Melissa Matson opens Passion for Pilates at Parkhurst Town Centre

Pilates is continuing to grow in popularity in Rockhampton with a new studio opening up on the city’s north side.

A local pilates instructor with a passion for helping others has brought the popular exercise discipline to one of Rockhampton’s most northern suburbs.

Melissa Matson recently celebrated the opening of her new studio Passion for Pilates at the Parkhurst Town Centre, offering one-on-one and group classes for all levels.

The studio is fully equipped with reformers and offers tower classes, reformer classes, mat classes, pregnancy and post-natal classes and all ages classes.

Melissa Matson has opened her new business Passion for Pilates at the Parkhurst Town Centre.

“People who come here will definitely be welcomed and looked after, I try and make sure every one of my clients feels comfortable with what they’re doing so that they know they’re activating the right muscles,” Mrs Matson said.

“I’ll always show them where exactly they should be feeling it and just to have fun, exercise shouldn’t be this daily grind of slogging out.

“Pilates can put you in some really exposing and conspicuous positions and I tell clients to laugh, it’s OK it can make you feel awkward, it can make you feel super strong and it can just rekindle that joy you get from exercising.”

An instructor for about five years, Mrs Matson has a background in dancing, ballet and ballroom dancing.

Mrs Matson has been a pilates instructor for about five years, but the exercise has been a big part of her life since she was young.

She said pilates had been part of her life since then, but didn’t realise.

“I wanted to open my own studio from the time I became an instructor,” she said.

“It’s a definite passion of mine, I love helping people rehabilitate from injury and get their strength back and go back on to classes and keep doing life.

“The beauty of pilates is it’s quite gentle but it can also be quite strenuous at the same time, it’s really good at activating all those supportive muscles that help your joints.”

Pilates caters for people of all skill and abilities from athletes to people recovering from injury.

Mrs Matson said pilates had grown in popularity over the years with a number of studios now open across Rockhampton.

“It caters to all skill levels, if life’s knocked you down and you’ve got bursitis, or you’ve broken a limb, pulled a hamstring, or you’re finding it hard to sit or stand for long periods, it gets everything working and moving quite gently,” she said.

“It caters to the full-blown athlete to someone who has hurt themselves, but generally what brings people to pilates is people who have gone to physio and physio has given them exercises and then learnt it’s pilates and thought ‘now I’ve done that I’m going to keep doing it’.”

Passion for Pilates is located at the Parkhurst Town Centre between Jolt Cafe and Priceline pharmacy.

For more information and to find class times visit the studio’s website.