Priya Tew | Pilates with Priya

Carpel Tunnel Syndrome: Exercises to help.

20 March, 2014 Priya Tew

Even had pins and needled that leads to numbness? Annoying isn’t it. Well it’s even worse when it’s recurring and affects your fingers and thumbs. Carpel Tunnel Syndrome is a condition caused by compression of the media nerve in the wrist, this nerve controls sensation and movement in the hand. It can occur in pregnancy and post-natally.

Symptoms include tingling, pins and needles and numbness in the thumb, index finger, middle finger and ring finger. You may also get a dull ache in the wrist and thumb or grip weakness. The pins and needles is generally there at a low level all of the time but gets worse at night and when applying pressure throught the wrist, flexing it and at night.

The median nerve starts in the mid-side of your neck, travels down your arm, through the front of the elbow and into the wrist. The carpel tunnel is in the wrist, it is made up of 8 bones and a sheath that forms a tunnel over the top that the median nerve runs through.

I developed Carpel Tunnel Syndrome at around 4 months after the birth of baby 2. I think it was from holding the babies head in feeding as I had to feed on the go a lot, chasing a toddler.

For some people the symptoms will disappear after a time, for others steroid injections or even surgery are needed. Sounds pretty horrible doesn’t it. There are however some things that you can do to help.

1. Wear a splint and rest the wrist when possible.

2. Get a massage to release tension in the neck and shoulders.

3. Get a soft small ball or stress ball and gently squeeze and release it.

4. Hold your arm straight out to the side, flex the wrist so fingers point towards the floor. Now tilt the head away from that arm so your ear comes towards your other shoulder and hold.

5. Hold your arm in front of you and make a fist for 5 seconds. Next straight out the fingers and hold the hand out straight for 5 seconds. Make a duck’s beak shape with your thumb underneath for 5 seconds. Turn the hand over so palm is facing up and use your other hand to grap your thumb, pull down for 5 seconds.

6. Fold a towel and drape over your shoulder, apply pressure by pulling on the ends of the towel with the other hand. Now tilt the head away from the towel towards the opposite shoulder to get a good neck stretch.

Pilates: how to breath.

9 March, 2014 Priya Tew

Often when people start Pilates the breathing can be the bit that they struggle with the most. I often hear “I just can’t get the breathing” or “I want to breath in/out at the wrong time”. I must admit that I was the same. I found the breathing back to front and hard to master. Coming from an aerobics background I wasn’t used to using my breathing in a slow controlled way.

I’ve been focusing on the breathing with my classes, using a resistance band gently pulled around the ribcage to act as a guide. Feedback has included:

“It’s made me slow down and focus more”

“I can feel my core working more”

“It has made it harder”

“It makes me more aware of my body and what I am doing”

When performing the Pilates exercises getting in touch with the core muscles is essential to doing the exercises correctly. The core is like a house consist of the pelvic floor (floor), transverse abdominis (front wall), multifidus (back wall), and diaphragm (roof). Deep breathing is an essential part of maximizing this. When you breathe in, the diaphragm contracts downward drawing in air, allowing the lungs to inflate like balloons expanding in your ribcage, without the shoulders lifting or the abdomen being pushed outwards. It’s known as lateral breathing. When you exhale, the diaphragm returns pushing air out. Deep core muscles act as a brace around your spine to support and protect your back. Practise breathing with your core engaged, with every out breath feeling the strength of your core. Generally in Pilates you exhale on the hardest part of the exercise when you need the most core strength. So this would be when you push up in a press up or when you curl up in an exercise for example.

To practise this breathing try placing your hands on your ribcage with your longest fingers touching. As you breath in focus on your fingers moving apart and your ribcage expanding whilst your shoulders stay still. As you breath out your fingers return to touch. Breath into your ribcage. You may feel lightheaded when doing this, its deep breathing so takes some practise if you are not used to it but can be a very helpful practice in helping calm people and is used in meditation, showing the multiple benefits of Pilates.

Top Tips for getting through the first 3 months with baby.

30 July, 2025 Priya Tew

Having a baby is a massive change and a massive strain physically, emotionally and mentally! It’s so completely worth it but it really is one of those times in life when you need as much help as you can get.

Having had 2 babies now I thought I would share my top tips for surviving those first few months:

Stock up your freezer before you give birth with healthy, nutritious meals, so you don’t have to worry about cooking every day. Use online shopping – it means you can shop when you want and have it delivered.
Buy in easy to make and eat snacks and foods – for example items to make sandwiches with, nuts, seeds, dried fruit, nut butters, eggs, baked beans, tuna, ham, cheese, cereal.
If friends offer to help ask them to prepare you a meal or come and help by hanging out the washing or holding baby whilst you sleep.
Nap when the baby naps – this can be hard to do as there is so much else to catch up on but sleep really is important.
Get out and get some fresh air daily, even if its just a 10 minute walk, it will boost your mood and keep you active. When you are ready try a postnatal exercise class or DVD like our one here.
Make sure you don’t skip meals and that you drink plenty of fluids. Include wholegrain starchy carbohydrate and plenty of fruit on vegetables in your diet as well as protein. You need to keep your energy levels up.
Try and get in tune with your baby and their needs. Usually they will form their own little routine of eating, being awake and active then sleeping. Along with nappy changes of course!
Try not to fit too much into a day. It can overstimulate baby and tire you out too! Not a great combination.
Remember to look after YOU – find some time for something to do without baby each week.

