Just a note to remind you all that the Office has an extended break, so if you try to contact us by phone or email you will receive an automated response. We will answer all queries when we are back in the Office, after 22 October.
Also, as we head into our last week of classes before we take our half-term break, I just wanted to explain why we are taking 2-3 weeks off from classes during October. Here are some of the
reasons — and they are mainly to do with schools...:
1. Some of our venues are used in association with schools, and availability is affected by school holidays. We try to keep our timetable simple so that every class is pretty much running at the same time — simply so that we can run our Catchups system. This means that all classes will take the same breaks, as it would be too complicated to try and do anything different.
2. We try to coincide with school holidays so that parents and grandparents don’t feel they are missing classes due to taking time out with children.
3. Schools in various counties take different weeks for their October half-term, plus some private schools and academies also choose different dates for their half-terms, and as we have venues in
various local counties we have to try and coincide with all.
4. Some of our team have children at different schools, and therefore have different half-term breaks, so again to try and keep it simple we have tried to cover every possible scenario.
There always have to be some exceptions and you will see from the original dates we sent out for our class timetable 2018/2019, that some classes will
only miss two weeks, while some miss three weeks. This is due to the other factor we have to take into consideration which is that our venues also get booked for other events, such as weddings, parties, beer festivals, parents evenings, bank holidays, elections … the list goes on. Which is why in order for us to keep our timetable synchronised and running throughout the year, we have to plan around all of these possibilities and try to find balance.
If you were wondering
about how it works, I hope this helps to clarify the situation. Obviously, if we had our very own Pilates Centre which was big enough to run all of our classes from, it wouldn’t be an issue, we could put classes on all year round …. ahh, one can but dream!
Have a purposeful week folks — keep looking, moving and feeling great!
Jane, Keith and the team xx
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This week I am sharing a Swan Dive. I have done this exercise before in a Newsletter, but I wanted to show and talk about the full benefits of doing a Swan Dive regularly.
In this week’s video I am teaching Keith, while we were on holiday
so you will be able to hear the usual holiday sounds in the background — the sea, the birds …. and a baby crying occasionally!
Keith loves this exercise as he has a history of lower back issues, resulting in him suffering with severe sciatica many, many years ago (a thing of the past now he does Pilates). The extension this exercise gives him and the length he achieves with the movement releases the pressure and any impingement on the nerve. As his work keeps him tied to
a desk and poring over a computer, the Swan Dive provides his body with the perfect balance of movement, allowing him to open up the front of his body which is usually closed while working.
He likes the feeling of strength as he feels his core muscles supporting the lower back, the postural work and stability work he gets for his shoulder girdle, plus — as I add the head turn for him — he feels the mobility improve in his neck and it opens up the
chest.
If you are new to Pilates and this exercise, start at the first stage demonstrated at the beginning of the video. If you have any discomfort in the lower back when in this prone position, before starting any movement you should check two things — firstly that you are recruiting your core by pulling the navel to spine, and secondly if you are doing this but still feel discomfort then fold a small towel and place it under the navel to see if this helps to lift
and create space in the lower back. Once you have checked these two things, if you still have discomfort then check with your Pilates Coach for alternatives and modifications as this exercise can be performed in different positions which will take the pressure away from the lower back.
As with all of our Exercise Of The Weeks you should listen to your body, work at the appropriate level for your body, and keep away from
pain.
Feel the difference, move differently, and look more balanced.
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See the video here |
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If you come to one of my classes you will know that I love to talk about moving with purpose. Pilates is all about purpose, the purpose of doing an exercise in the first place, why are we doing a specific exercise? And the purpose gives the reason, it answers the question. But purpose is also
about the feeling it gives you, when we focus the mind and body, and we connect with the movement it gives a whole new feeling to why we are performing an exercise.
In fact I always remember in one of my classes, I was teaching the group a Roll Up, and I was selling the fact that I felt we should be doing this exercise every day, and suddenly one participant asked “but why would you do this every day? why?” She didn’t like the Roll Up!
Well
the obvious answer was all about the basic physical improvement in strength of the deep stabilising muscles in the centre of our body, and the improvement in mobility of the spine.
However, there is a more generic purpose for performing the Roll Up, or any exercise/activity for that matter … it means we are moving our bodies. We are keeping our body able to move, and when we move our bodies we release the ‘feel good’ hormones that create an improved emotional
state. Yes there are physical benefits to the movement, but the emotional benefits, in my opinion, are far more important.
The emotional benefits and the physical benefits are also enhanced by being conscious with our movement, moving with purpose … placing one foot in front of the other with conscious thought, rather than going through the motions. If you go out regularly for a walk, notice the difference you feel when you make it a conscious walk. Focus on your
environment, connect with how it feels to put one foot in front of the other, move with purpose.
Try to find time to move every day and recognise the reasons for doing it. My Exercise Of The Week in each Newsletter gives you an opportunity to perform movement everyday. If we move every day with purpose, we will connect our mind and body, it will enhance both the physical and emotional wellbeing we feel, it will give us some purpose for our
day.
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Click or Tap Below to View Interactable Calendar
Online
All matwork classes are running as planned this week, at the correct days and times. The Quorn Saturday morning class on 13 October is, however, in the Old School again in Quorn — NOT the Village
Hall.
There is no Tuesday evening Reformer class this week.
We then have a half-term break and as explained earlier due to the extended and varied breaks of the various schools in Leicestershire, Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire — where all our clients come from — the break is for three weeks (except for a small handful of classes). Keep your eye on the Calendar and on the Newsletter each week for week-by-week details as they
happen...
Book a Catchup/Log a Missing Class
If you know you will have to miss a class in your course for any reason, want to let us know or would like to
book a space in another class instead, just follow the link to register 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 and your class Coach know.
Simply tell us the class you will miss and — most important if you want to book a Catchup — please give us as many alternatives as possible. If you
only give us one alternative, we cannot guarantee you will get a Catchup.
Please let us know if you will miss your class but don't want a Catchup — the whole Catchups system relies on knowing when spaces will occur.
Finally, please don't just tell your class class 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 and fastest way to let Karen know.
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