Instructor Spotlight: Therese Ogg
We speak with Pilates Instructor Therese Ogg about how she’s brought Pilates to a small outback town in Australia for the first time
1. Tell us a little about yourself and your Pilates background
I’m Therese Ogg, and I created my Pilates business, Channel Pilates in 2021 in Cloncurry. I moved to Cloncurry in 2019, which is in North West Queensland, Australia, to live with my now husband. He grew up on a sheep station five hours East of Cloncurry, which out here is considered relatively close, and that is where we will be moving to later this year. If you’re wondering how a girl from New South Wales has ended up here, we met 15 years ago at boarding school and have been together ever since. Even though it was a big move, it was certainly worth it and I was ready to start my life in the outback.
My friends and family would describe me as extra and glam, a fashion lover, perfectionist, great listener, empathetic, a hugger and adaptable, in that I’m both city and country.
This is my third year of teaching mat and reformer Pilates classes. I have a home studio, which is where I teach my private classes. I teach group classes at a local hall. My spaces definitely aren’t what you find in the city, but at the end of the day it’s about quality movement and everyone loves the opportunity to come together and do Pilates. I’m the first person in our community to offer Pilates, so I’m really proud of that. I came up with my business name, Channel Pilates to represent how we channel a particular purpose into our Pilates practice that can be expressed or felt. It could be strength, calm, or specific feelings. It might change for clients and even myself depending on what is going on in their lives, their energy levels or their mood when they arrive at class. Pilates encourages a mind-body connection, you can’t have one without the other.
2. Tell us who you are completing your Diploma of Pilates with?
I’m completing my Diploma of Pilates with Pilates ITC. When I completed my Pilates matwork I would travel 1700km to Brisbane for contact days and work experience. When I enrolled to do my Diploma, I decided it would be more practical to be an online student. I definitely miss hands-on cueing from other instructors and not having access to all of the studio equipment, but I’m determined to make it work. I don’t see living in the outback as a barrier to lifelong learning and reaching my goals.
In my home studio, I have a reformer and spine corrector. I’m interested in purchasing a Wunda Chair and Tower in the future, which will be exciting additions to my home studio. My mentor is Alisha Porter Baird, who is the owner of Sense of Power Pilates in Pyrmont, Sydney, Australia. I discovered Alisha on the Pilates ITC Facebook page, when she was offering classes via zoom during the Covid lockdown and I was completing my matwork training. I have been completing all of my self-mastery hours for my Diploma via zoom now, twice a week, for three years.
Funny story, Alisha and I only met in April this year, when I went to Sydney to do work experience in her amazing studio. She is incredibly professional and experienced and is a lover of the method and quality movement. Being the only instructor in the region and early in my Pilates teaching career, Alisha gives me time for mentoring conversations to help develop my knowledge and skills to assist me with my clients. I’m halfway through the content and am working through the Cadillac, High Barrel and Wunda Chair repertoire. When possible, she helps to emulate the exercise using equipment I have – which is so creative!
3. How did you discover Pilates?
I have a Bachelor of Primary School Education and have taught in Moree, NSW (where I grew up) Brisbane and Cloncurry. After one year of teaching in Cloncurry, I decided I needed a break from the teaching profession. I decided to do relief teaching. In that year, I definitely felt that I wasn’t being challenged and fulfilled. This is when my Pilates instructing journey began. When I left Brisbane, one thing I truly missed was my weekly reformer Pilates classes. I spoke to Blair, my husband, about doing a Pilates matwork course. In the beginning, it was for me, not only to further my education but knowing that we will always live in the outback, I wanted to be able to learn Pilates to be able to look after us! And when you’re 10 hours away from a Pilates studio, you’ve got to adapt!
I also believe I found my calling in Pilates because wellbeing is something that has always been really important to me. For me Pilates not only has physical benefits but also mental benefits. In my late teens and early to mid-twenties, I had anorexia nervosa. I discovered Pilates when it was recommended to me as a gentle form of exercise that would help to increase my bone density. I had osteopenia (low bone density) and I cracked a rib not doing anything vigorous. My Pilates journey started at Movement Principle Pilates. I would’ve only been in my early 20’s. I was fragile in my mind and body and these small group classes were gentle and one piece of the puzzle in recovering from my eating disorder. I have recovered and my bone density has improved, but it is a lifelong journey that I have to work on. Pilates allows me to strengthen my mind and body in a nurturing way.
