Here comes the sun!

Published: Mon, 05/07/18

Hello

Sunshine at last!

Getting out in the garden, getting out for a walk, basically taking every opportunity to get outside and take in the rays to up our Vitamin D levels, become more active and generally live life to the full.

That said, how many of you tuned into my live Pilates session yesterday (Sunday 6th May) to celebrate World Pilates Day? Not to worry if you missed it because it has been recorded and you will be able to do it today as this is our Exercise of the Week — a 30 minute Pilates session.

Joseph Pilates comes in for a bit of criticism in the fitness world, mainly because his original moves are considered to be ‘unsafe’ or have contraindications to what is now accepted as best practice for our bodies. However, while I agree with this, the underlying philosophy of Joseph Pilates was that his exercise programme was to strengthen the body from the inside out, and that our movement should be focused and concentrated connecting with our mind. He also believed that the exercises were specific to individuals as every body is different and therefore moves and feels differently depending on specific needs. Just as our bodies evolve with time, so should Pilates as an exercise practice, and this I believe is what Joseph wanted to achieve. This is why in our Pilates classes you will see us as teachers cueing modifications, variations and providing different levels for you to try, because we recognise that everyone who comes to our classes have individual specific needs.

My feelings about Joseph are that he: developed an exercise programme that would benefit the whole body; an exercise programme that could be adapted to suit individuals; an exercise programme that could be both kind and considerate to a body in repair; but that could also challenge and progress a body that needed strengthening and mobilising.

So I believe that we should celebrate Joseph Pilates and instead of criticising, we should totally celebrate everything he has made us question and develop. Hurrah for Joseph!

Have a fantastic week folks — keep looking, moving and feeling great.

Jane, Keith and the team
xxxxx

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Exercise Of The Week

Here it is — a recording of my World Pilates Day live class. Apologies for the not-ver-high-quality of it — it was recorded directly off the internet so is a tad blurry in parts.

It is 30 minutes long, with mobility and strength work in there, plus some modifications.

Work at the appropriate level for your body, and keep away from pain.

Feel the difference, move differently, and look more balanced.

See the video here

Your Whole Self

I have a problem! I have a problem with falling asleep even when I am out out!

Recently Keith and I seem to have a number of events that we booked quite a while ago and they have fallen on consecutive weekends… so we have seen Gregory Porter, Sugsy, Count Arthur Strong, a trip to the cinema (can’t remember what the film was…) and then Danny Baker.

All very different performances, all good, and all things that I wanted to see — and indeed was looking forward to seeing. However staying awake when I am in a warm, dark theatre has proven to be a challenge for me. Particularly the last performance which was Danny Baker, where in true Ken Dodd style, once he started there was no stopping him — the first half of his show lasted for 1 hour and 45 minutes and he was nowhere near half way through what he had scripted… he gleefully told us as he sent us off for an interval drink!

As I had already missed quite a large part of the first half, I didn’t really know where he was in his script in terms of trying to follow his life story, which is a pity because his life has been a varied and interesting one. Being as I had missed most of it, we decided while getting our interval drink that perhaps it would be better if Keith just took me home and then later on I could read Danny Baker’s books so that I could catch up with what I had missed and go on to finish what we assumed would be the remaining part of his show.

As we have also booked theatre trips for the next three weekends, I am getting a little concerned as to whether or not I am going to be able to get through them all. But it has thrown up something quite alarming for me in showing me how physically and mentally tired I have let myself become. My lifestyle has become a work-driven lifestyle and unfortunately as much as I love it and it feeds my heart and soul, I do need to improve the balance.

I am going to start to put into practice my own words of advice, in that I need to get to bed earlier, I need to stop looking at my laptop in the evening so I do not get drawn into answering emails at night and then going to bed with those emails on my mind, and I need to introduce a more relaxing routine as I approach bed-time so that when my head hits the pillow I am ready to sleep! The other thing I believe has become necessary is that I need to look at my work timetable and make some adjustments there as well.

So some changes to be made to my lifestyle and as I am always banging on about living our lives to the full, it is high time I started to practise what I preach — all work and no play is making Jane a bit of a dull soul. It's time to reboot and get some sleep — particularly as the last gig we have booked is The Rolling Stones, and Keith will never forgive me if I fall asleep in the middle of that gig!

The Week's Classes

Click the Calendar to View Larger

Bank Holiday Monday today, so there are no classes, but the timetable reverts to normal as of Tuesday 8 May.

However, there are no Reformer classes on Tuesday (6pm) and Thursday (12.30pm). Thursday early morning and evening Reformer classes are running as normal.

You can view the Calendar large by clicking or tapping on it above, but remember that you can also view our new test Calendar by clicking or tapping here.

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.

Book your Catchup by clicking here

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