Welcome to this week’s Newsletter.

Another week passes and I am happy to report that my mobility is improving and I am definitely progressing in the right direction. Now it is about laying some foundations to support my recovery so that I can get fully functioning again. And this week’s Your Whole Self is about Laying the Foundations for seasons to come, so is very apt and reflects what I am feeling right now.

I have to confess I have been going through a whole host of emotions over the last few weeks. I’m not going to fill this space with them as I always want my newsletters to feel uplifting … and I have visited some very dark spaces … so I will focus on coming out the other side. I saw a social media post from one of my fellow teachers who had had to cancel a class at the last minute because she had been stuck in traffic after a road traffic incident, and her words were about how terrible she felt having to cancel and how she wanted to reassure her class participants that she hated having to do it, not least because she looked forward to her classes. She was letting people know that when teachers cancel we feel terrible and we don’t do it lightly. 

This summed up exactly how I have been feeling with regards to not being able to teach. I feel very grateful that I have a lovely team with me, with Jenny and Mary coming to my aid and teaching my face-to-face classes, and being so supportive. Also, I am grateful to all of the class participants for their lovely words of support and encouragement — I want you to know that this means so much to me. And of course Keith, who has been my absolute rock during this episode: my carer, my hairdresser, my cook, and chief bottle washer — he has been brilliant and I don’t know what I would have done without him. 

So thank you for all the emails. I haven’t been able to respond to all of them, but they have really helped me, and I completely appreciate every single word of support — thank you.

Face-to-Face Classes are running as normal, with Jenny covering my Monday classes at Old Woodhouse and Mary covering my Friday classes there too.

Online Classes — these will probably be Recordings for another week, as I try to plan how I can start to get back into the online studio with you all. Thank you for your patience — and remember when you do the recordings at the regular times, you are still working out with me, there just isn’t the pre-class and post-class chat and laugh, which I know some of you love, but some of you don’t mind missing it out 😉 So keep your Pilates going, because I want to be back with you soon.

This is the final week of looking at Wintering and so we are focusing on Laying the Foundations for what lies ahead.

Everything in nature does seem to slow down as we head deeper into the winter — trees stand bare, gardens are resting, days feel quieter and darker. But beneath the surface, there is a quiet flurry of activity — roots stretching deeper into the earth, seeds preparing for their moment, energy gently gathering for the seasons to come.

This is what Wintering is all about: that time of stillness — and yet it’s not really still: it’s a season of preparation, and of foundations being laid for what’s next. Sometimes in my Pilates teaching, I will talk about a part of the body being actively silent which is when although not moving, it is actively helping, supporting, for other movement to happen, building strength for what is to come. And this is what is happening during our Wintering season.

It’s tempting to think that slowing down means stopping, and if we aren’t charging ahead, we must be falling behind. But nature shows us that in order for growth to happen it needs rest, reflection and space to take hold. The work that is happening beneath the surface is every bit as important as what blooms later on.

For us, slowing down might look like taking a gentler approach, not pushing, but nurturing the ground we are growing from. It maybe means checking in with how we might be moving, sleeping, and nourishing ourselves. Perhaps it’s dreaming quietly about goals for next year, or simply allowing yourself to pause and breathe before deciding what comes next.

So let’s consider how laying strong foundations isn’t about doing more, it’s about doing what matters steadily and consistently.

If we put this into our Pilates practice, it will mean focusing on the foundations — alignment, breath, and mindful movement. These are the roots, the things that support every other part of our body’s strength and balance.

As we head deeper into Winter, lets give ourselves permission to gather, to rest, and to trust that our energy is not lost — it’s simply being redirected underground, preparing us to grow stronger as we move forwards in time.

As a reflection prompt this week, think about and note what quiet foundations you may be laying down for your own growth for the next season.

Have a good week everyone — keep looking, moving, and feeling good.

With love and support,

Jane xxx