Love and Core Pilates and Yoga, Martinborough

08/01/2026

Can I change your mind?

03/01/2026

Can I change your mind?


**t

01/01/2026

Can I change your mind?

31/12/2025

18/12/2025

If you’ve managed to get through the year without descending in to full bats**ttery, well done. Kudos to you.

**t

08/12/2025

24 years ago when my mate was 15 she lost her beautiful mum to MS, a cruel, degenerative, s**t head of a disease. Years later we both found ourselves living in NZ, me in the North Island and my mate in the South. Having developed a keen interest in the outdoors, my mate started tramping regularly on single and multi day/overnight hikes, and participating in trail races and ultra marathons. I saw a shift in her. The grief and pain of the past was still present but it had less control over her. She had developed a physical and mental power, a determination both quiet and fierce, and an unwavering resilience for the brutal yet life affirming challenges she had set herself out on the trails. It was infectious and I wanted the same buzz.

One day my mate said to me ‘whenever I feel like giving up or like I can’t be bothered, I think of my mum who would have given anything to have gotten up out of her wheelchair.’

This was one of those pivotal moments for me. I too had the privilege and opportunity to explore my own limits, get out in to nature and feed my body and soul with her gnarly, expansive, breathtaking beauty and all she has to offer.

So began my love affair with running and the New Zealand bush. A past time and desire now so deeply embedded in my psyche I find myself frequently daydreaming about the next time I will be immersed in the freedom and flow state of my feet hitting the ground and my muscles burning as I climb. Out there, any problems I face in daily life still exist, but they don’t seem quite so over bearing. I am physically stronger because of it but more importantly, psychologically stronger.

I’m not breaking any records, I’m not particularly fast or even that skilled but I’m intrinsically motivated. I want to, and have to, be there. It’s not a punishment nor a burden, or a way to burn calories, it’s a way to shed stress and nourish my mind.

So this is a shout out to my mate Amy and anyone else who gets their fix out on the trails. Far better than any Pilates studio or gym, a little slice of paradise, you can have for free, whenever you want.

25/11/2025

Bookings link in bio

All equipment and props provided. BYO an additional pillow and blanket for ultimate comfort. 🌱

29/10/2025

You’ve heard it before, but I’ll say it again.

Getting older is not the time for retiring from meaning activities and moving a whole lot less.

Reject societal expectations around aging, they’re unhelpful and disempowering. Stop expecting frailty and decline, stay active, keep training, behave badly, be outrageous, keep learning and keep playing.

27/10/2025

Excited to share I’m partnering with Jula Retreats for a boutique Winter Reset in Martinborough (15–17 May 2026). Book early and get 10% off as a founding member — deposit $500 by 15 Nov.

More info: www.jularetreats.com

23/10/2025

I drew a picture for you guys! I'm sharing this image so you can better equip yourself when managing or recovering from pain or injury. In the Venn diagram you’ll see MANY contributors pertaining to pain that could be either possible risk or protective factors.

Managing pain and injury through the lens of the biopsychosocial model means treating the whole person comprehensively, taking in to account the many variables impacting an individual, such as; beliefs and expectations, sleep, socioeconomic status and hormonal shifts. This contrasts with the older biomedical model which views pain and injury simply as a physical pathology without consideration for a broad range of factors that contribute and modulate the experience of pain.

The myth of pain as always being a physical issue, like tissue damage or degeneration, can be very limiting. It overlooks the important role the brain plays in perpetuating pain and fails to recognise the abundance of biological, psychological and social factors that play a role in pain. For example...

🤕Distress, anxiety and depression are important predictors in the development of acute pain becoming chronic. (Meints, Edwards, Gilligan, Schreiber, 2020)

🤕50% of the population may experience neck pain in their lifetime. The greatest predictors of neck pain are low job satisfaction and low perceived support at work (Cohen & Hooten, 2017)

🤕Kinesiophobia is common among individulas with persistent lower back pain. "This fear driven avoidance may lead to deconditioning, heightened pain perception and a cycle of inactivity and disability" (Dr Deeba Shaikh, 2025)

Pain is nuanced and impacted by biological, psychological and social factors such as; sleep quality, emotions, expectations about pain or aging, quality of our relationships, hormonal fluctuations and stress.
Whilst the biomedical approach still has value and can be very effective in the treatment of acute injuries and mechanical problems, care and treatment can be limited by its narrow framework. For greater scope and increased, positive health outcomes, all biopsychosocial risk and protective factors should be considered. (References in bio.)

23/09/2025

Wheres Wally? Wheres Elly? Can you spot Elly in any of her pictures? Possibly not, because she has some hard core impenetrable boundaries around yoga photos and social media which I deeply respect and find equally inconvenient as a studio owner wishing to market her. Doesn’t she have some rather cute pets though!?

You’ll find Elly at the studio early on a Tuesday morning lovingly guiding her fabulous clients through a gentle yoga practice. The secret to Elly’s sessions is the distinct lack of waffle. This is where the magic lies, no nauseating, earnest inspirational cliches pouring incessantly from a new age self help book, just a simple practice of traditional postures slowly woven together in a quiet and friendly environment so you can develop some insight in to your mind and body and hopefully, in time, feel empowered to take your yoga practice with you outside the studio.

When Elly isn’t teaching yoga, she is making delicious plant based chocolate from sustainably and ethically sourced ingredients. Her small family owned and operated chocolate factory, be happy chocolate produces mouth wateringly delicious bars with no ultra-processed j***y ingredients, the kind that doesn’t profit from human and environmental exploitation. They’re fu***ng delicious, if you haven’t tried them you’re very silly.

She is partial to a bit of karaoke and does a good impersonation of Stevie Nicks, relishes a game of footy with her local team in Martinborough and is very fond of milling about in the bush away from modern chaos and the internet.

06/09/2025

Let me introduce you to Ruth & Peter 👋

At 79 and 82 years old they recently completed the The Green Jersey Explorer Tour from Whanganui to Napier via Taihape and the Gentle Annie route.

They both regularly swim, cycle and tramp and attend a weekly Pilates session with us at Love & Core to maintain their strength and mobility. ‘Love and Core has a very important place in our lives as we get older!’ the pair say. They are just as, if not more, active now than before retirement.


When I’m older I’d like to be like them! (Not only because of their empathetic socialist values and active commitment to a more equitable society) but because they are physically active, partake in meaningful and creative pursuits and have high levels of self-efficacy.


In the context of physical pursuits, self-efficacy comes from our beliefs and thoughts in our own ability to engage with and gain benefit from any form of physical activity.


Self-efficacy is a crucial factor at any age to regularly and consistently adhere to exercise routines, thus improving physical and mental health outcomes.


It’s important at all life stages and no less so for older adults. High self-efficacy leads to greater participation and increased confidence.


Rejecting societal expectations around aging is also key. We are more likely to become frail if we deeply believe in and expect fragility as we age.


Staying active, and in fact increasing physical activity, for older adults can mitigate age related decline such as muscle loss and impaired balance.


At Love & Core we know this deeply. We will support and encourage you to explore your movement potential. We understand that trying new things and building your capacity for exercise and movement can be scary and daunting. But we also know that with the support we offer overcoming these types of fears is not only possible, but that self-esteem and confidence is boosted along the way.