Episode Show Notes
Our guest in this episode is Kimberley Garlick from Northern Rivers Pilates
Kimberley is a long-term teacher, an experienced educator with Polestar Pilates Australia, the founder of The Pilates Room Wellness Package, and owner of Northern Rivers Pilates in Lismore in northern New South Wales.
The mission of this podcast is to share the stories of the impact of Pilates to help you live and move with more joy, physical vitality, and renewed vigor.
Pilates was a somewhat unknown word until it started creeping into conversation somewhere around the 2000s- maybe even before then depending on who you asked and amongst which circles, and has largely remained and enigma for many reasons- one of which perhaps is that Pilates really has to be experienced to be understood.
There are now a wide range of Pilates styles available when you attend a Pilates class, perhaps borne from the variation of interpretations of how Pilates was originally taught by its founder, Joseph Pilates.
With The Pilates Diaries Podcast we’re inviting Pilates enthusiasts around the globe to share with us what they’ve noted down in their Pilates Diary. Our hope is that the Pilates Diaries Podcast goes some way to answering the question ” What is it that makes Pilates so special?”
We’ll take a privileged peek into the Pilates Diaries of our guests to gain a greater insight into the impact Pilates can have in all of our lives and contribute to the health and wellbeing of the community at large.
I welcome you along for the journey and welcome your comments and discussions through the links found on your favorite podcast platform
Enjoy.
Northern Rivers Pilates
Website
Facebook
Instagram
The Pilates Room Wellness package with Kimberley Garlick
Online video training with 10 levels of Pilates
Polestar Pilates Australia
Website
Facebook
Instagram
The Pilates Diaries Podcast
Website
Facebook
Instagram
Episode Sponsors
TRIMIO
Pilates Reformers Australia
10% off with min. $100 spend – use PILATESDIARIES21
Whealthy-Life
10% off – use PILATESDIARIES
ToeSox Australia
15% off with min. $49 spend – use PILATESDIARIES21
Episode Transcript
Bruce Hildebrand: In the spirit of respect, The Pilates Diaries Podcast acknowledges the people and elders of the Bunurong people, members of the Kulin Nation, who have traditional connections and responsibilities for the land on which this podcast is produced.
Hi, I’m Bruce Hildebrand and this is the Pilates Diaries Podcast.
The mission of this podcast is to share the stories of the impact of Pilates We’re inviting Pilates enthusiasts to share with us the notes they’ve taken down in their Pilates journey as we seek out the answers to the intrigue Pilates has been able to ignite inside millions all over the world. Our hope is that The Pilates Diaries podcast goes some way to answering the question " What is it that makes Pilates so special?" Join me for privileged peek into this episodes Pilates Diary.
Today we’re joined by long-term Pilates teacher Kimberley Garlick based in the Northern Rivers in New South Wales. Kimberley, welcome to the show.
Kimberley Garlick: Hey, Bruce is good to touch base.
Bruce Hildebrand: Kimberley, we’ll begin by taking a look back- can you tell me about life before Pilates? What were your pursuits? Where did you see yourself heading at the time? And in hindsight, what do you now see were some of the little threads that might’ve led you to discover Pilates?
Kimberley Garlick: I was a full-time ballet dancer, I had my first introduction to Pilates by chance with Shaw Pilates I was visiting the McDonald College in Sydney and it didn’t really have an imprint on me at that time- that was just part of the course and just went and did it, and didn’t really realize what I was doing. Then I left school in year 11 and started full time ballet training with Marilyn Jones and Garth Welch. A lot of dancers have a natural transition to Pilates the movement and so forth, but it wasn’t something that I ever thought of doing. I always thought of myself as being a professional dancer.
At the age of 19 I was doing little bits with the Australian Opera Ballet, I was doing a bit of cabaret but everyone was telling me to go overseas. because I was so tall, and I started to get shin splints and was going to give up ballet. I went traveling and then came back at the age of 22 and started my whole process of becoming a fitness leader, personal trainer and from there went into human movement. It was when I started the human movement, I was working at a gym and they gave me a Pilates video and they said, can you teach this? So I went home, watched the video and started teaching this Pilates and the classes started to get really quite full in the gym. And I was like, there’s a lot more to this. In 1997 I did my very first official Pilates course- and my mum did the course with me.
Bruce Hildebrand: Fantastic. We have a similar thread there Kimberley- Human Movement? Whereabouts did you study and tell us more about this original video who was starring on there? Who was your influence in that regard?
Kimberley Garlick: It was at the Australian Catholic University, I was doing human movement. The original video it was the free video with Kelloggs Special K – it wasn’t even impactful- I basically got told to go and do it and it wasn’t until I started to go and research after that, that things started to have a bigger impact.
Bruce Hildebrand: It was a pat on the back to you at that point that someone had the confidence in you to hand you a video and say, go away and teach that you obviously demonstrated a bunch of skills that they would believe that you would be able to put two and two together in the early stages.
Kimberley Garlick: It was such a fun time to be in the fitness industry. We were the very first people to be having the Spin classes we were the first people training pump. The gyms were so popular at that time and you had all the step classes and everybody puts so much effort into everything we did. The hours of preparation that we would do- it was a very passionate fitness time in those late eighties and a lot of fun. It’s how I came across yoga and developed so many different other facets of my training.
