When I retired I read that it was important to have a strong core and maintain my balance. To me, I knew that strength was super important. One of my daughters had been doing pilates since primary school, so she encouraged me to an introductory lesson.

Five years on and pilates at The Studio has become part of my lifestyle. I go four times a week and love the variety. I love the instructors. They are very professional, they communicate well and make sure I’m doing things correctly and am not going to injure myself. They’re all clearly very passionate about their craft. The amount of preparation they put into it is amazing. Every lesson is different and they’re always finding challenging exercises to do in order to keep me improving.

I’m not the fittest I’ve ever been and a lot of that is due to the pilates practice I do at The Studio HQ. As I do more, I have learnt how as you get older you need to continue to build muscle mass to keep healthy and strong.

The social aspect of the community also exercises the mind and has been critical for me mentally as well, particularly in retirement. Having that contact has been so great. With the exercises we do, it can be a fun learning experience and also challenges the mind to remember and keep practicing all the different movements.

I would encourage others who are approaching retirement to really consider joining as it has been so important to my quality of life. You won’t regret it.