I hope that gives you some tips. Being a mum is the best and the hardest job 🙂

Curl up not Crunch Up.

13 February, 2014 Priya Tew

Curl ups or sit ups are a minefield. Personally I don’t think they are the worlds best exercise, there are far better exercises that you can do to work the abdominals and curl ups are pretty hard to perfect. However they are used in a lot of Pilates moves in conjunction with leg movements so it is good to get the technique correct.

Your upper abdominals should be used when you are doing anything in a curled up position in Pilates. To help you use these properly and not strain your neck you need to get the correct neck alignment. Start with a small chin nod, and then use your upper abs to curl up, never lead with your head or neck when curling up, instead think about leading from your breastbone with your head coming up second. Support your head in your hands with your elbows just in your line of vision. Always keep enough space for a small orange between your chin and your chest. You shouldn’t feel too much stress in your neck. It is certainly important to have a strong neck but not to the point of causing pain or any additional tension.

Instead of crunching the abdominals focus on lengthening through the spine and keeping the waist stretched out. You want to curl up growing taller and then release the spine one segment at a time back to the mat.

You can always modify those exercises by keeping your head resting on the mat. Another helpful prop for people who are prone to neck issues is to roll up a towel to recreate your cervical spine curve.

(Thanks to Jo Fleet for letting us use this photograph).

How to pick up your baby with perfect posture.

12 February, 2014 Priya Tew

Having a new baby means you really don’t spend much time thinking about yourself. It’s all about looking after that new precious bundle of love. Whilst that is so, so important it can mean that things like your posture quickly slip and a few months down the line you end up with back, neck or shoulder issues. One of the key things that can go wrong is lifting baby from the floor. It’s something that mums do all the time so important to get right. Here I demonstrate 2 ways to safely pick up your baby, using my baby as an example.

http://youtu.be/VB06NOtRUrg

Bodyweight workouts and Pilates

1 February, 2014 Priya Tew

Bodyweight workouts are those that use your bodweight as the resistance and challenge instead of equipment. Think of lunges, squats, press up, planks. These types of exercises help you tone up and build muscle. Muscle increases the metabolic rate of the body so you burn more calories. The more muscle you have the more fat you can burn so the leaner you become!

Pilates is one of those types of exercises where we often use our own bodyweight as the resistance. This offers quite a few benefits:

1. You get to know your own body and get in tune with it.

2. You don’t need expensive equipment to do it at home.

3. Using your bodyweight has been shown to be an effective way to workout in a short period of time.

4. You can modify the exercises if you feel you are not strong enough whereas it can be harder to reduce the weight of some equipment.

Good Pilates exercises to do that use your bodyweight:

Planks: 1/2 planks, full planks, planks with leg lifts.

Press ups: against a wall, half or full.

Squats

Front leg Pull Back

Roll Ups

The hundred with pumping arms

Double leg stretch

Oyster

Next time you do Pilates think about how you are using your body as a weight/resistance and how you can work against the resistance to work even harder. Think about your arms/legs being heavy as you stretch them away or them being the weights.

Back to the Studio…What has Pilates taught you?

19 January, 2014 Priya Tew

It’s been 4 months since baby Judah arrived and the time has literally flown by. Our team of instructors have been amazing at covering classes and I’ve enjoyed every minute of spending time being a mummy. However I’ve also been itching to get back to the studio. What has amazed me has been the journey of working on my own body postnatally and seeing how much it needed strengthening. I’m not fully back to my usual strength yet but I’m certainly well on my way.

Weight wise I’m almost back to my pre-pregnancy weight. I’m back in my usual jeans, which are a little tight but are getting looser by the week and I’ve just got a bit of a muffin top left to shift 😉 however I see that as my breastfeeding stores.

I’m now back teaching 11 classes a week plus some one to one sessions and my dietitian work. So it’s go go go. However I’m extremely lucky to have amazing clients who know I have to work around my gorgeous baby. So he is sometimes in the studio with me and has even come in for a sneaky feed during a class.

Pilates for me has been amazing. It’s taught me body awareness which means throughout preganancy and now postnatally I am really trying hard to listen to it, work out what muscles are tights, which need stretching, which need working and when to stop. For example I know I had a slight gap between by tummy muscles after birth which I’ve been ultra aware of, I’ve also got a clicky hip and shoulders from the relaxin that is kicking around my system still. It’s also the ideal exercise for me to do in between feeds as it it can be done in small chunks of time, it corrects my posture and it relaxes me. What has Pilates taught you?