Bruce Hildebrand: Tell us about your first arrival into Pilates- you touched on McDonald College. When would you say you officially participated in a way that you felt influenced by a teacher and were really taken by what it was that you started to do?
Kimberley Garlick: When I touched on it in the McDonald College, it was an insightful time for me I think because as a ballet dancer you already have a lot of flexibility and you are very poetic with your movements. When we got into Pilates, it was a bit more mechanical and it was a new feeling for me and to be honest, I felt restricted. It wasn’t until I got on the Reformer and I had my legs in straps, which I’m sure everybody goes "ahh, legs in straps" when they do that for the first time that I was like, I would really like to delve a lot more into this. And that was when I was 15. But I do remember knee floats and foot work and going, oh yeah. What is this? As a 15 year old, you just want to move. I always remember that because so often people come into Pilates and we can have too many restrictions on them and lose them- so I always go back to that 15 year old me and go, I felt so good just to be able to have some freedom and then bring them back. In 1997 I did my first training with Allan Menezes I said to my mum why don’t you come and do this as well because you’re so fit and healthy people of your age should be encouraging other people to move. So we did that first lot of training together. It was such a busy time for me because I was at Uni, I was also doing a Nutrition Diploma at the same time- doing a million things at once. I started the Pilates training and fell in love with it. I really did from that time, I didn’t with the politics that were surrounding Pilates at that time, but I fell in love with the movement and was determined to bring this movement to many people. At the time I didn’t realize I would be entering a world of controversy, let’s say, so I went in a little bit blind.
Bruce Hildebrand: I think it’s not an uncommon place that you arrived at that point because often when we step into something new and I even reflect on many things that I’ve studied over the years, including my time at university, including my first step into Pilates, you’re very uncertain about what it’s going to look like, so you’re very much trusting the decision that you’re making and the guidance that you’re getting at the time. You mentioned the Allan Menezes training and that was very fitness orientated at the time- is that correct? And also Nicole Vass is another name you mentioned- can you talk a little bit about that direction that you went with Nicole Vass?
Kimberley Garlick: Nicole probably wouldn’t even remember me as the 15 year old back then at McDonald College. We were all in there as little ballet dancers but she certainly impacted me positively at that time and intrigued my interest. And then Allan Menezes even though he had a different approach to many others at the time, which as I said when I delved into it, I was unaware- he still is extremely passionate about what he delivered. We started off with the mat course with him and then went into all the studio component. Looking back now in hindsight, it’s really interesting the different modalities that weren’t available in Australia, I felt like we were so new to Pilates that it was an exciting edge because we’re at that development period. Both of those people were positive in my world and I think that’s the most important thing to look at how they affected your journey
Bruce Hildebrand: That’s one of many reasons Kimberley why I was excited to have you on the podcast because you’ve got such a rich background and experience across the landscape of Pilates in Australia you’ve been involved since the early days- to get your perspective on these things, I think is really beautiful, rich story. Can you tell me some of your first impressions of Pilates and particularly your teachers, like you’ve just mentioned, but also other people in your class and even the perception of other people in your life when you told them that you’ve begun this new thing called Pilates and it’s great that you encouraged your mum to come along and participate as well.
Kimberley Garlick: Yeah. as I mentioned, it was very exciting because often people would ask me when I even mentioned Pilates, they said, oh, are you changing industries? Is that food? They thought it was a restaurant. I had so many varied types of reactions about the word Pilates. I went and did the second intake at UTS through the University and I thought that must be the best thing you can do- so I will go and do that. It was an interesting time because I was teaching group mat classes in a gym along with all the other types of classes- we’d always had stretch classes I was teaching yoga at the time and as I started to meet the powers to be in the Pilates world it was very frowned upon. It was an interesting another dimension for me that I didn’t realize would be such a controversy and that was a big hurdle that I had to overcome. It was interesting- to me, I was imparting knowledge to lots of people and getting people to move in a different way. Pilates was a new name on the timetable. So It was an exciting time for people to move better and I didn’t realise the reactions that were happening outside and those that were looking in. So it was an interesting time.
Bruce Hildebrand: What a contrasting experience- myself in the late nineties when I started my training in the UK by contrast Matt work was where it was at- there wasn’t anything called Clinical Pilates that I only learnt of when I returned to Australia in the early to mid two thousands. It’s funny, what we’ve all been exposed to over the years and I’m curious to expand on that as we continue this conversation.
Kimberley Garlick: It’s really nice hearing that, what you were experiencing was only the Mat and what we were experiencing here was that it shouldn’t have been to the masses That gives me a little bit more optimism of way things can always develop from. I remember that impostor feeling when I was coming across the people that have been teaching for such a long period of time when they found out that I was teaching in the gyms, because I was asked by a number of the gyms to put together my own training course, which was called The Pilates Room and that was such a fabulous, exciting time for me, but also a challenging time in the industry for me to still hold my beliefs because I was traveling all around Australia and teaching Pilates for gyms and teaching instructors on how to teach Pilates in the gym.
Bruce Hildebrand: Again, some parallels there- maybe at the same time I think you’re probably a few years ahead of me with your advanced experience. However, my opportunity arrived when I was in the UK, having also done a sport science degree similar to yourself- where the conversation was starting to expand into the gym setting and we created some program called the Pilates Bridge where I was also traveling around the UK up to various regions throughout the country introducing these basic principles and basic concepts to the gym setting as well.
