YouTube channel, Wellbeing, Self Care, Pilates, Online Fitness Classes, Health and Fitness, Fitness motivation, Fitness Blog
rachel lawrence
Come with me and you'll be in a world of pure ...

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.

Come with me and you'll be in a world of pure imagination.....❤️
Fitness Blog, Age and Fitness, Wellbeing, Fitness motivation
rachel lawrence
Note to Self - Will you be my Valentine? 💘

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.

Note to Self - Will you be my Valentine? 💘
Age and Fitness, Fitness Blog, Fitness motivation, Health and Fitness, Pilates, Wellbeing, YouTube channel
rachel lawrence
The Top 5 Benefits of Pilates Breathing

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.

The Top 5 Benefits of Pilates Breathing
Book, Health and Fitness, Pilates
rachel lawrence
My First book on Pilates will be out soon!

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 😊

My First book on Pilates will be out soon!
Fitness motivation, Fitness Blog, Health and Fitness, Pilates, Online Fitness Classes, Wellbeing, YouTube channel
rachel lawrence
A message from me to you ❤️

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.

A message from me to you ❤️

Pilates for sport

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Why an Injury Can affect Your mental health and How to Overcome it

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Why an Injury Can affect Your mental health and How to Overcome it

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.

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The Ten Principles of Pilates

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I've been practicing Pilates now for over 18 years and I cannot tell you how much my wellbeing, fitness and flexibility has improved from daily practice. I am fitter, stronger and less prone to injury than I was when I was a professional dancer and not only that I have more core strength now than I ever did when I was dancing professionally. Much has changed in the world of dance and sport in that time, so much so that it is now recognised that Pilates is an essential part of any dancer or athlete's cross training routine. But even if you practice Pilates regularly, are you aware of the original principles of this form of movement?

When Joseph Pilates developed his exercise regime in the early part of the twentieth century, it evolved over time as many forms of movement do, but he had a set of principles that he applied to all his work which are still taught today and I think it’s very useful to know what these are, and try and apply them to your own individual practice.

Awareness

Be aware of your body - joints and muscles.

Balance

Work all your muscles in balance.

Breath

Breathe well to aid your exercise as well as relieve stress.

Concentration

Concentrate on what you’re doing, be in the moment.

Control

Control your movements in in a relaxed way to reduce tension.

Centre

Focus on your centre (core) at all times, thereby stabilising your body.

Efficiency

Be efficient in the ease & economy of your movement.

Flow

Flow by activating the muscles at just the right time.

Harmony

Be in harmony with yourself, others and the environment.

Precision

Be precise & pay attention to the details of the exercise, enjoy the detail.

Written material and photograph copyright of Rachel Lawrence.

All Rights reserved

To Read more about the surprising benefits of Pilates, click the link below:

http://bit.ly/2QmHq57

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