Perfect that knee fold

6 January, 2014 Priya Tew

This week in my classes I’ve been focusing on pelvis weight and neutral pelvis. It can be all so easy to forget the basics of Pilates and getting away from these makes the exercises easier so you get less benefits.

When lifting your legs (for example knee folds) you want to be using your lower abdominals to do the work. If not your lower back will end up compensating, leading to a weak core and over-worked lower back.

Set yourself up in neutral, focus on the hip bones being level and you being flat from hip bones to pubic bone. To check gently rock the pelvis up, then tuck it under and rest in the middle of these two movements.

Now feel the weight of the pelvis. As you focus on this, feel your feet getting lighter. You should find that as your pelvis gets heavier and your feet lighter your lower abdominals engage, so your core switches on. This is the position you should be starting your knee folds and all exercises that stem from these from.

Always better to start slow and find a place where your abdominals are able to support your legs, and with some people their legs might be too heavy for their abs to hold. Start small and build up slowly. You will get stronger.

5 mistakes you could be making in Pilates

6 January, 2014 Priya Tew

1. Not using your breathing:

The breathing is often the tricky part for people as it feels back to front! However it really is crucial to breath correctly to get your core really activated. When you breathe in, the diaphragm contracts downward drawing in air. When you exhale, the diaphragm returns pushing air out. The core muscles act as a brace around your spine to support and protect your back. Practise breathing with your core engaged, with every out breath feeling the strength of your core. Generally in Pilates you exhale on the hardest part of the exercise when you need the most core strength.

2. Neutral Pelvis.

Neutral pelvis is when the pubic bone and hipbones are level and in the same plane. This means that the pelvis is not tucked under (bum under, back into the mat) or tilted back (bum stuck out, larger arch in back). If your pelvis is tilted back pressing you lower back right into the mat for exercises such as the hundred, your spine is not being supported securely, your abs will engage but you will not get the same benefits for your back.

3. Neck Strain:

Your upper abdominals should be used when you are doing anything in a curled up position in Pilates. To help you use these properly and not strain your neck you need to get the correct neck alignment. Start with a small chin nod, and then use your upper abs to curl up, never lead with your head or neck when curling up. Always keep enough space for a small orange between your chin and your chest. You shouldn’t feel too much stress in your neck. You can always modify those exercises by keeping your head resting on the mat.
4. Lower abs support your legs.

When lifting your legs (for example knee folds) you need to make sure that the majority of the weight of your legs is supported by your lower abdominals. Your legs should almost feel light as feathers, with your neutral pelvis in place. Practice lying on your back and feeling your pelvis getting heavy and your feet getting light, then bring your knees (one at a time) above your hips, keeping neutral pelvis.
5. No Momentum.

In Pilates moving slowly and connecting every movement to your breath is key. Using momentum skips over muscles fibers and doesn’t allow you to build strength throughout the entire range of the muscle group needed to eventually accomplish the exercises correctly. One example is the roll up. If done incorrectly, overtime you can actually put more tension in your back and hip flexors. Many people do not have a flexible enough spine to execute the roll up without using momentum. To help build strength and flexibility try bringing the mat to your body, by adding a small pillow or folded towel where your spine is less flexible. Many people think quick moves equals more burn, but slow, steady movements work the deep core muscles to their fullest ability.

So I can’t touch my toes.

15 December, 2013 Priya Tew

One of my recent posts looked at hamstrings, how they may become tight, how to test and how to stretch them back out. Keeping on that theme lets think about where else you may have tight, short muscles that could affect your posture and body functioning.

Here is today’s test… can you touch your toes? Many people I teach can’t touch their when they start in Pilates…. now instantly you may think this is due to tight hamstrings but it’s not always the case. There can be quite a few structures in your “posterior chain” that are limiting your movement. This is especially true if you have a job that requires you to sit down or drive for long periods of time.

Lets break it down…

Your calves (gastrocnemius muscles) cross the knee joint, so tightness there can make keeping your knees straight harder than it should be.

The connections from your hip/bum muscles (glutes, piriformis) can affect the ease in which your pelvis tilts, so affecting how you bend forward at the hip.

Tightness or restrictions in your lower back and pelvis. These can cause increased tension throughout your hips and legs. Often warming up the spine there can lead to more movement and flexibility. It can be interesting to compare your movement before and after a class, often without any stretching you will be able to go further in the movment of touching your toes.

Finally it may also be due to tight hamstrings, learn how to stretch them here.

So if you can’t touch your toes there are many reasons why this may be, the main thing to do is to stretch regularly and use Pilates exercises to help with posture, strength and alignment.

Author: Priya Tew