Kimberley Garlick: Awesome! So good!
Bruce Hildebrand: And apparatus wasn’t part of it early- the availability of it in the first instance, but also the expansion of a sufficient number of people who knew enough of the equipment utilization at the time. Very much The Body Control Group that I can through my initial training with in the UK was very focused on the Mat and very much making Pilates accessible to lots and lots of people.
Kimberley Garlick: Yeah- it was such a fun time- Mat is such an amazing tool to have because you can do it anywhere, anytime, I put together videos at the time- they were VHSs- we were selling those as well. We were at Healthlands, Body Line all the YMCAs took it on. Then there was a gentleman Warren Birmingham he was an Olympian and he had a program called Unlimited Potential. He and I then started to travel worldwide and Australia. He would do the motivational component and I was doing all the health and wellness. incorporating my nutrition and Pilates. We were doing large organizations and taking Pilates into that business forum as well- it was a very busy time.
Bruce Hildebrand: What a fascinating outreach you were having very early in Australia in Pilates? .
Kimberley Garlick: Yeah, it was great- it was fun.
Bruce Hildebrand: You mentioned the UTS- can you tell us more about that learning journey?
Kimberley Garlick: At UTS they were running their second intake which was a year qualification. In that time Penny Latey was running it and I started my experience going into the studio and doing all my observations. It was a really exciting time that University was taking on Pilates because I was thinking you need more substance to the courses and the courses I had done in the past, I just felt there wasn’t that recognition and accreditation behind it. I wanted something more substantial.
Just before I started the course at UTS I was working at Healthlands and they got six Reformers and again I got handed a video and said can you teach this? I was like " this is so exciting- look at these machines"- I remember going on them once as a 15 year old. After watching the videos I was really excited and the classes were getting popular I said I feel like there is so much more to this, I feel like we need so much more. Shelly Powers was good friends with the person that owned Healthlands and he flew her out from America to spend time with me on my own. I was the luckiest girl ever because I had Shelly Powers all to myself to teach me Reformer. That was the first time I met Shelly and I have a very strong affiliation with her a really strong love for Shelley- she’s a very dear person to me. I just remember Shelly and her cueing- that was the biggest learning curve for me, I was like, wow, everything she talks about melts into your body. Every word she says, I felt I was having this new connection, a new awakening in my body and it changed everything for me from that weekend- and ever since then.
Bruce Hildebrand: Expanding on what you just mentioned there Kimberley, can you tell me more of that experience when you first noticed that the Pilates was really having an impact on your life and obviously that sensation in your body.
Kimberley Garlick: I remember that weekend was very pinnacle for me. The concept of working from the inside out, became so real- understanding more about what Joseph Pilates was wanting us to appreciate cognitively and that connection of our neurological component to the muscular and skeletal system. I think from that time I changed everything from how I approached an exercise to how I felt an exercise and who I would give an exercise to. Shelly is a massive part of Polestar Pilates and the following year when I was towards the end of UTS Polestar came to Australia and was running their first course. I was on that course and my mum came on that course as well and it was then other people who started to impact my life.
Bruce Hildebrand: And on that list was Brent Anderson- was he out on that early visit?
Kimberley Garlick: It was Brent, Dav, Shelley and Alistair that presented that first course. Cat was on the course as well.
Bruce Hildebrand: What an incredible power team we have there!
Kimberley Garlick: It was- you can imagine how it changed everything! Everybody that was on that course is still an extremely highly regarded practitioner within our industry. It was one of the most exciting times. Back then, even when we were at UTS, I was thinking of how far everything has developed because people now when they do Pilates training they get these amazing manuals and all these beautiful pictures but we were doing stick figures and writing everything down and trying to absorb every single word that everybody said. I’ve got my original notes and drawing of Trap Tables and stick figures it was an exciting awakening.
Bruce Hildebrand: At this point, Kimberley was there part of the experience that you didn’t like or that you didn’t want to accept- maybe even the parts of Pilates that you found most challenging in your pursuit of wanting to improve at it?
Kimberley Garlick: I think the Polestar course gave such a positive reflection of what I was looking for and what I was hoping it to be. I felt in the start it was restricted to you could only do it in this forum and it had to be done this way there was tight reigns on the movement. I had a very hypermobile body and I felt that my body needed to have containment to it, but it also needed to move to then be able to benefit from the movement. For me, meeting Shelly and learning how you can actually change a movement to suit the body was very empowering.
Bruce Hildebrand: You mentioned earlier when you first arrived at Pilates as a 15 year old, your first exposure to it, that was very accurate, intuitive experience of " I like to move- I want to be free to move. What’s this thing trying to contain me." Then the breakthrough for you working with Shelly and beyond was there can be a wonderful blend of those two ideas.
Kimberley Garlick: Absolutely that summed it up
Bruce Hildebrand: One of my first exposures to Polestar as an approach to Pilates was with a colleague who described Brent Anderson’s articulation of Pilates being " A positive movement experience." Yes That’s correct. And so that speaks to I think the leadership of Brent Anderson in that Pilates is a whole of life thing, rather than just a mechanical thing- it goes much beyond that.
