Dec 25th & 26th – Closed

Jan 1st – Closed

Jan 21st, 22nd, 23rd, 24th, 25th – Closed

Everyone at Bodyworks wishes [...]]]> We will be closed for Group Classes over the forthcoming holidays on the following dates, however we will still be open for Personal Training. Please ask reception or your trainer for details.

Dec 25th & 26th – Closed

Jan 1st – Closed

Jan 21st, 22nd, 23rd, 24th, 25th – Closed

Everyone at Bodyworks wishes you all a Very Merry Xmas and all the Very Best for the New Year. May the New Year bring you Peace, Love, Succes, Prosperity and Well-Being.

Bodyworks Team

Online Booking will be available starting Monday 10th October. From 10th October to 30th November classes can be booked via the reception or online (max 2 weeks in advance). [...]]]> We are excited to announce the start of our Online Booking system. You can now book for a Group Class from anywhere at anytime !

Online Booking will be available starting Monday 10th October. From 10th October to 30th November classes can be booked via the reception or online (max 2 weeks in advance). After 1st December ALL classes will be booked via the Online Booking system.

Online Booking for Personal Training sessions should be available in December or the New Year !

Please read the following carefully.

Step 1 – Go to the Online Booking page

There are 2 ways you can access the Online Booking page :

1. Use the link above on the main menu bar.
2. Use the link on the Schedule Page.

Step 2 – Login your Username and Password

Enter the Username and Password supplied to you. You need to do this every time you wish to book a class. If you don’t have a Username and Password yet please contact us. The Username and Password should be entered in the 2 boxes located in the top right corner of the page.

Step 3 – Choose your class

You should be still be on the same page but as a logged in user. Choose the class you wish to make a booking and follow the onscreen instructions.

Please note the following:

1. You may cancel a class at any time up to 8 hrs notice. If you try to cancel within 8 hrs the class will be charged.
2. Classes can be booked up to 2 weeks in advance
3. If a class is already full your name will automatically go on a waiting list and any cancellation from another participant in that class will move you automatically either into the class or up the waiting list. An email will be sent to you notifying you of any such action.
4. If you wish to book for a class such as the Group Reformer you must be legible for this class ie: have previously completed 5 one-on-one introductory classes or have taken the Group Reformer at Bodyworks before. If you don’t meet the requirements for class a message will shown and you should contact us.

Practically speaking there is a number of differences between Corrective and Pilates exercises although there are also many similarities between the two modalities.

Corrective Exercise as a modality tends to focus on movements and strategies without having to use equipment. Chairs, walls and the floor along with some [...]]]> Corrective Exercise & Pilates

Practically speaking there is a number of differences between Corrective and Pilates exercises although there are also many similarities between the two modalities.

Corrective Exercise as a modality tends to focus on movements and strategies without having to use equipment. Chairs, walls and the floor along with some resistance bands or rubber tubing are quite often used. Most Corrective Exercises are normally practiced in a manner that replicates the natural, functional movement patterns of the body.

Pilates exercises have evolved over the years to such an extent that there are hundreds of exercises that can be performed on the floor with no extra equipment or using small pieces such as resistance bands, foam roller, small balls and rotating discs.

The key difference between the Pilates and Corrective Exercises is in their respective approaches. For instance, a Corrective approach is to identify a dysfunction and then prescribe an appropriate exercise to help correct it. A common Pilates approach is to give an exercise first and then see how well it is performed before adjusting accordingly.

Naturally of course there are a great number of Pilates instructors out there who identify a dysfunction before giving the exercise and many of these come form a physical therapy background. However this is more often the exception rather than the rule. The differences I suspect lie in the manner in which the student is taught. In Corrective exercise the student is first taught to look for and identify the imbalances and dysfunctions before progressing to the exercises. When studying to become a Pilates instructor the student is taught the exercises. Identifying associated dysfunctions is not usually taught except for some general rules on organizing certain areas of the body for specific movements or if the student has a physical therapy background.

Another major difference is that ‘Corrective’ exercises are focused more on individual sessions with one-on-one tuition (the Feldenkrais method being an exception), whereas Pilates exercises may be taught in groups as is common with the mat and reformer classes in studios around the world. In these classes exercises are generally balanced out taking an individual through a series of movements such as spinal articulation, hip movements, shoulder girdle organization, spinal stability etc; with an equal emphasis on the left and right side of the body. The problem with this approach is that “a balanced workout is beneficial for a balanced body”. So if an individual has a dysfunction say, in the right SI joint, this is really not going to be properly treated by performing the same series of exercises on the right and left side of the body. Therefore a targeted and specific “unbalanced workout” should be more beneficial in bringing about and restoring some semblance of balance to the body.

