Pilates and Wellness

06/05/2026

FREE modern pilates taster session Thursday 6th May 5.45pm or 7pm held at Great Eccleston WI hall. Call or text 07534504413 or email info@pilatesandwellness.co.uk

04/05/2026

I love this and how Graeme explains things in a way that we can all understand.

Most seniors don’t lose independence because of age…

They lose it because they stop using their body.

Let’s change how we think about “exercise.”

It’s not about gyms.

It’s not about heavy workouts.

👉 It’s about staying able to:

stand up without help
walk with confidence
live life on your own terms
I once saw a 72-year-old woman who said,
“I hate exercise. I’m too old for that.”

So we didn’t do exercise.

We did this instead:

Sit → Stand (without using hands)
Slow walking inside the house
Light stretching while watching TV
Just 10 minutes a day.

After a few months:

✔️ She stopped fearing falls
✔️ Her legs felt stronger
✔️ She moved with confidence again

She never called it exercise.

She called it taking care of herself.

Walking.
Standing.
Reaching.
Climbing stairs slowly.

👉 It all counts.

👉 It all keeps you independent.
Today’s small step:

Sit on a chair and stand up 5 times without using your hands.

That’s it. Start there.

Don’t call it exercise.

Call it protecting your freedom.

03/05/2026

Feeling a bit out of sorts? That's okay, it's allowed! When your ready to try or return to my spine safe Modern Pilates classes, I offer a flexible booking system, so that you can invest in an appropriate package
2 sessions expires in 4 weeks
8 sessions expire in 13 weeks
15 sessions expire in 25 weeks

Use below link

https://gymcatch.com/app/provider/8428

02/05/2026

Worked with a chair this week! The chair was used like another piece of equipment! My latest level 2 chair based course qualifies and insures me to use it for sessions including..... seated, supported and in my regular Modern Pilates classes.

I am now looking to help more by offering my service into the community, including care homes or into clients homes.
Get in touch if you would like me to help build clients confidence, mobility, stability, strength, balance and pelvic floor.

Mobile 07534504413
Email info@pilatesandwellness.co.uk

01/05/2026

Its May already! Here's a glimpse into my April...
🎨 brush and tipple painting a rabbit. Enjoyed it enough to sign up for a beginners watercolour course
🧘‍♀️ loved delivering my spine safe Modern Pilates sessions, seeing new faces and some returned after a few years away!
🌞 dealt with new reactions to sun/ visible light in and out of car
🪑 thankful that I passed a wonderful level 2 chair based course which enables me to be qualified and insured to help more people.
🔎 tracked down and communicated with a professor that was on the TV regarding disorders to light and sun etc! I'm offering myself to research after I've received my testing.
🎨 attended the first watercolour class! I'm not great, but I learnt alot!

30/04/2026

29/04/2026

Great visual of a common problem...forward head posture

FORWARD HEAD & ALTERED POSTURE: THE BIOMECHANICAL CHAIN REACTION

Forward head posture is not just a neck problem—it is a whole-body biomechanical adaptation. When the head translates anterior to the plumb line, the body must reorganize itself segment by segment to prevent falling forward. This creates a cascade of compensations that affect the entire kinetic chain.

At the cervical spine, the head moves forward, increasing the moment arm dramatically. For every few centimeters of forward displacement, the effective load on the cervical extensors multiplies. As a result, neck extensors become overactive and shortened, while the deep neck flexors weaken and lose their stabilizing role. This imbalance reduces segmental control and increases compressive forces on cervical joints and discs.

Moving down to the thoracic spine, the body often develops increased kyphosis. The upper trunk shifts posteriorly to counterbalance the forward head, creating a thoracic extension-flexion mismatch. The upper back extensors become lengthened and weak, while anterior structures like the pectorals shorten and tighten, pulling the shoulders further into protraction. This disrupts scapular positioning and compromises shoulder mechanics.

The rib cage and trunk lose their optimal stacking over the pelvis. The abdominal system becomes asymmetrical, where internal obliques may become short and dominant, while external obliques are lengthened and inefficient. This alters intra-abdominal pressure regulation and reduces core stability.

At the lumbo-pelvic region, a key compensation occurs. The pelvis shifts forward while tilting posteriorly, leading to a flattened lumbar spine. This reduces the natural lordosis and shifts load-bearing away from passive structures into muscular effort. The hip extensors (especially hamstrings) become short and tight, while hip flexors weaken, reversing the typical anterior pelvic tilt pattern seen in other dysfunctions.

Further down, the knees often move into hyperextension, as the body relies on passive locking mechanisms to maintain upright posture with minimal energy. This places stress on posterior knee structures and alters force transmission during gait.

At the ankle, subtle shifts occur to maintain balance, often leading to altered weight distribution and decreased shock absorption efficiency. The entire system becomes a compensatory strategy rather than an efficient alignment.

From a tissue mechanics perspective, this posture reflects chronic length-tension imbalance. Muscles that remain shortened lose extensibility, while lengthened muscles lose their ability to generate force effectively. Over time, fascia adapts to these positions, reinforcing the dysfunction and making correction more difficult.

The key insight is that forward head posture is not isolated—it is a global postural pattern. Treating only the neck ignores the underlying compensations in the thoracic spine, pelvis, and lower limbs.

True correction requires restoring stacking of segments, improving deep stabilizer activation, and rebalancing the system so that gravity is managed efficiently again.

28/04/2026

Really like this visual!

27/04/2026

I've done another course! Can't beat the face to face learning! I am thoroughly excited to introduce a new prop... The Chair! I will be fully qualified and insured to teach older adults in seated, supported and make things spicy in a Pilates session!
I will be looking to do private work in care homes and people's homes. It might be the session is done sat in a chair or use it as support in standing.
Creating great habits and independence for longer.
Thank you so much to everyone that attended the course, Graham Baxter and Jay.

25/04/2026

This week in Modern Pilates sessions, we used the mini looped band! Great enthusiasm throughout, keeping things slow, controlled, precise and flowing. Well done as always 👏

24/04/2026

I like this positivity cycle! Break the negativity and create change!