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3 Steps To A New You In The New Year

 in Health / Uncategorized by

Now Is The Time Now is the time!! just leave all the excuses behind, it’s okay to leave them in last year, because this is now a new year, and isn’t it time that you created a NEW YOU ??? STEP 1 is determining ” WHAT DO YOU WANT?” This is the very first question I ask my coaching clients. Do you want to lose weight ? do you want to exercise more ? do you want to eat healthier food ? do you want to learn how to stress less and laugh more ?  I know for a fact that you CAN […]

HEALTH BENEFITS OF PILATES BREATHING

 in Health / Pilates / Uncategorized  tagged Pilates / pilates breathing by

I know I bang on about breathing but here are a few more good reasons to master the art of quality Pilates breathing:- Teaches Quality Breathing Not just any breathing, but quality full breath. In Pilates breathing we breath in through the mouth to a count of 5, then fully exhale out the mouth to a count of five. A strong focus is on fully exhaling before the next intake of breath. Expands and Stretches The Intercostal Muscles The breathing releases the thoracic spine and rib cage allowing a free range of movement in the lumbar and cervical regions.  It […]

5 Secrets to Managing Stress

 in Health / Pilates / Uncategorized by

Really ? Only 5 Well I could go on with many more, however that would just become too stressful. Stress is a funny thing, it can be triggered by the smallest thing and at other times those small things don’t bother us at all. Take this morning, here I am, all ready planned and organised to write my long overdue blog and newsletter. I have paid staff to run the Pilates studio, I have given up my morning yoga (something I struggled with for days making the decision)  and all of a sudden there are “THINGS” here at home that […]

Are You Still Suffering From Chronic Back or Neck Pain?

 in Back Pain / Health / Pilates / Uncategorized  tagged back pain / chronic back pain / Degenerative disc disease / neck pain / Pilates by

It is possible that you have degenerative disc disease. Degenerative disc disease (DDD) is a condition affecting any part of the spine that is most often associated with aging and most commonly presents itself in the lumbar (lower back) or cervical spine (neck). It is in most cases a natural part of the breaking down of the body that we experience as we grow older. However DDD is found in all age groups, even a young 20 year old can experience this problematic condition, a young person can inherit a prematurely aging spine.   To understand DDD it is important […]

To Trapeze or Not To Trapeze

 in Health / Pilates / Uncategorized  tagged back pain / Pilates by

Have you ever done something that you know you shouldn’t? Well I guess the answer to that is yes, seeing as it is a human trait, and I am guessing you are human.  When on holidays recently in Bintan Island Indonesia, I was faced with a decision whether to participate in circus trapeze or not. You know those instances, when you are surrounded by friends and you want to join in but know you really shouldn’t do it. The Circus Master was stating out loud and clear “ if you have any back, neck, shoulder or wrist injuries you should […]

Where Are You Cheating in Pilates or Life ?

 in Health / Pilates / Uncategorized  tagged Pilates by (updated 2355 days ago)

I often say to my clients in Pilates class, when I am talking about a particular movement “you can do this the cheating way or the Pilates way”. The cheating way is when you let the dominant muscles do all the work therefore making the movement appear somewhat easier or we can do it the Pilates way and fully engage the stabilising muscles that the practise focuses on.  Pilates is energetically expensive Pilates is energetically expensive because it works your muscle groups in both directions. If we are doing an abdominal curl, we fully engage up and fully engage back, with no […]

Power Up Your T Line

 in Back Pain / Health / Pilates / Uncategorized  tagged Pilates by (updated 2745 days ago)

You may be wondering, what the hell is the T-line? The T-Line engagement is the building block to your core strength and managing your back pain. T Line is Pilates speak for the engagement of the Tranverse Abdominis otherwise known as the TA. Without proper lower abdominal engagement, you will not effectively build your core strength. What will happen is, you will have other more dominant muscles take over, creating muscle imbalances, you also run a very high risk of injury.  Engaging the T-Line is crucial to managing back pain, it is like the bottom layer of the pyramid and without […]

8 Myths Busted About Pilates

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As a Pilates instructor I often get asked the same questions over and over again. The following are a few of the most common asked, I trust this will clear up some of your questions… It’s Too Hard Pilates can be a challenging exercise movement, but with the correct instruction you will learn to engage the correct muscles and use the breathing pattern to support yourself. This will accelerate your results and progress in no time. You Need Equipment  Jospeh Pilates first created the movements in a hospital bed by rigging up pullies to help the patients exercise. He then […]

We Have a Worldwide Postural Crisis

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I usually like to write positive type blogs and though this one may not change the world, I trust the following will spur you a little to take action. All too often it is apparent to me that we all spend far too much time sitting in a hunched forward position in front of a PC. It is one of the downfalls of the modern age of technology, we have a worldwide postural crisis happening in just about every house and office in the country and beyond.  One of the easiest things we can do to prevent this, is by bringing our […]

Which Path Will You Take?

 in Uncategorized by (updated 2163 days ago)

Today I went on a beautiful morning bike ride down to Coolum Beach. My ride started out perfectly, it was a fine, warm morning, the sky was blue and I could see the ocean every now and then, when there was a break in the bushes. When I changed pathways over to the other side of the road, the path became very uncomfortable and jarring. It was hurting my arms and my back as it was a poorly laid path, very narrow and uneven. I persevered for a while until I realised that I was no longer enjoying what started […]