'Sarah's Pilates

🤣😅😂Joseph Pilates gave us Contrology. AI has apparently given us Contortionology. 😂 Names are correct, poses are the idea — anatomy may vary.

Pease use this as a Pilates reference, NOT an anatomy reference. 😂 Apparently AI thinks an ankle can rotate 180°, legs can sprout from other legs, and hip joints are merely a suggestion.

For my ladies on holiday.

💫 ROLL OVER — CUES TO THINK & FEEL

✨ “Grow your legs long out of your hips.”
🌊 “Melt your ribs into the mat.”
⚡ “Press the backs of your arms into the floor — create your anchor.”
💫 “Your tail starts the journey.”
✨ “Send your sit bones up towards the ceiling before your feet travel behind you.”
🌀 “Peel your spine from the mat like Velcro — one section at a time.”
⚡ “Don’t throw your legs backwards. Lift your pelvis towards your legs.”
✨ “Reach your toes away from your hips — keep those legs long.”
🎯 “Your arms are your anchor; your abdominals are your engine.”
🌿 “Pause. Can you breathe here?”
✨ “Keep space between your chin and chest — neck long and quiet.”
💫 “Getting up there is only half the exercise. Now show me your control.”
🌀 “Your spine is a string of pearls — place them onto the mat one at a time.”
🌊 “Reach your legs away as your spine melts back towards the mat.”
✨ “You’re not dropping your bottom — you’re placing your spine.”
🎯 “Upper back… ribs… waist… pelvis.”
💫 “Land your pelvis first. Own it. Then let your legs travel away.”
✨ “Lift with your centre. Lengthen with your legs. Land your spine.”

🧠 YOUR BODY IS CLEVER… SOMETIMES A LITTLE TOO CLEVER 👀

Okay team, have a look at these 5 little Pilates tests.

One of the things I’m always watching in class isn’t just whether you can do the exercise — it’s HOW your body chooses to do it.

Our bodies are brilliant at finding another way when something gets challenging. That doesn’t necessarily mean you’re doing anything “wrong” — but noticing these little compensations gives us information.

🌿 1. THE NECK TEST
Try your ab curl.
Can you lift while keeping some length and ease through your neck? Or does your neck immediately volunteer to do all the work? 😂
Think abdominals lifting the trunk, rather than your head dragging you there.

🌿 2. THE HIP TEST
Bring your legs into tabletop.
Can you keep your pelvis relatively quiet and continue breathing?
If you immediately feel lots of gripping through the front of your hips, notice it. Your hip flexors should work here — we're simply asking whether they're doing more than their fair share.

🌿 3. THE RIB TEST
Lie down and slowly take your arms overhead.
Do your ribs stay connected and controlled, or do they pop upwards as your arms travel back? 👀
Sometimes what looks like extra shoulder movement is actually your spine and rib cage lending a helping hand.

🌿 4. THE BRIDGE TEST 🍑
Lift into your bridge slowly and ask yourself:

Where am I actually feeling this?

Glutes?
Hamstrings?
Quads?
Lower back?

There isn't one perfect answer, but if the area you want to challenge isn't contributing much, that's useful information.

🌿 5. THE PELVIS TEST
From tabletop, slowly lower one leg.

And I mean SLOWLY. 😏

Can your pelvis remain controlled as the lever gets longer, or does it start tipping, twisting or following your leg?

This is where Pilates gets interesting.

✨ The goal isn't to make your body rigid.
✨ It's not to eliminate every compensation.
✨ And it's definitely not about performing the “perfect” exercise.

It's about developing enough body awareness, strength and control that you begin to recognise how you're moving — and have more than one strategy available to you.

That's why you hear me giving you all those ridiculously specific little cues in class. 😂

Your body completing the movement is one thing.
Knowing HOW you completed it is Pilates.

Next class, see if you can catch your body being a little too clever. 👀🩷

A flatter, stronger middle starts deeper than your abs 🌿
A strong core isn’t about constantly pulling your tummy in, doing hundreds of crunches, or trying to make your body smaller.
It’s about teaching your breath, diaphragm, pelvic floor and deep abdominal muscles to work together.
Think of your core like a supportive cylinder:
🫁 Diaphragm — the roof
🌿 Pelvic floor — the base
🤍 Deep abdominals — wrap around you like a supportive corset
🦴 Spinal muscles — support you from behind
When you inhale, your diaphragm lowers and your pelvic floor naturally responds.
When you exhale, your pelvic floor gently recoils and your deep abdominal wall joins in — think lift and narrow, rather than suck in and squeeze.

