[00:00:15] Amy: Hello, welcome back to the Holistic Health Show. Today on the podcast, we're talking to Kate Boyle, who is a Pilates Studio Director and Nutritionist. And today, our topic is how to make movement and health easy and accessible. And we're going to discover how we can take back our health just 15 minutes at a time.
[00:00:34] Amy: Thank you, Kate, for joining us today. I'd love it if you would jump right in and tell us a little bit about yourself, what you do and why you do it.
[00:00:42] Kate Boyle: No worries. Well, thanks for having me on the show, Amy. I'm always excited to jump on and talk about health and movement, but my name's Kate Boyle, I am a Pilates instructor and nutritionist from Melbourne, Australia. So I have a in person Pilates studio, which I've had for 15 years. And I also have an online platform, which has Pilates workouts, recipes, you know, women's health masterclasses.
[00:01:08] Kate Boyle: So I do a bit of both in person and online work. I'm also married with two girls and I love Spending my time, you know, getting outside in nature and doing Pilates when I can.
[00:01:20] Amy: Thank you for sharing that with us. I've recently taken up Pilates and while I really enjoy it, I also find it really, really challenging.
[00:01:29] Kate Boyle: Yeah, [00:01:30] you can definitely, there's multi layers in Pilates. So whether or not you're just doing the movements or you're connecting to your breath or really focusing in on pelvic floor and your transverse abdominis, which is your deepest abdominal layer. So I work with people in the studio where we will do individual programs.
[00:01:50] Kate Boyle: So I will have clients from, I think my youngest at the minute, it's about 12. And my eldest is 86. So a range of people, but it can be super challenging depending on what you're working on. And I think that's almost like one of the myths of Pilates. Everybody thinks it's going to be a bit of huffing and puffing.
[00:02:09] Kate Boyle: Puffing and stretching. But when you're focusing on the movement, you're getting that mind body connection. You're really focusing on your form. It can be a really challenging workout.
[00:02:18] Amy: And what I really have enjoyed about Pilates myself is that it can be tailored to be quite So that you're working at your pace.
[00:02:27] Kate Boyle: Yep. And you know, exactly, you know, where you are now, whether or not you're postpartum and probably focusing more on, you know, pelvic floor and transverse instability. Or, you know, I've got older clients that have maybe had a hip replacement or a knee replacement, or a couple of my younger students you know, elite level dances.
[00:02:44] Kate Boyle: So we're really trying to hone in on their turnout and their balance and their overall, you know, strength for doing flips and things like that. So that's one of the beauties about Pilates. It doesn't matter how strong you are, you know, how much fitness you've been doing recently, where you [00:03:00] are or how old you are.
[00:03:01] Kate Boyle: There's always something you can do and we really can tailor it and meet you where you're at.
[00:03:06] Amy: And I guess that's a part of making it kind of easy and accessible. Is that it, it is, it can be tailored.
[00:03:12] Kate Boyle: Yeah. And also, you know, if you want to go to a studio and you want to use the equipment and have that face to face instruction, you can do that. Or you can simply roll out a mat or just lay out a towel on the floor and do exercises at home in your pajamas if you want to at any time of day. So there is those different levels, you know, of, of.
[00:03:34] Kate Boyle: Different types of equipment, you know, different lengths of duration for your workouts as well. So it really can be accessible for everybody.
[00:03:42] Amy: And one thing that I really like, I like going to the studio. I find that showing up makes me accountable. I find it a little more challenging to force myself to do it if I'm at home. But what I do know and understand is that Having the option to do it at home means, you know, if, if you're not able to kind of leave the house or transportation is a bit tough or if the weather's really bad.
[00:04:04] Amy: Bad. You know, I live in, I live in Australia now, but I'm Canadian. And so, you know, there's a snowstorm and things like this, or you can't get out for a few days, then it's kind of tough to exercise. So having that option to do it at home and also for people who are maybe a little bit self conscious at first and need to build up a little bit of confidence within the activity that they're doing at first, and so does that mean that you offer some online classes or [00:04:30] instruction?
