Athens at dusk reflecting the mix of nostalgia, change, and purpose in teaching. Back in Greece for the first weekend of the Apparatus course, and Athens pulled something out of me I wasn’t expecting. It felt familiar, but it also reminded me how much life has shifted. We had a good time here, but it was a contained life. Quiet. Focused. Different from Scotland, where things feel wider and more connected. You only notice the contrast when you return. Travel itself is its own

Eyes closed to sharpen awareness, training movement through sound, breath, and pressure. Echolocation is a way of sensing space through sound. An animal sends out a sound, waits for the echo, then uses the returning sound to judge distance, size, and movement. Bats use it at night. Dolphins use it in water. It is a precise navigation tool. You will not make clicking sounds on the Reformer, but you can use the principle. When you close your eyes, your hearing sharpens. Your bo

A champagne glass sits among festive decorations with warm, blurred Christmas lights behind. The holiday season brings parties, dinners and a steady flow of drinks. Your choices matter. They affect your energy, sleep and how you feel the next morning. Here is a simple guide to help you pick the healthiest options without killing the celebration. Champagne and Brut Prosecco Dry sparkling wines sit at the top of the healthier list. A standard glass of dry Champagne contains abo

A cracked laptop screen pierced by an arrow shows how harsh online comments strike. Social media hits hard. It lifts you, teaches you, and then someone you have never met fires off insults without signing their name. That is the part that gets to you. An opinion is fine. Hiding behind “anonymous” while throwing that opinion at people is weak. We have been planning this classical Pilates debate for a long time. Gill Cummings Bell and I wanted a real conversation. A space where

Pilates Movement Monday: Bicycle on the Shoulders The traditional Bicycle on the shoulders looks elegant until you try to keep everything lifted, steady, and calm. It challenges your strength through the centre and your control through the hips, and it becomes a lot more manageable when the breath leads the movement. You begin on your back and lift into a supported shoulder stand. Your hands support the pelvis so you stay high through the centre without dumping weight into th

Soft morning light falls on a quiet woman reflecting alone in her living room. Here is the thing most of us avoid admitting. We rush around as if being busy is some kind of badge. More classes, more projects, more travel, more everything.Then we wonder why we’re worn out and secretly craving five minutes of silence. So for today, let’s keep it simple and talk like real people, not teachers, not business owners, not planners of fourteen things at once. You know those people wh

Dark brown mystery jar with a question mark label and a spoon inside. Every few days, a new post appears claiming that one spoonful of something will lower cholesterol, clean arteries, regulate blood sugar, and suppress hunger. The ingredient is never clear. That is the warning sign. Vague claims sell clicks, not health. Real food works. Magic shortcuts do not. Here is the truth behind the usual “spoonful” suggestions: A spoon of chia or flax gives fibre. It supports digestio

Long walking stride by the lake showing greater hip extension that lengthens the psoas. How extending your walk and running will change your psoas use When you walk a bit longer or start adding short runs into your week, your psoas wakes up fast. It is one of those muscles that pretends to be quiet in class, then makes a scene the moment you take it outside. The change in demand is simple. Longer strides ask it to lengthen. Running asks it to lift. If your posture drifts, you

Pilates Reformer used outside its intended purpose, highlighting safety and insurance concerns. The equipment you teach on has a purpose. The Reformer was built for Pilates. Every spring, strap, bar, carriage and pad serves a clear mechanical role. When you respect that design, you honour the method and you protect your clients. When you step outside it, you step outside your insurance. Many teachers do not realise this. They see movement ideas online, they want to add variet

Man performing Pilates rowing on a Reformer, focusing on controlled flexion and arm reach. Rowing on the Reformer builds strength, control, and organised movement. It teaches you to lift through the spine, use the shoulders with precision, and match the arms, trunk, and breath in a steady rhythm. The sequence challenges timing, control, and awareness. Why it matters • It improves shoulder function. • It strengthens the upper back and arms. • It trains controlled spinal flexio

