Studio News | Pilates with Priya

Back to Term, Sept 2022 Classes

30 August, 2022 Priya Tew

What a glorious summer it has been, whilst the studio has remained open with our zoom classes running too, it has definitely been quieter. I’ve been practicising Pilates whilst camping in Dorset, on the paddleboard in the river and on the beach, you can see a few flows below.

Our classes are back full steam ahead from September, it is a perfect time to join us as a beginner as we will be going BACK TO BASICS and focusing on that all important technique again. So if you have never tried Pilates, now is the time to come along.

Classes are in person, over zoom and also recorded for you to do again, do an extra class or to catch up on. We’ve a huge screen in the studio so the teachers can really keep that eagle eye on you. Our class timetable is here. We have beginner, intermediate, advanced, pregnancy, postnatal and gentler classes with clients from 11yrs – over 70yrs!

If you are new to us or have been around for years, myself and the team cannot wait to welcome you back with big smiles and holiday tales. So if know you are going to need a ray of sunshine in your week as the Autumn approaches, pilates can help!

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Getting the most out of Online Classes

29 July, 2020 Priya Tew

Lockdown has really opened up the online world, with gyms reopening are you ready to go back or are you loving online? Personally I love the convenience of online classes and the chance to access workshops I wouldn’t otherwise be able to. There are now so many different ways to access Pilates and fitness classes online. They vary in price, platform and the way they are taught, so which is the best option for you?

Having taught Pilates online throughout the Covid-19 time and having also attended a number of other people’s classes throughout this time too here is my run down on the options.

Live Streaming vs On Demand:

Live streaming really does make you feel you are part of something and it can make you attend! If you have it scheduled in your diary and the class is live then there is more of an obligation to be there (albeit on a screen).
On demand is fabulous if you have an ever changing schedule, are working around a family or just want to catch up in your own time. In my classes we’ve had children join in, pets and even my chickens made an appearance.
Ideally you probably want the luxury of both options. A live streamed class that you can attend if you are able but if you can’t make it then the option to watch it on demand.

Seen vs Hidden:

Having a platform where the instructor can see you can be so very valuable. There are a couple of ways this can be done. A large class will mean you get the interaction but it won’t be very personalised. You will get the buzz and fun still.
A small class where you can be seen will mean the teacher can ask you if you have any injuries, adapt the class to suit you, offer corrections and technique adjustments and converse with you. A lot more like being in an actual class.

As a teacher being able to see people brings me joy! As much as I love teaching online I really like to be able to converse with the people I’m teaching and alter the class to suit them as we go. Being able to see how people are moving shows me what needs to be worked on so I can plan this in for subsequent classes.
There can be a real community from Zoom style classes. The chatter before and after connects you together and builds those friendships. Building on this a facebook/whatsapp group can be used to continue the chatter between classes. I’ve actually found lockdown has lead to seeing more people from classes I don’t normally teach and for more connection.

Screen and Access:

It can be handy to think about where you are going to do the class and how you will watch it. Your phone screen is handy when you are travelling or not at home but really too small to see the detail. Having a tablet, a laptop or linking to the TV is better.
Space to exercise safely can be an issue. There have been some amazing creative solutions over lockdown. Think about an outside space, driveway, kitchen, bedroom floor.
Get your own equipment. Whilst you can adapt and use things around the house it makes it a nicer experience to have your own mat, band and head cushion. It’s like getting new workout clothes, always makes you enjoy your workout more.

The classes from Pilates with Priya are aimed at moving you forward in your Pilates journey, helping you move better and release tension and pain from your body. Therefore we like to be able to see you and get feedback, but you also get our classes on demand for later too. You will often see our teachers up close to the screen getting a clear view or asking how things feel. It is not about just exercise but technique and lockdown has shown that you can achieve that through a screen. Whilst it is always nicer to be in person with some creativity you can get the benefits online too.

