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Ewa Bigio

@ewabigio

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HYBRID TRAINING STUDIO OWNER
SMFT ™️ HUMAN SYSTEMS COHERENCE TRAINING ™️
Yoga | Weights | Reformer
@vitalenergymovement
📍Newmarket , Akld

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If you come to yoga to get more flexible, that’s the first mistake.
Yoga isn’t a flexibility practice — it’s a balance practice.

Your body is already built for balance.
For every muscle that contracts, another releases — a natural process called reciprocal inhibition.
It’s your body’s own protective tension–release system, regulating how far you can safely move.

When we chase deeper poses without engaging this system, we only train half the equation — the passive side.
Flexibility without engagement isn’t freedom; it’s collapse.

Yoga was never about going further — it’s about learning to stabilise before you expand.
That’s how you build strength and mobility, tension and release — the true intelligence of movement.

This week for @sundayfundayyogis share how you integrate strength elements into your yoga practice. I’d love to debunk the myth that yoga is practice of physical flexibility.
Tag us and share your take on #sfdycoreyoga & #sundayfundayyogis

Co-hosts:
@ewabigioyoga ~ Ewa
@claudiagyoga ~ Claudia
@yogargie ~ Argie
@logoutshutdowndoyoga ~ Iris
@vera_zumba_pilates_yoga ~ Vera
@ednayoga_nutri ~ Edna
@fotojeniq_nimbly ~ Jen

#reciprocalinhibition
#strongyoga
#coreyoga
#yogastrength
#yogastrong
#poweryoga
#yogacourse
#yogaanatomy
#yttc200hrs
#SMFTmethod
#slowmovementfitnesstraining
#yogascience taken in Vital Energy Yoga & Movement by @ewabigio

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a year ago

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3 years ago

Four years ago, I did something unconventional: I built a women’s weight training format inside @vitalenergymovement — a yoga studio.

The early days were a struggle. Sometimes just one or two women turned up. But I knew I was onto something, and I persisted.

I wanted my dedicated female yoga practitioners to find another switch in their training: to embrace heavy lifting, beyond a few token 2kg dumbbells in a core class.

Today, I felt vindicated. A full house on a Saturday morning. Women squatting with strength and control who also know how to nail a downward dog.

Strong AND mobile.

I never asked them to choose between Pilates, yoga and weights. And I want you to know you can have all three, too.

The endless “this is better than that” argument? Too often, it’s an industry-driven, patch-protecting squabble. The people actually doing the training deserve more than that.

I’m so glad I listened to my gut, went all the way and didn’t compromise.

Three decisions that helped build VE into the hybrid training centre it is today:

1. Follow the science. Question the trends. Popularity alone isn’t a foundation for a business. Know why you teach what you teach, what it offers and how it serves your members over time.
2. I got rid of ClassPass. For me, those bookings blurred the distinction between filling spaces and building a committed membership. I wanted people to develop a relationship with our teaching, our community and their own progress. Retention became my focus. A full room matters—but so does who comes back.
3. Build an educational arm. Training teachers in-house helps build a shared understanding of how and why we teach. Each teacher brings their own personality, while members experience a consistent approach.

That’s what sits behind @vitalenergymovement and our SMFT™ — Human Systems Coherence Training™ led programmes. It’s the methodology that enabled me to bring strength and weight training, mobility and recovery together under one roof. And prepares studios, gyms and movement instructors for the future.

This is my Field of Dreams coming to life.

#slowmovementfitnesstraining
#yogaandweights
#liftweights
#womenwholiftweights taken in Vital Energy Yoga & Movement by @ewabigio

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2 days ago

Officially Stott’s Pilates Reformer trained.

September loop:
Footwork. And best impression of Mr Roboto on reformer.
Mirror selfies after everyone’s left.
Not sleeping at training. Just concentrating hard.
Flexing my breakfast game.
Nerdy stuff for nerdy members.
Dog sleeping.
More nerdy stuff.
Again we’re not sleeping.
Coming home to dog.

#reformerpilatesinstructor
#pilatesstudio
#aucklandyoga
#slowmovementfitnesstraining
#fitnessover50 taken in Vital Energy Yoga & Movement by @ewabigio

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5 days ago

Though I stopped identifying as a yoga teacher only, 4 years ago, one of my students this morning jokingly said their friends asked her to show them a photo of their yoga teacher.

Here you go:)

I ain’t no cookie cutter teacher.

Boundaries to me are an invitation to be broken.

Who says you have to be this person or that person, look this way, dress that way and teach a certain way.

You be you.

Don’t wait till you’re 57 to get that permission.

#reformerpilatesinstructor
#yogateacherlife
#strengthtrainer
#beyou taken in Vital Energy Yoga & Movement by @ewabigio

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19 days ago

The nervous system conversation isn’t niche anymore, but somatics can still feel like a niche field.

Traditional somatic practices have contributed enormously to our understanding of body awareness. Yoga carries its own rich history of working with breath, attention and the relationship between physical and mental states.

But for many professionals working in fitness, rehabilitation, healthcare, mental health, wellbeing or education, entering these disciplines can feel like a bridge too far. The language and teaching formats may be unfamiliar, and the pathway from gentle awareness into functional strength and resistance is not always obvious.

That gap is part of why I created SMFT Human Systems Coherence Training™️.

SMFT makes somatic principles practical within the work people already do. It builds from breath, slower movement and body awareness into stability, strength and progressive load.

For fitness, movement and rehabilitation professionals, it offers another way to observe how a person breathes, stabilises and organises movement as physical demand increases.