[00:04:30] Kate Boyle: Yes. , as you were sort of saying, sometimes whether or not it's a time thing, you know, or a money, you know, maybe you don't have enough money to go to an in person class because they can be, , expensive, then definitely having that option at home is fantastic. And so, yes, I have a platform.
[00:04:47] Kate Boyle: It's called Mind Movement Health. So my members can log in at the minute. I think we've got about 120 workouts in there and they're all tailored. So I've got lower back pain workouts, SIJ pain, you know, right through to more advanced exercises, balance, bone strength. So lots of different workouts, different lengths, and really just using small pieces of equipment or no equipment at all.
[00:05:10] Kate Boyle: So, , things like hand weights or a band, or if you don't have hand weights, you can , fill up some water bottles and things. So really just trying to make it accessible for people that want to work out at home for whatever reason. And even if you aren't going to a weekly class, it's like anything you can go once a week, you're going to get some benefit.
[00:05:29] Kate Boyle: But it's the extra practice that you do in between that's going to build that strength or mobility so much quicker. And people often think, , how could, you know, 15 minutes a week, twice a week at home make a difference. It reinforces what you've been building on. So it really does. It adds up over time.
[00:05:46] Kate Boyle: , even if it's for five or 10 minutes. Maybe you're having a stressful day. Maybe you're feeling a bit of neck or back tension, and just doing a few minutes of exercises can make a big difference to your body and your mind too.
[00:05:56] Amy: And I like that you mentioned about the equipment, , [00:06:00] sometimes you think, okay, well, if I'm not going to go to the gym, I need to have all that equipment at home, but it's great that you're offering the options to do Pilates with, with little to no equipment. And sometimes using body weight is all we can do or all we need.
[00:06:15] Kate Boyle: Well, using your body weight can be really challenging. If anybody's, you know, held a plank or a side plank or, , coming up into a V sit, you can work really hard just with your own body weight. I think we like the idea of equipment. It seems more exciting, but some of the hardest exercises Is when you don't have any help or any resistance.
[00:06:36] Kate Boyle: It's just you on that mat trying to, you know, build your own strength. Just one step at a time.
[00:06:42] Amy: Yeah, I'd almost challenge anyone now to go and try and hold a plank for a minute. It's really not an easy task.
[00:06:50] Kate Boyle: The Guinness world record records for a woman holding a plank just happened last week and she held it for more than four hours.
[00:06:57] Amy: Which, you know, forget about the body strength, which you obviously need, but the mental strength that you need to stay there in that position and get through it. I mean, you know, I kind of wonder, cause I have heard about this recently as well. And I think, is she making to do lists? Is she meditating and completely zoning out?
[00:07:16] Amy: You know, where's her mind going during that? It's an, it's an all encompassing challenge.
[00:07:20] Kate Boyle: 100%. I often thought, I thought I would be, it'd be much easier to hold if you had music or another client of mine said maybe they propped up a [00:07:30] TV in front of her and she could watch her favorite show, but I'm sure it was just her. Having to work through in her own brain, you know, just that mental toughness, as you said, is, is equal to, or if not more than the physical, you know physicality required to hold that plank for that period of time.
[00:07:47] Amy: No, absolutely. And Kate, I'd love for you to touch a little bit more on , the 15 minutes at a time that we're using to get our health back. So I know you mentioned that a couple of times a week for maybe a few minutes or 10 minutes, but I'd love for you to elaborate a little bit more on what does it mean to take back our health just 15 minutes at a time?
[00:08:08] Kate Boyle: Well, I think nowadays, so many of us are. Are so busy whether or not you're working full time or you've got kids, or you've got parents that you're looking after, whatever it is, there are so many things pulling on our time that we often just go, I don't have the time to move my body, or I don't have the time to, you know, cook a meal from scratch that, you know, I don't have time to get.
[00:08:31] Kate Boyle: To go to bed a bit earlier, I need to get things done. So I think if we look at our health in just these small sort of bite-sized chunks, 15 minutes, you know, we can all find 15 minutes. And if you're struggling to find 15 minutes, start with five minutes or 10 minutes. And whether or not that's. You know, a quick walk around the block, rolling at your mat and doing a few stretches on the ground, you know, buying some fruit and veg and prepping some carrot and celery sticks for some afternoon snack, , there are just [00:09:00] things that we can do.
