Creative, functional workouts to sculpt, tone and give you a body that serves you well in life, because ultimately that's what we all need. It's not about how you look, it's about how you feel inside and out- full of confidence in your own skin. On my YouTube channel we celebrate all ages and levels of fitness with something for everyone. Every workout will teach you something new about your body and is rooted in over 50 years of experience in movement, dance and pilates. I am a Fully Certified Pilates Instructor with over 13 years of practice in many settings from Physiotherapy clinics specialising in Sports Injuries to Rehabilitation post knee, hip and shoulder replacement. I had my own boutique studio in London pre the pandemic and now I choose to share my teaching online for anyone in the world keen to learn more about their body and grow physically, emotionally and mentally through an intelligent, focused, movement practice.
February, the month of love, is not just reserved for showering affection on others. This Valentine's season, let's redirect some of that love inward and embark on a journey of self-love. Let's explore how taking care of yourself can be the ultimate act of love.
• Love Begins with Self-Care - In the hustle and bustle of everyday life, it's easy to neglect the most important person – yourself. Just as Pilates can strengthen and rejuvenate the body, a self-care practice will nourish the soul. Take time for activities that bring you joy, whether it's a relaxing bath, a walk in nature, or reading a good book. Treat yourself with the same kindness and attention you would give to a friend.
5 Benefits of Pilates Breathing and 5 Health Conditions it can Help
1️⃣ Increases your lung capacity
2️⃣ Improves muscle activation and performance during exercise
3️⃣ Reduces anxiety and stress
4️⃣ The exhale activates the core muscles
5️⃣ Improves mental health by focusing your attention to the mind/ body connection
One Lung Breathing is an incredible tool for anyone as it focuses you on one lung and one side of your ribs at a time. I’ve found it very helpful for people new to Pilates in understanding HOW lateral breathing works.
I have exciting news for you. My first book on Pilates will be published this spring!
Last year I was asked by a publisher to write an easy to follow guidebook on Mat Pilates and I am thrilled to announce that it's now available for Pre-Order on Amazon UK and Amazon.com
I spent all last summer writing it and many a late night post YouTube broadcasts working on it to make it as easy to follow as possible. If you can I would love it if you could pre-order a copy on Amazon; pre-orders help push the promotion of books and I need the help to get it out there to everyone who needs it. It's very reasonably priced and a great little guide you can dip in and out of whenever you need to refer to an exercise or want to build your own little programme for home practice. It has all 34 of Joseph Pilates original exercises in with tips and cues to make the difficult exercises more accessible and the easier exercises more challenging- not that mat pilates isn’t challenging enough anyway 😊
Happy New year!
This year I plan to focus as much on keeping a healthy mind as well as a healthy body. It’s going to be an exciting year with lots of fun Pilates practice, new ideas to boost your mental and physical health and a deepening of our community connection.
Forward Head Posture used to be an age related condition but not any more, with the advent of technology and 18 months of Covid I’ve noticed how every age group now has this posture to some degree- call it text neck or forward head- we all need to move more mindfully to stop this posture becoming permanent. Me included!
Whilst we don’t all have access to a pilates studio we do all have a wall at home so here’s a sample of what can be done to correct the posture.
A momentous day today as I hold the physical manifestation of the mountain of work I’ve done over the pandemic. 😅 My #silverbutton award from @youtube for 100k subscribers. Absolutely thrilled and got to be honest enjoying a little rest over the summer 😂If you’d like to see my YouTube Video unboxing the award and please click here
Remote work has slowly been on the rise even before the pandemic, thanks to tech developments and more professionals wanting a break from the traditional 9-5. With the pandemic causing thousands of offices to close their doors, remote work has certainly become the new norm — and it looks like it's here to stay too.
After all, remote work provides people with more convenience, control over time, and savings. Of course, working from home comes with its own challenges, such as dealing with body pains from sitting all day. Some mindfulness, exercise, and proper breathing will help prevent and relieve these aches. With that, here are some specific things you can do to address the work-from-home pains:
Make time to exercise
Having a packed schedule might make it hard to stay active. However, exercising can build your core strength and create stability in the muscles that support your spine. Luckily, you don’t need a lot of time to work out, you just need to be sure to schedule it in. One way to motivate you to do this is to use a pilates playlist even with short workouts so you don't feel like you're doing it alone. You can also squeeze in some standing exercises with minimal equipment while you take a short break from work. This can improve your blood circulation after hours of sitting, which can also help you overcome mid-day slumps and give you a jolt of energy.