Kimberley Garlick: Another thing that Brent Anderson said- and it has stuck with me forever- is " leave your ego at the door!" It has everything I do in life resonated with me because I felt that was the issue with Pilates to begin with that it was about upholding something that had been developed rather than actually what is best for the person there at the time. The reason why you leave your ego at the door is because us as instructors have our favorite exercises- things that feel good in our body- therefore, a lot of the time you don’t even realize you’re doing it, but you’re teaching what you like to teach- you’re teaching what you like to do. it’s this automatic way that the body is wanting to say, I can do this so you can do that. Where if you leave your ego at the door you’re really looking at that person and you’re wanting to unravel their puzzle, you’re wanting to look at them and go " What do they need? What is it that they need out of Pilates for them to have that positive movement experience and to walk out of this room feeling different. It’s not even feeling as if they’re healed because that is our ego wanting to heal everybody but if we go, we want them to feel different and have a different conversation with their body.
Bruce Hildebrand: What’s your interpretation having been in the game for such a long time no doubt looking at lots of influences and inputs into Pilates how would you interpret Joseph Pilates’ dealing with ego? Do you feel like he was driven a lot by that? Or do you feel like there was a mastery around how he approached his movement ultimately for the benefit of the people that he worked with?
Kimberley Garlick: Such an interesting question isn’t it because I think it could get misinterpreted. If we look at Joseph Pilates and in his photos he looks like there’s a lot of ego. He’s got the confidence, he can stand in his underwear he can hold that chest so proud and he can walk around with a stick but if we follow his humble beginnings and his journey and the way that he’d forego financial freedom to develop what he wanted to give to others and how he would look out the window and have his opinion on people wanting to come in because of their posture- I don’t think that was ego driven. I think he had a real passion wanting to change people for their better self to an improved future. You don’t work seven days a week and you don’t forego your financial savings to develop another piece of equipment for your ego. You develop that because you believe that you can create change. I obviously never met Joseph Pilates but I love reading about his stories so if you and I went in side by side and we were given an exercise he would modify it or challenge it for what you needed at that time. I don’t think he was as attached to the exercise name as some people still think. I think he was very happy to change it to make somebody move better.
Bruce Hildebrand: My interpretation of your early challenges with your Pilates participation is that ego was getting mixed in there somehow there was opportunities seen and it’s an interesting pathway that Pilates takes because the humbleness to bring that through as a long-term teacher it’s an ongoing daily practice
Kimberley Garlick: Yeah I’m sure I had ego attached to my beginnings as well because it’s really hard to let that go. I think age helps because no longer can I turn myself inside out and back to front. I sometimes also look back and think, wow, I really did ask a lot of my clients when I first started. As I have developed the hips don’t move and the spine doesn’t move as great- I can certainly relate to more people than I did as my year old self.
Bruce Hildebrand: You’ve mentioned many people that had influenced you on this incredible journey, Kimberley any others played a role in shaping your Pilates experience.
Kimberley Garlick: Yes- you’ve got everybody from your clients- they have really influenced me a lot and I’m forever grateful to those amazing people who trusted me with their bodies at the very beginning and my mum because she’s done all the training along the way with me and her and I were working out of little church halls and all of these people were coming every night- we had two to three classes that were full, we had waiting lists and those clients, I still have them today contacting me and are seeing other Pilates instructors and still doing Pilates from 25 years ago- so clients have really influenced everything that I do. And I’m forever grateful for every person that comes into my space. Professionally as I’ve already mentioned, the people from the Pilates world and the most influential has been Shelly, Dav, Brent. Cat Giannitto has been amazing because she has developed Polestar Australia- I’m very grateful for her. Every single person that has crossed my path through even Bioenergetics, Qigong, it all influences the more knowledge you gain, the more you are able to develop your craft and it’s everything from reading books to meeting people. I think everybody impacts your daily life and without us even realizing it is influencing the way we teach.
Bruce Hildebrand: You also mentioned about your mum Kimberley- it’s been more than just a one generational thing in your family I believe- and can you give us a rundown on your current setting and your position in the Northern Rivers area?
Kimberley Garlick: Yeah we moved from Sydney in 2010 I had a studio in Belrose and I was also very fortunate to have a Pilates studio in Bondi Fitness First- a beautifully equipped studio that they helped develop for me, so I’ve been given a lot of beautiful opportunities. We moved up here and I started the process again- so I had to build my reputation and coming to Lismore- we were the first Pilates studio and honestly most of my clients had never moved before ever. I remember moving here thinking I am never starting at 5:30 in the morning again and finishing at 7:30 at night- and the very first phone call I get for my studio appointment was for 6am! I was like, oh, of course, yes, I’ll be there at 6am and those people are still with me today. And I can mention beautiful Doris because she came to me and she said " the most I’ve done is worked on the farm- I have never done any formal exercise in my life. I just liked the name, it just looked interesting, so I decided to walk up, what is it that you do? It took about a year for Doris to actually sit on the Reformer the right way- every time we’d come back in, she’d still turn around the wrong way and she’s the most beautiful and fit able client I’m so proud of her to have stuck by something that was so new to her. She’s 70, she can do Teaser, she can do everything she comes twice a week and is so fit and able- she’s phenomenal.
