Come Fly with Me
In Flight Moves with We Live and Move Pilates
“Come fly with me…”
Well, after more than 20 years in the travel industry, I can tell you one thing with absolute certainty:
Getting there is only half the holiday.
The other half is being physically prepared to enjoy it when you arrive. And that is something I know not just from my Pilates experience, but from more than 25 years working in the fitness and wellness industry — as well as more than two decades helping people travel well. I have been teaching fitness in many forms — from group exercise to aqua fitness and rehabilitation, personal training, Pilates and biomechanics, just to name a few — for over 25 years.
However, I was also working alongside my family as Co-Director of our family travel company, where for more than 20 years I had the privilege of helping people plan, organise, prepare for and experience just about every kind of holiday you could imagine.
Cruises.
Coach tours.
Rail journeys.
Private self-drive adventures.
Hiking holidays.
Adventure travel.
Wellness escapes.
And yes… the Camino — because apparently some people think a holiday should involve walking hundreds of kilometres with a backpack!
Over those years, I wasn't simply helping people decide where they wanted to go. I was often helping them think about how they were going to physically manage the journey once they got there. And this is where my two worlds really come together. Because I know first-hand that your holiday doesn't begin when you step onto the plane. Your body needs to be ready for the journey too.
Your holiday starts before you get on the plane
This is why I love combining my two worlds — travel and movement. Your holiday doesn't start when the aircraft takes off. It starts when you begin preparing for it.
If you're flying long-haul, your body is going to spend hours sitting in a relatively small space.
Your hips are flexed.
Your spine is stationary.
Your circulation isn't getting its usual opportunity to move.
Your shoulders may slowly creep towards your ears.
And your ankles can become about as enthusiastic about movement as a teenager being asked to tidy their room.
So, yes, in-flight movement matters.
Getting up regularly when appropriate, moving your feet and ankles, changing position, gently mobilising your spine and breathing well can all help you feel considerably better during and after a long flight. But there is much more to preparing your body for travel than surviving the aircraft.
What sort of holiday are you having?
This is where my travel background becomes particularly useful. Because different holidays ask different things of your body.
Going on a cruise?
Let's think about balance, walking, stairs, getting on and off ships, excursions, luggage and those deceptively long corridors that seem to go on forever.
Doing a Camino?
That's a different conversation altogether. Your feet, ankles, calves, knees, hips and core are going to become very important travel companions. And unlike your human travel companions, you can't simply leave them at the next café.
Taking a coach tour?
You're likely to be sitting for periods of time, then getting off to walk, explore, climb stairs, stand in museums, negotiate uneven pavements and get back on again.
A railway journey?
Perhaps less walking — but plenty of sitting, standing, luggage handling and getting yourself into and out of seats that seem to have been designed by someone who has never actually travelled.
A self-drive holiday?
Now we're thinking about prolonged sitting, getting in and out of the car, loading luggage, stopping for walks and making sure your body doesn't become one with the driver's seat.
Adventure travel?
Well, that's a whole other level of preparation. And then there are those wonderfully luxurious holidays where the most strenuous activity is lifting a cocktail to your lips. Even there, I'm afraid, I'm going to recommend moving. Because your body doesn't stop needing movement just because you've upgraded the hotel.
I've seen this first-hand
One of the great privileges of my travel career was not simply arranging holidays, but helping people experience them. I have seen the excitement people have when they finally book that trip they've been dreaming about. And I've also seen the disappointment when their body doesn't quite cooperate with their plans. That's why I became increasingly interested in the connection between travel, movement, wellbeing and longevity.
Because what is the point of working hard for years, saving for your dream holiday and finally having the time to travel if your body isn't prepared to come along for the adventure? Your passport may be valid for another ten years. But what about your body?
A wellness cruise close to my heart
One of the most memorable experiences in my travel career was planning, organising and hosting a private wellness group on a river cruise.
And yes — Pilates was part of the programme.
But it wasn't Pilates alone.
We created a genuinely integrated wellness experience, incorporating fully programmed exercise alongside the expertise of an integrative wellness doctor and a naturopath. It was an opportunity to bring together travel, movement, health and wellbeing in a way that felt practical, enjoyable and — most importantly — achievable. And that experience reinforced something I still believe today: Wellness shouldn't be something we squeeze into our lives when everything else is finished.
It should be part of the way we live. And travel can be one of the greatest opportunities to practise that.
Then comes the return journey…
Ah yes.
Jet lag.
The holiday is over.
The photos are on your phone.
The washing machine is working overtime.
The suitcase is sitting accusingly in the corner.
And your body has absolutely no idea what time zone it is supposed to be living in.
After years in the travel industry, I know first-hand that returning home can sometimes be almost as challenging as getting away. That's why preparing for travel should include thinking about how you're going to come home, too. Movement, hydration, sleep, light exposure, sensible routines and giving your body time to readjust can all form part of your post-travel strategy.
And this is another place where Pilates can be wonderfully useful. Gentle movement can help you reconnect with your body after long periods of sitting and disrupted routines. You don't necessarily need to launch straight back into a heroic workout. Sometimes your body is simply asking: “Could we please move a little?” Listen to it.
Your body is your most important piece of luggage
We spend so much time deciding what to pack.
Comfortable shoes.
Walking shoes.
Dress shoes.
Sunhat.
Sunscreen.
Travel adapters.
Chargers.
Medicine.
The right clothes.
The other right clothes.
And then the emergency clothes because apparently we might suddenly find ourselves invited to a formal dinner in the middle of nowhere. But how much thought do we give to preparing the body that is going to carry all of that luggage? Your body is the one thing you take with you everywhere.
It is your permanent travel companion. And unlike your suitcase, you can't put it on the luggage carousel and walk away.
Come fly with us
At We Live and Move Pilates, I bring together everything I've learned from both sides of my working life. The fitness industry taught me about the body — how it moves, adapts, strengthens and sometimes complains rather loudly when we ask it to do something it hasn't practised for a while! The travel industry taught me about people, places, planning, preparation and the sheer joy of experiencing something new.
Pilates and biomechanics have given me another lens through which to understand movement — not simply how impressive an exercise looks, but how useful it is to the person doing it. Put the two together and you get something I genuinely believe in:
Preparing your body for the life you want to live.
That might mean preparing for a long-haul flight.
A cruise.
The Camino.
A walking holiday.
A European coach tour.
A railway adventure.
A self-drive road trip.
An active adventure.
A wellness retreat.
Or simply the holiday you've been promising yourself for years.
And when you come home?
We'll help you get your body back on Australian time — even if your brain is still somewhere over the Mediterranean. Because Pilates isn't about preparing your body for one particular holiday.
It's about preparing your body for life. So before you book the flights, before you choose the suitcase and before you start counting down the sleeps…come and move with me.
Let's get you travel-ready.
Let's get you strong enough for the walking, mobile enough for the sitting, balanced enough for the unexpected and confident enough to say yes to the adventure. Because there is still so much of the world to see. And I don't want your body to be the reason you don't go. Come fly with me.
WE LIVE AND MOVE PILATES. Move with Life!
Copyright 2026 Jeanette Lasek, We Live and Move Pilates. All rights reserved. Content may not be republished or redistributed without explicit written permission. Short quotes are permitted provided that a full backlink to ww.weliveandmovepilates.com is included.
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