“I had a great time at the Pilates Expo where the PAA were sponsoring the event and had a stand in the exhibition. I also found time to attend a few workshops, catching up with friends and colleagues, and checking out the exhibitors. The venue (Stamford Hotel, Sydney Airport) was a bit out of the way for me but it turned out to be an easy run there and I got parking close by. The facilities were good and there were plenty of helpers if I needed them as an exhibitor.
There was a wide selection of workshops to choose from with some well-known presenters from a cross section of the industry. I chose three.
The first, “The Wunda-rous Chair”, was with Cynthia Lochard and was an explanation and demonstration of some of the chair repertoire interspersed with time to try out the movements. Cynthia circulated, advising and drawing attention to what she noticed. I was fascinated by the feel of a traditional chair and the lightness of the springs.
Next, I went to Steph Neal’s “Designing Reformer Classes for Stronger Aging Adults” which began with some theory and then Steph called for volunteers to hop on to the four Reformers. Steph showed how exercises could be progressed to build strength and balance using some common principles, with an emphasis on functional movement. Volunteers were swapped out after each set of movements. I gained some new ideas as well affirmation that what I had been doing with my older clients was heading in the right direction.
In the afternoon, I went to Carla Mullins’ “Cancer Concerns”. Carla gave a slide show with some theory and then demonstrated a variety of innovative (to me) ways with springs and straps and newer inventions to support recovering clients. I had not realised the many ways that people who had been treated for cancer years ago, could still be experiencing side effects from radiation and surgery, such as neuropathy and how that can manifest.
In between (and during) the workshops I was meeting new people and catching up with old connections. I also had some interesting discussions, in particular with The Foot Collective exhibitors.
The day finished with a Cocktail Hour and canapes.
All in all, a thoroughly enjoyable day!”
Karen Goh,
PAA Secretary
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