batch so we are using this time to go sailing north and I don't anticipate reopening again till January next year. I know this leaves some of you with a long break from Pilates as there are no other comprehensively equipped studios in Whangarei.  I am very, very sorry to disrupt your programmes. 
There are a few other options available to you. Carla is still offering a wide range of mat classes at Just Thrive. Bream Bay Pilates in Ruakaka has a very comprehensive Pilates programme for those of you who live south of the city. Jie may be able to offer some privates if she can find a venue.
We still have seven weeks until I leave on Queen's Birthday weekend to arrange your programmes.  Jie and I plan to see you all as usual till then.
I apologise for causing you this inconvenience but this chance to go long distance offshore Pacific cruising is just too good to miss!!!  Best wishes, Niki.

Well the clocks have gone back and it's officially autumn but it is the stickiest time so far this year. We are still using the air conditioning at a time when open doors are usually all we need to stay cool. At least the water shortage is getting sorted.​

It is also holiday time again, how quickly has that come around ? So we have school holidays, easter holidays and Anzac day all happening this month.
We will close for Good Friday April 14th and Monday April 17th and also on Tuesday April 25th. With the school holidays as well, there will be a lot of you wanting to change or cancel classes so please give us plenty of notice, at least 24 hours if you need to cancel so that we can accommodate all those who want to change.

In the last newsletter, I had trawled through the significant amount of research into Pilates to give you accurate information about its many benefits and the list goes on and on but I will focus on low back pain and the impact that core training has on it. Low back pain is significantly improved if core strength and stability are improved. Your core is not just your abdominal muscles, it is the whole of your trunk from your armpits to hip bones, front back and sides and all the bones, ligaments, muscles and tendons that are part of it.
If you have back pain, the muscles and structures of the core forget how to work properly and in sync with each other and need retraining . This retraining needs to be in all different positions and needs to be dynamic and constantly moving. This is why Pilates is the ideal core training programme, especially with us at NPF as we have such small classes and such well trained instructors and we can always modify for bad backs.
Not everyone has back pain of course but improving core stability is a great way to ensure you never do.

I must just add that walking is one of the best ways to reduce back pain and it will give you the cardio workout that Pilates doesn't. A great exercise combination would be regular walking on at least 5 days a week and at least 2 Pilate's sessions per week. Ideal !
At the other end of the spectrum for the fit and pain free, increased core strength gives dancers and athletes improved jumping and leaping ability. Ask Carla.

We have fabulous news that Val is pregnant and her baby is due in August. We are thrilled for her though we will be so sorry to lose her after 6 years. It seems to be an occupational hazard amongst our instructors !! Jie is hoping to come back and do some teaching soon so we'll look forward to having her as Val moves on to other things. 

July is going to be a very interesting month for us at Northland Pilates. Jie will be away the first two weeks, I will be away the last two weeks and the school holidays fall in the middle two weeks. With all these breaks, we would be really grateful for plenty of notice if you are unable to make class or are affected by school holidays. We plan to run our usual timetable throughout the month and August will see everyone back to normal.
It is the season of snuffles so please don't come to class if you are one of the poor people afflicted with a cold. Stay home, allow yourself time to recover and keep your germs close.
It has been a very chilly start to July so you might need some of our non slip socks to keep your toes warm and try to prevent any cramp. They are $20 a pair. Let us know if you would like some.

The latest thinking on wellness is that exercise is medicine and that mind and body health can be enhanced through fitness. There are some interesting facts about how exercise can help your brain.
School students who engaged in a dynamic morning exercise programme improved their reading and maths scores by up to 30 %. We offer morning classes every day of the week by the way.
Endurance training helps the brain maintain memory and cognitive skills and your 50 minutes of Pilates is definitely endurance work. Regular bouts of endurance exercise also helps the brain with verbal memory and learning.
Physically active people are better able to focus on the task in hand and ignore distractions.
For every flight of stairs or equivalent climbed, your brain age decreases by 0.58 years....Not sure I believe that one, I climb an average of 25 flights per day and can detect no beneficial effects on my brain!

