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Twenty years on and I find myself grateful

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Movement and Mental Health

I hope you're enjoying the beautiful weather we've got at the moment!

Sitting in the sun is a great way to help your mental health - the boost to serotonin levels can make you feel so good!  

Another way to help your mental health is with exercise

I know for myself and for many of my classmates, mental wellbeing is one of the top reasons for exercising - alongside physical health.  That is why I was so pleased to see it as a theme for Mental Health Awareness week - which finishes today

Exerc…

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Celebrating National Pilates Day

The first Saturday in May is National Pilates Day, so to celebrate I thought I'd share one of my classes with you!

It uses a towel to help you get some strength and stretch to your upper body with some back mobility work too - I hope you enjoy it!

Pilates - 2_5_24 with a towel

It's a good example of the way I teach Pilates and the benefits you can get from it:

  • improving posture
  • easing aches and pains
  • core and pelvic floor strength without the strain
  • back care
  • whole body strengthening
  • mobility
  • balance work
  • b…

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I'm about to tape my mouth closed to sleep better

So I just did a thing

I've been working on my breath for a while now - first to help with pelvic floor issues (thank you Hypopressives), then to help with stress (Hyoppressives and slow breathing techniques along with vagal nerve work)

These have been very effective and are easy to fit in

But there are two markers that have been bothering me for a while

One is my average number of breaths per minute

When I first started it was around 16 breaths.  According to Patrick McKeown anything above …

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Getting back my balance

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What Is WalkFit and Who Is It For?

I'm nursing a bit of an injury to my achilles at the moment and have had to cut down on how far I walk each day

Friday I was even unsure I would be able to do my class

But WalkFit was actually the perfect thing - enough to mobilise my ankle without over-doing it!

One class member last week also found it the perfect way back into exercise after illness

That's one reason WalkFit is great

For others, it's about easing in to a new fitness habit

Some of the participants who started my Fit in Fi…

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Heart health - the final part of the puzzle

So far we've looked at a few things that can help with heart health, for various reasons:

  • cardio exercise - strengthens the heart and lungs
  • strength exercise - lowers blood pressure
  • Pilates/yoga/mobility - reducing stiffness in the upper body, which will reduce arterial stiffness

The final part to consider is - relaxation, stress management and sleep

Insomnia at midlife can raise a woman's risk of a heart attack by 70%

Exercising can help with stress reduction, relaxation and sleep - j…

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