If you would like to join us then please do get in touch. I have 3 tiers of monthly membership starting from just £10 a month.

We have moved ONLINE

30 March, 2020 Priya Tew

It’s been a whirlwind turnaround but I’m super proud and pleased to say that although sadly the studio is physically closed we are not actually closed! Our classes are running online in a variety of ways. Pilates is a fabulous way to destress, clear your mind and keep moving during this tricky time. I know from the kind messages I get that it is keeping a lot of people going right now.

After a week of testing the technology from the studio and almost getting on top of it, lockdown hit and now all teachers are teaching from their homes. Which means you still get to see your favourite teacher but it may look and feel a little different. What we are finding is teaching online is quite intimate. We get to see you in your home, you get to see us in ours and its kinda nice. You can come to class in your PJs, with your children, pets or your favourite drink.

Plus, if you miss your actual class, not to worry as right now to help us all through this time, you get full access to all the classes that are taught in the studio, on a catch up basis. So you can log into our studio facebook group and view them there, or most classes are also being added to the membership portal. All for the usual monthly price of one class.

If you have any friends who have wanted to try Pilates then this is a great time to do so and they can be based anywhere! We will have some induction sessions running online and then they can join the normal classes for £35 a month or have access to just the membership portal for £10 a month.

Top Tips from our Teachers

3 August, 2018 Priya Tew

Priya

Do some practice at home. Pilates is like learning a new language, the more you practice, the more you learn.

Now it is common sense that the more often you practice something the better you become at it. Therefore doing some Pilates practice between classes will help you massively. If you can practice lying in neutral and breathing, correcting your posture and a move that you enjoyed in class it will help. Check out our youtube channel for videos and sequences you can try.

Jo

Slow down and breathe, breathe, breathe. Pilates is a marathon and not a sprint.

Breathing is obviously something that we do all the time but we don’t always take the time to do properly. Focus on the breath going into your ribs, so they expand out to the side. The breath also expands your tummy and your back too.

Mandie

I always talk about rib cage placement. In all posts avoid the ribs flaring out, instead bury them down towards your hipbones so the abdominals engage.

If your ribs flare up when you lift your arms or legs, concentrate on there being a heaviness on your chest and your core engaging more. It may also be you need to reduce the range of movement in your shoulders and legs.

Faye

Check in with yourself from time to time through your day. How are you standing or sitting? Are you shallow breathing? When you can only attend one class a week, it’s these daily tweaks that really help to make a difference”

A focus on your posture is so key. What you do in class is a tiny fragment of your week, so finding the posture cues you need to work on is totally crucial. Whether it is adjusting your head position or bringing your pelvis into neutral more often. It all makes a difference.

Top Pilates Buys

25 July, 2017 Priya Tew

Pilates is one of those exercises that can be done on a complete shoe string. You don’t need any fancy equipment or snazzy clothing. You don’t NEED it, but sometimes it helps.

Here are the top 5 Pilates bits and bobs that I wouldn’t be without.

Thick Mat.

Do you need a mat at home? Hmmmm, I would say yes you can do. I sometimes try moves out when prepping for a class and don’t have a mat to hand and it is an altogether different experience. A mat offers a non slip surface and extra cushioning, it offers safety and gives you a set space to exercise on. That extra cushioned mat really makes all the difference for some of the rolling moves and the prone positions. So it is worth investing in a mat you love and a mat that brings you comfort. Personally I would steer away from anything less than an 8mm thick mat. Lots of the yoga mats are quite thin, which from my understanding is to keep you connected to the groud. Pilates is not yoga, you need that extra padding!

We have the Airex Coronella mats in the studio which are not cheap, but you can get a decent one on Amazon for a good price if you search for a thick pilates mat.

Toesox.

