10 MINUTE WORKOUTS: PILATES & YOGA

Classes are quiet & clients tend to go away during the summer so August is an ideal time for me to get away too!  Although I’m sure many of you can think of lots of things you’d rather be doing, it really does pay to keep your body moving so that you don’t lose what [...]

INFLAMMATION & DISEASE

There is mounting evidence that inflammation is at the root of many diseases we see today which are increasing at an alarming rate.  Most people are unaware of this type of inflammation as it is invisible, unlike the swelling you would see as a result of an injury. Acute Inflammation  Inflammation is the body’s response [...]

TOP 5 REASONS FOR GOING ON A RETREAT

Vitalflow Pilates & yoga retreats combine holiday with health, fitness and wellbeing.  This type of break is becoming increasingly popular as we look for ways to combat stress and improve our lives.  We all have good intentions, but these are sometimes hard to stick to whilst we are having to deal with the busy routine [...]

PAINFUL KNEES: 5 IMPORTANT CONSIDERATIONS

Knee problems are common and clients often complain of achy or painful knees.  Apart from some sort of trauma, it is often a result of misalignment through standing incorrectly or muscle imbalances.  For example, a client complained that her son was unable to do any sports at school because he would be in tears with [...]

PILATES & YOGA: ENHANCE SPORTS PERFORMANCE

People have discovered the core stability concept and are slowly realising that the core is linked to everything in the body.  Both disciplines will help any sportsman because you improve posture, you start to integrate your core stabilisers and the breathing aspect of Pilates and yoga causes the ribcage to expand, thereby increasing your VO2 [...]

MEDITATION: BODY SCANNING

At the end of a class, we often start the relaxation by observing how the body feels – sometimes starting a class like this can focus the mind for the class ahead.  This meditation requires the sharp focus of the mind and the total relaxation of the body whilst we move rapidly from one area [...]

HYPERMOBILITY & THE UNSTABLE SPINE

It wasn’t until I started teaching Pilates and yoga that I came across hypermobility.  In the days of high impact aerobics, step, legs/bums/tums, gym and sports, the opposite was far more likely.  People would leave my classes before the final stretch because they found it boring!  But being too mobile is just as much of [...]

IRRITABLE BOWEL SYNDROME (IBS)

What is it?  IBS  is a disorder of the gut (from the mouth to the anus) whereby the structure of the gut looks normal, but there is a functional problem.  What are the symptoms? Pain and discomfort in the abdomen which comes and goes and varies in length and severity from bout to bout and [...]

ACHILLES TENDONITIS: SYMPTOMS, TREATMENT, PREVENTION

Stretching before exercise is a bit of a controversial subject, but if you want to avoid the pain of achilles tendonitis I think it is essential: a brief warm up, get the joints moving and give those legs a good stretch before taking off for a workout.  See the video this week for a couple [...]

5 TOP TIPS TO HELP YOU LOSE WEIGHT FOREVER

This is so easy, healthy and leads to permanent weight control – so long as you continue with the rules. Nothing new and you’ll wonder why you didn’t do it sooner. These changes are so small, you won’t even notice some of them, yet over time, the results are amazing. Forget strict, faddy diets and [...]

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