It's hot!

Published: Mon, 07/01/19

Hello

This week is the last week of our regular classes. Next week we enter our Summer Timetable of classes.

Remember that when you have classes with us, you have already paid for four classes over the Summer Timetable, and your particular day/venue/time of class will have four allocated classes over the summer (depending on when your class Coach takes holiday). If you can get to those allocated classes, all you need to do is turn up to the class when it is on.

If you cannot make one of your allocated classes, just book a Catchup class, in the normal way, using the Catchup link. It's all very simple — and all the links you will ever need (to the Summer Timetable, to our weekly Calendar of classes, to the Catchup link etc) are always at the bottom of our emails, the bottom of this weekly Newsletter, and at the bottom of the website.

The Power of Pilates

Did you see Adele in the news last week … she was attending a Spice Girls reunion concert and she appeared with a very different body shape and look. She has been doing Pilates Reformer sessions and puts her new toned body all down to this. And apparently according to The Times the Reformer Pilates workout is the choice of A-list celebrities.

The article didn’t get everything quite correct though. It described Pilates as a "fitness hangover from the 1990s” which is completely wrong. They even mention that Joseph started in the 1930s — about 15 years after he actually started. The article even missed the fact that the patent for the Pilates Reformer that he had developed during WW1 and used since then was filed in 1925. Pilates has been used ever since those early days in one form or another, starting as Contrology which was Joseph’s name for what he practised, and then being adopted by others and referring to it as Pilates-based exercises.

Also I have to say that Adele’s change in figure will also involve eating more healthily, and becoming more active. Participating in Pilates reformer sessions will tone and strengthen the body, which will enable a more active and mobile lifestyle. Feeling more active will be motivation to eat more healthily and therefore result in a change in body shape.

So even though they have a few facts incorrect, I love to see a headline in the newspaper saying how brilliant Pilates and the Pilates Reformer is. I also love it when celebrities endorse it as their “go to” exercise programme. Philip Schofield, Holly Willoughby, Andy Murray, David Beckham, Ryan Giggs … to name just a few.

So — yes — it's the workout for the famous … everyone who comes to our classes are celebrities in our eyes.

New Reformer Beginners Class

Adele leads us nicely on to the fact that we have one space remaining in our planned new Beginners Reformer class we are hoping to start soon on Fridays, at 10.30am. This will suit either someone already doing a matwork class with us, or someone who is completely new to Pilates altogether. If you want to know more, please reply to this Newsletter to ask.

I hope this week brings you joy and hope, keep your body moving and keep focusing on the good ... one step at a time.

Jane, Keith and the team xx

View this Newsletter (and, indeed every recent Newsletter) as a webpage

Exercise Of The Week

Two exercises to practise this week, both focusing on using the deep stabilising muscles in the stomach and pelvic floor in order to support the back.

The first — Sticky Knees — is a pre-cursor to the second — All fours stability challenge — so if you are new to Pilates try them in that order. Try to focus on the core supporting the body before you start to add the challenge of moving the leg away.

Both of these exercises are adaptations for the original Joseph Pilates exercises of Swimming, and Prone Leg Pull.

As with all of our Exercises Of The Week, work at the appropriate level for your body and keep away from pain. For those of you who struggle to work from the knees and wrists, either work from the elbows (as demonstrated in the second video) or do the stability challenge in a standing position.

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

Your Whole Self

Half of the year has passed and we find ourselves in July … where has the time gone?

In July I like to look back to the first half of the year and think about everything that has happened and how we have managed to get here, and also I like to think ahead about the next six months and what I hope to achieve and intend to work towards.

It is a good time for reflection, maybe at the start of the year you had plans and they may or may not have happened, so if you got everything achieved you wanted to then its a time for celebration. If things didn’t go to plan then its time to reflect and decide how important that is to you and whether or not you still want it to happen.

In January, we decided to make some home improvements in the first half of the year, and we achieved about 70% of that, but there is still work to be done. On reflection these are small jobs and they don’t need to be done immediately so we can gradually chip away at them over the next few months.

Now as we look ahead over the next 6 months of the year, we are planning what we want to do, both personally and with our Pilates business, we know what our hopes and plans are, but who knows what other things the universe has in store for us. Exciting times...

The Week's Classes

Click or Tap Below to View Interactive Calendar Online

All classes this week — matwork and Reformer — are running as planned, all in their correct venues, at the correct days and times.

Remember that next week sees the start of our Summer Timetable, so not all classes will be running as of 8 July. You can check if your class is running, by going to the online Calendar above, and stepping through from week to week.

Book a Catchup/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.

Book your Catchup by clicking here

Important Links

Our Privacy Policy ◆ Book a Catchup Matwork Class

Summer Timetable 2019

Matwork Timetable 2018-19 ◆ Matwork Timetable 2019-20

Reformer Timetable 2018-19 ◆ Reformer Timetable 2019-20

Our Full Interactive Online Calendar

Maps and directions to all the venues we use

Remember to follow us on Facebook — Twitter — Pinterest