Going private! Personal one-on-one yoga and nutrition sessions in Hong Kong

Taking the time out of your busy schedule to focus on making sure you take care of yourself can be difficult, especially when it comes to the important things, like exercise and nutrition. I’m not sure why I find it so easy to get frivolous things like hair appointment on the calendar, but can’t get myself organized to book a personal training session – my priorities are clearly out of whack! That’s why I was so interested to hear about Monica Proctor’s two new companies, Central Nutrition and Yoga Privates.

Monica’s approach to healthy eating at Central Nutrition is not only to focus on the nuts and bolts (or broccoli and carrots!) of nutrition, but also to address the emotional and mental wellbeing of her clients. We all know how emotions and moods can lead to a vicious cycle where food is concerned: you eat certain foods (sweet treats and dairy for me) because you’re feeling down, and then in turn, these foods make you feel even worse.

Proctor can help you identify patterns of behaviour, counsel you on how not to let your emotions rule your grocery choices, help you make meal plans for the whole family, give advice on how to add healthier and more nutritious food to your diet, and simply let you talk it all out.  Minus the leather couch and the yellow notepad, Proctor is great at listening to what’s important to you then making suggestions for how to improve your food choices with your lifestyle and dietary needs in mind.

Monica’s “Yoga Privates” (giggle) connects students with private teachers for personalized lessons at a time and a place you choose.  If you’re the type of yogi who prefers hiding in the back row, then Yoga Privates isn’t for you!  But if you’re fed up with packed yoga studios and no individual attention during class, you’ll love Yoga Privates.

As I’m currently pregnant, I can feel a bit lost in big classes where I’m often not sure whether certain poses are suitable for me. Teachers are often too busy to give alternative poses to pregnant students: “Just sit this one out”, can be a frustrating instruction to hear again and again! Our yoga teacher Dawn (trained in yoga and pilates) who led A.C. from Sassy and I through our private lesson definitely erred more on the conservative side when it came to the poses she would let me do, but I felt like I was in good hands and that with subsequent classes I’d be able to push to step up the pace more. Hey, pregnant girls want to sweat too you know!

We had our one-hour class at Studio on Queen’s on 55 Queen’s Road Central (only drawback – no changing or showering facilities) but you could choose to have your teacher come to your home or even workplace. I quite like the idea of early morning sessions where my daughter could get involved too and that way you have total control over your playlist, after-class snack and can use your own shower.

Having a private yoga class once a week would be an amazing luxury which I’m now convinced I cannot do without in my life – I’m seriously thinking about cancelling my gym membership and going private instead!

Yoga/Pilates classes are $650-800 a class (depending on the location of the class) for 60 minutes; prices for nutrition class vary depending on how often you’d like to visit.

Contact Monica Proctor for your Nutrition consultation or one-on-one yoga by calling 6504 4280 or emailing [email protected]  OR  [email protected].

www.central-nutrition.com, www.yoga-privates.com