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 people’s mental health, for me 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.

Thinking about the year we’ve all had, one of the positives has been people trying different forms of fitness online and it’s been wonderful to hear stories of people ‘discovering pilates’ and enjoying taking better care of their wellbeing. As a teacher being able to reach out worldwide to spread the pilates love to people who may not have had the opportunity to try it previously has been both a privilege and a humbling experience. Here are just a few snippets of some of the 1000 plus messages I get every month:

You’re keeping my husband and I going through all these long restrictions and we love it

Rachel, Wishing you Happy Holidays and Thanking you for how wonderful I feel at 80 years old. Doing all your standing classes.

You've helped me find an activity I find good for body and mind and helps me be a stronger runner and hopefully surfer (beginner!)

Wow I have benefited so much. I do the Mixed Ability on Youtube, and have been doing the Friday class for 6 months. My body has hurt in so many ways: hips, shoulders, neck, knees ,lower back. Rachel has developed a series of sessions for all these areas and they have really helped. The pain has gone. Her approach has helped me to do Pilates regularly 3-5 a week. And I have noticed a huge difference, especially in lockdown.

So if an injury or an age related condition is getting you down, keep your mind and body healthy by popping a little pilates into your weekly schedule. I’ll be live-streaming a 30 minute class this Friday if you want to join me, and of course I’m on YouTube 24/7 so you can take a class whenever you’re in need of a little movement. https://www.youtube.com/c/TheGirlWithThePilatesMat

As for me, I’m recovering from foot surgery and taking my own advice, a little bit of movement everyday from the ankles upwards!

Stay safe, stay positive and keep on moving and grooving ❤️