Creative, functional workouts to sculpt, tone and give you a body that serves you well in life, because ultimately that's what we all need. It's not about how you look, it's about how you feel inside and out- full of confidence in your own skin. On my YouTube channel we celebrate all ages and levels of fitness with something for everyone. Every workout will teach you something new about your body and is rooted in over 50 years of experience in movement, dance and pilates. I am a Fully Certified Pilates Instructor with over 13 years of practice in many settings from Physiotherapy clinics specialising in Sports Injuries to Rehabilitation post knee, hip and shoulder replacement. I had my own boutique studio in London pre the pandemic and now I choose to share my teaching online for anyone in the world keen to learn more about their body and grow physically, emotionally and mentally through an intelligent, focused, movement practice.
February, the month of love, is not just reserved for showering affection on others. This Valentine's season, let's redirect some of that love inward and embark on a journey of self-love. Let's explore how taking care of yourself can be the ultimate act of love.
• Love Begins with Self-Care - In the hustle and bustle of everyday life, it's easy to neglect the most important person – yourself. Just as Pilates can strengthen and rejuvenate the body, a self-care practice will nourish the soul. Take time for activities that bring you joy, whether it's a relaxing bath, a walk in nature, or reading a good book. Treat yourself with the same kindness and attention you would give to a friend.
5 Benefits of Pilates Breathing and 5 Health Conditions it can Help
1️⃣ Increases your lung capacity
2️⃣ Improves muscle activation and performance during exercise
3️⃣ Reduces anxiety and stress
4️⃣ The exhale activates the core muscles
5️⃣ Improves mental health by focusing your attention to the mind/ body connection
One Lung Breathing is an incredible tool for anyone as it focuses you on one lung and one side of your ribs at a time. I’ve found it very helpful for people new to Pilates in understanding HOW lateral breathing works.
I have exciting news for you. My first book on Pilates will be published this spring!
Last year I was asked by a publisher to write an easy to follow guidebook on Mat Pilates and I am thrilled to announce that it's now available for Pre-Order on Amazon UK and Amazon.com
I spent all last summer writing it and many a late night post YouTube broadcasts working on it to make it as easy to follow as possible. If you can I would love it if you could pre-order a copy on Amazon; pre-orders help push the promotion of books and I need the help to get it out there to everyone who needs it. It's very reasonably priced and a great little guide you can dip in and out of whenever you need to refer to an exercise or want to build your own little programme for home practice. It has all 34 of Joseph Pilates original exercises in with tips and cues to make the difficult exercises more accessible and the easier exercises more challenging- not that mat pilates isn’t challenging enough anyway 😊
Happy New year!
This year I plan to focus as much on keeping a healthy mind as well as a healthy body. It’s going to be an exciting year with lots of fun Pilates practice, new ideas to boost your mental and physical health and a deepening of our community connection.
Exercise like wellbeing isn't something to be rushed or that can be switched on or off, it takes time to build a healthy lifestyle so if you're feeling the pressure to lose weight and get fit after a long and lengthy lockdown let's try something. Let’s shed the guilt and find a new goal. Your mission if you choose to take it it is to live a happier, healthier life. That’s it. No guilt, no self criticism, just a mission every day to be happier and healthier.
Amazing fact of the week- A recent study shows that men and women who ramped up their activity gradually to about seven hours a week by the age of 40-61 reduced their risk of death from any cause in the years that followed by about 35%.
All the more reason to not miss your regular pilates, dance and stretch classes, and if anything try and do more. It’s great if you manage one class a week, but by increasing what you do to say two or three classes a week, along with increasing the activity in your day to day life you will be protecting yourself against many of the illnesses related to inactivity and ageing.
Ballet for most little girls is a rite of passage. You want to wear pink, dress up in a tutu and float around to music. When you are a child there are no inhibitions, no self consciousness about what you are wearing, you are just in the moment enjoying what you are doing. So where does all that go when you grow up?
This is the time of year when our thoughts turn to changing old habits and getting fitter and healthier. Inevitably, post the Christmas excesses I see an influx of new clients eager to lose weight, shape up and get fit for the New Year, and equally within 6-10 weeks many of them will have slipped back into old habits; missing classes or sessions because of work, children, not feeling well and generally feeling they don't have the time needed to do it. Why does this happen year on year I wonder? I think it's because we set our expectations way too high and when we don't reach those impossible heights, we simply give up.
I'm delighted to announce I'll be presenting a Dynamic Pilates workshop this saturday for Lululemon Richmond 10:45- 11:45.
This is a complimentary class so a great chance to rock out with fellow fitties, and get to know me too.
Here's some information about the session:
This is a challenging and energetic class which takes your fitness, flexibility and strength to the next level.
Taught in the way it’s practiced in California, this is a free flow class where you move seamlessly from one exercise into the next, giving you a cardio workout as well as increasing your core strength, stamina, balance, and mind/body awareness of movement. Great for athletes, fitness fiends, dancers, and anyone who has undertaken Pilates before and is looking for a new challenge.
*Only suitable for those with previous Pilates experience.
Are you ready?! Click here to see the invite on Facebook from the lovely Lululemon people.
As they say first come, first mat! See you there!
© Rachel Lawrence. All rights reserved. No reproduction without permission.
With the lighter evenings and the wonderful glimpses of sunshine we’ve had in London over the last few days it feels like spring is on the way. So I thought I’d bring a little more sunshine into your day by rustling up a new smoothie.
I’m an advocate of buying local and supporting those unsung heroes of the high street; the individuals, the one off businesses who work hard and keep the character of our high streets unique. One of these is my local fruit and vegetable stall. Every week, I’ll pop along and buy a selection of whatever they have and then make something out of it. It’s great fun as it challenges me to think more about what I’m eating, as well as be more creative with my cooking, rather than sticking to the same old recipes.
This week they had an abundance of blackberries and mangos so here’s my little smoothie experiment! I call it the Purple Perk Me Up as it’s refreshing, revitalizing and a great way to start the day.
Ingredients
10 Blackberries
1 Mango –flesh chopped into chunks
Handful of Spinach
250ml Coconut Water
2 Dessertspoons of Linwood’s Milled Flaxseed with bio cultures & Vitamin D
Blend the coconut water and spinach first, then add the rest of the ingredients and whizz until fully mixed. There’s enough for two so share the love around and give a glass to someone who looks in need of a perk me up too.
The Science bit
Apart from being fresh and tasty, this smoothie is full of goodness. The blackberries are rich in bioflavonoids and Vitamin C; the dark colour ensures blackberries have one of the highest antioxidant levels of all fruits. Antioxidants are well-known for lowering the risk of a number of cancers. Blackberries also have a healthy dose of Vitamin K which helps the muscles to relax.
Mangoes are an excellent source of Vitamin-A and flavonoids, which have been known to have antioxidant properties and are essential for vision. Vitamin A is also required for maintaining healthy skin. Mangoes are also a good source of potassium, which is an important component of cell and body fluids and helps control the heart rate and blood pressure.
I’ve added the Linwoods flaxseed with vitamin D to boost the vitamin D levels after all the long, dark nights of winter. What’s also good about this particular flaxseed mix is it contains good bacteria for a healthy gut, great for improving digestion. And finally, it also contains Omega 3, which contributes to healthy blood and cholesterol levels.
The science bit done, it’s just really tasty so give it a go and let me know what you think!
© Rachel Lawrence. All rights reserved. No reproduction without permission.
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