[00:09:01] Kate Boyle: Very small things that will add up over time and change our health. So it's really trying to, , bring that awareness that you can do it, that it doesn't need to feel like it's out of control and that it's all too hard. And you sort of put it in that too hard basket, just pick one thing, focus on that nice and small, do that for a period of time.
[00:09:21] Kate Boyle: And once that becomes more of a habit, Then we can pick something else. And generally when it's, people like, Oh, what do I start with? Just pick the lowest hanging fruit. Essentially, if you know that, , you don't drink enough water and that you're getting to the end of the day and you're quite tired or your skin's feeling really dry, Start drinking a little bit more water every day, you know, count up those glasses, put a drink bottle next to your desk.
[00:09:43] Kate Boyle: So it's really about trying to make health as easy as it can be so we don't feel overwhelmed by it.
[00:09:49] Amy: And if we go back to this idea of kind of mind over matter, and we're looking for 15 minutes at the end of the day, when I get home, and I'm really tired, it's been a long day, I just want to sit on the couch, and I'm scrolling, or I've got Netflix on. I don't find, while that feels good in that moment, I don't find that that's giving me the real rest that I need and it's not supporting my, my body, my physical body, my mental health.
[00:10:18] Amy: And so, even though it's tough and it's a, again, a matter of mind over matter. Getting up and rolling out the mat and while I'm not doing Pilates myself at home, I do do [00:10:30] stretches or I'll do some yoga and I find that even though it's a challenge to start that because I'm feeling pretty tired, by the end of the week once I've made that a habit, I, I do have a little bit more energy.
[00:10:40] Amy: I can stretch my day a little bit more and that doesn't mean I'm working longer but it means that I get to enjoy the end of the day a little bit more. So maybe it's just looking at where are you spending your, your free time.
[00:10:52] Kate Boyle: Mm hmm, exactly. And, you know, there are trackers on your phone now that will show you how much time you spend on your phone. And I think for the majority of us, we really underestimate how much time We're spending either on the phone, the iPad, or even the computer. So tracking that time can be great. Or even if you go, , you catch yourself before you pick up that phone and just, you know, Pop that back down and think, okay, what else could I be doing?
[00:11:17] Kate Boyle: That would really benefit me right now, whether or not that's, you know, reading a book instead or having, , a cup of herbal tea or calling a friend and having that connection with someone really trying to pick those habits that are going to, you know, change the needle on your health. One of my clients, which I love, which he started doing, she said she works a long day.
[00:11:38] Kate Boyle: So rather than when she comes home Going inside the house because she knows as soon as she does, she will sit on the couch and put the TV on. She parks the car, she gets out, she walks around the block and then she will go inside the house. And she said, that's just a great way, you know, she's already outside, you know, the barrier to move is already less.
[00:11:57] Kate Boyle: She doesn't have to go in and get changed and sit [00:12:00] down and get back up. She's like, I'm already there. I just do it. And it's finding those very small ways that would just help encourage us to make those small changes.
[00:12:09] Amy: I really like that she's taken that up because once you do walk in that front door after a workday, it is almost impossible to leave again. I'm sure many will agree with us there.
[00:12:19] Kate Boyle: You've got kids pulling on you or your partner, you know, asking questions or trying to tell you about their day and you might have the best of intentions to be like, okay, I'll go in. I'll cook dinner. I'll go for a walk after dinner. But, you know, once you eat food and those, your body starts digesting those carbs, it sends those signals.
[00:12:37] Kate Boyle: To, , rest. Now you get that sort of postcard feeling of, Oh, that's great. But now I feel tired and then you're going to be less inclined to go back out.
[00:12:46] Amy: The couch looks very inviting in those moments. Pilates.
[00:12:52] Kate Boyle: Sure. So there are lots of benefits besides the obvious, you know, connecting to your core and really strengthening your core. Another one is connecting to your breath. So, so So often than not, we are doing lots of shallow breathing high up in our chest. We get quite tight through our scaling muscles, through our neck.
