By Luke Voogt
Anglesea Pilates instructor Lina Libroaperto rolled out the mats face-to-face with her students on Wednesday after more than a month of online classes.
The 60-year-old was thrilled to hold the morning class as COVID-19 restrictions eased to allow gatherings of 10 outdoors.
She has run live-streamed community classes for local nursing homes and her other regulars since the restrictions came into force.
“I had to bring myself kicking and screaming into the Zoom world, helping elderly people use technology that I barely use myself,” she said.
“So we’ve had a lot of fun, although I felt like my head was exploding at times.”
But while seeing students in person again was fantastic, some had preferred the online classes, Lina said.
“They say, ‘I can just roll out the mat. I don’t have to put my lippy or my face on’.”
A “teacher in a previous life”, Lina began Pilates several years ago and said the exercises helped her keep up with her two-year-old grandson Archie.
Pilates were great for the Surf Coast’s “changing demographic”, teaching elderly people how to “wake up muscles we don’t tend to use”, Lina said.
Understanding which muscles the body engaged during exercises helped prevent injuries, she said.
“And it’s just as important for mental health to keep the body active, so I’m passionate about sharing that with other people.”
She has students in their 80s, some who keep up with her younger students.
“I’ve had to find more challenging movements for them with heavier weights,” she said.
“The research is just constantly reinforcing that old adage of move it or lose it.”
