Who will the Holistic Pilates programmes work for?

• The programmes are for anyone who wants to improve their health, fitness and flexibility and stay strong and active in the long term.
• They are particularly suitable for people who struggle with poor posture, with back or joint pain and stiffness that stops them from living life to the full.
• Osteopaths, chiropractors and physiotherapists are invaluable in working to realign bones and joints after which many people find that they need to start to build strength in the muscles that support posture and movement – and this is where Holistic Pilates can help.

What can I expect from Holistic Pilates?

• You will be treated as an individual and receive guidance and support for your own personal needs.
• You will be encouraged to challenge yourself and come out of your comfort zone in order to make progress and change your body. This may sometimes be difficult, as learning any new skill can be. You will be effectively asking your body to break bad habits and retrain in order to reinforce good ones, but you will never have to do anything that doesn’t feel right for you.
• I will only ever ask you to do something I feel will be of benefit to you and your health, and I always stress the importance of listening to your own body.
• You will learn about posture and alignment and how to sit, stand and move better through a vast variety of exercises using small equipment such as balls, weights, foam rollers and resistance bands to both challenge and give feedback.
• You will receive personal corrections to your alignment as you move, through verbal and tactile cues which are important to help your body learn in order to reinforce good postural habits and movement patterns.
• Home practice will be encouraged and will speed up your progress and give you more rapid results and keep you moving forwards towards your goals.

 

How are you different to other Pilates teachers out there?

• No two teachers are the same even when they have followed the same training course as every teacher brings their own personality and unique style of teaching.
• As I am passionate about helping people to feel fitter, stronger and healthier I try to be supportive in my teaching whilst also encouraging clients to push themselves in order to progress.
• I take a personal interest in my clients’ individual health and wellbeing and will offer advice and support to help in any way I can.
• I try to give clients an understanding of what they are doing and why so that the classes become about changing your body and, as a result, improving your life and not just performing a bunch of random exercises.
• I like to make my classes interactive so that clients get to ask and answer relevant questions and give feedback in order to get the most out of the sessions.

 

What type of person do I need to be to make this work?

• You must WANT to make a change to your health and fitness – even if you don’t know what to do next. When you are unfit, stressed or don’t feel at your best, you cannot experience your true potential.
• Your journey on the road to being a stronger, fitter, healthier and more flexible you may be a mix of highs and lows and may be slow at times, so a positive mind-set will help you stay on track and guarantee success.
• Your success will also be dependent on you believing that what you are doing really works and committing to it. The more you put in the more you will get out.

 

I’ve tried lots of stuff before and nothing has worked. Does this really work?

• 4 out of 5 adults will suffer from some sort of back pain at some point in their lives. This may come with other joint pain as a result of poor posture, injury, muscle imbalances, stress and tension.
• By looking at you as a “whole” rather than one specific area of the body, we can identify where muscle imbalances and poor posture contribute to your pain and discomfort. Taking the holistic “whole” rather than “part” approach can have dramatic effects on your overall wellbeing.
• Please look at the Success Stories page and hear from others, just like you, how their experience with Holistic Pilates has changed their lives.
• There are 3 steps to achieving any goal: Be clear on what you want, believe it will happen and take strong and consistent action to achieve it. This will work if you truly want it to, but you have to believe that it will work for you and you have to be prepared put the work in.

 

How does Pilates work?

• Based around the principles of Relaxation, Alignment, Breathing, Centring (Core Control), Co-ordination, Concentration, Flowing Movement and Stamina, Pilates is a discipline that encourages a combination of movement and stability with constant focus on good postural alignment of the spine and other joints.
• It is this controlled, focussed movement and stability that helps to increase body awareness, correct muscular imbalances and improve the overall alignment of the joints.
• Through better body awareness, you become conscious of the body’s ‘cheats’ and bad habits, and gradually the body relearns good habits through the repetition of better movement patterns.
• Pilates is effectively retraining the body into good postural and movement habits and restoring balance around the joints.
• It teaches how to both mobilise and stabilise the spine efficiently, both of which are essential for a healthy back.
• Focus is also placed on the mobility and strengthening of the large moving joints – the shoulders and the hip joints – essential in maintaining the flexibility of the body.
• Great attention is placed on the awareness and alignment of the shoulder girdle, which is so important for good posture and a healthy back and shoulders.
• Attention is also given to other joints including knees, wrists and hands, ankles and feet – you will train your whole body.
• Pilates also encourages good breathing techniques, leading to a multitude of health benefits including stronger breathing muscles (also important in supporting the spine!) and improved lung function, circulation and organ detoxification. The slow, deep breathing also helps to reverse the effects of the short, shallow, rapid ‘fight or flight’ breathing that helps keep the body’s nervous and hormonal systems in a constant state of anxiety.

 

 

What results can I expect?

If you commit to attending regular sessions at the very least, and ideally do some practice at home, then you can expect the following:

• Reduce or even eliminate back and joint pain and stiffness.
• Improve your overall posture.
• Increases in strength, flexibility, mobility and balance.
• Better awareness of your body and how to sit, stand and move better.
• Experience increase in energy levels.
• Feel more relaxed, reduce your stress levels and in many cases improve sleep.
• Become a fitter, stronger and healthier version of you!

