Author Archives: Dawn Arkell

Dust down those Stability balls ready for action…

The stability ball is a great piece of equipment to use in pilates. They challenge our bodies in a different way and are good fun too!  I’m hoping we can use them in my mixed level classes at the end of August . It will be possible if most people have their own balls to bringContinue reading “Dust down those Stability balls ready for action…”

Completely potty!

We all went to pot in this weeks, pilates for gardeners at Hergest Croft! The small plastic pots, previously used to grow my tomatoes in, were used to balance on knees and backs, to help us focus on pelvic stability. Then came the Bill and Ben impressions, as we put them on our heads for the standingContinue reading “Completely potty!”

How balanced are you?

My Pilates for Gardeners class today, focused on balance. Gardening often requires us to lean or reach, taking us off balance, so not surprising that most gardening injuries are caused by falls. We used the pilates poles for standing balance work and the Thera-Band to stretch tight muscles.  Can you stand really tall, lift oneContinue reading “How balanced are you?”

Take time to smell the roses….

We were another full class of keen gardeners at Hergest Croft, Kington today, practising week 6 of, pilates for gardeners. The French doors were thrown open to look out on a wonderful sunny view across lawns and borders. More core strength work, stretches and back mobilising was included in the session to keep us all fitContinue reading “Take time to smell the roses….”

11th July . More rolling…

My mixed level classes continued with the roller again this week. When it came to standing on them, most people looked much more confident and  balanced. The feedback I’ve had is that although the rollers can be a bit uncomfortable to lie on, people feel the benefit afterwards in their backs , shoulders and generalContinue reading “11th July . More rolling…”

Anyone for tennis?

This weekend is the Wimbledon finals. Did you know many of the worlds top tennis players use pilates as part of their fitness training – Djokovic, Federa, Murray, the Williams sisters, Pat Cash, Navratilova…the list goes on.  Plenty of football and rugby teams also use pilates based exercises in their training sessions.