Talking about the generational component- my mum is Heather Rudenko as I’ve mentioned and my eldest daughter she’s now 24 she works with me as well. She came and did work experience with me at the age of 15. I remember her with all the anatomy books writing everything down so absorbed and I was like, oh wow, she’s going to be amazing at this, she’s going to be so good. But then at 17 she’s like, I don’t want to follow in mum’s footsteps, I’m going to reach out and do my own thing. She did try for about six months and then came back and said "I really want to do Pilates." She did her Mat training started teaching mat classes, was working up on the Gold Coast in a number of amazing studios up there. Then she went and did her full Diploma and she’s also studying Osteo she has amazing hands. Now she works full time for me in the studio and is booked with a waiting list and everybody wants to get into her I’m very proud that she loves it, as much as I do.
Bruce Hildebrand: That’s a beautiful story.
Kimberley Garlick: Yeah. We’re lucky.
Bruce Hildebrand: Kimberley can you reflect on the time, if we step back a little when you were starting to get really hooked on Pilates for yourself- what was it that was the hidden gem that was beginning to help you find your participation in Pilates was something that you couldn’t ignore, that it had crept into your skin and was an itch that you couldn’t resist scratching and maybe even continue to scratching to this day.
Kimberley Garlick: I love the fact that you said continue scratching because that’s what it feels like. The beauty of Pilates is that it’s the never ending story- continuous, amazing new goals for you to reach. I’ve always been quite competitive, so after ballet I was trying everything to find something to sink my teeth into, from triathlons to marathon running- you name it I was giving it a crack. Pilates always brought me back whole! Every time my body would start to fall apart, Pilates would bring it back. Every morning I wake up and I have my little practice that I do and it keeps my body healthy and able to do what it needs to do. I mentioned at the beginning how that process of brain to muscle is for me the most valuable component of Pilates- the fact that you have to think so much about what you’re doing that it changes everything from your symmetry to your posture, just by getting a more intellectual understanding of how your body works. And there’s always something different. Clients always say I’ve been doing Pilates for so long and there’s another exercise you just challenged me again, just when I think I’m getting really good at Pilates you give me something else. There’s so many layers- so you’ll never ever get bored.
Bruce Hildebrand: I remember a client saying to me a number of years ago Bruce, where did you pull that exercise from? I’ve been doing Pilates for 13 years with you and I’ve never, ever done that exercise- where did you pull that from?
Kimberley Garlick: Isn’t it wonderful. That is so good. Sometimes you dream about it. I’m going to sound like I’m too fanatical about it, but sometimes I’ll dream about a client oh, I’ve just come up with a new exercise I need to get out more,
Bruce Hildebrand: Maybe a story I shouldn’t tell him the podcast, but an ex girlfriend told me that I wake up one night instructing the a hundred exercise, counting in my dreams.
Kimberley Garlick: I think that just shows that we really do love what we do, Bruce
Bruce Hildebrand: From one geek to another.
Kimberley Garlick: Yeah, and I think you should put that on the podcast.
Bruce Hildebrand: Kimberley, we talk about in the preamble to the show wanting to make Pilates a daily practice and even a career to teach, of course- and in many cases everyone wishes that they’d known about Pilates sooner. How early do you think that can be introduced the wonderful impact of Pilates?
Kimberley Garlick: Yeah. It’s quite extraordinary how many parents are bringing their children in very young I’m excited about it because they’re learning about their bodies and able to keep their bodies healthy as they develop- their bodies are growing with Pilates, which is so exciting. Generally if I have someone around 10 years old, we develop something that they can do at home with their parents it would be because they might be little ballet dancers or gymnasts or little soccer players, and they’re quite good at what they do therefore they’re already developing their asymmetries and we can help create balance from a very early age. We have a good NDIS program up here so we do get young people with disabilities and helping them create balance and so forth- we have a little girl that’s only seven years old she’s got a club foot and it’s really helping her build confidence in her walk. I don’t think you can be too young to start talking about Pilates.
My kids and your kids are probably the same- think about how they’ve grown up in the studio. If you can impart healthy, good movement patterns as early as possible. Why not! Kids naturally do rolling like a ball don’t they? all of that animal movement- it’s good!
Bruce Hildebrand: Kimberley, if we can dig a little deeper with this next question, can you tell us about the challenges that you had at this stage in your Pilates progress? What were some of the factors that you perhaps fell more deeply in love with, at this point? Or were there some elements that you were finding were rubbing you up the wrong way, some issues or hidden conversations in the studios that you’re attending or the industry at large that you didn’t like, or you didn’t feel aligned with?
Kimberley Garlick: The positives for me with Pilates is about opening the world of movement to everybody. Anyone can walk into a studio and if they’re in the right studio can be taken care of and develop new movement patterns and walk out more confidently, knowing that they can live life- that’s what I love about Pilates. In the training component of Pilates. I want to keep it honest. I want to keep a high standard. I want the exams for people to pass to be of a really high caliber and for a passion for the participants. I think the hours of observation, personal practice needs to be maintained because that’s how we learn. When we’re looking at developing the next generation of practitioners. I really hope that the training bodies keep a high standard. I’m really passionate about maintaining a continual education component and hope to be involved with that.
If I was to think of things that I would love a better understanding of within our industry I would like all of us who’ve been around for a long time to come together and have an appreciation of taking it forward and have one Association where we can support one another and build an industry that is recognized in the health component. For example in this lockdown the fact that Pilates can’t stay open, but you can go and get a massage is really sad. I would like our industry to develop an umbrella of support, less fragmented. I think it can- we’ve been in the industry for a long time, and I feel we can all come together and bring this into the level of appreciation with government registration, et cetera, and take it into that professional entity.
