Well, a very busy start to September here! If you're feeling that you'd like to make some time for yourself and your body, Pilates may be just what you are looking for! It's not too late, here's a list of our Autumn classes (spaces in some classes, waiting list for others), do get in touch if you'd like a space or would like to be on my mailing list for new classes. Tues 0940 Martin's Heron & The Warren Tues 1050 Martin's Heron & The Warren Tues 2030 Cheapside Village Hall Weds 1300 South Ascot Church Hall Weds 1930 Englefield Green Social Hall Thurs 2000 South Ascot Church Hall

Great short video from Prof Tamar Pincus at our nearby Royal Holloway University Psychology Department! A play dough reminder that we can change how we feel by including more of the things we enjoy in our lives – simple, but powerful and it really works. What will you add ? Invest in yourself. Invest in your mental and physical wellbeing.

Such positivity from Theo :) - please share!

A must see for all of you runners! Katy Bowman is the queen of biomechanics, here she shows you how everyday postural habits affect your running. Enjoy :)

Our current timetable - contact me for availability: Tues 0940 Martin's Heron & The Warren Tues 1050 Martin's Heron & The Warren Tues 2030 Cheapside Village Hall Weds 1300 South Ascot Church Hall Weds 1930 Englefield Green Social Hall Thurs 2000 South Ascot Church Hall

Body Control Pilates have teamed up with the NHS to bring you a series of short videos entitled 'Pilates for back pain' on their YouTube channel. Great reminders for your home practice, but definitely more fun in a class! I'm proud to be a Body Control Pilates teacher and Back4Good® Practitioner.

This week we've had lots of fun on the foam rollers - brilliant work on your balance everyone! Hope you like my little Venn diagram, reminding you to show your spine some love by keeping consistent with your home practice. Have a lovely weekend :)

True flexibility can be achieved only when all muscles are uniformly developed – J Pilates. Hypermobility is common - 20-30% of adults are at the end of the normal spectrum in terms of range of movement of joints. While asymptomatic in the vast majority of cases, pain can arise if the flexibility of a joint is not balanced with strength to support it. There’s also a whole range of hypermobility related conditions and hereditary disorders of connective tissue. Key take home messages from a recent training course with Dr Jane Simmonds (University College London, Hypermobility Unit) reassured that Pilates can: • Strengthen the muscles surrounding the joint, protecting and stabilising the joint more fully • Increase body awareness and functional movement patterns • Provide a relaxing, safe environment in which to move joints through their full range in a controlled manner. Also, really useful to consider pacing activities, ensuring adequate hydration and incorporating cardiovascular exercise - swimming or hydrotherapy proving particularly helpful. The biggest message was about the benefits of getting stronger and that comes back to the balance between flexibility and strength. http://hypermobility.org/ https://www.ehlers-danlos.org/

So proud that many of you are wanting to keep up a regular Pilates practice, even when you are away or on holiday! My advice here is to keep it simple - chose exercises that make you feel good and find the time to actually get them done :) It’s about making it work for you, perhaps that’s a couple of 30 minute sessions or maybe even shorter sessions spread throughout the week. Commit to it!

An excellent short video about pain, more specifically persistent pain. Have you experienced this or ever wondered about it ? .... why pain becomes persistent, if it serves a purpose, if there a way of effectively dealing with it, how our thoughts, beliefs and behaviours influence pain... check out Prof Lorimer Moseley's video below and share.

Find the time, take the time, make the time. Great motto for life don't you think ?