Core stability and back pain

An observation I have made since teaching Pilates for over 23 years is that every single client that has come to me to learn Pilates both one-to-one and in classes who has suffered backache, and backpain there is always a weakness in the core stability and back muscles. This is always the case. The thing is you can’t do one element without the other, so you do still need the relaxation and breathing, the stretching, but the core stability and having strong deep abdominal muscles is vital as is having strong back Muscles to support both your back and body.

Here’s a few of my favourites, hope they help you. They must be done with good alignment and technique, but not just that, doing the right level for you is so important. Also depending on what the diagnosis of your back problem is depends on what you should and shouldn’t be doing, let alone if there are any other areas of problems going on as well. So if you’re not sure, always consult a doctor or relevant medical practitioners such as a physio, osteopath or chiropractor.

Even when a client is injury free, I always start with the absolute basics, because it’s vital you build a strong foundation with that good technique and alignment.

once that is achieved you can then build up through the levels of strength each week, each month and each year, this is so rewarding. Doing a whole hour of Pilates a week plus practising six minutes a day and incorporating it into your lifestyle can make a huge difference, I see this time and time again.

‘Quality of life can be found again, both in your book back, body and happiness.’

1; join in the core stability basics here

2; join in another core stability basics here, Remember quality not quantity.

3; increase your core stability strength. All fours opposite arm and leg is excellent for this. (However all exercises are best learnt with a qualified teacher such as myself) only join in if injury free or had lessons.

tips:

1 Think about how you sit, stand, walk, move and get out of bed in the morning!

2 Start your day every single day with six minutes of mindfulness Pilates and you will never look back.

You’ll have a happier back, better quality of life and even better doing a whole hour of Pilates a week makes a huge difference. Hope this weeks blog helps and inspires you, share it with your friends if you think it will help

love from Bev

Mindfulness Pilates, to reduce back pain to feel good. 

Teaching you on zoom both classes with my Pilates membership or one-to-one programmes. Includes meditation, mindset and positive affirmations, a morning routine, personal development for a work life balance to live happily ever after. 

Author & founder of the happy kids cards 

Goodbye anxiety

Anxiety is a really horrible thing, and that’s the truth of the matter. The Oxford dictionary definition of anxiety is;

‘a feeling of worry, nervousness, or unease about something with an uncertain outcome’

There are many levels of anxiety and how it affects people, and I’m discovering more and more that it’s something I love to help people with in my mindfulness Pilates work, because it’s much more than just helping somebody with their back and body, my approach is actually helping people with their entire life including their happiness, confidence and calm and this is truly rewarding, I seem to be helping more more people either reduce anxiety or say goodbye to anxiety altogether.

These are things that I have personally suffered from in the past, in particular depression and anxiety after a road traffic accident in 1997, when I experienced severe post-traumatic stress after a road traffic accident in Australia, which also led to major anxiety and severe panic attacks. With the right professional help and seeing the doctor, I healed, It did take time and Pilates was part of that healing journey. I think it’s always good to get to the root of the problem with the anxiety and depression and often this can occur in a multitude of ways.

I always recommend seeing a doctor if you’re suffering from anything from anxiety to any pain you’re suffering from, that’s always a very good starting point, however there are also other things that can help such as meditation, and the exciting thing is doctors, the NHS are recommending these sorts of things as well as they have research to back up that they help reduce symptoms which is really good.

Meditation is part of mindfulness Pilates, and as well as the exercise where you’re concentrating on your breathing throughout every single exercise, stretch. Meditation is also included as well as positive affirmations, when we get worried & anxious, is gives rise to negative thinking

Don’t let negative thinking have a party in your mind, it’s stifling’

it’s important to be able to relax, meditate, exercise & switch off more easily, also to challenge your thinking with affirmations and gradually change the negative Bla bla bla with kinder more positive language.

I also find personal development exercises of 1 minute journalling, goal setting and visualisation for your personal life and work to help you make the day as positive and good as possible. my sports science degree demonstrated this in a sports & exercise setting but research now shows it effective and inspirational in business, work & your personal life. It’s powerful transformational stuff

Breathe and relax

Today I received this heartwarming testimonial from a client Claire which I’m truly grateful for to say that her anxiety has completely gone since working together and I can see happiness exude from her now every time we meet for Pilates.

Here is Claire’s story, may help and inspire you toHere is Claire’s story may help and inspire you too, write if it does!

‘At the beginning of the year I was feeling very down. I felt extremely anxious about growing old. I turned 40 in February. I hate the thought of getting old, getting wrinkly and going grey. I was over weight and had stopped exercising. I used to run a lot and go to Bootcamp. I felt like that was a different person and not for me anymore. 

When I was introduced to Bev, her friendly, positive attitude made me feel much better about myself and decided to give Pilates a go.

Doing the classes via zoom is absolutely brilliant. Saves time and money on travel! 

Bev is very good at correcting, if you’re not in quite the right position. She really keeps us in check. 

I never feel like I’m slacking behind because you really can go at your own pace/level. You don’t ever feel like you’re not doing very well. 

Even after an operation I had in September I was able to return to class very quickly to do what I felt able to. If I tried to do too much Bev was quick to slow me down so I didn’t injure myself. 

