Where are you from?
I grew up on a farm in Kent, in the South East of England, but lived in London since 2001 – until our big move to Hong Kong, in May this year.
How did yoga and Pilates come into your life?
I started practicing Pilates while at ballet school as a young teenager, as part of our strength and conditioning training. I didn’t find yoga until I was in my early 30s and looking for a new way to exercise after I started suffering with severe back pain and could no longer dance.
What is Pilates to you, right now?
Pilates is my body-medicine! It’s perfect for keeping my arthritic joints mobile without stress, and I love sharing the magic with others who may need some rehabilitation or just a new approach to exercising their body with more anatomical understanding.
Why do you practice?
Practice keeps me strong – everyone needs to move consistently. Practice what you preach, it works! This has been all the more true during the move this year when I had so little time for my normal routine. It was surprising how out of sorts I felt while getting back into teaching after all of the upheaval. I can notice my fatigue creeping in and my whole body just not functioning as well without my core exercises.
Why do you teach?
Showing people that you CAN feel better and you CAN achieve things with your body in spite of ageing, injuries or long-term conditions is so rewarding. In my sports massage work, it’s important to encourage people to exercise to deal with their aches and pains as manual therapy cannot do everything! Happily, Pilates is popular here in HK and most people exercise regularly so I feel right at home. The studio equipment is popular so I am teaching that more than mat-work right now, which has been a nice new challenge.
What do you offer to your community, through Pilates?
I like to think I offer something for everyone and every body. Regardless of what your goals and/or limitations may be, I look to empower you to be in control of your body and your practice, move past any injuries and to feel better in general!
Favourite Pilates exercise?
Everyone knows I love a Plank… in all possible positions! It’s an all round strengthener, without needing to move or do anything fancy. So, in any circumstance, I can find a version of Plank to test you.
Advice to those new to Pilates?
Forget what you might think. It’s not always a sweaty work-out and it’s not just boring crunches. Pilates is can bring relief to painful joints, awareness to your movements and make you feel more confident in all of your other activities. Getting stronger and toned is a happy bi-product!
Recommended reading?
Any anatomy book. If you have a basic knowledge of how your body is put together, then moving it makes more sense and aches and pains become less worrying.
Favourite meal?
Anything Italian… otherwise just hand me a pineapple!
What do you do for fun?
I love the theatre and stand up comedy so I love going to shows, especially ballet.
Stranded on an island — what 3 things would you bring?
A massage ball, my cats… they’ll have pineapples already, right?!
As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?
A vet… I just love animals.
Surprising or little known fact about you?
I have a lot of tattoos which you cannot normally see, and I love heavy metal.
Current projects?
As well as cooking up some more treats for EkhartYoga, I have another Post-natal teacher training coming up next year with the amazing Katy Appleton. I teach a day on her course where you will also learn about baby massage and baby yoga techniques, all on Zoom.
Closing words?
There is no perfect formula for keeping our bodies healthy because we are all individuals with very different needs, histories and circumstances. So we all get injuries at some point and it’s generally not your fault and not something to panic about, we just need to listen and find a balance that feels good. Motion is lotion but rest is underrated.
Your Pilates Week! Follow the program to join!
Your Pilates Week with Ruth Larkin is a 6-class Pilates series with brand new, 30 minute, daily classes targeting different areas of the body. So if you’re working on building strength and stability, or have a weakness or issue in a particular area, there’s something for you.
Check out all of Ruth’s classes on EkhartYoga.com!