Teacher explains movement choices while the client listens with steady attention. People question you all the time. In Pilates classes, in meetings, even in casual chats. The real test is not the question. It is how you handle the moment. When you react fast and defend yourself, the atmosphere changes. You feel it. They feel it. The room feels tighter. Confidence drops. You look like you are fighting to hold your ground. A calm approach does the opposite. It shows you are ste

A person pauses with a warm mug, checking in with their thoughts in quiet stillness. Life feels full when you work alone. The list grows, the messages pile up, and the pressure to keep up with social media adds another layer of noise. This is why today needs a pause. Sit with a hot drink. Put everything down. Give yourself a few minutes without tasks or screens. Notice how you are feeling. You do not need to fix anything. You only observe what is going on in your body and you

Older adult walking up concrete steps holding the rail to build steady leg strength. There is something simple about looking back at how people moved before gyms, trackers, and equipment. Strength came from daily life. People carried, climbed, squatted, reached, and walked because they had to. For older adults who want to feel stronger without complicated programmes, using ideas from ancestral living offers a clear and practical way to build strength that feels natural for th

A jar of sauerkraut sits in warm sunlight, symbolising balance, patience, and natural wellness. Fermented foods have quietly returned from tradition to modern nutrition. They support digestion, boost immunity, and stabilise mood. For Pilates teachers and clients, they offer calm focus, sustained energy, and faster recovery. Fermentation happens when natural bacteria feed on the sugars in food. This process produces lactic acid, which preserves the food and creates probiotics.

A thoughtful teacher reflecting on how experience shapes learning and the humility of mastery. After years of teaching, it’s easy to slip into certainty. You’ve seen hundreds of clients, corrected thousands of spines, and heard the same questions a hundred times. Yet somewhere in the comfort of experience hides a trap. It’s called the Dunning–Kruger effect. The Dunning–Kruger effect describes how people with little knowledge often overestimate their ability, while those with

A humanoid robot assists a focused Pilates client guiding movement on a Reformer machine. As headlines shout about robots taking jobs and AI replacing humans, it is worth taking a breath and looking at where Pilates teachers stand in all of this. The good news is that we are safe. Our work depends on what AI still cannot understand, human connection. When I was in China last week, I saw incredible advances in AI. Robots were taking orders in restaurants, scanning faces for pa

Subtle facial imbalance highlighting the role of proper tongue placement and oral posture awareness. The internet loves a miracle. In recent years, few have been hyped as much as mewing —the idea that simply adjusting how your tongue rests in your mouth can transform your face, fix your bite, improve posture, and even reduce sleep apnea. It sounds almost too good to be true, and that’s because it mostly is. But the story behind it is interesting, and there’s some science wort

Building everyday strength starts with simple actions like lifting shopping safely and efficiently. Functional strength is not about lifting the heaviest weight in the gym. It is about moving with control and confidence in daily life. The goal is to train your body for the tasks you do every day, such as bending, reaching, carrying, pushing and pulling. Most people think of strength as muscle size or gym performance, but functional strength goes deeper. It combines mobility,

Focused eccentric control as the springs support balanced, continuous movement through the Pilates method. Springs are the heart of the Pilates apparatus. They create a resistance that feels alive, unlike fixed weights. On the Reformer, the Cadillac, or any spring-based equipment, the goal is not to overpower the spring but to move with it. Romana once told me, “Fifty per cent of the work should be you and fifty per cent should be the springs.” That balance defines the method

Steaming ginger tea glows by the window, pure warmth against the cold winter light. When the cold sets in, the body craves warmth. Not just comfort, but fuel. Heat supports circulation, digestion, and immunity. The right foods and drinks help you stay balanced through darker months. Traditional Comforts, Modern Twists: Tea and cocoa have always been winter staples. Today, there’s a growing interest in functional drinks like turmeric lattes, matcha, and mushroom coffee. Tea  c