Bruce Hildebrand: Thanks for articulating that. It’s wonderful. Kimberley, you’ve been in the game for a long time. I’m curious to find when was it that there was a fork in the road where you could have either parked your participation in Pilates or gone forward with it- boots and all – what was that fork in the road for you? Can you tell us about that turning point?
Kimberley Garlick: It was probably when I was doing human movement that decision of, do you go down the Physio? Do you go into teaching? Where do I want to go with it? And it was that video that I got given when I was at Uni to go and teach in that class and realised that movement’s what I’m passionate about more then people being reliant on my hands. I wanted people to build confidence that they can make change themselves. Be less reliant on hands fixing them and more reliant on themselves that they can do it by moving. I love Physios and I love Osteos and I’m so grateful for them but I’m glad I didn’t go down that line because that’s not for me. I love movement. I’m really happy with having movement as my medicine.
Bruce Hildebrand: That was a really early point to know that fork in the road that you’re heading in that direction. Can you tell us some of the key influences around making that decision and also what the experience was for you- was it a sense of triumph? Was there a sense of relief, calm, peace, excitement, or even overwhelm of what you knew was still ahead of you?
Kimberley Garlick: I probably had a combination of all of them thrown into the mix and it went crazy in my brain and ended up with the overwhelmed and the excitement of discovery. It was so new I just felt I wanted to delve into this new experience. It was just starting to bubble here in Australia and I wanted to be a part of that- I wanted to be a part of the eruption and see where it could go. it’s exciting to see how Pilates is now a household recognised name that, it’s rare now to come across people who don’t know the word Pilates. They may be still thinking it’s yoga, but they still know the name Pilates- that’s what I wanted to be a part of that journey.
Bruce Hildebrand: Can you take us through that pathway? I’m curious to piece it all together- you’ve mentioned your earliest training then your involvement more so with the health club and the fitness scene, the Pilates Room, the step into Polestar and the move to Lismore- can you wrap all that together for us?
Kimberley Garlick: My journey in a nutshell was a ballet dancer who discovered that her body wasn’t going to make it so had to change direction if I could have been a ballet dancer, I would have stuck at it that is my first and truest passion to have been on stage- I loved that feeling! Pilates gave me a new stage that developed when I was at University and then had lots of influences from 1994 through to now at 2021. Every single influence has impacted my direction and made it almost if you imagine a country road and how it’s got lots of twists and turns and little bridges and gullies, and you’re going through water and it has its ups and it has its downs- and you’re running a business and you’re thinking, oh my gosh, how am I going to make ends meet? And then the next morning, you’ve got an amazing client that is why you’re there. Then you come across amazing staff and you impact their lives. I can honestly say, now that I do have a successful business and can put food on the table and even go on a holiday, but to start with, you’ve got a massive learning curve of not only your knowledge but running a business, looking after staff , there’s certainly times that you may have scratched your head but there’s never been a time that I’ve doubted my direction.
Bruce Hildebrand: And you’re educating with Polestar now? That’s been long-term commitment and contribution to the industry.
Kimberley Garlick: Yes, I was doing my own Pilates Room training- at the time. So after I completed the course , Brent Cat Dav and Shelly took me out for a coffee and said this is where we see you fitting in with Polestar. We’d really like you to be part of our company and our family, but you will have to forego your training. I was so excited because there is so much organization in getting your manuals together and then getting accreditation and everything else for you to run your own courses. For me to still do what I was doing, but have someone else take control of all of that with the mentors worldwide and open up amazing opportunities- Polestar have enabled me to travel the world. I have gone to so many different countries and along the way have met amazing people even now doing zoom sessions for China, for Hong Kong, doing lectures on I don’t recommend it, I feel like I’m cutting all my limbs off when I do it, it’s very difficult for me, but it’s still an honor to be asked.
Bruce Hildebrand: And you had a studio in Sydney before you exited to the Northern Rivers to Lismore. Tell us more about that journey, and the expansion of that with your Northern Rivers Pilates in Lismore.
Kimberley Garlick: The one in Belrose I was very fortunate to be able to sell, because as anybody knows in this industry it is a difficult thing to be able to on-sell a studio. I had a very successful client base I had six staff there and those six staff are still really successful- they’ve all opened up their own studios, or they still work at the studio, and a lot of my clients from there are still there as well so that’s really nice to know that they’re being cared for. Up here now I have the Northern Rivers Pilates studio we have five staff it’s pretty good for a small country town to be able to offer employment to so many amazing people. I also have an online wellness package and I continue to do educating and lecturing.
Bruce Hildebrand: What a privilege for the locals to have access to such worldwide expertise in what you’re offering.
Kimberley Garlick: Yeah. The beauty of it is they’ve got no idea- they just come in and it’s only when they move away that I get messages and they go "I just met such and they know you and they just told me your story"- so it’s very good for leaving ego at the door when you come to Lismore,
Bruce Hildebrand: It’s another reason why The Pilates Diaries Podcast exists is to expand those stories and to share that- so I appreciate your time- it’s fantastic. Kimberley, can you tell me some of the changes both in your body, your mind, and even in your spirit as Joseph Pilates liked to put it that are now second nature to you in the way that you do Pilates and that you’ve even managed to carry over into your daily life that you couldn’t ever imagined were either possible before you started Pilates or couldn’t have ever imagined when you were wrestling with some of those things that we talked about earlier with your participation in Pilates.
