I hope you have had a good first week of October — and it really is October now with the mix of weather we have had: it has swung from wet, grey, windy, to bright blue skies and sunshine. The temperature has also fluctuated … one thing for sure is we are in the last quarter of the year. 

I quite like this time of year, mainly because of the changing colours of the leaves, and I quite like the mix of weather we get. I love putting on a cozy jumper and woolly socks … I just have to find them ;)

So what’s coming up this week?

All Face-to-Face classes are running, and it is our last week before we break for half term — apart from a couple of exceptions. 

For those who attend the Thursday Evening Rempstone classes, you have a replacement class on Thursday 20 October, this was for the classes cancelled on Thursday 22 September. 

Online Classes are all running next week, complete with the additional class on Friday — Week 2 of Feel Good Friday Mindful Pilates. These Friday lunch time classes are all about slowing things down, giving time to connect mind and body, without pressure. The aim for these classes is to recognise how the body feels, being totally present, and accepting that this is how your mind and body feel right in that moment. I want to give everyone an opportunity to switch off, and when the mind starts to wander bring thoughts back to the movement, the core and the breath.  

If you are a JTP Zone member the link for the class is included in the online timetable. If you aren’t a JTP Zone member contact me for details of how to get the link to the class sent directly to you so you can join in. 

I am offering this freely as part of raising awareness to Mental Health, as on Monday 10 October it is World Mental Health Awareness Day.

The JTP Zone

I just want to mention the JTP Zone online studio and what is available to all the JTP family. 

• Every week I teach six Live online classes in Zoom, these classes are between 15 and 45 minutes long and vary from short, sassy workouts to start your day, and longer workouts for the whole body
• All classes are recorded and available in the JTP Zone website
• There are also 16 Props classes — which use props such as the Hog, Handweights, Resistance Bands, Soft Balls, Foam Rollers and the Isotoner Ring
• There is a specific workout using the Yoga Block
• There is a specific full workout using a Chair — ideal if you struggle to get up and down from the floor, or struggle with kneeling and weight bearing in certain positions.
• PLUS I run special programmes throughout the year, where we focus on specific ways of using Pilates — the most recent being an Evening Energiser Programme which headlines the matwork class page —  five complete workouts using handweights. 

If you are enrolled on our online classes OR a face-to-face class you have full access to all of this. Simply login with your Username and Password — save it to make login easier. If you have forgotten your username/password just let us know. If you haven’t got a username/password yet — LET US KNOW. 

Yes, you could Google Pilates stuff elsewhere, or even use YouTube, but in the time it takes you to do that and find a class that you think you might like (but not really sure), you could easily login to the JTP Zone, and do a class with me — a teacher that you know — a teacher that knows you. 

This week I want you to welcome the Potty Squat into your life. It isn’t a classical Pilates exercise, however it is widely used in Pilates classes because of the benefits to knees, hips, pelvic floor, gluteals. In practice, it is helpful for lifting and can also help with issues such as sciatica.

The things to check out for — keep the spine long, imagine a broom handle up the back of your T-shirt, and don’t look down, because this can pull the spine out of neutral alignment. BUT remember to work at the appropriate level for you and don’t push through pain. 

If you aren’t sure about any of the Exercise Of The Weeks, please get in touch.

There is so much going on in the world right now, so much going on just in the UK — and watching, reading and listening to the news can be quite overwhelming and disheartening. 

We can feel like nothing we do will make a difference or change things, and that everything is out of our control.

When it gets like this, and when we start to feel like this, it's really important to hang onto the little things that we do regularly, consistently. Things that we feel are not necessarily important in the great scheme of things, but actually help to keep us grounded, help to keep us feeling empowered. It is these small things that actually can make a huge difference to ourselves and indirectly to others. 

When the world feels a bit upside down, it is the regularity, routine, consistency of what we do that helps us to find more stability. 

For example, this is the 7th year I have written a weekly Newsletter, and indeed it is a small thing, and in itself doesn’t seem important, but I get lots of feedback to say how much they love it landing weekly in their Inbox. People tell me how much they enjoy reading this particular section of the Newsletter, and how helpful they have found it.

Yes, it is a small thing, but the regularity and consistency it gives me helps to keep me grounded and at the same time hopefully providing that for others. 

So don’t give up believing that although you may feel your actions or what you do are small, it can still make a difference and affect how you and others feel.   

Have a great week, keep moving, stay active, 

Jane xx