It’s not just about getting older. It’s about staying strong enough to enjoy the life you have. We often think about health in terms of avoiding illness. But there is another, equally important question: How do we maintain the strength, balance, mobility and confidence to keep doing the things we love as we get older? Whether that’s travelling, walking in the hills, playing with your grandchildren, gardening, running, dancing or simply getting up from the floor with ease, maintaining physical capacity is a huge part of healthy ageing. At Rebalance, we believe that strength, movement and resilience are central to healthspan — the years of life in which we remain active, independent and able to do the things that matter to us. And this is where Pilates, physiotherapy, strength training and good nutrition all have a role to play. Strength is one of the foundations of healthy ageing Muscle mass and strength naturally change as we age. But ageing doesn’t mean that losing strength is inevita

We encourage lateral breathing in Pilates, this means widening the rib cage and closing the the ribs on exhale like a bucket handle opening and closing pattern of the rib. Exhale is how we contract our muscles and recruit the core, relax when you inhale. We want to avoid higer chest breathing as this is a shallow breath pattern and will inhibit your connection to the deep core muscles. As you exhale you should be able to draw down your belly button and feel the core draw toward your spine. Here is a lesson on the breath..... Here is a lesson on the ribs.....

Here is a lesson on the half plank. Lots of people attend classes and want or prefer to do the full plank. However, the full plank despite being a longer lever which therefore can be more work, most of the time is easier than the half plank! What's the reason for this? Habits of poor technique, using gross muscle power of the hip flexors and quads (thigh muscles) to lift rather than engaging the core and gluts (buttock muscles). If you do a full plank but are over pushing the shoulders and pushing your bum up higher than your waist which a common issue - you would be a lot better stopping this habit and rebuilding your technique..... See this video lesson below for a closer look, you will get stronger using the half plank!

Improve your neck posture and alignment with the help of a wall to support your head as you draw down your chin and elevate the base of the skull. During classes I sometimes cue ' chin down' or 'create a double chin'. Most people do not want a double chin but if you do pilates and work on your neck posture you will rid yourself of the weakness at the front of your neck and tone the front neck muscles and actually lengthen the neck - and rid yourself of the double chin!!

Transversus abdominus We call the primary core muscle, Transversus Abdominus - the 'corset of the spine'. This muscle is a postural muscle that should activate easily during pilates and exercises that load the core stability. The 'Trans Abs' is a deep core muscle that wraps around the spine, across the lower abdominal and attaches to ribs and spine to help stabilise the lumbar spine and raise intra-abdominal pressure supporting the abdominal contents. You may here us in Pilates classes prompting, 'draw your tummy to spine' or 'draw down your belly button'. This is how to engage your core muscle 'trans abs'.... If in doubt - breathe out.... We exhale in order to set the core, as we want to draw down softly and not over tension the abdominals. If you are holding your breath or gasping during Pilates the chances are that you are elevating the abdominals and becoming tense, know as 'splinting' the abdominal wall. During splinting the abdominal wall if will become hard but 'dome' instead of