...and remember 🤪
NO pelvic-floor or abdominal exercise can spot-reduce belly fat. Body composition, nutrition, hormones, sleep and overall activity all matter.

Xx

Pilates and strength training are both incredibly valuable as we get older — but they don’t do exactly the same job.
Pilates is brilliant for mobility, balance, core control, posture and body awareness. It teaches you how to move well and gives you a strong foundation for everything else you do.
....
But as we move through our 40s, 50s, 60s and beyond, there’s another piece we shouldn’t overlook: progressive strength training. 💪
Research suggests that when it comes specifically to maintaining muscle mass, strength and bone density, progressively loading the body has an advantage.

Think of it this way:
🌿 Pilates teaches your body how to move well.
🏋️ Strength training teaches your body to handle more load.

And we need both.

So this isn't a Pilates versus weights conversation. I teach Pilates because I believe enormously in what it gives our bodies. But I also encourage you to pick up some weights and gradually challenge yourself.

Pilates builds control.
Strength training builds capacity.

And together? That's a pretty powerful combination for ageing well. 💚

✨ Pop-Up Pilates Class ✨

Who's keen for a bonus class this week?

📅 Tuesday 🕘 9:15 am

🌿 Why do we spend so much time preparing before a Roll Up?
Because a beautiful Roll Up isn't simply about having strong abdominal muscles.
It's about how well your spine moves.
I often describe the spine as a string of pearls. Each pearl (vertebra) contributes a small amount of movement. When one pearl becomes stiff, the others have to work harder, and the movement loses its smooth, flowing quality.
Another way to picture it is a zipper. A good Roll Up gently unzips one vertebra at a time, from your head through to your pelvis. If one section sticks, the zipper catches and the movement becomes jerky.
That's why we prepare first.
Before we Roll Up, you'll often see us doing: 🌿 Breathing into the back ribs 🌿 Cat Stretch 🌿 Thoracic extension 🌿 Arm arcs 🌿 Pelvic clocks and pelvic tilts 🌿 Half Roll Backs
These movements create space, improve mobility, and wake up the parts of the body that need to contribute.
Sometimes a Roll Up isn't limited by strength at all.
It may be influenced by: • Thoracic mobility • Lumbar mobility • Hamstring tension • Hip mobility • Breathing strategy • Timing and coordination • Previous injury or pain • Fear of spinal flexion
Every body tells a different story.
As an instructor, my job isn't simply to teach an exercise. It's to discover what's preventing your body from moving freely and help you unlock that movement.
Build movement first. Strength follows. 💪
Next time you're in class, remember to picture your spine as...
🦪 A string of pearls – each pearl contributes to the whole.
🌊 A wave – movement flows smoothly from one end to the other.
🌿 A fern unfurling – gradual, controlled and sequential.
There's no "perfect" Roll Up. There is only your Roll Up, and together we'll continue improving it one movement at a time.

✨ By the way… WOW! What a fantastic week!
So many new faces, and holy moly 🤩 the improvement I've seen from everyone has been incredible.
Thank you all for your effort, your laughter, and for trusting the process.
High five! 👋💕

✔️Nike said it best "Just do it"

✨ You don't have to be flexible. You don't have to be fit. You just have to start. ✨
Every person who walks into a Pilates class starts somewhere.
Some come to get stronger. Some come to ease aches and pains. Some come for their mental health. Some simply need an hour that's just for them.
The amazing thing is that consistency changes everything.
Week by week you'll notice: 🌿 Better posture 💪 More strength 🤸 Better balance and flexibility ❤️ Greater confidence 🧠 A calmer mind 😊 More energy for everyday life
Whether this is your first class or you've been coming for years, every session is an investment in your future self.
Your body doesn't expect perfection. It responds to consistency.
Come as you are. We'll meet you there. ❤️
🌿 "Strong bodies. Calm minds. Better bodies."