Body Profile Pilates

24/07/2025

Rolling a tennis ball under your foot isn’t just a foot massage—it stimulates pressure points that connect to your posterior chain. This helps release tension in the plantar fascia, which can ease tight hamstrings and even reduce lower back pain. A small move with big impact.

26/02/2025

Sciatica, it turns out, is no fun. After a week of being unable to sleep because of the burning sensation running down my leg, coupled with some excruciating lower back pain, I realised that I should probably do something about it. But I was at a bit of a loss.

I think of myself as being reasonably healthy for a 52-year-old bloke. I’m not overweight, I cycle to work most days and I took up running a couple of years ago: 10km around the neighbourhood is now part of my weekend routine. So I’m fairly confident that my thighs still work and that my heart ticks over adequately.

However, until the sciatica hit, I had never, ever, done an exercise class. Never done weights or bench pressed (to be honest I still don’t really know what a bench press is), and had certainly never attempted to “body pump”.

And exercise – proper, co-ordinated exercise – seemed to be the key to ridding myself of all the leg burning and back pain stuff. Fixing that, I was told by a sympathetic colleague, would be all about strengthening my core, improving my posture (ruined as a result of decades sitting at a desk) and reversing some of the muscular atrophy that is the curse of all men in their 50s. Ideally, they said, I should try Reformer Pilates.

Read article

06/01/2025

https://thecore.pilates.com/exercise-and-menopause-the-benefits/

Perimenopause diet and nutrition advice from Balanced Body instructor Joy Puleo. Learn the benefits of exercise for menopause.

01/01/2025

08/11/2024

https://thecore.pilates.com/pilates-for-athletes-a-whole-body-approach/?utm_source=Klaviyo&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Pilates%20for%20Athletes%3A%20A%20Whole%20Body%20Approach%202024&utm_id=01JB07DXDZXCPSBVWBMP0CJ12B&_kx=K-RmzyrzMGIc3j7NqIn8wneWPu1MaYi6aASbQ2mJ6Ko.R8HPnP

There is growing interest in Pilates for athletes and Pilates for sports performance. Learn why Pilates is great for mobility, flexibility, and strength in this blog.

18/08/2024

Interesting read... and I couldn't agree more.

Group Reformer classes have increased in popularity recently, unfortunately alongside related injury cases. These classes are generally fitness-based and sadly far removed from Pilates other than using a Pilates reformer.

Over the many years that I have been teaching, I have had a number of clients looking for rehabilitation after attending general big group fitness classes (using heavy weights, fast paced with little or no correction/modifications). It is very unfortunate that in the last couple of years, these include Group Reformer classes and often these clients understood they were experiencing a Pilates class.

Please choose your movement and fitness sessions safely, and look after your bodies.
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Group Reformer classes are very much in the news at the moment. See https://www.bodycontrolpilates.com/group-reformer-classes-our-view/ to find out what we think! 💙