Freezing my neutral pelvis off trying to channel Joe in the snow... I draw the line at wearing just white pants though. This is the hundred, (50 for me here) the first exercise in the classical mat designed to warm you up, get the blood flowing around the body, improve stamina and allowing you to focus on the importance of breathing... If done correctly you’ll find length in your spine and strength in your core. Join me in one of my Fulflood classes to learn more. Whatever your level, I’ve got tricks to make this easier or more challenging... #bodycontrolpilates #pilatesinthesnow #winchester

Does carrying your baby in their car seat ever feel like a bit of a pain in the neck, back and/or shoulders? 😦 Click here to watch a quick simple option which may help to reduce discomfort, improve your spinal positioning and be a lot less awkward for you. To summarise... 1. Kneel down safely - think of great squatting technique (knee over second toe)and good leg alignment. Try to retain the natural curves of your spine - think length through the spine. 2. When you loop your hand through the chair handle, ensure you have a good, strong grasp underneath. To be done with caution if you have experienced any wrist injuries or strains. 3. Use your legs, your quads and core to help you stand up. Again, try to keep your spine as neutral as possible. 4. If you have a nappy changing bag/handbag, place this on the opposite shoulder to help balance you out a bit. 5. If its uncomfortable, unhook your hand safely, set the car seat down safely and re-group. Please, please... Check this technique is definitely compatible with your car seat (perhaps refer to the manufacturers handbook too). Make sure to practice this first before you attempt with your baby strapped in. Have someone beside you just in case. This is not a Pilates move, but a friendly tip, from one parent to another with full inspirational credit going to Chiropractor, Emily Puente, link in comment below. Thanks to lovely Arthur for helping me demo and his fabulous Mummy for videoing this after class. And finally... For other, Pilates-specific postnatal tips relating to safely carrying/transporting/feeding your baby etc, strengthening your New Mummy body, re-building your core and much more, come along to one of my Mummy's and Babies classes in Hyde (Tuesday am) and Fuflood (Thursday am). Click on the comment below more class details, times and how to book your spot. 👇🏻 Classes start back this week.

The Dentist Dad, the amazing cat, that poor swan, & some Pilates chat If you sit at a desk all day, or like Rob, your job involves leaning over someone/ something (eg surgeons, beauticians, seamstresses, parents lifting little ones etc), it's easy for our backs to feel a bit stuck, a bit rigid and sometimes even get a bit misaligned. I love the Cat. It's great for helping to find length in your spine, to get it moving smoothly, sequentially and safely. There's a knack to it though. All too often it's easy to arch straight into our upperbacks, but the trick is to find your ripple, particularly focusing on the verterbrae in the lumbar spine. It's also really easy to just go with the flow - going from a flexed into an extended position. The challenge in Pilates, as always is to move precisely - coordinate the movement, use our centres and have an awareness of our own, very personal range of movement so each vertebrae moves like a domino sequentially onto the next. *Definitely a bit of a blooper of a video. You should have seen the others! @jillhannapilates Robin Hanna #Fridayfun #pilatesformen #sittingisthenewsmoking #PilatesinWinchester #fulfloodpilates #swanbeater

Over the summer holidays, I absolutely loved receiving messages from clients, telling me how they've been indirectly incorporating Pilates into their sunny summer lives - from balancing and getting up first time on a paddle board to another who proudly kept reminding herself to stack her body/connect her ribs, dodging her regular back ache in the EuroDisney queues. That's what I love about Pilates - it's not just about one hour of the week on a mat - it's awareness, ownership, self care, and having the foresight to invest in your body and how it operates for the long term. So, by special request, here's a flavour for the intrigued and a reminder for the committed of the fundamental moves that do most peoples bodies the world of good. Are they straight forward looking? Yes. Simple? If done with proper precision, alignment and breathing -surprisingly not! One of my favourite quotes from a client last year "if someone looked through the window now and saw us moving one leg to the side, they'd never believe it's actually really quite hard!" This flow is very postnatal friendly (contraindications aside, of course and note, i've deliberately left out curl ups and note that this shouldn't be done by antenatal clients). For the Gentle/Mixed Ability class, you'll now be very familiar with these moves and your personal cues/corrections, having learned them back on your very first day. We've evolved these to a whole different level now, broken them down, built them up, thrown a few props into the mix - triad balls, bands, oranges, dinosaur tails to name a few. Could Pilates help you? Improve aches and niggles? Improve your sporting performance? Make you more comfortable at work/ at home and/or with your family? I run term time morning classes for Mixed Ability and Postnatal groups in Fulflood, Winchester (Wednesdays and Thursdays mornings). CLASS TIMES } Wednesday 9:30am Mixed Ability St Pauls's Parish Hall. Limited availability } Wednesday 10:45am Gentle Pilates } Thursday 10am Mixed Ability at the Scout Hut } Thursday 11:15am Postnatal Pilates (Sing Song, cuppa and bun at the end). Just a few spaces left. I'm also available for Private lessons/duets during weekdays. Drop me a line to find out more. #bodycontrolpilates #pilatesinwinchester #pilatesfulflood #postnatalpilates #move #gowiththeflow *(Somehow I managed to leave out rotation for the head/neck and upper back in this video- unbelievably since i'm always banging on about how important it is - especially for sports people and new Mums! So do make sure to always include some controlled upper body rotation with a waist twist/arm opening for example).