I highly recommend Bev’s class to anyone looking to introduce themselves to exercise or for a class that makes you feel energised for the day ahead. I no longer feel anxious about being old and I’m much happier within myself since attending Bev’s classes.’

Claire Edge 

Breathe & relax

Love Bev 

Helping back pain sufferers to alleviate their discomfort and enjoy their favourite exercise, sport & lifestyle by doing the one-to-one reduce back pain mindfulness Pilates programme.

Affirmation to transform your relationship with your child & you!

It’s wonderful to pick a positive affirmation card message every single day of your life for you. If you have a child or children it’s also really good to teach your child or children how to use positive affirmation cards, even better if they’ve used them at school and they bring them home and show you how to use them!

then you can both enjoy them on your own or together. it creates a self empowering toolbox.

Here’s today’s positive affirmation card message of the day which is:

I love To learn, what did I learn today?  

Do you have children? If so, a brilliant questions to ask after school is, what did you learn today?

You can be even more specific by knowing their timetable and asking them a specific question about a particular subject or favourite lesson with the question:

what did you learn in… today? 

All ages of children respond really well to this question, from primary school children  to secondary school and even sixth form age, how brilliant is that. 

Let me know how you get on. I find it absolutely brilliant after school with my teenage son who is 16 years old. 

The  happy kids cards are to bring more happiness, confidence & calm to children’s lives & you

They are a deck of 52 positive affirmation cards which come in a printed cotton bag with 10 fun ways of when & how to use the cards, pick a card a day for happiness, rest and play. A chance to talk about how you feel, talk about the cards message.

‘Max loves the Happy Kids Cards!  He has just started school and says he does not remember or want to tell me what he has been doing, but when we choose the cards at bedtime, he opens up about his day as they get him thinking about what he has been up to and how it made him feel – genius!’

Louise Hardy, Family Lawyer

Love Bev

Stressed and 2 tips to feel better again with meditation and mindfulness Pilates

Stressed and two tips to feel better again with meditation and mindfulness Pilates, basically the more stressed you are the longer a session you need to do, it can be anywhere between one minute and an hour mindfulness Pilates and meditation to sort you out! 

This is a top tip and I really hope it helps you today. The thing is when we get stressed or triggered by yourself, something or someone, obviously we need to find solutions and get to the root cause of the problem, however you can use tools such as mindfulness, meditation and mindfulness Pilates to really help put you in a good headspace to cope, feel calm and in control again to have a good day. 

Hope these tips help 

When you get stressed do one or all of these meditations to re charge 

join in the 1 minute meditation , breathe & relax here

To mega switch off & de-stress enjoy the counting 4 minute meditation

Enjoy today’s 5 minute lavender meditation

If you want properly taught classes, 121 programmes just get in touch or message me

Love Bev 

Helping back pain sufferers to alleviate their discomfort and enjoy their favourite exercise, sport & lifestyle by doing the one-to-one reduce back pain mindfulness Pilates programme.

• Enjoy & benefit Classes on zoom mindfulness Pilates membership

• 4 week 121 programme on zoom 

• 8 week in depth VIP 121 programme on zoom 

Or contact me to book a 20 minute discovery call 

Vicious cycle of back pain

The vicious cycle of back pain. Right from childhood from being a national junior squash player travelling to tournaments all over the country and cross country runner, I ended up with quite a lot of back problems on and off, it was a vicious cycle that I would go from being okay for awhile and then overuse in sport and doing training that was too heavy for my young body at the time, ending up seeing a physio, osteopath and chiropractor, being okay for a while again and then it would repeat again and gradually over the years the symptoms worsened and the bad episodes got more severe, eventually having MRI scans, spinal injections , Prolapsed discs diagnosis and spinal stenosis diagnosis.

I discovered Pilates in Australia when I was travelling around the world, and after a really severe life-threatening road traffic accident it really helped me in my recovery both mentally and physically.

Pilates help me break the cycle, finally I had something to empower myself with and to help myself with on a daily basis both with a daily six minute practice, weekly one hour practice and incorporating it into my lifestyle all day long. It helps when you think about how you sit, stand, walk, move and get out of bed in the morning, and also incorporating stretches into your day.

sometimes it completely breaks the cycle and sometimes you continue to need regular support from a practitioner such as a physio, osteopath and chiropractor, but in my teaching experience it always reduces symptoms, increases back strength, increases core stability, strength and doing the right stretches for your back and body can make the world of difference.

Adding in the relaxation of meditation and mindset of positive affirmations is the icing on the cake which actually is vital in changing your mindset from a pain, worrying, stressed mindset about your pain, back and body to a mindset knowing that you are strengthening your back and body and mind.

The goal is to get in the injury Freezone, where are you at least maintain much better quality of life and perhaps even enjoy your favourite sport, hobby or exercise again, whether that is walking, gardening cycling, swimming and lifestyle.

watch the vicious cycle of back pain & 1 way to help break it or improve (1 minute)

It’s never too late to make change

Love Bev

Helping back pain sufferers to alleviate their discomfort and enjoy their favourite exercise, sport & lifestyle by doing the one-to-one reduce back pain mindfulness Pilates programme.