Move Well for Life

What does your body need to do for you?

For some of us, it needs to cope with eight hours sitting at a desk. For others, it needs to swing a golf club, run, cycle, garden, ride a horse, lift children, carry shopping or simply get through a busy day without an aching back or stiff neck.

And for all of us, we’d quite like it to keep doing those things for as long as possible.

That, in a nutshell, is what Move Well for Life means to me.

A little bit of Me..time history

Many years ago, around 16 years, in fact — I held a competition at one of our 'Me..time' Pilates Christmas parties to come up with a strapline for the business.

One of my lovely clients, Jane, came up with the winner:

Stretching Fun to the Limit

And it has served us brilliantly ever since.

But 'Me..time' has evolved over those years, and so has my understanding of what I really want my classes to give people.

Because Pilates is about so much more than stretching.

So, after a very good 16-year innings, it’s time to say goodbye to our old strapline and introduce the new one:

Move Well for Life

But what does that actually mean?

It doesn't mean one particular type of person, age or level of fitness.

There’s a reason Pilates is used by everyone from professional athletes to people who spend most of their working day behind a desk. The demands on their bodies may be very different, but many of the fundamentals are the same.

Strength. Control. Mobility. Balance. Posture.

Mat Pilates classes can help us work on all of them.

You might want more control and mobility to help your golf or tennis. You might want a stronger core to support your running, cycling or gym training.

You might spend hours at a computer and simply want to reach the end of the working day without feeling as though your shoulders have taken up permanent residence somewhere around your ears!

Or perhaps you want to garden, travel, walk, play with the children or grandchildren, get down onto the floor — and back up again — and carry on doing all the ordinary things you rarely think about until they become difficult.

All of it matters.

Progress doesn't always happen in the Pilates class

One of my clients recently told me about a little moment that had taken her completely by surprise.

She had knee surgery a few months ago and has been working through her rehabilitation. More recently, she’s also been able to return to her Pilates classes.

last week, she sat down on the grass to eat her lunch. When it was time to leave, she realised she could get herself back up again, without using a chair or having anyone there to help.

Apparently it wasn't particularly elegant! But she did it.

And after everything her knee had been through, she was absolutely delighted.

I loved hearing that.

Because we often judge progress by what happens during exercise: Can I do that movement? Am I stronger? Can I stretch further?

But sometimes the best signs of progress appear somewhere completely different.

Perhaps you realise your back hasn't been bothering you after a long day at work.

You reach or twist for something without thinking about it.

You feel stronger doing another sport.

Your balance catches you when you stumble.

You get out of a low chair more easily.

You finish a day in the garden and don't feel quite so wrecked afterwards.

Those little moments matter because that's where we actually use our bodies, in life.

What does your body need to do for you?

It's an interesting question.

Not what could you do when you were 25.

Not what somebody else in your Pilates class can do.

And certainly not what an impossibly bendy person on Instagram can do!

What do you want your body to be able to do?

Maybe you want better posture because you sit at a desk all day.

Maybe there's a sport you love and you want your body to perform better.

Maybe you want more strength, flexibility or balance.

Maybe something has started feeling harder than it used to and you'd quite like to do something about it.

Or perhaps everything feels pretty good — and you'd simply like to keep it that way.

That's just as valid.

Because looking after how we move isn't only something to think about when something hurts or stops working.

Your life. Your body. Your reasons for moving.

After 17 years of teaching Pilates, I think that's what I've come to care about most.

I'm not interested in turning everybody into a gymnast, and you certainly don't need to be able to tie yourself in knots to be “good” at Pilates.

I want the work we do in class to make a difference outside the class.

To help you feel stronger.

To move more freely.

To support the things you love doing.

And to give your body the best possible chance of continuing to do them.

Whether you're training for a tennis match, surviving your working week, tending the garden, getting stronger at the gym or simply getting on with life, your body is the one piece of equipment you take everywhere.

So let's look after it.

Move Well for Life.

Are you ready?

Find a friendly 'Me..time' Pilates class in Worcester, Droitwich or Ombersley and come along to see what Pilates could do for you.