FAQs

All the symptoms you describe sound “normal” for this period of life when you have to hold and care for a new born… saying that, there is definitely a lot one can do to feel better and experience less pain and discomfort!

Assuming all is well and you have been cleared to exercise by your doctor at your 6 weeks check-up,  I would suggest starting with the 6 weeks post natal classes /specialised-classes/bumps-and-mums/6-weeks-postnatal and when you feel those become easy enough progress to the 12 weeks post-natal classes /specialised-classes/bumps-and-mums/12-weeks-postnatal

All of these classes are relatively short as we assumed mothers to small babies don’t have that much time on their hands… but if you do have an hour then please just run two classes one after the other. It is important that you take at least two classes a week and if you can even three. Make it a habit and you will soon enjoy the results  :-)

Pilates Matwork provides the perfect complement to most outdoor activities, such as running, cycling and rowing. You can do your Pilates practice anywhere (now with Pilates On Demand you can literally take your teacher with you anywhere on your mobile device!), before and/or after your cardio session. Practicing before a cardio activity will help warm you up, tune you in, improve your form and alignment and enhance your performance. Practicing Pilates after the cardio session will help you bridge the gap between the high level of intensity you have just been through and your normal everyday activities; it will help you focus yourself back on correct form and alignment, help you stretch and re-balance your whole musculo-skeletal system and will aid in cross-training (working on the elements missing from your preferred cardio activity).

Thank you for your candid question!

I know that in today’s world there is a certain feeling of “urgency” to progress and move on from one level to the next… but instead I would like to suggest that you should feel REALLY proud and satisfied that you have the discipline to take classes most days and that you are capable of enjoying them and not just feeling that you do it because you must or should…

I have been teaching for many years and the reality is that most people practice for very long periods of time within the same level. This is true to Pilates teachers as well. With regular practice, once in a while people make some progress into what we call “the next plateau”… where they will spend the next few months.

Please stick to the classes that you enjoy doing and the ones that make you feel good about moving your body and good about yourself and your achievements. I have no doubt that one day you will feel that you are ready to move on (you don’t need to… you are simply ready to…) and then the Intermediate classes will feel better in your body.

I hope this will resonate with you and will make you feel good about your practice.

The Roll Up is one of the “basic” exercises in Pilates, but one that SO many people (including Pilates teachers) struggle with for a very long time. I have no doubt that Joseph Pilates knew it and that is why he insisted on this exercise being taught and “mastered” early on. Modern life “forces” us to sit in chairs for endless hours every day which creates muscle imbalances around the hip and lower back. Popular fitness activities, such as running and gym exercises make this imbalance even worse. Those imbalances are exactly the ones addressed by the Roll Up and that is why it is so difficult to perform for so many people. It is not necessarily luck of abdominal strength… it is the overall imbalance between the muscles at the front and back of the hip joint and between the abdominals and lower back muscles. It takes a long time and a lot of hard work to bring this area into a more balanced place, especially because the reason for the imbalance is still there day in, day out…

So, what can we do about it:

• Look at your work station and habits. Do your best to alternate between sitting and standing; walking around your work environment and staying in motion as much as possible during the day.
• If you go to the gym or work with a personal trainer make sure to work your hip joint muscles in a balanced way- make sure to work your gluts, adductors and deep rotators as much as you work your hip flexors and your quads!
• Listen carefully to the instructions in your Pilates class; you will be encouraged very often to round and stretch your lower back as much as possible and to engage the muscles at the back of your hip joint instead of the front ones. You must do your best to repeat these actions during the class as mush as possible to allow for the changes in your body to take place. Roll Up, Rolling like a ball, Roll over, Spine stretch and the Cat are a few classic examples of exercises that will help you with that.
• If you can’t do a “proper” Roll Up, make sure NOT to cheat by thrusting yourself forward without control!! Modify the exercise as instructed by the teacher (often by bending the knees or by rolling only half way down) and always make sure to start and finish the roll up with a C-curved back and with your pelvis tilted backwards as much as you can (keeping the front of the hip joint “open”). 

Keep working hard and I have no doubt that one day you will find yourself rolling up and down beautifully :-)