SASKATOON -- A Saskatoon entrepreneur hopes to remove barriers for people wanting to be at their physical best.
Jana Danielson started an online Pilates platform, called Metta District, to give rural residents and snowbirds access to workout videos and tips.
"I'm from a small town and I know that accessibility is an issue,” said Danielson.
She has been operating Lead, a Pilates and wellness studio, for more than 10 years.
Danielson said she wanted to expand and offer online classes to break down existing barriers.
Metta District offers 30-minute Pilates-based workout videos.
"We need to understand that having a strong core, that means good breathing techniques, pelvic floor activation, good posture, you know, how we shovel snow, how we pick up our bags of groceries. Those things become habitual and what we want to bring people back to is a sense of mind body awareness,” Danielson said.
She said she has also structured the videos so that people don’t have to buy expensive equipment in order to participate.
“They can use things in their home like tennis balls, a belt, they just need a towel for a mat,” Danielson said.
Barb Kennedy has been using Metta District for the last couple of months.
She said it’s made all the difference for her and her husband who like to travel outside of Saskatoon during the winter.
"We retired a couple years ago and when we did, we said to Jana a few times, we'd sure like to take you with us when we travel. I always feel better after I've worked out. I have more energy, I'm physically better, mentally better. And I think just being able to take it with me and feel good while we're travelling,” Kennedy said.
Danielson said it isn’t just people from Saskatchewan that use Metta District. It’s also people from around the world, including Australia, Europe and the U.S., creating an online community.
"What's cool about it is we have a real strong community aspect as well. So, we connect on an app called Telegram, so there's people from all over the world that will work out together at a certain time and have created really cool friendships online because of the Metta District."
