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back to work tension – keep that summer feeling!

August 29, 2013
inb-coach, b-mail, b-Pilates
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Boooo the end of the summer is round the corner and most of us will be back into the office, until our next break. Can you feel the work tension rising? From your lower back, between your shoulders, up your neck until your head is being squished. Not great. Terrible, in fact. Let’s stop it now.

Are you sitting properly? Both feet on the floor? Bum back in the seat pad? Hands and wrists supported on your desk or chair arms? These 3 things can help you protect your lower back and neck from tension, stiffness and that horrid tightness. I’ll ask again, are you sitting properly? Move it buster.

Take regular breaks – get up, move around, trot up and down the stairs, make a brew for your colleagues, look out a window, breath deeply. Just don’t be that annoying person who interrupts me cos they’re on a break 🙂

Frame your desk with memories of good times. A snapshot or postcard, a stone off your beach, theatre tickets, menu of a fab meal. No office is so uptight, you can’t keep these somewhere to look at to boost your mood and energy (desk drawer, inside your note book, screensaver, scanned document, be creative!)

And with my Pilates hat on, try these simple neck stretches:

1)   D-shape cycles: Look straight ahead, turn your head to the left, roll your gaze down in an arc to look at your knees/toes, keep rolling up until you’re looking to the right. Turn to the front and go again. Repeat in both directions. You’re effectively drawing a D on its tummy, a horizontal straight line and a semi-circle.

2)   Neck side stretch: put your finger on your chin, this is the unmovable, absolute centre of a circle. Then rotate about this point with your nose drawing an arc, as you lower your ear to your shoulder. You’ll get a lovely stretch from the opposite ear to the point of your opposite shoulder. Hold for a few breaths and come back up to the start. Repeat both sides.

Keep going, recognise when you’re getting stressed, the earlier you tackle it, the less likely you’re gonna get it bad.  Our next holidays will be here before we know it!

If you’d like to change your reaction – physical or emotional – to tension and stress, I’d be delighted to help. I’ve successfully worked with clients to change their reactions to triggers and develop new practices, so get in touch.

How do you stop tension in its tracks? Do tell me below how you are going to prolong your summer feeling.

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bingo – toned arms for the summer

August 1, 2013
inb-mail, b-Pilates
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No, not what my nan loves on holiday! But the unflattering name we give those wobbly bits under our upper arms. With summer finally here, I wanted to share a couple of quick fixes for beautiful, toned arms and shoulders. I’m going to focus on 3 muscles: bicep, tricep and deltoids. Make sure you have plenty of space around you and if possible, do these in front of a mirror to check you’ve got your arms in the right places. Let’s get started!

[rev_slider dw_combo]

 

The dumb waiter combo – Follow the mini-images above to crack this one. Imagine you’re holding a tray in front of you: elbows drawn down by your waist and bent at 90 degrees and your forearms supporting the “tray”. Now rotate your hands out to your sides to “drop” the tray and continue to move your arms up in an arc so you look like a giant T shape (e.g. arms stretched out at shoulder height either side, 90 degrees under your armpits). Flex your elbows to 90 degrees to become a giant fork (your arms are two prongs and your head a pea on the middle prong!) and draw the forearms together in front of you, as if you wanted to squeeze a beach ball in front of your face. Phew – halfway! Bring the arms back to the fork position, straighten your arms to the T shape and then draw your elbows down to your waist and finally, back to the tray position. You’re back at the start! Now repeat the whole cycle again (6 times min.) and add more reps or small weights, as you get stronger (try small water bottles or cans of beans).

The arm circle/pulse combo – I described the first part of this in an earlier b-mail, so assuming you’ve been practicing regularly; I’m going to add the next level of challenge. Stand in the T shape position and get ready to increase the burn! Making sure you’ve plenty of space between your ears and your shoulders, draw small controlled circles, moving from the shoulder joint – small being the key word here. Six in one direction, six in the other. Palm facing forward, pulse the whole arm forward a small amount – yes, it’s that word again, small – six times, turn palms backwards, six pulses backwards. Palms down, six downwards pulses. Last, you guessed it – palms up, six upwards. Got it? Repeat the full set of circles and pulses at least twice. Again, build more sets and add weights.

Why not add these to your morning and evening routines, to achieve beautiful toned arms that you’ll want to show off? While you wait for the shower to heat up or the kettle to boil or during the commercial break of your evening viewing….I’m confident you can find a few minutes each day to invest in sculpting your arms!