Kimberley Garlick: The one that comes to mind the most is Spirit. The reason is when you have days that you feel a little bit overwhelmed, or anything from you’re working too much to the fact that it’s lockdown- you move- and your spirit lifts- it’s as simple as that! When we talk about spirit, it’s the way that we communicate to others, it’s the way we communicate to ourselves, it’s the way that you dress, it’s the way you wake up in the morning and you choose to make your bed or not make your bed. It’s all part of your spirit and I know that all I need to do is half an hour of movement and my spirit has lifted. If I can impart that onto somebody else what an amazing gift to give someone. It doesn’t cost anything for someone to lie on a mat and do some basic Pilates movements and they have a smile on their face. If I could give that to one person a day I feel like I’m contributing to our society and to our next generation, because then now impart that knowledge on to their family and friends- that’s my goal in life- just a little bit a day.
Bruce Hildebrand: Beautiful! You mentioned that it’s the older age group who have never done any formal exercise, anything that has them engage these different parts of their being and getting the benefits, and then the other end of the spectrum the young age group- how early can we have that connection? Have that conversation, have these neural discoveries of huh? This is the vehicle, this is the buddy that I live in and there’s lots of moving parts to it and this is how I can really lift that.
Kimberley Garlick: Yeah, I don’t know your upbringing Bruce but I remember- if I was sick, mum would say, go and have an apple and sit in the sun. If your motivation was then she’d go "go for a walk!". It was always get out and do something. so it’s probably been instilled in me from a young age, I know that my children laugh at me still to this day, because it would be if there’s sun- get outside, go and do something outside, go and move your bodies! Every single person has that power to say move! Ideally Pilates is the best movement, I think, because that’s what we do, but any movement I’m happy with. If someone just walks down the road- awesome- because that will encourage them to do more movement et cetera.
Bruce Hildebrand: You mentioned the early age group in the conversation a little earlier the direction, I think that’s really fantastic is to participate in circus skills or gymnastic skills or dance or some sort of fun acrobatic-ty type thing as a kid, cause to build that sense and awareness from an early age and whether it be Pilates like you say whatever that is get the physicalities, developing, get the connections, get the habits happening early!
Kimberley Garlick: Yep. I think once you’ve got those endorphins, once you’ve received them or once you’ve acknowledged them, then they’re easy to want to reclaim again. If you’ve never had them, then you don’t know what that experience is. If a kid learns to cartwheel, for example, that adrenaline of being upside down is fun, so they’ll want to return to that, but if they’ve never experienced it, then there’s nothing for them to have a benchmark of how that feels. I agree with you and get moving as a young as we can.
Bruce Hildebrand: And the early endorphins you mentioned were the irreplaceable sensation of being on stage and putting yourself to the test and being in front of an audience and having that experience?
Kimberley Garlick: Yeah, in a way that’s probably why I love presenting so much because it’s given me another stage in the fact that Pilates is so exciting and you see the reaction from the students when they hear something new for the first time. Even in our studio, it becomes this amazing reaction- people love to be on stage because of the reaction that they’re getting from the people who are experiencing the emotion that you’re, delivering through movement and you’re seeing their reactions- maybe that’s why.
Bruce Hildebrand: Perhaps that’s something that’s missing when we’ve got the limitations of remote learning and zoom calls and video links is that to really engage in that reaction and that receptiveness of the impact of that teaching is removed in many parts.
Kimberley Garlick: So true! We have a component on the Principles course that you can choose to do online, or you can choose to do it face to face. I see the students that have done it online and the students that have done it face to face, it is a completely different learning experience. I’m thankful for what technology has given us but if I had a choice to do it in person, absolutely. I would much prefer to do it in person.
Bruce Hildebrand: It’s a game changer- that’s for sure.
Kimberley Garlick: Yeah.
Bruce Hildebrand: Kimberley, tell us more about where you now sit with Pilates. What does the future hold for you with Pilates in your life, what plans have you in store with your Pilates involvement.
Kimberley Garlick: Pilates in my life now is keeping me able- I’m really appreciative of that! I still love those leg circles in straps. If I do them every day I’m happy. Where I can see Pilates developing is exciting because all the time there’s new research and I’m loving how much is available to read- even ‘ The Brain That Healed Itself’, for example, that book and how we’re looking at things so differently. When I was reading that book, I could keep making these amazing connections between what was being said, and what we do in Pilates. Alot of what is coming out with the fascial system, and we’re getting more understanding of everything from the diaphragm to the psoas and everything we do in Pilates compliments it all! It’s so exciting to think that we can develop this research to back up what we are doing. I can imagine Pilates in hospitals- I think there’s going to be a surge of Pilates practitioners working in hospitals helping people recover. Seeing that next step happening is going to be a very exciting part. I hope that we can continue on a positive curve to see it develop for everybody, both practitioners and participants.