Now people who know me will know I’m always in my toesox for class. Why? They provide a great balance of grip for exercises like planks, yet let your feet slide along the mat for other moves. The toe separation thing looks weird and initially feels weird, but spreading those toes can help with your alignment and enables you to get better feedback through your foot. Normal socks constrict the toes so they cannot move normally. Foot issues can be linked to back pain and affect the rest of the body so it’s a great foundation to focus on. If you get weirded out by the toes then go for a lightly grippy soled sock. Either way socks are best for a lot of Pilates moves, it’s not just us being fussy in the studio with our sock rule 😉

If you are local to us then we stock these in our studio, or you can buy online from Pilates Mad and use the code PRIYATOESOX for 10% off.

Spikey ball.

These babies are amazing. Pop one in your bag and you can give yourself a massage wherever you are! Great on the feet, shoulders, neck and bum but can be used all over.

Good quality leggings.

Now I’m all for a bargain in life. But I’ve learnt now, pilates leggings need to be good leggings and it’s worth spending a bit more on them and checking them regularly. I see lots of leggings that are see through or have holes! One of my teaching friends uses the hashtag #leggingsarenottrousers which I agree with to an extent. If you have decent leggings then they can be passable on the school run too. Plus if you have fancy leggings life is just that bit better – or is that just me?!

I am an ambassador for Elle Sport and you can get 20% off using code 20PTAW16 (including sale items). I also particularly like the range over at Tikiboo

Resistance Band.

So versatile and great for stretching as well as adding resistance to those pilates moves. This is one great piece of kit as a band folds up so small so you can take it away with you on trips. Really useful for stretching your hamstrings after travelling or a day of sitting. Also fabulous for toning the arms and for adding variety to a range of pilates exercises. You can pick these up online pretty easily or come to the studio and we have a stock of them.

I’d love to know what pieces of Pilates kit you love…

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Children’s Pilates is Starting!

6 June, 2017 Priya Tew

After much nudging and poking from my own daughter and other mummies, I’ve finally taken the plunge to put on a children’s Pilates class. My own girl loves Pilates and often asks to come into a class. She actually really gets the concept of it and it helps her move more, stretch and slow her busy mind down too.

Theses classes will be focused on partner work, posture, stretching, functional movements and chilling out. Mindfulness is the buzz word right now, we will be using body movements in a calm, flowing way to relax the mind and hopefully the children will really benefit from this and sleep well!

Get in touch if your child would like to come along.

Pilates for Dancers – Dance Circle Day.

4 June, 2017 Priya Tew

What an honour to be asked to teach at the first Southampton Dance Circle Day on May 30th 2017. This was an event run by local dance teachers, all working together to put on a great event for any children in their dance schools and in the local area. I love the collaborative nature of this, the non-competitiveness and the sheer passion the teachers all have.

Pilates is well known to have amazing benefits for dancers. Joseph Pilates himself worked dancers and in fact for a while Pilates was taken over by the dance world. So without a doubt Pilates can help children in dance too. I was excited and slightly nervous to see how a Pilates class would go down in a day of other exciting dance classes. I was part of an amazing line up including: Ballet/Contemporary with Louis McMiller (Royal Ballet Grad), Contemporary with Amy J Ireland, Musical Theatre with Sarah Evans (recommended by West End Star Ricky Rojas), Tap with Viki (trained with Tap Attack), Hip Hop with Cesa Hijo de Lalan.

The children there were a pleasure to be with. The older ones really worked hard and I could see them taking what I was saying on board. I was able to push them quite hard and they even posed nicely for the local paper!

The middle group of children had the definite mid afternoon slump session and so Pilates was great for them as they got a little lie down and some super stretching was done.

The tiny ones were super cute to teach, I could have cuddled them all! At the end of a very busy and active day a few were almost asleep but they gave such concentration to the class, I was super impressed.

Thankyou so much for asking me to come along and teach, I hope the children enjoyed it. Some of the feedback that I have heard so far is it made some of them feel all calm and relaxed, which is a good thing in my book! Maybe we should add in some mindfulness next time too.

