Putting Pilates online wasn’t always as natural and practical as it seems now. May is a great time because it encourages us to be mindful. Mindful in May allows us to slow down, take stock and really appreciate the magic in the world around us.
Body Beyond Birth has experienced quite a lot in the years we’ve been running. So we thought we’d take this opportunity to reflect on how far we have come.
Here are a few Body Beyond Birth reflections for you to enjoy.
Early supports that make all the difference
In the autumn of 2014, Becky and Jackie sat down to breakdown the early stages of Body Beyond Birth. Jackie had met Becky when Jackie needed assistance recovering from the birth of her twins. Bringing the love of movement and the health of Jackie’s body into focus helped us both discover a passion for helping women. We wanted to grow our ability to do that. So Body Beyond Birth was born.
People thought we were nuts for having such an ambitious exercise program. Thinking we could take Pilates online was one barrier. Others were concerned about offering a product specific to women as well as one that was targeted to help with the post birth body. But we stuck at it and we made it our way.
Early supporters of our journey were our husbands, Anthony and Rewi. As well as our kids, who inspired us to do what we do today. We also had help from extended family and friends, early stage testers (our “pilots”), Nadia and Meg and their wonderful information on nutrition and food, and our original website manager, Joe.
The first champions of Pilates online, BBB style
In 2014, we began to find out just how supportive the mothering community could be when we started talking to women about what it takes to put Pilates online. Not only did we find ourselves covered by mainstream press outlets, we found an army of blogging and reviewing champions within the mumprenuer and mothering writer set.
Amazing reviews started pouring in from Kidspot and their readers. Receiving an average of 4.6 out of 5 stars just blew us away.
The invitation from Medibank Private to provide some helpful advice to their customers on safe exercises for new Mums showed us we were really on the right track. Further affirmation came from coverage by the best in tech section of Smart Company.
Kid Magazine shared the in-depth love about what it was like to reach week 12 in Body Beyond Birth. Having the amazing North Shore Mums write up a glowing review was equally humbling.
The respect and understanding shown by Queenhood for what Body Beyond Birth was aiming to achieve filled us with joy. We shouted from the rooftops about reclaiming women’s health at What’s New in Fitness.
Being highlighted as go getting mumpreneurs on the sensational Exclusively Mum was both a wonderful experience and really eye opening when it came to uncovering the amount of women doing their thing in the entrepreneurial space. So too was speaking to One Fine Baby an experience we’ll never forget.
When Genine Howard decided to challenge herself with our program and share it with Mama Disrupt, we were both excited and filled with trepidation with what she would find. Thankfully, we passed with flying colours.
A mother to twins herself, Jackie was thrilled to see Body Beyond Birth and the 20 minutes a day action plan at the centre of it reviewed by Mummy to Twins Plus More.
The pelvic floor got a thorough examination at Live it! Do it! Becky told the Telegraph that a strong body was far more important than a bikini body. And she reaffirmed that feeling great and being healthy was far more important when speaking to The Woman’s Weekly.
We brought some magic to Sydney at a beautiful breakfast event with dual Olympian Elka Whalan and really enjoyed hearing from women face to face as we discussed what challenges women face with exercise as well as explaining the ethos behind Body Beyond Birth.
It wasn’t only the exercise that grabbed people’s attention. Nourishing Hub explored our story and also gave the audience the yummiest caramel protein ball recipe you can imagine. We tackled morning sickness for Nine’s Honey portal. And our very own Nadia was named as one of the top ten food influencers in Australia to watch.
Plus, we spent time with Today Show Extra talking all things Body Beyond Birth with Sonia Krueger. Sonia is deeply invested in post pregnancy fitness after having a baby in her 40s.
We cannot possibly thank all the media, bloggers and journalists that covered our journey. But we do take pride in having you in our media section.
Missed out on seeing us around the place before? Still unsure what Body Beyond Birth is all about? Check out this introduction to BBB video.
In her own words
As time went on, more and more women came and spoke of their joy, success and honest experience of the Body Beyond Birth Pilates online program, and the sister pregnancy program.
We welcomed fitness transformations from Leah and were so excited to see the progress she made. Nicky was another hot momma that showed amazing dedication.
Barbara in Germany told us it was entirely possible to remain focused and connected to your fitness goals thousands of miles away.
Caroline amazed us with using our post natal exercise program to return to marathon form.
Anna made her fitness journey personal and possible with a good heart and a focus on keeping “exercise manageable and consistent.”
Beth stayed healthy during her pregnancy with the help of our pregnancy fitness program and the understanding that to start is the hardest part.
Home is always where the heart is
In the relatively short time Body Beyond Birth has put Pilates online, we’ve given out hundreds of trials, worked closely with hundreds of others and met some amazing people along the way. We have a strong desire to connect with the world and create community as well as enjoying a strong relationship to the world around us.
Reflecting on how far we’ve come has been a great exercise. It reminds us the progress we have made. But also how many helpful hands have made for light work.
So our cup is full of gratitude as we’re reminded of the role each and every one of you plays.
We welcome the next phase of Body Beyond Birth and invite all our members to join us in sharing the joy.
