Outback odyssey for rural mental health awareness

Meet the yoga teacher about to embark on a 4000km roadtrip through the outback, bringing her classes to people in small communities off the beaten track.

Emily Armstrong has been nominated for the 2024 Shine Awards, which celebrate the achievements of rural and regional women across Australia. Click here to nominate an outstanding woman you know.

Emily Armstrong grew up in the NSW bush, surrounded by wide open spaces and broad open skies.

But it wasn’t until she was living in the hustle and bustle of Sydney, after studying an agribusiness degree, that the sensation of isolation and loneliness hit her.

“Moving to Sydney was the dream job, living in the big smoke – that’s what the plan was,” Emily said.

“I’ve probably never felt more isolated, even though it was the dream.”

She knows better than anyone that isolation is not solely for those living away from loved ones, but also for many people who are removed from their communities, their homes, and the land they love.

It’s this premise that inspired Emily to open her own digital pilates business, Saltbush Stretch, with the aim of connecting people to their physical and mental health, no matter where they are.

Em Armstrong is using yoga and pilates as a way to connect country people to their sense of physical and mental health, as part of an epic outback roadtrip. Picture: Supplied

After a childhood spent near Hay in rural NSW, Emily spent some time working in the Northern Territory before studying agribusiness in Geelong. This landed her a career in corporate agriculture, and a job in Sydney.

“I grew up in the community, I did all these things, I went to school, but hadn’t been back in my home for 10 to 15 years,” she said.

After moving to Carrathool to be with her partner, Emily founded Saltbush Stretch in the weeks before Covid-19 hit Australia, launching her online yoga and pilates platform just as the world went into lockdown.

Emily runs Saltbush Stretch online, and a physical studio in Hay, while raising her young son.

And whether clients login online or stretch out on the mat in a classroom, Emily said she hoped to make a difference to the physical and mental health of everyone she teaches.

“I’m a bush woman, I have a young family, I know what it’s like to be in the harsh elements,” Em said.

“Sometimes you’re just talking to your dog.

“And it’s not just about yoga and pilates. Regardless of being in the studio or the online studio, it’s such a community. People find it relatable.”

Emily runs Saltbush Stretch online, and a physical studio in Hay.

Emily is about to embark on a 4000km tour across regional and remote Australia, bringing her Saltbush Stretch yoga and pilates classes to people in small communities off the beaten track, as part of R U OK? Day.

Between September 10 and 16, Emily will travel from Hay, to Winton in central Queensland and back down to Nyngan.

She said while country people were aware of the prevalence of mental health issues in the regions, the conversation needed to continue onwards to help support the people who needed it most.

“We’re at the tip of the iceberg … the next step forward is what the resources are and how we get to that next step,” Em said. 


“Some of these rural and remote communities don’t have access to the services that the metro or larger regional centres have.

“I know first-hand the lack of services in the bush … I’m getting on the ground, I’m a real person, a person of the bush, and my struggles are your struggles.

“If I can get five people, or 50 people together, and if I can help one person, or lead them in the right direction where they can get some extra support.”