When you are practicing Pilates regularly and taking responsibility for your own health and fitness, you will experience many physical and mental benefits.  In order to maintain our health at an optimum level, what other ways can we continue to care for and nourish our bodies and minds to support our Pilates training?

Here are 5 practical ways to improve your overall health and well-being that both myself and my clients have used successfully. 

1. Stay Hydrated - Water Is Essential For Good Health

This is a lesson I learned the hard way when at 15 I was hospitalised with acute pain which turned out to be kidney stones.  Back in the day, drinking water definitely wasn't cool and this attack hit me after a dance class during a particularly hot summer.  Drinking water was the prescribed treatment and as I couldn't wait to get out of pain and hospital I started to drink lots and lots and water, a habit I've continued to this day.  Each morning, fill a...

Pilates and pregnancy are truly a harmonious union and practicing Pilates during pregnancy provides so many advantages both physically and mentally. 
If pregnancy is something that is not personally relevant to you,  take a moment to consider any friends or family members who are either already pregnant or preparing for pregnancy, as this information could be of huge benefit to them. It could mean the difference between a smooth pregnancy, labour and delivery or ongoing health issues that could impact them for the rest of their lives. Just as a marathon runner trains for a race, a woman needs to prepare for the arrival of her new baby and Pilates can assist perfectly with this crucial preparation.
Over the past 15 years, I've had the pleasure of assisting so many women to exercise safely and effectively during pregnancy and just some of the benefits include:

Strengthening of the Abdominal & Pelvic Floor Muscles

These muscles are under constant strain during...

Recently while catching up with old friends for the first time in 2 years we shared stories of our current career projects.  They were intrigued to learn about  JS Mind Body Pilates, my Online Pilates Membership site which is an Online Pilates Studio. Why did I create it when I'd already had a bricks and mortar studio for the past 15 years?  Who is it for and how does it work?  Here are the answers  to some of those questions:

What is an Online Pilates Membership Site?
It's basically an Online Pilates Studio which is a library of continually expanding videos personally designed and presented by me and is accessible 24 hours a day.  One of my clients recently said the Online Studio felt like I was in the room with her telling her what to do, just like I do in the bricks and mortar studio.  There are 6 courses: Pilates Basics, Intermediate Course, Advanced Course, Exercises for All Levels, Pre-Natal Pilates and  Post-Natal Pilates.
It starts at...

Having been involved in a series of car accidents from the age of 19 onwards  (none of which were my fault, just for the record! ) I've experienced numerous whiplash injuries and understand first hand what it's like to have a vulnerable, painful neck. It can be quite debilitating and interfere with your quality of life. Chiropractic treatment had, in conjunction with Pilates, kept my neck pain well under control over the years until early 2009. My trusted Chiropractor went on leave and her replacement gave me an overzealous neck adjustment with such force that I thought my head was going to detach from my body. I saw stars and it was extremely painful. This was not at all what I was used to and as I drove home I knew I had a serious issue as I couldn't turn my head to change lanes without severe pain. It became worse the next day and I began to experience nausea too as I later learned the vagus nerve had been affected. This was the start of 7 to 8 months of neck pain. After one...

For about  20 years now I have regularly seen an older woman who I will call Sarah on her daily walk in the streets near my home.  My mother occasionally has a brief neighbourly chat with her and walking is her passion and only form of exercise. Once she mentioned a painful shoulder injury she was dealing with and my Mum suggested Pilates. No, she wasn't prepared to try anything crazy like that but would increase her time spent walking. Now, don't get me wrong,  I'm a huge fan of walking, it has so many physical and mental benefits and can be a wonderful way to keep fit, but making it your only form of body maintenance is inadequate. Having observed Sarah over the years, she is living proof of this.  It's not surprising she has a shoulder injury as her posture has steadily deteriorated over the years and she is hunched forward so it is difficult for her shoulders to function efficiently. Her ankles and calf muscles have tightened considerably giving her a...

Very early in my Pilates teaching career, one of my new clients was about 4 weeks into her sessions when she asked me a question.
She suddenly looked very worried and I wasn't sure what was coming next. 
"You keep talking about Glutes but ummm  (awkward silence)  what exactly do you mean by that?
Another awkward silence. I had been talking to her about Glutes and giving her Glute exercises but she had never heard the term Glutes before and didn't know why I was subjecting her to "Glute" Exercises. It was a huge wake-up call to me to never assume everyone is familiar with the Glutes. Since then I've found many clients who have had either very little or no knowledge of the Glutes when they first start Pilates. So if this sounds like you-you are definitely not alone. Read on to discover the wonders of the Glutes!

What are the Glutes?
The Gluteal muscles, commonly known as the butt muscles, are a group of 3 muscles Gluteus maximus, Gluteus medius, Gluteus minimus. 





Why are...