WOWSERS, I mean literally WOWSERS! We have been overwhelmed with the number of new Pilates enquiries, you lot are fitness crazy at present, it’s almost as if it’s the start of the New Year and there are some Resolutions being made…..oh hang on, that just may be it 😉
Before I get swept up in the excitement I wanted to say a HUGE THANKYOU to all of you who have been faithfully coming to classes over the past year. It’s been a real journey this year and we’ve just been riding the wave and seeing where it goes. It turns out that there is a lot of Pilates love around and as it is a complete pleasure running classes for such lovely people we are putting on new ones.
Pilates with Priya: Some photo of our classes in 2012
To start off 2013 we are running:
Sun 10-10.45am Beginners class  (FULL for Jan)
Wed 5-6pm Beginners class at EXILE Gym, Shirley.
Thurs 7-7.45pm  Beginners class (FULL for Jan)
Thurs 11.30-12.15 Post natal class for mums and babies
If there is enough interest we’d also love to put on :
Wed 9.45-10.15 Toddler Ballet
Please spread the word for us and we so appreciate your support!
It’s amazing. The more I do Pilates, the more I learn and the more I learn, the more I fall in love with it all over again.
This week I’ve been tired. Toddler is teething and waking in the night. My health isn’t in the best of places. Teaching 10 Pilates classes plus 2 Step and some one to one sessions has felt like it should be too much. You know what – it has actually refreshed me and held me together.
My aches, pains, clicks and gripes usually get soothed and sorted by Pilates. Some of that is down to working hard, but a lot of that is down to the posture and poise I automatically adopt in class and when thinking about Pilates.
How many of you hunch over a desk, walk around with your pelvis/bum stuck out or cross your legs a lot? It all leads to tightness in some areas and lengthened, weak muscles in other areas. As an instructor I’m quite in tune with my body….most of the time. But at the end of a busy day when I’m tired my weaknesses slip through – I know I stick my pelvis out, am slightly lordotic and tense my shoulders. It’s a continual work in progress to counteract it all, but when I do, the results are noticeable. I feel more relaxed, less stressed and habe no back pain!
Think about your poise…..how do you sit…..how do you walk…..how do you stand…..? Is your body aligned (a plumb line from ear, through shoulder, through knee to ankle), is your pelvis in neutral, are your hips level, your shoulders relaxed? Release that tension.
Why do people do Pilates with me? It can be for all kinds of reasons, but one of the most common is back ache or being told to by an osteopath/chiropracter/physiotherapist. I find the men tend to creep into classes looking slightly embarassed about it, but after a few weeks realise it’s actually quite hard work and really helps.
What I then love about Pilates is how it gives unexpected results by helping people in other areas too… like in this story below. The man in question came due to back pain but is finding it helps his waterskiing. Which it should 🙂 Yay!
Did you know the GB 2012 Olympic Diving team have a Pilates instructor? True Fact, I met someone who worked with them on the team who was telling me all about it.
Here’s a little testimonial from a man who does Pilates with me, I think it’s a pretty good advert for Pilates 🙂
Pilates with Priya: Pilates helps Waterskiing
“A little over a year ago I was seeing an osteopath because of back ache that had been troubling me for several months. One of the first things that he said to me was that I would really benefit from doing pilates. Very soon after I started classes with Priya. Since starting pilates I can honestly say that I have not suffered any significant back pain at all.”
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I am a qualified waterski coach and I slalom ski three or four times a week in the summer. This is an extremely demanding sport, which involves high stresses and strains on the body as one is pulled from around 34mph to 60mph and back to 34mph in just over 2 seconds. This requires a great deal of core stability and I have to say that pilates has been the perfect compliment for it. I regularly use pilates exercises for warming up and warming down. I would say, in fact, that pilates would be a very helpful aid in training for almost any sport.
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I only took up pilates in an attempt to address a long standing problem but to be quite honest, as well as really significant increase in my flexibility, and core strength, I have been very surprised about the impact that pilates has had on my performance, fitness and recovery from injury and I would, and in fact do, recommend it to anyone who will listen! “
Our first EVER Pilates with Priya DVD master has just been driven off to the man who will make it into many DVD’s and add all the artwork. It’s all quite exciting, in fact I’m having to make myself breathe and sit down with a cup of tea whilst I write this.
We’ve kept the DVD quite simple, like my classes, easy to follow, easy to listen to and perhaps even easy on the eye (that may be taking it a bit too far – it’s me on the DVD).
The DVD is designed for use at home in between Pilates classes, suitable for those with a little Pilates experience at a beginner or intermediate level.
It will retail at £12.50 for current studio clients (BARGAIN) or £17.50 for everyone else plus £2.50 P&P if you aren’t local.
I shall be adding a way to pay through the website and am taking pre-orders now.
Some of you know that I’ve been working on my first Pilates DVD, pretty exciting. It’s all come about because some of YOU asked for it, I love that, so you asked for it….and now I’ve done it!
I’ve so far only got the pre-approval version in my happy hands and now I have to work out how to duplicate and make DVD sleeves etc… however I’m hoping that we shall be offering a weblink to those of you who are 1) Eager Beavers and want it NOW or 2) techno savvy and want to watch it on your tablet/phone rather than use a DVD player.
So here’s  a sneak preview of the menu (excuse the bad photo, taking a photo of your computer screen leads to this):
Pilates with Priya DVD Menu
The video was shot in my studio. Then we did a voice-over afterwards so you get a cool, calm, collected version of Priya with no muddled lefts/rights/arms/legs and other words that my regulars will know all about….I’m far from perfect, yet I know it.
Here’s a pic of us doing the voice-over:
Pilates with Priya voiceover 1Pilates with Priya voiceover 2
So copies will be on sale soon…. get ready people.
Contact Us
To book onto a class or for massage please contact Priya (best by text/email).