Give it a go and if you like the results you see or you want help getting it right, why not come along and try one of my classes to get the same success for your whole body!

How do you fit exercise into your hectic day? Let me know how you combine it into your day to inspire others’ practice.

  • Ritu | the lifester • August 5, 2013

    Love the animated Gif. nice one! xxoo Ritu

    • Sarae • August 7, 2013

      Just a hint of the bionic woman in it 🙂 More to follow on Pilates at the end of the summer!

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Pilates – not all it seems…

June 27, 2013
inb-mail, b-Pilates
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Joseph Pilates exercising with his students

Joseph Pilates exercising with his students

Pilates isn’t just for pop stars and dancers: in fact, the first students were soldiers and security guards. The common factor is that they all want to feel confident in themselves and proud of their bodies.

Yes Pilates does improve your posture, flexibility and core strength, but here’s 3 body issues that you might not expect Pilates to deliver quick fixes to.

So invest a little time each day and you too can step out with your head held a bit higher.

1)   the chin jut – you know it, a long day staring at your screen…..gradually your chin is getting nearer and nearer to the screen. Tension grips your head, neck and shoulders. Here’s a “do it at your desk” fix: sit up tall, look to your left and then roll your head down to look at your toes and around until you’re looking to your right. Look straight ahead and you’re back to the beginning. Repeat a few times to the left and the reverse to the right.

UPDATE April 2014: Focus on keeping your shoulders still to avoid the stretch slipping to your waist.

2)   the bingo wings – the summer is coming (I hope!) and your arms want to be out of long sleeves. Stop the wobble fast: arms out to the side, like you’re a giant T. Draw 6 tiny little circles with the finger tips, with the movement coming from the shoulder and keeping the arms straight. Repeat in the other direction and add in more sets (clockwise and anticlockwise – no skipping!) as your arms get strong. Oh yeah, it’s meant to burn!

UPDATE April 2014: you should be getting better at this now, add a water bottle in each hand.

3)   the nipped in waist – apple, pear or bean pole body shape, we all want that nipped in waist (Guys, you know it better as swimmer’s lines down your sides). Fold your arms in front of you like a Cossack dancer and focus on your top wrist (wearing a watch, hair band or cuff helps here). Breath out to rotate through your waist like you’re a pepper grinder to twist the top half of your body to the side and breath in to come back to facing forward. Repeat in the other direction, trying to keep your wrists, nose and breastbone (or cleavage, if you’ve got one) in one vertical line. Repeat the same number of times each side or risk ending up wonky!

UPDATE April 2014: you want it harder? Ok. Tie a know in a belt, ribbon or dynoband. Hold it taut between your hands. Raise them up to shoulder height in a wider V shape. Keep the knot central to the move as you twist.

These quick and easy exercises are adaptations of matwork and standing Pilates exercises: if you want a body overhaul, book in for an assessment now or class and in the meanwhile, get going with these.

What are you looking to fix? Tell me in the comments and I’ll see what I can suggest!

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to b or not to b……

June 6, 2013
inb-coach, b-mail, b-Pilates, b-train
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Hmm well that really is the question. If you’re reading this, like me you probably want to change things up, add a little spice, find some new spark to get you re-invigorated and are ready for your next big thing. You’re no longer not to b – now you’re got to b.

For about 3 or 4 years, I harboured a dirty little secret – I loved what I did as a job, yet I kinda hankered to do it my way. But the fear of going it alone, paying my bills, what others might think and so on all kept me running the corporate treadmill.

I began a steady exit out of the corporate front door and into working for myself. I enrolled on various Pilates courses and now work with clients seeking to change their bodies. I wrap up my motivational, empathetic coaching style, a knack for problem solving and get them active. Within weeks, they are smiling and moving more freely with less pain.

These same skills also enable me to work as a career and life coach. Jumping ships, breaking the glass ceilings or returning after a break, I’ve helped clients build business cases, confidence and more to gain their desired results. Experience in the UK and overseas in a wide variety of business fields gives me a wealth to draw from and help interpret how best to support you.

So I’ve made the move out of the corporate world – yes I still have bills to pay, but I absolutely love working with people to achieve their dreams and passions in my own unique way.

Are you ready to b? If so, get in touch and let me add some stretch to your life – I’m here to help.

What’s your dirty little secret? What do you hanker to do? And what stops you taking action? Let me know in the comments below.

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