As I walked past St Kevin’s Park today I was struck today by how much effort there is in taking up autumn leaves and managing gardens through the seasons. I watched the workers rake up huge mounds of leaves, before they loaded them into giant containers to be taken away to the compost heap. It’s really strenuous work – lots of bending over, lifting and twisting – and all under load too.

We should all be moving more and in every plane movement. Our spines are designed with movement in mind. So spending too long in one position can cause us to feel stiff and tight. Imagine holding a tennis ball tightly in your fist for 5 seconds, then 5 minutes, then 5 hours – it would get uncomfortable pretty quickly wouldn’t it? The muscles in our bodies need to contract, but they also need to release and that’s where good movement comes in.

For those of your who don’t garden and wouldn’t know one end of a shears from the other – then think about it from the point of view of sitting. We sit in the car / on the bus, we sit at our desks, we get home, we sit on the couch. All that sitting – our body is in the same position. OK, maybe you cycle to work – but guess what? That’s more sitting! We need to shake it up a bit and move our bodies in every plane of movement and to get all of our muscles working. Pilates will help you to do just that. We loosen tight shoulders, relieve neck and back pain, then we strengthen your body. Along the way we help you understand what might be aggravating your pain so you can be more mindful of your movements in future. Our goal is to teach you something that will last you all your life.

“If your spine is inflexibly stiff at 30, you are old. If it is completely flexible at 60, you are young” – Joseph Pilates