The month when gyms across the land see the most ‘new membership sign ups’ and are inundated with nervous ‘newbies’ clad in Christmas-gifted Lycra. But how long will their enthusiasm last? Most gyms see a decline in attendance by as early as March, just in time for people to stay home and eat Easter Eggs instead! Joking aside, it is a challenge we all face. Most of us take our well-being and nutrition seriously and do our very best to eat healthily and exercise as much as our hectic lives will allow, but finding an exercise regime that fits easily in to our busy schedule can be difficult.

Amanda Pitman, owner and creator of ‘Collective Vitality’ recognised this challenge and came up with an innovative solution. We’re excited this month, to have the opportunity to chat with Amanda and discover how ‘Collective Vitality’ became the answer that so many people were looking for, in their quest to be fit and healthy.

Welcome Amanda!

Please tell us how the idea for Collective Vitality was born?

I’ve enjoyed yoga for many years and my colleagues encouraged me to lead an early morning yoga class at work. This started out as a bit of fun but became very popular. During the COVID-19 lockdown we were all missing our yoga sessions, so I decided to continue running them via ‘zoom’. These sessions not only helped us to stay fit but lifted our spirits too and became a real source of strength and support for us all. I also engaged in other fitness exercises in my own time so I asked my colleagues if they would like to join in with these too? They loved the idea, so I offered a wider range of free classes online, whilst gaining my ‘200-hour Yoga ‘and ‘Fitness Trainer’ qualifications.  By the time I was made redundant in the summer of 2020 I could see that there was a real demand for online home fitness and the seeds for ‘Collective Vitality ‘were sown.

What is Collective vitality?

‘Collective Vitality’ is a way of bringing people together, across the globe, offering them a safe space online to improve or maintain their health and vitality in the comfort and convenience of their own home. It started out as live online yoga and fitness classes and then, for more flexibility, members also had access to recorded classes which meant that they could fit their favourite classes into their daily schedule at a time that suited them. For a nominal monthly membership fee, they initially had access to 40 live lessons per month but as interest increased, I was delighted to introduce new ideas. 

The 7-day health and well-being challenge that I now offer on the 1^st of each month has been a huge success. I introduce a new challenge each month, which we work as a group to complete. Mindfulness, Going Sugar- free, Journaling and Meditation have been some of the most popular, closely followed by Core fitness, Fat-burn and a highly beneficial H2O challenge to increase hydration. 

Collective Vitality has grown quite naturally as members have voiced a desire to further improve their health and well-being and I have been happy to oblige, especially as fitness has always been a personal passion of mine. Members can be as interactive as they choose, opting to have their ‘zoom’ camera on or off and some simply use the recorded sessions to keep fit at home and enjoy the convenience and flexibility this offers, especially if they have particularly busy lives. Most members enjoy the social support of our Collective Vitality network and choose to keep their cameras switched on and take part in fun events such as live cooking tutorials where we enjoy a glass of wine together and chat whilst learning how to cook great food!

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How does the name Collective Vitality sum up the essence of what you wanted to achieve?

‘Collective’ is a term that perfectly describes my love of people and my quest to bring people together. Being in a collective and feeling part of a supportive group is very important to me. My aim is to unite like-minded people that want to be the best version of themselves, whether that’s through fitness, yoga or weight loss. 

‘Vitality’ for me, means ‘energy’ and ‘strength’, which is exactly what I am trying to promote through an active life style. Everything around us is energy, including ourselves.  We are physical, emotional, mental and spiritual beings, that have energy on all these levels. It is important to not only recognise them but also to be able to tap into each one productively. This can be achieved through the mediums of fitness, yoga or mindfulness. Strengthening our vitality on all these levels will help us lead happy, healthy and fulfilling lives. 

It’s so important to have the support of others and be the support for others, especially during COVID-19 times, where many of us have been locked down and isolated. This is exactly what Collective Vitality strives to do and our members have shown huge support for each other.  Being in a collective is very empowering. 

How does Collective Vitality work?

You can access a free 7-day trial through the website www.collectivevitality.com .  and you will be sent a link to the ‘Collective Vitality’ app with access to all the live and recorded yoga and fitness classes that we offer, including; Vinyasa Flow Yoga, Yin Yoga, Gentle Yoga, Beginners Yoga.  Kickboxing Cardio, Upper Body Resistance & Strength Training, Bums, Legs & Tums, Glutes and Core, Full Body Workouts, Ball Stability Workouts, Meditation and much more. When you realise the benefits of this flexible and affordable solution to keeping fit and healthy you can become a member for as little as 20 per month.

Membership also gives you access to monthly full moon and new moon circles, mindfulness, stress management, live plant-based cooking tutorials, motivating live guest speakers, nutritional advice, healthy meal ideas, weight loss support and inspirational meal plans. 

What are your future plans for Collective Vitality?

Running Collective Vitality, I have found myself hosting several classes per day and have seen my own fitness levels soar and I now have so much more energy. I want to focus some of this energy in to expanding Collective vitality to become a centre of health and wellbeing. I will be introducing a nutritionist and wellbeing coach, Paula Fenegan, to our collective and with her expertise we will be able to offer our members unique health and wellbeing packages to suit their individual needs and budgets. 

My vision for 2021 is to provide as many people as possible with affordable, convenient access to health, fitness and wellbeing tools and in doing so, also create a support network for a group of like-minded people in challenging times.

How do you feel about New Year resolutions? And will you be making any?

The New Year is a great time to drop old habits that no longer serve you and introduce new ones into your life that do. It’s a good time for people to reflect on their lives but they shouldn’t feel pressured in to making too many changes and having expectations that are too high or they will just be setting themselves up to fail. It takes at least 21 days of practise to establish a habit, so my advice to everyone is to make slow changes for the better, one at a time We’ll welcome our new members whose New Year’s resolution is to take the first step towards a fitter, healthier life but people are welcome to join us any time of the year, whenever they feel ready to make changes. I’m not the type of person who waits for New Year to take on a new challenge, although January will find me focused on driving Collective Vitality forward with lots of exciting new ideas….and doing my best to cut down on chocolate too! 

Amanda’s passion for health and fitness is inspiring. She has run marathons, qualified in both yoga and kick-boxing and converted to a fully vegan diet. But her gentle nature and enthusiastic, supportive guidance leave you motivated rather than intimidated. It is obvious from the outset that she has a genuine desire to help people be the best they can be and ‘Collective Vitality’ is the key. Every member is treated as an individual with their own specific needs and Amanda is on hand to customise plans to help them achieve their health and fitness goals.  

So many of us may have slipped in to bad eating habits and piled on lockdown pounds, had our confidence crushed from long periods of COVID-19 isolation and had our self-esteem shattered through job loss and redundancy. 2020 certainly took its toll but 2021 is our time to pick ourselves up and dust ourselves down. Choose an activity that appeals to you and set your own pace. Be realistic with your goals and make time for yourself. Whether it’s an hour in a gym, a class with ‘Collective Vitality’ for those who feel intimidated by the gym scene or something as simple as a brisk, early morning walk before your hectic day begins; make a plan and stick with it.

Setting ourself a ‘resolution’ is a good way of reflecting on what’s important to us and it helps us clear a space in our mind to focus on what we want to become and what we wish to achieve. Resolutions help guide us along the right path, giving us something to look forward to and keep us committed and on track. Making that resolution shows that we have a belief in ourselves that we can break bad habits and become a better version of ourselves. Good luck with your resolutions we wish you a happy and healthy 2021.