Pilates


HEALTH BENEFITS OF PILATES BREATHING

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 […]


Are You Still Suffering From Chronic Back or Neck Pain?

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

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 ?

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

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 […]