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Breathing. I'm very good at it, I've been doing it for over 45 years now. Deep, shallow, deliberate, I was particularly good at well placed deep sighs when I was a teenager, I have all the skills, heck I even teach people about breathing! I'm a rockstar at breathing. Until I stepped into a round pen with a small grey stallion. I had been advised by my tutor that this ponies love of life and exuberance may mean a pair of high kicking back heels, a squeal many a teenage girl

Resistance.  Assistance. Persistance. There is no doubt in my mind that without these 3 things my recovery from severe injury would not have been achieved as successfully. The “Resistance and Assistance” of the Apparatus springs, and the persistance to use them regularly. February1st, 2008 I had a debilitating ski accident. My left leg was 180* rotated below the knee. My tibial plateau had imploded, there was a spiral fracture down the rest of the tibia and my Fibula was i

I had never felt a huge desire to be a parent, whereas friends of mine were very clear from a young age it was what they wanted. For me, that burning ache had never yet materialised. I had been completely honest with my husband from the beginning about my feelings, when he proposed it was with the understanding that I didn’t want children. A few years later I was on a car journey with a close friend, My friend explained that after a heart-breaking number of IVF cycles she h

It continually saddens me to see comments on social media that denigrate other users. Why is it so hard for some to appreciate and honour others and their work? We are all working towards something and so it is not ok to try and improve your own sense of self worth or perceived value by treading all over others in your ambitious haste. It's never to your benefit and inevitably works against you. You cannot improve your status by belittling someone else. Your light will not

"I was tired. I needed a shake up. I was in danger of stagnating, the worst thing that you can allow to happen to your teaching. I needed a break, I needed to be taken out of my comfort zone, shaken vigorously, not stirred and given new learning experiences. I have my regular lessons and I attend courses and workshops as often as possible. Yet  I knew I needed a period totally given over to my own learning. You could even say "to be selfish."  It is not easy leaving your Hus

Our weekend had been set aside for teaching our 4 year old twins how to ride their new pedal bikes. As they were highly proficient on their balance bikes, we were determined they would make the transition to 'big' bikes without the use of stabilising wheels and that it would be relatively easy with only the occasional tumble and tears. Imagine my surprise when on my sons very first attempt, my husband started frantically waving his arms and shouting my name. I looked up, exp

Truth Time I love my kids, I had no idea how much that love would keep increasing day by day. Since I had my kids my home is dirtier, my language is cleaner. But Parenting is not easy and it is not made easier for anyone if other women do not tell the truth. Staying at home is work. It's rewarding but exhausting. Going to work is work. It's rewarding but exhausting. Working Partime is work. Its rewarding but exhausting. Women may look at each other and think "Their gra

Goldilocks tried the first Chair and the springs were too heavy.... Goldilocks tried the second Chair and springs were too light.... Finally with hope in her heart and a spring in her step, Goldilocks tried the third Chair...  the springs were just right! And the pilates community lived happily ever after. The End

There are so many things to consider when you find out you are pregnant..., where to birth, which hospitals, what names for the twins are just a few. One of the things that my husband and I instantly agreed on was HOW we wanted to bring up these new little people. An amazing maternity nurse helped us navigate the exhausting early days when we had one twin in hospital and one at home. Her knowledge and expertise taught us a mixture of her own techniques and the usual parentin

On a warm Sunday this past summer, I found myself physically out-maneuvered by my three-year- old son. It stung. I watched him run up a slide, dart right at the top, spinning on his heel and leaping down a “reman’s pole” before cheering triumphantly.

The word “Functional” is used regularly in the fitness world, I use it myself, the use of the term itself is not in question. Functional movement is important and as Pilates teachers we should help clients improve and sustain their movement. To make the best decisions on what is appropriate for each individual client teachers need to be educated well in the repertoire, human anatomy and movement. It is critical to our professional development that we keep ourselves up to dat

Some people love exercise. Some do it after a long, tedious day of work. Others set the alarm just so they can fit in their daily routine. They have made maintaining their fitness a habit.It’s not just a matter of running on the treadmill for a few days or weeks, then giving up and using it to hang clothes on.

I was recently asked about the best teaching tool I knew, I thought long and hard about different bits of apparatus and exercises. And then it hit me. The power of "when". When to progress a client; when to regress a client; when to listen; when to observe; when to praise; when to cue or when to simply shut up and let them get on with it and move. I am always in danger of over-teaching, over complicating, over thinking. My challenge is to focus on embracing the power of "When

On a warm Sunday in August I found myself physically out manoeuvred by my 3 year old. It stung. I watched him run up a slide, dart right at the top, spin on his heel and leap down a fireman’s pole cheering triumphantly. I followed him confidently, only managing half way up the slide before I slide back down humiliated onto the grass, much to the amusement of my watching husband and friends. My insistence that I was wearing “slippery socks” was only met with laughter. I spen

I am a Pilates teacher and I am a mother. But for most of my life I insisted I did not want children because I had a career that I loved and I was frightened of how my life and ( yes, selfishly) how my body would change during and after pregnancy. Also, new-born babies make me nervous.  The worst thing a new parent could do was hand me their precious bundle of joy. To all my family and friends I have avoided after your babies were born, please accept my apology. A conversati

Summers here. Cute dresses, skimpy shorts and barely there bikinis. I love winter with knee length boots and chunky jumpers. Believe me I'm no stranger to a bikini but with grafts on my leg I can no longer safely bare my legs on a sunny day. So it's in summer that I particularly notice the media pressure to conform, to join the army of bronzed legged ballerina pump wearing perfect size 10s. The desire to look airbrushed to within an inch of ones life even when the mercury i

Today whist I was sitting reading to my 3 year old twins, something extraordinary happened. My son (who had been sitting under the coffee table listening)  suddenly appeared and asked me, "Mummy, why do people do Pilates?" Whilst I was busy picking my chin up off the floor and running through a few of my stock ‘drinks party answers’ he continued with, "Why do children do EP ?" (He actually meant to say PE, but I understood the question) Two great questions with two potentia

My birthday present to myself this year was a dissection course. Not everyone's idea of a great present I agree, but having met Gil Hedley in San Diego last November, my interest had been piqued and I felt ready to begin my journey of understanding deeper into the human body. I was advised wisely to book the shorter two day course to begin to make sure I was ready and able to enjoy it and to make the most of both a time and financial commitment. That’s how last week I foun

A trio of apparatus delivers triple the benefits, working spine extension, joint mobility and scapular stability to combat all that time you spend sitting, at the desk, in the car and at the mercy of your smart devices. The result: a sleek, sculpted lower half.