[00:13:10] Kate Boyle: Lots of people suffer from jaw pain. So in Pilates, we start to focus on our breathing, really taking nice deep inhales, going back to that nasal breathing, connecting to our abdominals. You know, and really utilizing that breath to be present in the moment. There's also been scientific studies that show if [00:13:30] we breathe, use that exhale whilst we're contracting our abdominals, we actually get a stronger contraction.
[00:13:35] Kate Boyle: So we're going to get a stronger, , workout as such, or more benefit from our workouts if we're utilizing our breath. So that's a really big benefit. And then also proprioception wise, just feeling connected to your body, knowing there's often been times where, you know, somebody might say, Oh, I'm just so sore.
[00:13:53] Kate Boyle: And you say, Oh, where? And they're like I don't know, like kind of in my back round near my hip. Like they can't pinpoint that pain and doing Pilates helps you to just really connect to the muscles in your body, connect to the different places in your body and become more body aware, just in your everyday movements.
[00:14:12] Kate Boyle: So whether or not it's bending down to pick something up off the floor and knowing I need to bend my knees more, watch my knees, you know, they're coming together or really hinging from my back, just those everyday movements start to get benefit from having that body awareness as well.
[00:14:27] Amy: We mentioned that you're a nutritionist as well, so are you noticing that there's a correlation between people starting Pilates and then wanting to improve their nutrition and taking that up as well, or even vice versa?
[00:14:39] Kate Boyle: Yeah, I get quite a lot of crossover with clients. So even just yesterday, a client has been off because she had her thyroid removed. So she's now come back to do some, start some gentle movement with classes. And she said to me, you know, I really need to book in now for a nutrition consult with my thyroid removed, you know, I've put on some weight and I need to get [00:15:00] things back on track.
[00:15:01] Kate Boyle: So. You know, like every area of our health, it's all connected, whether or not it's, you know, movement with nutrition, with sleep, with stress. And so often, you know, even in Pilates, our conversations will revolve around, you know, somebody may come in and say, I'm feeling a little bit. Bloated today. You know, just something to be aware of in class.
[00:15:20] Kate Boyle: I'm like, great. So we won't do any, you know, super hard abdominal work because that would be very uncomfortable. But then, you know, I'll often, just speak to them throughout the class and say, , I've got a lot of stress on at the minute, or has there been a food trigger? And so we kind of have those cross conversations between movement and nutrition flow into class as well.
[00:15:38] Amy: Yeah, it's almost like a domino effect, you know, once you improve in one aspect of your life you just, you see all the benefits and you think, okay, what's my next step and it's, It's not an overnight process, it's a lifelong journey.
[00:15:50] Kate Boyle: That's it. It's just one step at a time, but. Like you said, once you see the benefit, you know, if you start moving and then you see the benefit from that and you feel, you know, how good you feel from changing that, you then go, okay, well, what area of that area of my life could I just make some small changes in which may sort of compound these effects.
[00:16:07] Amy: Kate, for everyone who's listening, I'd love to remind them where your studio is and also anyone who isn't in Melbourne, how they can access all your information online.
[00:16:17] Kate Boyle: Sure. So I'm located in Berwick, which is in the Southeastern suburbs of Melbourne. And my Pilates studio is called Mind and Movement Pilates online. You can check me out at Mind Movement Health. So my website is [00:16:30] mindmovementhealth. com. au and on there, I've got the membership and then they can also check me out on Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn at Mind Movement Health as well.
[00:16:39] Amy: Awesome. And I'm going to share those links in the description of this episode. So it's only a click away for all of you people who are listening and thinking, okay, I'm one of those people who is getting in the door and finding it hard to get the motivation to get back out in the evenings or on the weekends, whatever it may be.
[00:16:56] Amy: Check 15 minute online workouts, start there and certainly reach out. If you have questions, you're not sure where to start or if it's for you. Reach out and ask Kate those questions. Kate, thank you so much for joining me today. I appreciate the work that you're doing and for sharing it with us.
[00:17:15] Kate Boyle: No problems. Thanks so much for having me on and for allowing me to chat about Pilates and health with your audience.
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