 

How quickly can I expect results?

• Joseph Pilates said “In 10 sessions you will feel the difference. In 20, you will see the difference. And in 30, you’ll be on your way to a whole new body.”
• How quickly you attain results depends on how much effort you put in. From my experience, many of my clients start to notice small changes after only one session, even if this is just starting to think more about their posture.
• Some experience quite dramatic changes very quickly. I have clients with quite pronounced postural difficulties who transformed their posture within just 3 months.
• Of course it also depends on your current level of fitness, the nature of your problems, and how quickly your body learns. As with everything in life, we are all very unique.

 

Will I need to continue the sessions long term?

• Once most clients see and feel the results of doing Pilates are hooked and wonder how they ever managed without it. They often notice how much better they are with Pilates when they miss a session or two and start to feel the old niggles and stiffness creeping back. For most it becomes an important part of leading a healthy lifestyle.
• Without the regular sessions to reinforce good movement patterns in the body, the old bad habits start to become dominant and the daily activities that take their toll on our bodies start to win the battle!

 

Could I carry on alone at home?

• Part of the reason Pilates works so effectively is its’ focus on precision of alignment during movement and the replacement of old unhelpful habits and imbalances, with new habits and restored balance.
• In the sessions there will be a lot of verbal and tactile corrections to help feedback those imbalances and misalignments to the client in order for the body to relearn and achieve change.
• So while home practice is welcome and indeed encouraged to reinforce what the body is learning, a regular session with a teacher is also essential to keep the training on track and bad habits at bay with individual feedback and correction.

 

 

What if I start the sessions and then realise that it’s not for me?

• I am confident that once you start to experience the multitude of benefits that Pilates can bring that you will never look back. However, my ‘Satisfaction Promise’ means that if after your first 2 paid sessions you are dissatisfied with the classes for whatever reason, then I will refund the remainder of your sessions in full.

 

Do I need to be fit to keep up in the sessions?

• This may sound crazy, but people sometimes delay starting a fitness programme until they are fitter! My advice would be don’t wait to feel fit in order to get fit. There is no such thing as ‘ready’ there is only now so what are you waiting for?
• My clients are all at different levels of fitness, with a whole range of issues, and everyone is encouraged to listen to their own body and work at their own pace. I offer different adaptations of exercises depending on fitness levels, injuries, and current health issues.
• I definitely do not put any emphasis on ‘keeping up’ or competing with the other class members. I encourage everyone to follow their own individual journey.
• Once you start the sessions, you will gradually begin to build your strength and fitness.

 

Is it going to be hard?

• Most things that are worthwhile are often challenging. I can’t say it’s going to be easy but it will be fun and rewarding
• It’s easy to keep doing what you are doing but in order to make progress and transform your body, you have to change something, and change is often difficult.
• Different people will find different elements challenging, while other things may come more naturally – we all have individual strengths and weaknesses. Just remember that the positive results will far outweigh the effort.

 

How much do the programmes cost?

• When we book a “Get To Know You” call, we will have a better idea of what issues you are dealing with and what your goals are. We can talk through the packages, prices and which programme would be most appropriate for you to achieve your goals.

 

Why do I have to pay for a block of sessions in advance?

• Paying up front means you make a mental commitment to your success. It will help keep you motivated and you will be less likely to simply “skip” a session if you don’t feel up for it on the day. Asking for payment up front as your commitment to the programme is paramount to your success.
• With the upfront commitment you are either reserving a place in a class where numbers are limited, or booking a regular one to one time slot. This in turn means that I am making a commitment to you not to book your place or give your time slot to someone else.

 

I would love to do this right now but don’t think I have the time/and or the money.

• When you are committed to your success and getting a better life you will do whatever it takes and find a way to make it happen. You may be talking yourself out of starting something new because of fear, and not having the time or the money are often excuses we unconsciously put in our own way to justify not having to do the thing that scares us! I know from experience because I have done this in many situations on many occasions!
• What I will say is this (and I now truly follow this philosophy myself!) You are investing time/money in yourself and you are worth investing in! You only have one body and you need to look after it starting right now.       You deserve to feel fitter, stronger and healthier. You owe it to yourself and your loved ones to stay as fit and healthy as you can for as long as you can. What could be a more worthwhile investment than your own health?       Without it, all the time and money in the world are worthless. Above all else, our health should be our number one priority.

 

 

Can I contact some of your clients to see what it’s like to work with you?

I can arrange for you to speak to some of our Success Stories – just let us know and I can put you in touch!

 

What do I wear?

Fitted, comfortable clothing you can move easily in. You can train barefoot or in socks.

 

How do I get started?

Congratulations and welcome!

Call 07984 696761 or email wendy@holisticpilates.co.uk and I will contact you to take you through the process and get you started. Or leave your details in the form on this page and click ‘Let’s Get Started’ and I will contact you asap.

I can’t wait to get you doing Holistic Pilates soon!