Movement at Active Health Clinic

Our movement classes are an excellent opportunity for you to get the benefits of movement, in the comfort of your home (or in clinic), and be with people living a similar experience to you. The goal of our group movement classes it to give you ACCESS to classes that suit your circumstances and a COMMUNITY of people also living with invisible illness.

You will have constant supervision by one of our Exercise Physiologists to ensure you are moving your body in a controlled and safe way, limiting the risk of injuries and exacerbation of symptoms.

Active Living Group (ALG)

ALG is our BYO exercise class, this is an opportunity for you to engage in an individualised movement program that is self-paced and tailored towards your goals and your needs in your own time while having a chat and enjoying yourself in a group setting. During the class you will have time to do your exercise program that was written by your practitioner or one of the movement team, ask any questions and make changes as you go.

Stretch, Strengthen, Restore (SSR)
We aim for this class to be restorative through a combination of stretching and strengthening exercises led by one of our practitioners. Teaching you the right techniques for control and working on improving proprioception through low impact exercises. Although the class is run by one of our practitioners, it is still self paced and all exercises can be modified to your capacity.

All classes are small (max 8) and designed to help you understand your
baseline and slowly build your capacity.

What are the benefits of the movement classes invisible illness?
The classes are designed for people of all capacities and capabilities, they are paced, to ensure you are not booming and busting. Paced exercises, tailored to your needs can improve:

• Muscular strength and endurance to help reduce physical fatigue
• Increase muscular ‘bulk’ to help with blood pooling seen in OI & POTS and the EDS population
• Increase the force of the heart beat, which means improved circulation and symptoms of dizziness
• Improved proprioception in the EDS population, reducing risk of hyperextending joints that will often lead to pain
• Improved stability of joints and fluidity of movement
• Understanding on how we can use movement to reduce pain

How do I get started?

Assessments/Programs are completed during an Active Living Group (ALG) class. In this class, you will run through with the practitioner an overview of your health. After the assessment is completed, your practitioner will take you through your individualised movement program. This can be modified at any time and will be in line with your current goals. You will also have the option to continue in the class with your new program if your capacity allows.
If you would like to have a 1:1 consultation, please let us know and this can be arranged. Alternatively, if you are a current patient, your practitioner can do an assessment/program in one of your sessions.

I feel it may be out of my current capacity?

All participants are encouraged to check in and see how they are feeling and not to force or exceed your window of tolerance. The classes are self-paced so you can work within your capacity at the time and can take as many breaks as you need.

Should I join when I'm symptomatic?
We do encourage it, if it is within your baselines and wont make you feel worse. At the start of every class, you do a check in, and lets the Exercise Physiologist running the class know where you are at so they can support and guide you through the class in a way that is respectful, safe and kind to your capacity level. They will also encourage extra breaks to ensure you are pacing. In the past, patients have come to classes in a flare-up, and explain it often makes them feel better.