For yoga teachers, SMFT builds on traditional teacher training by bringing a contemporary understanding of autonomic nervous system regulation into breath, movement and wellbeing.

For those working across health, mental health, wellbeing, coaching and education, it provides accessible movement tools and a clearer understanding of how pace, sensory attention and physical challenge can influence the way people respond and recover.

You don’t need to abandon your existing discipline or add another disconnected class to your timetable. Many of the movements will already be familiar. What changes is what you notice, how you teach them and how you decide when someone is ready to progress.

This is what makes SMFT relevant as a modern somatic practice. It takes internal awareness beyond the quiet or low-demand setting and teaches us how to retain it as the demands of movement and life increase.

Sept Auckland training now open for registration and happening Sept 18-20 (Fri evening, Sat + Sun).

#somaticcoaching #somaticmovement #breathworktraining #nervoussystemregulation #aucklandfitness taken in Vital Energy Yoga & Movement by @ewabigio

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2 months ago

“Built in” does not necessarily have to mean “built out.”

The Global Wellness Summit predicts that nervous-system support will increasingly become a built-in feature of fitness studios, wellness spaces and everyday environments. Some of that will involve capital investment: saunas, cold plunges, neurotechnology, sensory design and purpose-built recovery spaces.

These assets may be valuable, but they are not equally accessible to every studio, teacher or community.

I have been interested in a different question:

What can we build INTO the way movement is already taught?

SMFT™️ Human Systems Coherence Training is not another collection of exercises or a separate class that movement professionals must add to their timetable. It is both a shift in teaching mindset and a practical methodology.

It integrates breath, internal pressure, sensory awareness, joint organisation, progressive load and recovery into yoga, Pilates, Reformer, bodyweight, weight - training and all movement based disciplines. Its relevance and interest has been broad and attracting interest from those in the mental health sector also interested in how movement influences wellbeing.

Moving slowly doesn’t remove challenge. Rather, it asks how the person can organise, respond better and recover from that challenge.

Rather than requiring expensive recovery hardware, it changes how existing equipment and movement practices are used.

Rather than relying on highly individualised hands-on delivery, its principles can be taught in group settings—making nervous-system-informed movement more accessible and scalable.

That is where I believe SMFT™️ Human Systems Coherence Training makes a distinctive contribution: it allows movement professionals to develop these skills without abandoning their existing modality, becoming therapists or fundamentally changing the nature of their profession.

The nervous-system conversation is no longer niche.

The next question is how we translate it into the way we teach.

Source: Global Wellness Summit, The Future of Wellness: 2026 Trends.

#nervoussystemhealth
#wellbeing
#somatics
#yogaandpilates
#personaltrainer taken in Vital Energy Yoga & Movement by @ewabigio

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2 months ago

Strip away the equipment and the exercise names and we are mostly teaching the same fundamental human movement patterns.

Internal and external shoulder rotation.
Spinal flexion and extension.
Scapular depression and elevation.
Hip flexion and extension.
Rotation.
Load transfer.

Whether I’m teaching yoga, weight training or Reformer, I’m interested in these underlying patterns far more than I am in collecting names of poses.

Because if you start from the perspective of “how do I teach this body”, teaching becomes very clear. Don’t take it the wrong way but I’m not interested in stealing your flow.

Think Ashtanga. One system of same poses practised daily, sometimes for years before moving into a new series. The best flow was already created before you posted yours on Tik Tok last night.

Your students don’t need 50 different ways to pick up a 1 kg dumbbell - that’s conceptually weak. And window dressing.

Whether teaching yoga, weight training or Pilates reformer, I am always searching for “logical” sequencing.

A “logical” sequence is:

* progressive
* respects fundamental movement bio-mechanics
* builds intrinsic control before adding global load
* builds nervous system capacity - and that includes both intelligent stressors and well timed de-stressors

This is how I’ve always taught, and it is the teaching architecture behind SMFT™ Human Systems Coherence Training.

Think about the best movement training systems in the world - Ashtanga or Contrology. They are built around repetition, progression and coordination of the human system.

Breath. Nervous system. Joint organisation. Muscular control. Load. Coordination.

Before complexity.

For teachers, this changes the conversation completely.

Yoga, Reformer and weight training stop existing in separate containers. They become different environments in which we can teach the same human system to move, load and adapt well.

Less window dressing, more conceptually aware teaching.

SMFT™ Human Systems Coherence Training starts Sept 18-20. Open for registration.

#movementeducator
#nervoussystemregulation
#reformerpilatesstudio
#strengthtraining
#yogacourseonline taken in Vital Energy Yoga & Movement by @ewabigio

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2 months ago

Straight leg or flexed knees?

Which way do you float through?

Either way it all begins with core stabilisation, breath regulation and deep mechanical control. This doesn’t necessarily happen just because you’re performing Pilates or yoga — this is Active Breathwork Training ™️ through SMFT. The 3 things are not always synonymous.

Learn how @vitalenergymovement
New training dates for the last SMFT Human Systems Coherence Training ™️ are Sept 18 - 20

#jumpthrough
#armbalancing
#corestrength
#breathingpractice
#vinyasaflowyoga taken in Vital Energy Yoga & Movement by @ewabigio

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2 months ago

Learning a new language is……

Exhilarating
Frightening
Self - Affirming

How are you challenging your mind, systems and beliefs today?

Train with me @vitalenergymovement and I will continue to push your boundaries.

#reformerpi̇lates #yogaandpilates #hybridtraining #nervoussystemhealth #nervoussystemregulation taken in Vital Energy Yoga & Movement by @ewabigio

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3 months ago