Back Pain - "The truth behind bulging discs" I get so many enquiries every week about clients wanting to start pilates and yoga for back pain. Social media and the national press have done studios and teachers a great favour by promoting lots of articles. However there are a few important facts. People are forever [...]
As we head into Summer at my studio clinics, enquiries for Pilates, GYROTONIC, Yoga and CHEK coaching always go through the roof. Summer has always been the busiest month of the year for me. The warm weather makes us shed our clothes and draws our attention to our exposed sun bodies. The most common enquiry [...]
The squat is one of the most used Primal Patterns® movements and yet is most poorly performed by people. Since we have progressed to sitting on chairs, driving and spending endless hours seated we have actually regressed in our range of motion. Every [...]
While presenting earlier on this year at the British Fascia Sympoium, I was fortunate enough to meet Dr. Wilbour Kelsick. A veteran member of the official staff for the Canadian National and Olympic teams. Dr. Kelsick believes that optimal health is the result of balance in several areas of life. Wilbur looked at fascial training [...]
We all make choices every day from what we eat, to what we do with our will power and who and what we wish to love. Everything in the world around us is constantly changing, and with the process of change we have to make new choices. We are all on a path of navigation [...]
Have you heard the term ‘The three diaphragms?’ Well we actually have four main ones in total – the cranial, cervical, thoracic, and the pelvic diaphragm. I have actually seen literature talking about five, six, seven and eight diaphragms.They come together in all movement particularly on inhalation and exhalation when the pressure is transmitted through [...]
It seems that everyone around us is selling us fast products with fast results to keep up with our busy lifestyles. We are being sold ideologies of the perfect life, body, garden, house, car, family, job. We seem to to feed on an endless line of stimulants from coffee, constant high intensity exercises, sugar, sports [...]
If you come to any of my private or group sessions you will see that I never teach flexion in the traditional pilates series from the floor or crunch type movements. I have attended many types of movement sessions around the world where I see participants straining their neck and being told to build strength [...]
Breathing - Part 2 The abdominals as well as the diaphragm play an important role in respiration. The abdomen can be likened to a liquid filled, flexible container, which can change its shape but not its volume (i.e. is non compressible). In contrast, the thorax can be compared to a gas filled container, which can [...]
Breathing This is one of the most basic functions in life, then why is it that most of us are breathing incorrectly? Do you know that many of us are breathing too fast, with short sharp shallow sharp bursts? Breathing affects the PH balance of the body; it’s the primary function of the diaphragm. Stress [...]