Isn’t it strange the difference between how other people see us and how we see ourselves? What I’ve learnt over the years is that we all have good and bad days, we all have something about us we’d like to change or improve, and we all have moments in our lives which are more challenging than we think we can bear. And the biggest life lesson I’ve learnt is that we CAN have more good days than bad if we choose to reframe our thoughts to positive ones, we CAN become the best version of ourselves if we accept truly who we are and not compare our lives to others. And we CAN overcome whatever life throws at us if we are kind to ourselves in our thoughts and actions, as well as to other people.
As I’ve got older certain things have become more important in my life, responsibility for the planet is one of them. Ok that sounds very grandiose I know but I’m trying to do my bit. I’m Flexitarian but eat more Vegan food now, I avoid as many single use plastics as I can and I do seek out eco-friendly and sustainable brands for everything from make-up to homeware, not to mention the most frequently used items in my wardrobe- namely my Pilates clothes. I live and breathe (literally!) Pilates and I have been actively looking for Pilates clothing that I can wear knowing that it has come from a sustainable and ethical source and looks good too. Most recently I was approached by a lovely Swedish brand called Pebbles Pilates who asked me if I’d like to try their product. I have to be honest it was great to be approached as most often, and I think if you’re older like me you will know this, sportswear brands only feature very young, very agile movers which can put you off if you’re older. We all need peers to connect with after all.
How do you feel about your body? Do you look at it with admiration at what it can do? Or do you pick out parts you don’t like, critique and compare to others. I’m fessing up to being guilty of the second statement on occasion. Odd you may think when I’ve danced all my life but growing up in a competitive environment and a society where it’s socially acceptable to criticise and comment on a woman’s body can do that to you. And I don’t want that for the next generation, nor do I want anyone who feels that way to continue feeling negative about body image. This is why all my classes and YouTube sessions are body positive and age positive.
There is a great article on why a sports injury can harm your mental health in this months Psychologies magazine with some excellent advice. One piece in particular was ‘ if you can’t play your usual sport due to injury what can you do instead? And this is where Pilates comes in. Working as a pilates instructor for 10+ years now I’ve seen many injuries and pathologies that have affected peoples mental health and the first priority is always to get people moving in whatever way they can because movement in itself is healing. A comprehensively certified teacher can call on 600 + pilates exercises from both the mat and apparatus repertoire and adapt them to work with the injury and rehabilitate both body and mind. I’ve had many clients arrive as injured who’ve stayed with me post recovery and continue to use pilates to cross train and stay injury free. And it isn’t just injuries, age can play a big part in how we feel about ourselves and the same philopsophy applies, movement is healing so my advice to you is no matter your age, no matter your injury find a way to move to stay healthy in mind and body.
As I sit here with my morning coffee I am thinking about all of you out there on your fitness and wellbeing journeys and how I can help you. Then I saw this quote and I thought, yes, this is perfect for today. Change is hard, it's scary and stepping into a new way of life doesn't necessarilly feel positive to begin with. When I gave a up a successful career as a TV producer 10 years ago to retrain as a Pilates Instructor in California, it was terrifying. I was relatively fit but hadn't done any serious movement training since an injury in my twenties ended my dance career. I was a lone Brit, the oldest in the group by 15+ years and I really wasn't sure I was doing the right thing. I had spent all my savings on my training and plane ticket, I was staying in a basic motel with no one I knew in the country. It's only now looking back that I realise what a positive change it was. I learned something new, I made friends who I am still in contact with, I changed my whole work/life balance and above all I am fitter, healthier and happier than I was back then. If only I had known it would turn out that way!
That’s the phrase I live by now but it wasn’t always so. Performing was all I had wanted to do but post a knee injury and a destructive relationship that dissolved any confidence I had in myself I retreated into a job where I was very much behind the scenes. It was only when a close friend gave me a key ring with this quote on a few years ago that I realised how far I’d come. 10 years ago I was on the brink of another career change, this time a chosen one as I was giving up a career as a stressed out, overworked Producer/ Director in Television to retrain as a Pilates teacher in California.
Exercise like wellbeing isn't something to be rushed or that can be switched on or off, it takes time to build a healthy lifestyle so if you're feeling the pressure to lose weight and get fit after a long and lengthy lockdown let's try something. Let’s shed the guilt and find a new goal. Your mission if you choose to take it it is to live a happier, healthier life. That’s it. No guilt, no self criticism, just a mission every day to be happier and healthier.
Never underestimated the benefits of going back to basics. The most inspiring pilates teachers I’ve met since I started pilates twenty years ago as an ex-dancer were those that not only inspired and motivated me, but also had a great empathy and humility for their work. It’s easy to forget nowadays when everything is instantly available at the press of a button that exercise and experience only improve over time, you can’t rush either.
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