October - The Nights Are Growing Dark

Published: Mon, 10/02/17

The Jane Thomas Pilates Newsletter
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Hello
Last week was a bit of a testing week for us here at team JTP. 

We were a man down, as Helen was away taking care of her daughter who had been rushed into hospital with what was eventually diagnosed as pneumonia. Those of you who know Helen and attend her classes are probably aware that her daughter Rhian is away at University in Guildford.

Rhian was admitted to a hospital local to where she lived. Helen had rushed down there to be with her, and Rhian was very seriously ill having to have a drain, intravenous antibiotics to fight infection, and a cannula. As parents we can all sympathise with the feeling of helplessness when our children are taken so ill that their care is taken out of our hands and we have to trust others to administer the level of care to get them back to full health. So it has been a tough week for Helen and I am sure you will all join us in sending our love and support to Helen and to her family during this challenging time for them. 

This has meant that Helen’s classes are being covered by the team temporarily. This cover will continue until Rhian has improved so she can be discharged from hospital. Helen is then hoping to bring her home to continue with her recovery.

Having communicated with Helen this weekend, the good news is that Rhian is now turning a corner and they hope that she will be discharged today.  If this is the case Helen is hoping to be back to teaching later this week. I am sure you all appreciate that at this time Helen’s priorities are with her daughter.
Have a fantastic week folks — keep looking, moving and feeling great.

Exercise Of The Week
This week we continue with exercises to do if you have any knee or hip syndromes, or you are pre-operative for hip or knee replacements, OR you are in the first few weeks post-operative for knee or hip replacements.

This week I am focusing on the quadriceps (big muscles at the front of the thighs) and the gluteals (muscles in the bottom). When we have pain in our joints, our brain instantly wants us to stop any movement that creates the pain which means that our muscles that feed into those joints want to shut down and stop working.

This week’s exercise keeps the muscles toned and creates a low level of strength training for those important little places. If you are facing surgery, now is the time to start investing in your body, because the stronger and more functional you are prior to any operation, the faster your recovery will be.

As with all of our Exercise Of The Weeks, work at the appropriate level for your body.

Feel the difference, move differently, and look more balanced.
See the video here
Your Whole Self
Have seen lots of posts on social media this week about emotional wellbeing, and I realise that within our JTP extended family we have our ups and downs with our emotional health.

I have always been very open about the fact that I have suffered with depression in the past, and I recognise that it can lie dormant in our system for extended periods of time and can rear its head at any time, sometimes when we least expect it.

Autumn can often be a trigger for our moods to fluctuate. We have less hours of daylight, generally less sunshine, the temperatures start to drop, and it all starts to get a bit grey and gloomy. It is an inbetweener in terms of seasons, we have lost the heat and the brightness of the summer and we aren’t quite at the sparkly, frosty cold days of a full on winter.

So let's think about what we can learn to love about Autumn that will help us with our emotional wellbeing.

Firstly when I was out for a walk in the woods yesterday what struck me were the colours of the leaves, reds, golds, oranges, all colours that I love — so any of you out there who are artists, the colours will be inspirational.

Second is — the walks themselves. I consider myself very lucky to be so close to woods and trees that let me see those colours, and the fresh air, not too hot, not too cold, just right for a powerful, brisk walk to get the adrenaline pumping round the body.

Thirdly, it's soup time — all those lovely autumnal vegetables that start to reappear in our local greengrocer. These can be cooked up and blended into some lovely healthy, nutritious and tasty soups. If you batch cook you can make up enough to stick in the freezer and pull out on those days you are short of time to cook.

Lastly, I do love a cosy jumper. It's not quite cold enough to switch the heating back on, so why not snuggle up in a favourite woolly with a good book and a hot chocolate.

Once I got my thinking hat on there was lots more to be celebrated about Autumn, so these are just for starters. Think of them as being an investment in your emotional wellbeing and let's celebrate Autumn.
The Week's Classes
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All Matwork and Reformer classes are running as normal — except that the Saturday 7 October 9.30am Matwork class is in Rosebery Street Medical Centre (and NOT Quorn Village Hall — as Quorn Village Hall is used for other things that day).


Catchups
Book a Catchup

If you know you will have to miss a class in your course for any reason, and would like to book a space in another class instead, just follow the link to book it. Our Glamourous Assistant Karen runs the Catchups system, and this link is the quickest, most direct means (it's even faster than emailing her!) of letting Karen know.

Simply tell us the class you will miss and — most important — please give us as many alternatives as possible. If you only give us one alternative, we cannot guarantee you will get a Catchup.

Please also let us know if you will miss your class but don't want a Catchup — the whole Catchup system relies on knowing when spaces will occur.

Finally, please don't just tell your class Pilates Coach you will be missing a class, as your Coach is not aware of Catchups spaces and has no means of registering your space. Karen needs to know, and the link here (it's also at the bottom of our website too) is the best way to let Karen know.


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