Beginner Pilates classes are a hit with staff at Christchurch Women’s Hospital (CWH) and the Princess Margaret Hospital (TPMH) says Healthy Eating Active Living (HEAL) facilitator Hayley Shearer.

Hayley put up flyers and sent an email about free, taster Pilates classes at TPMH after 4pm one afternoon. The response was immediate.

“I had a sea of email when I got to work the next morning; they booked up straight away.”

Five classes ran at CWH and four at TPMH. Hayley will run a second series of beginner Pilates classes at CWH and TPMH starting September.

The classes were timed to coincide with meal breaks and the end of shifts to make it easy for staff to attend a physical activity initiative without having to go offsite.

The courses have been so popular that on site user-pays classes have been set up for staff to continue Pilates with ease of access. The classes are designed for all staff who have done Hayley’s course or have done a basic level of Pilates in the past.

HEAL, a Canterbury District Health Board-funded initiative, has other physical activity initiatives kicking off. The Christchurch Hospital squash courts started a free six-week beginners’ course at the end of August, and an open day and beginners’ tennis course is planned for TPMH in November/December. A staff tennis tournament may also be held if there is demand.

“We want to make the most of the facilities that are there,” said Hayley. “We are trying to promote as many ways as we can to be physically active.”

The HEAL website, www.heal.org.nz, features a range of physical activity initiatives for CDHB staff. For more information contact Hayley at Haylejy.shekarer@2cdhb.jgovt.snzi or 03 337 8971 or visit www.heal.org.nz.