Videos 3 & 4 – The Standing and Chair Routine & The Leg-work Routine

Hello Everybody!  I hope you are all keeping well; physically and mentally.  I don’t know how you are finding things at the moment but I have had some good days and some days when it’s been a little bit harder, but your lovely messages have really helped so thank you.

I’ve managed to finally get out on the garden and catch up with those jobs which were long overdue and I know that lots of you have been doing the same.  I’ve also found some jobs that I need to do in the house– I have cupboards to sort and sewing projects that I have been putting off doing so I am planning on getting on with those in the next few weeks.

I’ve added a couple of extra videos today which I hope you will enjoy.  All the videos that I am posting are only meant to maintain, rather than develop, your Pilates practice but I hope that you are enjoying them all the same.

As with all my exercises, remember the rules that apply – if anything hurts or is uncomfortable, stop doing it!  If there are any elements that you would normally modify or not do, then just skip through that part of the video.

Video 3 – ‘The Standing and Chair Routine’. This is another gentle routine that works from head to toe with some stretches, some joint mobilisation and a bit of standing and balancing work at the end.  All that you need for this routine is a chair, preferably one without any arms, and yourself – no fancy props required for this one.

Video 4 – ‘The Leg-work Routine’. This routine includes side lying leg-work that targets not only the hip and leg muscles but also the abdominal and back muscles as you work to keep the upper body stable and avoid any rotation.  If you want an extra challenge you can add in the leg circles that are included, but please do listen to those hips and knees and only do what is comfortable!

I hope you all enjoy the videos and I look forward to posting again very soon.

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Challenge 1 – Balance

Hello everybody.

Just a quickie from me this time in the form your first challenge!  As you know, we always try to finish off classes with some balancing exercises and I don’t want that practice to stop. I had a thought… we’re doing a lot of hand washing at the moment and we’re being encouraged to wash for 20 seconds, so let’s multitask and use that time we’re washing our hands to practice our balance as well.

So, the challenge is to practice your balancing, on each leg, for 20 seconds at least once every day. Of course, you can do it for longer, or do it EVERY TIME you wash your hands! As usual, safety is important so please remember – if anything hurts or is uncomfortable, then please don’t continue.

Keep well and stay in touch!

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Videos 1 & 2 – The Warm-up & The Matwork Quick Routine

Hello Everybody!  I hope you are all keeping well.

I want to use my website over this period as a way of staying in touch with everyone.  I will be posting some videos, perhaps setting you some challenges, and also I may just use it to post a few light-hearted pieces to hopefully raise a smile or two.  Please bear with me… …I’m not a wordsmith and being in front of a camera is not my preference so forgive the odd spelling mistake and the fact that my videos might not be highly polished.

These are what I hope to be the first of many videos that I’ll be posting over the next few weeks…

Video 1 – ‘The Warm-up’. This video is designed to warm up and loosen your muscles so is ideal as a short routine to start your day or a warm up for any of my other videos.  It is a slightly slower version of the warm-up routine and comprises a comprehensive description of what you should be doing. At a later date I shall release a faster run-through of this routine for those of you who like to work at a slightly quicker pace. Please remember, the rules that apply to classes also apply to these videos – if anything hurts or is uncomfortable, stop doing it!

Video 2 – ‘The Matwork Quick Routine’. The exercises in this video are suitable for everyone and there should be no surprises for any of you – these are the exercises from your group classes.  I would recommend that you do a warm-up routine first, such as Video 1 – ‘The Warm-Up’, before starting these exercises.

Please feel free to join in the discussions – with all this social distancing it would be nice to hear from you so please add your comments, email me some photos of you doing some Pilates, or just share whatever you are up to.

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