Next Dance Circle Day is October half term. I know I will be booking my girl on it.

If you are interested in a Children’s Pilates class then do get in touch, we are launching one soon!

Reformer Pilates March Madness

6 March, 2017 Priya Tew

OH MY DAYS. We are SO SO lucky. We now have a reformer and a half Cadillac in our 1-2-1 studio. A friend reminded me yesterday how I have been talking about having one of these for around 4 years, finally the day has come.

The reformer is pretty much like a bed with pulleys and springs, which means you work against resistance. This makes you focus on your technique a lot more, makes you work harder and gives a greater depth to a lot of the exercises and amazing stretches.

The cadillac is a frame that goes over the bed, with bars and springs you can pull on that give beautiful length and enable you to go further in movements.

Both of these pieces of equipment were designed and used by Joseph Pilates himself and are just awesome for focusing on your body, working your weak areas, stretching the tight areas and getting stronger session by session. You really will see and feel a difference with it.

I’d highly recommend you give it a go hence we are offering it at a special rate in March. Personally I find doing some sessions now and again on the reformer makes a huge difference to how I then do Pilates on the mat. It also help me work on the imbalances in my body – shoulder tighness, leg length, tight hip flexors, tight back etc…

If you even just want to have a peek and a 5 min lie down on it after class let us know.

You can guess where I am spending all my spare time at the moment!

The story of a man taking up Pilates

28 October, 2015 Priya Tew

We have run our home business for over 5 years now, and for several years, I have been badgered to take up Pilates regularly. This has come from both Priya and some of our lovely class members…I have always found reasons and excuses not to regularly take up a class.

But to be completely honest, I have needed it for years.
Before, I used to work, in a semi-active job and was on my feet regularly, and walking around campus.
Since 2010 I have predominantly been working from home, and helping bring up my two amazing children.
Lots of sitting, crawling, playing on the floor (and that’s just the children…)

About 3 months ago, I decided to stop procrastinating…

It’s tough. There you go. I admitted it…
I have chosen a class with Jo on a Wednesday evening.
I know where my core is, and in the past it has been in tip top shape, but over the years, I have become lazy, and taken short-cuts which has had negative effects on posture, core, and muscles.
I have found out (though I was not surprised) that I have tight hamstring muscles. Embarrassingly tight. My straight leg, is more 125 degrees than 180 degrees…

Though on the bright side of life, my best exercise (as quoted by Jo) is the Mermaid (or a theme of it)…
Yes, I said it, I am good at being a MERMAID!!!

My favourite exercise is…. I have not idea… I just do as I am told!

On a serious note, I love it. After a busy few days, I love my Wednesday evenings…

Time to wind down, chill out, and improve my Core…

If I could, I’d probably try to do it 2-3 times a week.

This has been on my doorstep for over 5 years, and I had previously only attended 3 classes. Ever.Why didn’t I start earlier….!?

Pimp Your Pelvic Floor Was a Success!

27 September, 2015 Priya Tew

This week we ran our first Pimp Your Pelvic Floor workshop. In fact it was our first every Pilates workshop!

We had 5 ladies, 4 of whom were already mums and 1 of who was 36 weeks pregnant with twins! Plus we had the company of a beautiful 11 week old baby 🙂

I so so so enjoyed this workshop. It was amazing to share knowledge, pass on tips, get feedback from the ladies and then run a practical side to the session.

We spent time on the anatomy of the pelvic floor and then looking how it functions as a part of the whole body. This part especially I find important. The pelvic floor doesn’t work in isolation does it, it works under loads and under pressure as we walk, lift, cough, jump and move everyday. Looking at the models of the pelvis showed us all how the pelvic floor really is affected by movements we do and is connected to the body.

The feedback has been really good with participants ranking the workshops as excellent. We hope to run these regularly – so don’t worry if you haven’t been able to book on yet.

Looking forward to running the next one in October 🙂

Category: Studio News