It’s Pancake Day on Tuesday, don’t forget you will need Eggs – if you are coming to classes tomorrow and want to buy some fresh ones from us, courtesy of our chickens, please do ask…we often have eggs for sale £1.50 per half dozen, all profits go to www.younghope.org supporting orphans in Sri-Lanka.
Here’s some feedback from one of my Pilates ladies…. Pilates has been pretty amazing for her, not only has her pain reduced and her mobility improved but she has lost toned up and her pelvic floor muscles have strengthened.
“With regards my back, I have been suffering with problems since July 2003. I initially hurt it bending over to lift up a laptop at work, and on other occasions, just simply getting up from a sofa, sneezing, getting washing out of the washing machine or just turning have been enough to start an episode. In the past, I have also suffered with a trapped nerve, leading to sciatica down my left leg and have often found myself laid up for a week, unable to go to work as the pain was so intense. The chiropractor diagnosed it as sacroiliac joint injury and I have attended whenever problems have flared up ever since 2003.
The most recent episode was last February, when I hurt my back loading A3 photocopier paper into the lowest drawer on the machine. I was unable to move without assistance, was taken home and had to have 3 days off work on painkillers. After this, I was seeing the chiropractor every week fortnightly, the chiropractor felt that there was a need for further action. She suggested I start Pilates classes and that if this didn’t help after a few weeks, she would book me in for an x-ray to see if there was any obvious damage to my lower spine. At this point, although I was not experiencing acute pain, I had low-level pain on a daily basis, coupled with regular painful muscle spasms in my back which seemed to occur for no reason and was unable to perform routine tasks, such as dressing, unaided.
I then started Pilates with Priya. Within two weeks, I was noticing an effect and was able to bend / lift my legs more easily. I am now able to dress myself and can (with care) do tasks such as loading and unloading the washing machine / dishwasher. I am no longer seeing the Chiropractor at all. I have also noticed a big improvement in my pelvic floor muscles and no longer have ’embarrassments’ when I cough or sneeze! My husband has commented on the reduction in size of my stomach and I have begun to notice a line of muscle running down my abdomen that I have never seen before!”
As my Pilates classes have grown and my networking has increases I’ve had more and more people being referred by Chiropractors or Physio’s. A lot of these people are coming because of back pain. What’s so exciting is to then hear and see the improvements in people after just a few sessions. So what is it about Pilates that works so well for back pain relief?
Pilates addresses the underlying structural imbalances in the body that lead to back pain. Issues like lack of core support, pelvic instability, muscular imbalances, poor posture, and lack of body awareness all affect back health.
Pilates Helps Correct Posture
In Pilates, we pay a lot of attention to how our body parts are lined up in relation to each other, which is our alignment. When alignment is off, uneven stresses on the skeleton, especially the spine, are the result. Pilates exercises, done with attention to alignment, allow movement to flow through the body in a natural way.
For example, one of the most common postural imbalances that people have is the tendency to either tuck or tilt the pelvis. Both positions create weaknesses on one side of the body and overly tight areas on the other. The spine can’t form its natural curve and you get aches and pains all up the spine and neck. Doing Pilates helps you focus on holding a “neutral spine” which means the proper placement of the spine and pelvis. Strengthening your core creates the inner strength to support the natural curves of the spine.
Pilates Develops Core Strength
Having core strength means that all of the muscles of the trunk of your body are strong, flexible, and working together to support and stabilize the spine. This goes deeper than the big surface muscles, it’s not about building “6 pack” I’m afraid! The core muscles include the muscles that are below the surface musculature. Some of these less obvious but very important core muscles are the muscles of the pelvic floor; and the psoas, which play a huge role in keeping us upright and in hip bending; which are small muscles that weave along the spine; and the transverse and oblique abdominal muscles. All of these muscles play crucial roles in the support and stability of the spine.
Pilates Promotes Flexibility
A new exciting development for Pilates with Priya in 2012…. we will be running not just Post -Natal Pilates classes but also Ante-Natal classes. Pilates was a complete saviour to me not only during pregnancy but also during labour and very much so post-birth. All those pregnancy aches and pains were minimised through Pilates. So I am so looking forward to being able to work with some mummies to be and help them with their pregnancy and prepare with labour and beyond. We will be doing exercises that are safe for your stage of pregnancy, using relaxation and breathing techniques that can help you in labour, and preparing your body for post-birth too. Pilates is safe to do all through pregnancy.
These classes will be supporting the Southampton branch of the National Childbirth Trust (NCT). This branch has done so much for me….we attended an NCT ante-natal course and then in the past year have been so well supported by the NCT groups and community. I have made some great new friends, been helped so much with my journey into mummyhood and am amazed at how much work my local branch does….so this is one way I can help give something back to help them do even more.
You do not have to be a member of the NCT to attend these classes or in fact any of the NCT groups that run across the city.
Classes will be Sundays 9.30am starting in January, please let me know if you would like to come along, £25 for 4 weeks.
Recently I’ve had 2 physiotherapists join one of my Pilates classes. Oddly they both work together, in fact sit opposite each other and have both found and joined the same class without chatting to each other about it.
I myst admit I did feel rather apprehensive when I found out I had a physiotherapist in my class, surely they already know what to do, how to do it and are more qualified than me? If I get anything wrong they are going know and pick up on it? Cue a moment of low confidence in me and my Pilates ability.
What I have found instead, is that these 2 ladies are lovely. Yes they do know more than me, but that doesn’t mean they don’t also need to practise what they preach and doing that with someone else to prompt you and challenge you can be the best way. Both ladies needed to strengthen their core and chose Pilates as they know the benefits of it from their profession. They have actually been an encouragement to me commenting on how good my teaching skills are, a real compliment. Plus I get to pick their brains and ask them Pilates and alignment questions 😉
So if Physiotherapists feel they need to attend Pilates surely that shows just how much we all need to be doing it? Come along and try out a class, taster sessions are £5.50.
Last night saw the launch of a new class for Pilates with Priya, something a little different but so, so great… Adult ballet 🙂 A great compliment to Pilates.
Now before you squirm there were no tutus, no sequins and ballet shoes optional. I’m not qualified to teach ballet, but luckily Chrissy is and she certainly put us through our paces! Focused around a barre this is a class that is focused on strength, toning and core stability. Inner thighs, outer thighs, quads and gluts are worked hard, the element of balance means your core gets activated and the positions used increase flexibility. Sounds hard, well yes it was, but in such a good way, plus it was a lot of fun. Cue much laughter and a room full of smiling ladies. No photos to show you I’m afraid, think I’ll have to wait a few weeks before a photo is allowed. None of us are going to cut it as prima ballerina’s but we are going to have fun working out and toning up. Plus in my opinion it’s a great chance to break out the legwarmers 🙂
Here’s a few comments from last night’s class:
“LOVED ballet, my thighs! I could barely drive home. They felt wibbly. “
“I hope my muscles forgive me. Ballet hilarious. Hard work but fun.“
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).
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!
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.
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.
