What is the story behind Freedom Health?
Freedom Health was first opened in March 2017 by Cath Julius. As an Australian trained Physiotherapist Cath arrived in Christchurch with her young family in 2009 and over consequent years whilst raising her 3 young boys she found that Christchurch had limited solutions around combining Physio & Pilates as exercise prescription as well as an excellent solution for ongoing wellness and injury prevention. Cath's philosophy is that "Pilates is about positive movement experience", is the backbone to the business and is what all our Pilates programs are built around.
Where did Freedom Health begin?
In March 2017 we opened a small boutique clinic in Strowan, Christchurch
Where is your studio located?
We now have the original clinic in Strowan along with a 450sqm , twin studio clinic in Papanui, Christchurch.
Tell us about the different services you provide.
We provide a combination of MSK Physiotherpay, Pilates and Women's Health Physiotherapy. We also collaborate closely with other allied health professionals and specialists to ensure all our clients receive the appropriate level of care.
Our Pilates solutions vary from 1-on-1 rehab & pre-hab thru to class based solutions with a specific weekly focus to empower clients with knowledge around their body and movement.
How popular is 'The Ultimate 2nd Trimester Pregnancy Nutrition Exercise Workshop?
https://www.freedomhealth.co.nz/event/the-ultimate-pregnancy-workshop/
We are currently exploring new ways to give people access to our services and make them aware of the services that are out there. We recently held a 2nd trimester pregnancy workshop in partnership with our resident Dietitian and found this to be a great way to share our knowledge and help pregnant women thru their pregnancy journey. This will soon be followed up with workshops for 3rd trimester women to prepare them for the time ahead both at birth and beyond. We do find that the awareness around Women's Health physiotherapy and the benefits of it are still very low and hence the reason to offer clients a easier way to be involved and to learn. We are also looking at workshops & new programs for the general population in areas such as skiing, running, bone strength etc.
Tell us about your 10 Core Commitments.
The vision and commitments that Cath developed over 3 years ago are still very relevant to our journey and allow us to come "back to centre" when we feel ourselves drifting from our core beliefs. These 10 commitments, that all staff connect with are really based around the fundamentals that we believe will result in providing the best level of care for each and every client while empowering and invigorating our team to feel valued and rewarded. These include Timeliness, Respect, Communication, Thrive on Learning etc
What advice would you give to someone beginning Pilates for the first time.
Take your time, enjoy and explore the movement you can achieve - your body will thank you for it ... Oh... and grab some Move Active socks on the way in :-)
Tell us about your team.
Our team starts with our 3 fantastic admin & reception staff. These awesome people make every client feel welcome and at ease when coming into the clinic. We also have an amazing team of 9 Physios and 1 Exercise Physiologist who carry over 100 years of collective experience as health professionals. Our team is everything.
Do you have any plans to expand your studio to other locations?
Whilst our wider strategy is to reach and support as many people as we can with the services we provide, we are always checking this against doing the best we can today. Expansion will develop naturally if we do what we do today well. (cryptic answer there)
How does a typical day evolve at Freedom Health?
Group Pilates Classes start at 6am, and Physio sessions typically start around 7am. Each day typically has 8 - 10 group classes, with the most popular being the mid-morning sessions. Throughout the day there is a consistent flow of Physio clients before the evening classes start at 5pm and finish at 8pm. Thankfully we have a great team to cover these hours and make it work.
7 Winston Ave, Papanui 8053 , Christchurch
