I sit and write this week’s Newsletter from our getaway to Norfolk, staying in Roughton which is just outside of Cromer. Lovely blue skies today, after Storm Otto blew the cobwebs away yesterday.

I recently read a brilliant post from one of my friends, who is also a Pilates teacher (Cara Tatterton), about taking a break from teaching. She talked about the break not being about giving class participants a break from Pilates, but to give herself a rest from teaching. Thank you Cara for such a great post. AND this is absolutely right — it's not because we don’t enjoy teaching, but as Pilates teachers we constantly work hard to give our best and this means we have to top up our reserves otherwise we can find ourselves operating on empty, which isn’t good for anyone. Which is one of the reasons why I am taking the next week away from teaching live. 

But as Cara says, it really doesn’t mean you have to take a break from Pilates, as I have selected Recorded classes for the online timetable over the next week, until I return to the Studio on Saturday 25 February. This means you can still do your Pilates at your regular time, OR you can get ahead and do the Recording earlier, later … whatever suits your day — a bit like Sharon who notified me in the week, that she did yesterday’s recording on Thursday … great work Sharon, I like your style!

On Tuesday last week, the LIVE Exercise Of The Week was the Shoulder Bridge. I talked about the benefits, the purpose, which muscles are targeted, where to begin and how to progress. There are ‘fears’ about doing the shoulder bridge — it isn’t loved by everyone, and a couple of these came up as follows:

1. Worry about not coming up high enough
2. Not feeling strong enough to hold a position for progressions

I cover these in the video, so check it out and work appropriately for your body and keep away from pain. If you have any questions about The Shoulder Bridge, or about any of the Exercises Of The Week, please get in touch. It can make a difference on your experience in class and to the benefits you will feel doing the exercise. 

The next LIVE Exercise Of The Week will be on Tuesday 28 February, 7pm in Zoom, and I will be looking at The Roll Up.

Are you an over-thinker? If you are, it can make decision making so tricky. 

Over-thinking can cross over into all areas of life. It isn’t always the big decisions that can cause us problems, it can be as simple as what to have for dinner every night — particularly if you are busy and have lots going on in your life.

My inspiration for this week’s Your Whole Self, comes from Jay Shetty, (specifically from the Daily Jay, on my Calm app). He talks about considering a method called stair-stepping to make decisions. Which basically means instead of worrying about the big, final outcome, think about smaller choices that can be made along the way, that although seem insignificant, will still get you closer to the main goal. For example, if we take the problem of what to eat every night, instead of focusing on whether to have Spaghetti Bolognaise or not, just start chopping onions and see where it takes you. 

Instead of starting to judge, analyse, worry or plan, if we can replace those thoughts and bring the focus instead to thinking about calm, balance, ease, stillness, and peace, it can stop us from over-thinking and lead us towards those choices that will help us and make decision making easier. Of course we aren’t always going to be able to do this, but it's definitely worth the practice and will make a difference.

So remember — calm, balance, ease, stillness and peace … try it next time you find your mind going into over-thinking mode.

Have a great week folks, keep moving, keep feeling, keep looking good.

With love

Jane xx