There are also a number of techniques for improving physical and mental wellness and performance that you will do in every class.

Relaxation and tummy breathing which is where our breath focus is in class.

Concentration on the task in hand and quietening the mind. Sound familiar ?

Imagery and visualisation which is what we aim to give you with our cues.

Regular and repeated routines. Just like your class.

It is obvious from all of this that Pilates is a great exercise for the mind as well as the body so even more reason to come and enjoy yourself at the studio. ​

Pilates should not feel painful or awkward. If you are performing a move and it just doesn't feel right for your body, please stop. There is no point in having two minutes of struggle and ending up needing two weeks or more of rehabilitation. Your instructor can always give you an alternative move to do.

It seems to have taken forever to get into a normal rhythm for 2016 with so many short weeks and long school holidays but I think we are finally there. It's back to business as usual at last and it is very hot business indeed so we promise the air conditioning will be on and there will be plenty of cold water.​

Birthday Party
Our wonderful tenth birthday party was held on February 25th and was a great night. The cake made by Kim Donker was amazing. Pictures of the cake and of the evening are on our Facebook page and will accompany this newsletter on our website. I made a small speech (which I hate doing) thanking everyone for their loyalty and attendance at Northland Pilates and I must say it again to everyone who wasn't there that night. If you didn't keep coming, there would be no Northland Pilates so thank you all so very much and we are looking forward to the next ten years with you.

Amazing people
I acknowledged some hardy clients who have been around since the very beginning, Rangi Price, Jackie Leech and Jo van de Walt were my original three in March 2006 closely followed by Julie Dakers, Teresa Pickering and Tim Baker. The others who are celebrating ten years with us this year are Sonia Mulligan, Kim Morris, Deb Abel and Judy Burch . Well done to you all. I'm sure you all remember the tiny original home studio then the various works to enlarge it then finally the move to our lovely studios at Hatea Drive six years ago. How things have changed.

How to tell if you are receiving good Pilates instruction.
This is good to know if you ever go and train elsewhere. To start with, your instructor should have trained with a recognised institution. This will mean that they have completed hundreds of hours of personal practice, observation and instruction at each of the levels of Pilates and passed both theory and practical exams. All of your instructors at Northland Pilates have done this. We do not fill our limited wall space with our certificates but we all have plenty of them!
You should never be in a mat class with more than ten people in it. These are our industry guidelines for safe and effective instruction and supervision. Your instructor should be teaching, correcting and looking at you throughout the class, not down on the mat doing the class with you ( except if they are demonstrating a challenging exercise) . We are very lucky to have such well qualified instructors and we keep ourselves updated regularly so you can always have the latest and best Pilates on offer. Beware of imitations !!!

Special Deal
We will continue to offer our special deal on personal training till Easter. This is $35 for either a half hour personal session or a shared session of one hour. Please let me know if you would like to try this and we will organise it for you. It's a great way to get a flavour of how Pilates on the machines feels.

Cancellation Policy
As our classes are small to allow the requisite supervision you should be receiving, we have a strict cancellation policy requiring twenty four hours' notice if you need to cancel a class. Please bear this in mind when booking.

Traffic Woes
Having had a deserted Hatea Drive over winter when the Mill Rd intersection was being restructured, we now have quite the opposite. Both Western Hills Drive and Kamo Rd have major roadworks on them and this is pushing a huge volume of traffic onto Hatea Drive. Please do not turn right onto Hatea Drive from our car park. It is much too busy, not safe and blocks others from both leaving and entering the car park. You may also have to allow more time to get to us at peak rush hour, morning and evening.
Our car park has generous space for ten cars if all are parked correctly. There is space directly outside on Hatea Drive and both side streets, Mair St and Parahaki St if the car park is full. Monday mornings and Wednesday and Thursday evenings are the very busy times when both studios are in use.