Due to its low impact nature, Pilates is widely recognised as being beneficial to people who are recovering from certain types of injury including whiplash and a wide range of sporting injuries. That said I will need to assess you first if you are suffering from an injury, the last thing we want to do is make you feel worse. If in any doubt I would always recommend you seek professional medical advice from your GP or Doctor before joining a class or private session.

If you're new to Pilates the beginners class will be perfect for you. Here you'll learn the basics of Pilates, you'll learn the 6 different start positions and how to find your best 'neutral' in these positions. In the first few sessions, you might not feel very aware of your body or how to 'engage' your centre. You might find it tricky to focus on your breath and coordination but as you progress, you’ll become more aware of your centre, your alignment and your posture. Focussing on your breathing, coordination and flowing movement will become easier and you'll quickly start to feel like you 'get it'!

Pilates is a low intensity exercise so although it will help to sculpt and tone the body it won't necessarily help you lose the pounds. What it will do is create a strong and well aligned body which will set you on the right path to be able to do more cardio based exercises, preventing injuries, aches and pains along the way. I always recommend lots of walking in combination with Pilates if you want to lose weight but have joint issues and can't do high intensity exercise.

Wear something that you feel comfortable moving around in. It is helpful if the clothing is reasonably close fitting in order for me to watch how the body is moving. The exercises are done either in bare feet or socks (with or without grips).

Pilates works ALL your muscles. Every muscle fibre, every muscle chain, will be called upon. At first, you’ll work the “superficial” muscles, but the more you practice, the more you’ll learn to engage new areas and deeper muscles (which you may not even know existed!).

A great deal of lower back pain comes from what daily life does to us, being sat down for long hours or standing incorrectly. By re-aligning your spine and improving your posture, lower back pain can often be eliminated entirely.

Yes, many people find Pilates very beneficial as a way to ease themselves back into regular exercise as it can safely be be adapted you your level. A beginners Pilates class will help you work towards creating a stronger, more balanced, healthier, pain free body. If you are at all unsure you can have a couple of private sessions to build your confidence before joining a class.

Every client is different and your progress will depend on several factors such as your current fitness level, any existing injuries, other activities you participate in as well as diet. Typically, you will improve your body awareness, learn to activate muscles that have been inactive and improve your postural awareness in your first few sessions. By 10 to 15 sessions most clients feel significant positive changes in their bodies.

Your spine supports the weight of your body and allows your body to move with ease and comfort. That’s the theory anyway. However in practice, hours spent sitting in front of a computer screen or in front of a TV means that the spine’s natural ‘S’ shape is lost, resulting in back pain and rounded shoulders. Pilates helps to re-align the spine whilst strengthening the postural muscles and with that comes better posture.

No worries! I meet you where you are and adapt my classes to your degree of flexibility, your age, your body, and any injuries you may have had. Joseph Pilates practised Pilates until he was very old!

There will be 12 people maximum. This enables me to spend time with each individual to ensure they are carrying out the exercises correctly and at the right level with any modifications that might be needed specific to their needs.

Pilates is suitable for everyone regardless of age, sex, fitness level and ability. Each exercise can be done at different levels of intensity with modifications to suit anyone with a particular joint or muscular problem. If you are in any doubt, it is always advisable to check with your GP before joining a class or private session.

I believe that through a better understanding of your own body posture and a safe, regular, Pilates exercise plan, you have the power to improve the quality of your life and reduce the risk of injury and pain. Our bodies are designed for movement and Pilates is movement designed to work in harmony with your body’s structure. By doing Pilates regularly you will soon see and feel the positive effects.

The class or private session will typically start with bringing an awareness to our breathing and alignment followed by a series of warm up exercises. We will then work towards the more challenging classical style exercises before winding back down to our close, where we once again bring an awareness to our breath and releasing any tension in the body. You will be working every muscle group, moving every joint and all exercises incorporate core strength. During a Pilates workout, your core muscles are always working. You will work in 6 different positions, this includes: standing, lying on your back (relaxation position), on all fours (four-point kneeling), sitting, lying on your front (prone) and side lying. Pilates teachers use a mixture of demonstrations and verbal cues. I will be guiding you through each movement with my voice, I watch and then I use my hands or voice to help you find the correct alignment when needed. I also like to have some relaxing music in the background, I feel it helps people focus and let go of whatever is going on in their minds!

It will make you very aware of your body and how you use it every day. We often stand or sit incorrectly for long periods of time, allowing postural muscles to become underused and superficial muscles to do jobs they weren't designed for. This causes all sorts of problems as we progress through life. Stress or any emotional upheaval can cause muscles to lock up and cause pain. The relaxing nature of a Pilates class will help to undo some of this tension. It will give you stronger abdominal muscles, creating a natural girdle of strength around your torso and all the deep intrinsic muscles which help to support the spine will also be stronger. Your spine is what holds your body up so strengthening these muscles is so important. When doing Pilates regularly you will find that you just generally feel better, both after a class and in everyday life.

In very basic terms, a Pilates session works on keeping the body in motion throughout, focussing on engaging the core (the muscles that support your spine) and breathing to keep good alignment, control the flowing movement and release muscle tension. In Yoga you use held positions to improve flexibility and strength whilst focussing on breathing for mental and spiritual wellbeing. Both are considered mind body disciplines. Some say the focus with Pilates is “inside out” and yoga is “outside in.”

A mat and a bottle of water is all you need! A padded mat is recommended – a proper cushioned Pilates mat is best, between 8 - 15mm thick.