Embodied Soul

Because Monday was getting very busy and people were missing out on spots, I added a new 8:45 - 9:45am session. Feel free to switch to the new one, if earlier works better.

It’s really encouraging to see Embodied Soul growing, and so many of you staying consistent with your strength training.

These classes are currently booked out for the next few weeks (and have wait lists).

- Monday, Wednesday & Thursday at 10am
- Monday at 11:30am

If you have some flexibility around days or times, I’d really appreciate you considering one of the less busy sessions instead. I have people who have been attending these morning classes consistently for a long time, and they’re starting to miss out on spaces because these sessions are so full.

If one of the busy times is the only class that works for you, then go ahead and book it.

I just ask that you do your best to honour your booking, or cancel as early as possible if you can’t make it. That gives someone else the opportunity to take your place, rather than having spaces sitting empty from last-minute cancellations.

There’s still plenty of space in these morning classes:

• Tuesday 10am
• Wednesday 11:30am
• Friday 10am
• Friday 11:30am
• Saturday 8am

And if evenings work for you, there’s lots of space there too:

• Monday 5pm
• Tuesday 5:45pm
• Wednesday 4pm
• Thursday 5:45pm

It’s awesome that so many of you are making strength training part of your regular routine.

Yes, we want those capability circuits.

So REPs New Zealand (the registration body for exercise professionals) gave me a free website, so I thought I’d better use it!

Although… it’s not really free because I pay quite a bit for my REPs registration 😂

You can check out the new Embodied Soul website here:

embodiedsoul.fitweb.io

There’s a link to the booking system, the current timetable and a bit more info about what I offer.

Have a look 😊

I’m still keeping my other website, embodiedsoul.nz, as well.

A book I read recently.

Not related to lifting, but it is related to women and how they navigate the world.

It was loaned to me by someone who comes to my classes (thanks Kirstie!).

If you were into 90s alternative rock, like me, you’ll probably know of Melissa Auf der Maur.

I knew of her because she joined my favourite band, Smashing Pumpkins, for a time.

I was completely obsessed with the Smashing Pumpkins when I was younger.

I adored Billy Corgan. 😂

I actually have Melissa’s autograph on my bathroom wall, along with the other Pumpkins.

She was really friendly when I met her, but I never knew much about her beyond being the bass player who had somehow ended up in my favourite band.

So when someone loaned me her autobiography, I was curious.

And after reading it, I have massive respect for her.

She spent years in the world of Hole and Smashing Pumpkins, alongside some very big personalities — Courtney Love and Billy Corgan.

She also had a relationship with Dave Grohl.

What I really liked about her was that she seemed to maintain her sense of self through all of it.

She walked away from a relationship with someone she still loved because she recognised that they were no longer compatible.

She eventually walked away from both Hole and Smashing Pumpkins too, choosing to pursue her own creative work.

I really admire that.

Leaving something you know is not right for you is hard.

Staying is easier.

Something can be exciting and successful and look amazing from the outside, and still not be where you’re meant to be.

She had an awareness of that. She knew when it was time to leave.

As someone who has historically stayed too long in relationships or situations that were no longer right for me, I am in awe of that.

She maintained her artistic integrity.

She cultivated her own inner world.

She stayed connected to her spirituality.

She kept creating.

She knew who she was.

And she wasn’t willing to abandon herself for fame or notoriety, or even for love.

I find that really inspiring.

She is a woman of remarkable self-possession.

There’s something incredibly powerful about being deeply involved with other people without losing yourself in them.

To love people without abandoning yourself.

To work alongside powerful personalities without allowing them to define you.

To walk away when something is no longer right, even when walking away hurts.

And to have the courage to create something of your own.

There was one little bit of synchronicity at the end of the book that was very meaningful to me.

At the time she wrote the book, her only daughter was 12 years old.

Her name is River.

If you don’t know me, I have a 12-year-old daughter called River too. 💜

Things I don’t do at Embodied Soul

Some of these might be a little different to a conventional fitness space.

(This post was inspired by someone telling me what it was like at the last gym she went to.)

I don’t:

• Take or post pictures of you without your permission.

• Do before-and-after pictures.

• Require you to high five me after a session. 😂

• Not even learn your name, or anything about you.

• Ignore you while you try to figure things out by yourself.

• Comment on your weight or the way your body looks. I might comment on how strong you’re getting though. 😉

• Make you compete against the woman next to you. Your progress is your progress.

• Tell you to push through pain. We figure things out and adjust when we need to.

• Expect you to know what you’re doing when you walk through the door. I’ll teach you.

• Tell you that you need to get smaller before you can get stronger.

• Make exercise a punishment for what you’ve eaten.

What I do want is for you to feel comfortable here.

To know that I’ll notice when you walk through the door.

To know that I’ll help you when something feels difficult.

To know that you don’t need to remember every exercise, and that it’s okay to feel like a newbie or not know what you’re doing.

To get stronger without feeling like you have to change the shape of your body to belong here.

And to be surrounded by women who are all working on becoming stronger, more capable and more confident in their own bodies.

If you’ve been wanting to get started with strength training but don’t know where to begin, or you’ve been going to the gym for a while but would like to progress your lifts and move towards heavier weights, or you just want to be around a supportive group of women…

Send me a message and we’ll get you started. ❤️

I now have an 8am Saturday session for those who can’t make the weekday ones.

Send a message to learn more

Saturday 8am sessions are now starting! 💪

For anyone who can’t make the sessions during the week, or if you want to add a second or third session to your week.

I may occasionally cancel a Saturday if I want to go on a weekend hike, because I do need to have some time for my own adventures too. 😂

But most weeks, we’ll be lifting at 8am on Saturday.

If you’ve been wanting an extra session, or weekends work better for you, go to ubindi and book. Space is limited to 6 people.

Look at that.

I could reach 6 more accounts if I spend $49. 😂

No thanks.

I’ve been struggling with reach on Facebook lately.

I don’t know if my content is bad, or if people just aren’t on Facebook anymore. Maybe I should be doing Instagram, but that feels like way too much work. 😂

The only content I actually enjoy making is writing.

I’m not visual, I’m not into pictures.

I like depth and substance.

I’m not big on surface level.

And in a world dominated by short form content, I’m not sure how many people still read.

Luckily, I’m really fortunate that around 90% of my new clients come through word of mouth rather than from social media.

Which means you guys are doing my advertising for me.

So I want to reward you for it. ❤️

If you have a friend who you think would enjoy my classes, there’s a referral link you can share through Ubindi.

When they sign up, you both get a free class.

I really appreciate it when you tell your friends about me.

In Human Design, my ideal environment is kitchens.

Which is funny, because I don’t even like cooking. 😂

But kitchens aren’t really about cooking.

They’re about transformation.

You take a collection of things and turn them into something else.

I think that’s why I created a fitness studio.

It’s a space for transformation.

We come together, we bring what we have, and we work with it.

We take movement, breath, lifting, challenge, discomfort and rest, and mix them together in the right amounts.

Over time, something changes.

The body changes.

The mind changes.

The way you see yourself changes.

You become someone different from when you first walked through the door.