4. What’s so great about teaching Pilates in a rural community?
It’s knowing that I’m making a difference. Everyone deserves the opportunity for quality movement, no matter where they live. In a remote community, it can sometimes feel like you’re missing out on services that are so accessible in larger towns and cities. Knowing that I am providing a service that improves the well-being of people in the community brings me so much joy. We don’t always have consistent access to health services, like physios and podiatrists. I’ve noticed that it’s easy for us to let those niggles and concerns go for longer than they should. I always stay within my scope of practice and recommend my clients seek advice from health professionals, but I do keep them safely moving.
5. Had many people in Cloncurry heard of Pilates or done it before?
Not at all! Out here there are great opportunities to be involved in group sports, like netball, volleyball and touch football. Pilates classes had never been taught in Cloncurry before, so it was new for almost all of my clients. We started our journey together, which has been so cool. My teaching has evolved and improved and I have got to be with them on their Pilates journey from the beginning. Educating my clients about Pilates has been such a joy and many of them have become as passionate about it as me, because they see and feel the difference.
6. I see you recently hosted your first Sunrise Pilates Session – tell us more about that.
Yes I held my first Sunrise Pilates Session a few months ago. I had a variety of women attend from regular to new clients! Everyone arrived at Chinaman Creek dam just before 6.30am and I taught a one hour class as the sun was rising. Even though I teach weekly group classes, I felt like I was getting out of my comfort zone by making myself known to more people in our community. I also collaborated with two other businesses to run this event. Each participant received a self-care gift box from Bare and Simple, and an energy tea from Country Blends, both local businesses. I felt proud to run this event because I’d seen community events like this, and thought that I’d love to do something like that but didn’t imagine it actually happening! I’m working on backing myself and having the confidence to put my business out there. Bringing a group of like-minded people together to do Pilates brings me so much joy - it comes back to making a difference in our community.
7. What sorts of regular classes do you run with your clients?
I run two mat classes a week, using small apparatus, at the hall and I run on average 18 private classes per week, in my home studio. We use the reformer, spine corrector and small apparatus.
I love my clients - their stories and journeys are inspiring. Cloncurry is such an interesting place. You have your locals who have been here for generations and are well-known in the community, but you also have people from all walks of life, who have moved here for love or work opportunities.
The mining and agricultural industry here is really big. My clients range from graziers, stay-at-home mums, principals, assistant principals, teachers, geologists, accountants, machinery operators, nurses, teachers, cafe owners and massage therapists. So many of my clients have come to me without having done much exercise for years. They are tight, deconditioned, experiencing general aches and pains and not feeling connected to their bodies. I feel so grateful to have the privilege of working with them to achieve their goals and improve their physical well-being. Women’s health is also an area that can be neglected out here. I have a lot of conversations with my clients about their pelvic floor and we do specific exercises to address their concerns, particularly for women who are pre and post-natal and entering menopause (within my scope of practice).
8. What kind of feedback have you had from the community about your Pilates sessions?
I’ve had clients tell me that for the first time in years they are not experiencing incontinence which is a big win. They can jump on the trampoline with their kids and sneeze without feeling like they have to brace themselves.
- Some have said it is a chance to forget about things in life that were bothering them. Some of my clients have high-stress jobs. They love how connecting the movement with breath requires concentration and is almost therapeutic.
- For those with kids, it’s the one time in their week that they have to themselves
- My clients says they walk away feeling stretched, taller, more mobile and stronger.
9. Is there something you try and instil in each of your clients?
Absolutely - to show their mind and bodies compassion. When you come to Pilates, it’s about improving how you feel within your own body - becoming stronger, more mobile and flexible. Clients say – ‘I feel fat today, I haven’t exercised in so long, I’m so weak, I can’t touch my toes, I’m not sure I’m doing it right.’ I usually respond with something along the lines of, ‘That’s okay, this is where you are today, it’s your own practice and we are going to work consistently to take steps to get there.’
10. What’s an essential part of being a teacher for you?
Keeping up with my own self-mastery. It allows me to feel each exercise, which helps me to explain it to my clients. My job is also quite physical, moving apparatus, providing hands-on cues, changing springs, and I’m on my feet all day, so I need to look after my body!
11. The best advice you were ever given as a teacher…
It’s okay that you don’t know everything yet. Keep teaching, upskill often and trust your ability.
Therese Ogg owns Channel Pilates in outback Queensland, Australia.