Author: Priya Tew

Stretching is great :)

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This week has been my first full week back doing full-on cardio classes at the gym. As many of you will know I don’t just teach Pilates… currently I teach 8 Pilates classes and then I have a back to back Step Aerobics followed by Spin session on a Tuesday and a Step followed by a Body Conditioning class on a Thursday. I love teaching these classes but they can be quite tiring so I’m trying to look after myself in between classes with good nutrition, plenty of hydration and hopefully some sleep! Having a baby means I have to dash back from classes as quickly as possible, jump in the shower and quickly feed her so she can get to sleep. What I noticed today was due to the rush home I hadn’t stretched fully and suddenly had tight, tight hamstrings…. ouch.

Tight hamstrings can affect your posture, your movement, stop you using your abdominals correctly and lead to tight back muscles. If you usually have tight hamstrings it lead to a tucked under pelvis as part of the hamstrings function is to keep the pelvis aligned. When muscles are tight, they are weak. This means they can’t hold the pelvis in position properly 🙁 So you end up with a tilted pelvis, you can’t use your core muscles properly and your body compensates, meaning it all comes out of line and you get backache.

Hoe do you know if your hamstrings are tight? Good question. According to these guys http://www.sportsinjuryclinic.net/cybertherapist/back/hamstrings/tighthams/hastringstretches.php you should be able to lie down, with one leg extended on the mat and the other leg in the air, foot towards ceiling, this leg should go to 80-90 degrees comfortably. Give it a go. Is your leg staying down on the mat? Check your spine, are you still in neutral? If the answer is No, you need to take the raised leg further away from the body and do some hamstring stretches.

So tonight at the end of Pilates we stretched out using resistance bands. It felt good. After everyone had gone I went back in the studio and had a good long stretch using a band….oh my, that was needed 🙂

If like me you rush around and sometimes, (well actually in my case often) forget to devote proper time to stretching try and build some in this weekend. Be it in front of the TV, whilst out in the garden or whilst waiting for your roast dinner to cook…your body will thank you for it!

Let me know how it goes…comment below or send me a tweet (@dietitianuk).

No classes Thursday, Friday and Saturday :(

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Hopefully all you regulars know this but there won’t be any classes this Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Usual service will be resumed Monday and I have a couple of spaces Monday 5.30pm and Monday 6.30pm if you would like to come along then instead.

If I don’t see you then make sure you get some practice in…knee folds, shoulder bridges and press ups please!

Wednesday night classes….

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Due to popular demand and a slight change around of my hours I’m going to be putting on a Wednesday 5.30pm class. This will be a class for beginners and also those with a little experience of Pilates. Three of my current clients had been coming along to a Thursday class which I have had to move to a Monday…. they weren’t keen on Mondays, so I’ve put on a special class for them and it’s almost full already. The perks of coming to small community classes, you get to have a large say in what the class does, how it’s run and therefore it ends up being well-suited to you 🙂

The Pilates initiated baby will be joining in with this class, so come expecting some entertainment too.

 

Pilates can definitely help hips!

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For the past few months I’ve been working with 2 lovely older ladies who have both had double hip replacements. I must admit I was a little dubious as to how things were going to work at the start of our time together, as I hadn’t worked with this type of hip issues before, but we have become good friends as these ladies really enjoy their classes. In fact when I had to cancel the other week they not only missed the class but felt a noticeable difference in their strength over the week.

What excites me about working with these ladies is seeing the functional difference in them. Both ladies are noticeably stronger now, their balance is improving and they feel more confident doing things like getting in and out of chairs and cars. Very excitingly both ladies can now get down to the floor unaided and one of them can get up from the floor unaided! This is a major achievement and has shown how Pilates can really strengthen bodies and change your day to day living. I’m hoping that in a few months time both ladies will be even stronger and have less pain, more mobility and flexibility too. They will be climbing mountains soon!

Sad Goodbyes and Happy Hellos

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After about 6 months of having a certain 3 mummies and their babies in my post natal class the time has come for them to return to work 🙁 Its been such a pleasure having them in the class and learning with them as our babies grow and as the class moved location and developed. In the early stages the babies all sat in their car seats and slept (well mine was in a sling), and over the months they have progressed to laying on mats, rolling over, sitting up and now crawling and standing. We have had classes where its been feed, feed, feed, other memorable moments where there have been epic dirty nappies (!) and times when all the babies have cried at once 🙁 then occasionally, and more frequently as they have got older, there have been times of peace. In those moments we have often looked at each other, savoured the time and wondered how long it would last! These 3 mummies and babies have become firm friends of mine and of each others, showing how friendships can blossom as you exercise, especially in a small class. Special thanks must go to them for supporting me and coming along, sharing their top tips and to their babies for being stars! Extra mention must go to the fabulous Daddy day-care for his expert care of our babies too.

It seems I’ve got these mummies hooked on Pilates as they have all transferred over into different classes, in fact I put new classes on to cater for them 🙂 and they are enjoying the difference of Pilates without babies.

So although it is very sad to see faces leave post natal Pilates I’m pleased to see these ladies progress and move forward, plus I have been able to take new mummies and gorgeous babies into the class. Today saw 3 new mummies come along and I got to have lovely cuddles. I’m looking forward to getting to know them and help them strengthen their bodies and tone up their core.

Here are a few photos of the babies who have moved on….