Bruce Hildebrand: I was fortunate to be on the health team at the Australian Ballet School a number of years ago and whenever a new piece of research would come through and was presented to the health team, there was always a bit of a cheeky wry smile because the ideas that were confirmed in these research papers coming through because the leading edge approach that the Australian Ballet School has in the worldwide stage- is that it was confirmation that everything that was already in motion and already a huge part of the programs for the elite dancer preparation was now written in a research paper and confirmed. It was like, great, it’s good to know that we’re on the right track. That was really interesting to experience.
Kimberley Garlick: It would have been great to be a part of the Australian Ballet School watching all these developing bodies and how much Pilates can help those young dancers.
Bruce Hildebrand: It was amazing. Kimberley, can you share with us what you wish you knew at the start of your Pilates journey that would have made the biggest difference to someone who might be considering starting Pilates now or facing some of the struggles that you did in some of your Pilates progress?
Kimberley Garlick: If I could look back and chat to myself, I would say: be confident. I would take that cloak of imposter syndrome and burn it because I think that was my biggest problem- that feeling of am I good enough to belong in this industry? It could have been because it was so new and I was working in a different forum to everybody else but just believe in yourself and if you are passionate about developing movement for others, find the right education body that suits your learning curve and put the hours in. Find somebody that you can respect, a good mentor to learn from and know that your time is not wasted. Alot of time people want like, oh, but I, I’m not earning money when I’m doing my observation hours or I’m not earning money when I’m doing assistant teaching, et cetera. It’s not about the money that they’re earning right there. It’s the knowledge that they’re gaining for free. Somebody is giving you their long-term knowledge and I would say get into as many studios and learn as much as you can from as many different people. So be confident, you’re never an imposter, and you’re gaining knowledge- so be grateful.
Bruce Hildebrand: That’s beautiful advice. Kimberley. Thank you so much. It’s been incredible chatting with you on the call What’s the best way for podcast listeners to reach out and get in touch with you?
Kimberley Garlick: Our website www.NorthernRiversPilates.com and on there I’ve got the wellness package which is a ten-tiered Mat program it’s only $79 so once they’ve got it, they’ve got it for life. Then they can bring that movement into their home whenever they need to have that increased adrenaline, increased positivity and nice fluidity in their body.
Bruce Hildebrand: So Northern Rivers Pilates.com .au up in gorgeous Lismore. If you ever up that way, make sure you pop in and say G’day to Kimberley, a gorgeous setting and gorgeous part of Australia. Kimberley, thank you so much for your time- gorgeous to chat to you on The Pilates Diaries Podcast.
Kimberley Garlick: Thanks Bruce.
Bruce Hildebrand: We hope you enjoyed this episode of The Pilates Diaries Podcast. Drop us a comment online at the links in the show notes, and be sure to subscribe and rate the podcast to keep updated with episode releases and hear more stories from our guests’ Pilates Diaries. This podcast is made possible by the following sponsors- keep an ear out for exclusive Pilates Diaries Podcast listener discount codes. Thanks for listening. The Pilates Diaries Podcast is a proud partner with TRIMIO. Set to launch at the end of 2021 TRIMIO is a much needed space and time utilization booking system for the Pilates industry. With TRIMIO you can return your focus to delivering the highest value to your customers. No longer be lost to the encumbrances of inefficient interactions and experience a new level of working freedom with the power of technology automation doing what it should. Maximize your profitability by optimizing the utilization of your time and physical space with TRIMIO. Find out more and register for pre-release updates at www.TRIMIO.app.
The Pilates Diaries Podcast is a proud partner with Pilates Reformers Australia. The Australian distributor of the Align Pilates range of equipment, Pilates Reformers Australia aims to provide high quality cost-effective commercial standard apparatus for both studio and home use. Reach out to the family owned Australian company and see how Pilates Reformers Australia can help meet your Pilates needs. Visit PilatesReformersAustralia.com.au to see the full range. For Pilates Diaries Podcast listeners Pilates Reformers Australia is offering a 10% discount across all products when you spend $100 or more. Use special discount code PILATESDIARIES21 at checkout to receive this offer.
The Pilates Diaries Podcast is a proud partner with Whealthy-Life. Whealthy-Life is an Australian owned equipment supplier searching out the best products for Pilates enthusiasts. Stocking a wide range of straps, handles, balls, bench covers, pillowcases, pouches and other goodies, Whealthy-Life is a distributor for products such as Elements, Makarlu, and Venn Balls. For The Pilates Diaries Podcast listeners Whealthy-Life is offering a 10% discount across all products. Use the special discount code PILATESDIARIES at checkout to receive this offer. The link can be found in the show notes.
The Pilates Diaries Podcast is a proud partner with ToeSox Australia. The main stockist of the US-based brands ToeSox, Tavi Noir, and Base 33. ToeSox Australia provides a selection of active wear and non-slip grip socks for Pilates, Yoga, Barre and Dance for women, men, and children. Made from high quality, durable and sustainable organic cotton ToeSox, Tavi Noir and Base 33 meet all your fitness wear and accessory needs. Whether you’re looking for socks or apparel that looks amazing, offers crucial support when needed and uses the latest sport technology, the family owned Australian company ToeSox Australia and its products is the place for you. For Pilates Diaries Podcast listeners ToeSox Australia is offering a 15% discount across all products when you spend $49 or more. Use special discount code PILATESDIARIES21 at checkout to receive this offer.