Cover Story
The online movement classes we’re worshipping right now
For lockdown and beyond, these are the studios bringing us sweat and sanity at home.
We’ve been here before, trading Tom Ford for tracksuits and Bottega for bed socks. A guide of at-home movement sources isn’t revolutionary, but it’s a truism that stretching, smiling and severing our bodies from the desk at home is one of the simplest ways to spur joy right. We’ve also had long enough now to trial and trawl through copious online classes, finding the crème de la crème of conscious movement.
For Sydney-siders feeling lockdown fatigue and Melburnians looking for new methods of movement (after tearing through enough digital Pilates for a lifetime), we’ve lined up a trilogy of top online Australian leaders in the authentic wellness space to serve you engaging classes in real-time. You’ll laugh and lunge in equal measure.
You’ll laugh and lunge in equal measure
Fitzroy
Good Times Pilates is all about coming together and celebrating all levels of ability, types of bodies and modes of movement. Founder Cat Webb has proven (six times around now) that human connection is possible in lockdown. An advocate for inclusive movement, Cat is hosting ‘10 at 10’ classes: that’s 10 minutes of stretching and targeted mini-burn movement sessions at 10am each morning while Melbourne stays at home. It’s completely free and available via the Good Times Pilates IGTV. For longer and juicier times helping you ‘chill’ or ‘sweat’ or squeeze in a ‘fun size’ flex, Cat has curated an online extension of her studio (alongside her diverse team) dubbed Good Times Online.
Multiple locations across Melbourne
At home with Love Athletica is the Pilates banquet made to suit whatever your time in hermitude allows. Having lunged through myriad lockdowns now, LA is honing their offering of seven days unlimited live and on-demand access to virtual mat pilates, reformer pilates and yoga classes. The iconic, peach-adorned Melbourne-based boutique reformer mecca has closed doors while Melbourne awaits freedom, but some at-home movement will keep studio-goers feeling strength and anticipation mounting. You can choose a timeframe that suits your rigorous Zoom and online shopping schedule, from 10-minute to one-hour classes. 10 minutes, 20 minutes, 30 minutes, 45 minutes, 50 minutes, 1 hour – class lengths that suit you.
Melbourne
Neighbours of Harrolds Melbourne, RISE by Studio PP is typically our source of escapism in the city. Former Olympian Steph Prem is the founder and director of Studio PP, training some of Australia’s most recognisable CEOs, corporate teams, professional athletes. The cult studio’s virtual rendition of always-on classes encourages easy-going (but energising) movement at home, hosting 30-minute classes every weekday. The sessions span sweaty HIIT sessions, strengthening stretching series, calming yoga and Pilates to remedy your work-from-bed posture. The classes are scheduled at 7:30am, 12:00pm and 5:00pm, depending on when your desire to move hits.
Surry Hills, Clovelly and Byron
Fluidform is a specialised ‘movement method’ created by Kirsten King. Reaching beloved nationwide status, Kirsten has cultivated a community of conscious movers that now transcends her physical studio havens and enters the realm of ‘Fluidform at Home’. This is a vault of on-demand custom Pilates classes (over 100 of them, in fact) to maintain a sense of routine amid chaos.