Classes and Community

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One thing I like about running my own classes is the way I can watch friendships being formed. So in my post natal classes the mums all become great at supporting each other, passing on tips and helping out with other babies. Books get swapped, recipes suggested, cups of tea are drunk (and yes we do also do pilates!).

In other groups that have been going a while there is always that hum of friendly chatter and banter through the class (the banter being at me or from me). Tips get shared, lifts are given to save petrol and too many cars, phone numbers exchanged and now food is shared as I was given a large bag of apples 🙂 Always a great way to make me smile as I’m a bit of a foodie and love fresh produce.

Tonight’s class had me in a fit of the giggles, I do feel exercise should be fun so it’s great when others agree and we take a moment to laugh at ourselves 🙂 Laughter can be a great release and stress buster.

So if you need some stress release in a friendly not too serious environment….come along, we’d love to see you.

New Classes Have Begun

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This week has seen the start of my Thurs 8pm and Sat 9.30am class. It’s been a bit of a shock to the system but an absolutely lovely one 🙂 I have loved teaching both classes. Pilates last thing at night is a great way to unwind, work out and stretch before bed, Pilates in the morning sets you up for the day. Its been lovely to have both friendly faces and new faces in both classes. I’m much looking forward to the next few weeks which see a few more people coming along to these classes, filling them up to capacity already. Pilates is popular!

How Pilates can help you.

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With new classes come new clients and a few people recently have been asking me how Pilates can benefit them, so here is a little recap for you….

(1) Mind & Focus & Clarity
Pilates exercises require you to use your brain! There’s body alignment to think about, muscles to focus on, limbs to move and breathing to perfect. It can take a while to get the hang of all of this but when you do it become relaxing and challenging all at the same time. Pilates movements are smooth, stretching, and flowing, leading to a relaxed body awareness and focused attention. The philosophy of pilates is to understand and accept your current capacities and slowly work towards improvement, rather than trying to force things. I find that focusing on feeling my muscles working and concentrating on my breathing really leaves me feeling like I’ve worked but I also feel refreshed and chilled.

(2) Spinal Stabilization
Pilates is particularly helpful to individuals with back pain or arthritis because it stabilizes and strengthens the muscles around the spine. Research shows that the transverse abdominus and multifidi muscles are involved in spinal stabilization. Following an injury, the spine can get out of alignment, either due to the injury itself or the person’s attempts to compensate by making postural changes. The deepest layer of transverse muscles in the abdomen wrap around the spine and help to stabilize it. Therefore strengthening these muscles can both prevent and diminish low back pain as well as improving posture and strength. Personally I’ve seen a lady with really hunched over shoulders and upper back (kyphosis) start to straighten out and have worked with lots of people with lower back pain who have seen significant improvements. It helped me all throughout my pregnancy and continues to help me now when I’m carrying a baby around.

(3) Core Strength
The core muscles are those in the back and abdomen. Pilates exercises strengthen these muscles, leading to better posture, better balance, flatter abs, and more resistance to injury. Over time you learn to use these muscles when doing day to day tasks. Becoming more aware of how to protect your spine and look after your body whilst moving, twisting and bending is key to preventing injuries. Many people hurt their back simply through bending over and picking up something in an unsafe way. Pilates will help build strength in your core and help teach you how to move using your core.

(4) Breathing and Relaxation
Pilates exercises require a focus on the breath as participants move with in and out breaths. This can be tricky to learn but so relaxing once you get it! Breathing may be lengthened to accommodate the movement, and awareness of breathing is enhanced. The combination of deep breathing and rhythmic stretching movements can lead to deep relaxation and stress relief.

(5) Fitness and Toning

Over time, when combined with cardiovascular exercise and a healthy eating plan Pilates will help you tone up your body and build your fitness up. I combine my Pilates sessions with running, walking, step aerobics and conditioning sessions where I do exercises such as squats, lunges, press ups and use weights. However I also like to vary things and so review what I am doing regularly and make changes to keep it interesting. My exercise has to fit around my baby, so its often involving her too.

New Classes

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Thursday evening and Saturday morning classes are just starting up, I’m very excited! My new Thursday 8pm class is currently full but let me know if you would like to go on the waiting list. Saturday mornings has a couple of spaces and this will be a great class to give you a kick start to your weekend.

Thursday 8pm and Saturday 9.30am

As always classes are small and so you get lots of help from the instructor, plus its a friendly environment to meet people and exercise all at once. I’m very pleased to have some of my post natal mummies moving into these 2 classes as they are sadly going back to work….these mummies have made good friends through Pilates and like it so much they are continuing classes, showing how good their experience has been 🙂

Baby carrying and alignment

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So I’ve certainly noticed that as my baby is getting older she is getting bigger and heavier. Those of you who know me may well smile at this as it’s a well known fact that I have a petite baby who really isn’t heavy compared to others her age 😉 But the fact remains she is getting bigger and I have been very aware that I need to be using proper alignment to carry her safely and protect my back, pelvis and shoulders. Pilates is so good at helping train your brain to think about correct alignment, it also strengthens your core so helping you lift safely and in my post natal classes we target the shoulders and arms as well. So if you manage to get to a Pilates class you will certainly be helping your body out.

The very lovely Katy Bowman has done a fab video post on how to carry your baby safely and so here it is for all of you, it made me think, hopefully it will help you too:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3CaNN8DiIn4&feature=youtu.be