In a Pilates context the instructor may have the use of Pilates Studio Equipment which has remained relatively unchanged for the last 50 years or so, having been designed by Joseph Pilates himself. The key here is for the instructor to not just prescribe exercise A or B as he or she was taught in training but to be able to understand the nuances and complexities of the human body in movement and adjust the ‘base’ exercise accordingly. With hundreds of exercises to choose from on the Trapeze Table, Reformer, Spine Corrector, Ladder Barrel, and Chair the instructor is limited only by his or her imagination and understanding of human movement.

Corrective exercises therefore should be movements that help assess and improve movement dysfunction in an individual to bring about a positive change to pain, efficiency and economy of movement. In terms of movement we should be looking for the maximum effect through the minimal effort thus improving performance. This may sound rather obvious but anyone with a background in competitive sports will acknowledge that this is actually quite hard to appreciate. After all if we aren’t perceived to be trying hard how can we be performing effectively ?

A fact that people may not be aware of is that there are many ‘styles’ of Pilates and each ‘style’ has some varying degree of differences between the exercises taught. One studio may be more classically trained and only teach exercises in a one size fits all modality which for most people is fine.  It could be said that ‘any exercise is better than no exercise’ and so long as the movements do not place excessive stress on the body the individual should be fine. However if the person has a severe dysfunction which he or she is unaware then this would most certainly increase the risk of injury if it were not identified beforehand.

Corrective Exercises in their own right are therefore geared towards correcting faulty and dysfunctional movement patterns of the body which may exist in a joint, plane of movement, chain of muscles and connective tissue or as is usually the case a mixture of all of these. One particular cause of debate is the act of ‘drawing the belly to the spine’ in preparation for abdominal exercises. This has been clinically shown to actually destabilize rather than reinforce the spine and is of much contention within the Pilates and fitness communities. One interesting point is to consider the number of Pilates exercises performed either lying down. Joseph Pilates initially developed the mat exercises as a way of training men to get fit for war and the studio pieces of equipment were designed for persons (dancers) who already had an advanced knowledge of body awareness and movement and needed a methodology to help them rehabilitate. A reformer therefore is an ideal piece of equipment for persons who are not able to weight bear on their legs. Posture, standing and walking involve intricate combination of millions of neural signals at a subconscious level with the feet and lower brain organizing the body within gravity to keep the eyes horizontal. This is not possible lying on a reformer so it is rather interesting that many people begin exercising lying on their back !

Corrective exercise strategies tend to be more direct in their approach and in this way may be seen as being more ‘functional’ in methodology. When a baby learns to move it will go through a series of a few ‘basic’ movement patterns from which all other more complicated movements are derived. Any dysfunction in these basic or ‘big’ movement patterns (without the constraints of equipment) will effect every other more complicate action which uses any part of that initial pattern. Good Correctional Movement strategies can help in all of these.

Theoretically speaking there should be no difference between safe effective Corrective Exercise and Pilates movement strategies however from a practical viewpoint this is often not the case. Therefore individuals looking to improve or effect positive change for pain relief or improved performance are encouraged to look around and compare different studios, teachers and modalities to select the one which most suits his or her physical and psychological condition.

It is recommended by many physical therapists and instructors that the ability to hold a neutral spine position, when performing certain exercises is very beneficial in terms of rehabilitation and reinforcing good patterns of movement. This is very commonly emphasized in a supine position (lying on your [...]]]> Neutral Spine, Exercise and a Dead Bug

It is recommended by many physical therapists and instructors that the ability to hold a neutral spine position, when performing certain exercises is very beneficial in terms of rehabilitation and reinforcing good patterns of movement. This is very commonly emphasized in a supine position (lying on your back) when differentiating between the lower back, pelvic girdle and hip joints for lower extremity movements and when on ‘all fours’ such as performing the Bird/Dog or Quadruped or Flying Table exercise.

However we should bear in mind that a ‘neutral spine’ is a position where the spine is in an optimum position to transfer loads in all three planes of movement and not just looking at the spine sideways at the arch of the back. So how do you know when you are in a neutral spine position? Chances are that you don’t ! Your neural system is geared in such a way that you need to maintain your eyes horizontal to the horizon at all times and it really doesn’t matter to your brain what it is going to do to achieve that. The subtle or not so subtle changes your body has made to get you in the position you are now in has taken a lifetime to achieve this so the bottom line is that the chances of you achieving a perfectly neutral spine are pretty well much zilch !

Now you might be and should be able to obtain a position which is ‘as close to an optimum position for your spine as your current and lifelong history of your body will allow’. This in itself is dependent on your kinesthetic awareness at rest and in motion. Which brings us to the next point. Motion. The concept of a neutral spine is very often used in both a static and dynamic state of being. However when our extremities move so does our spine ! Or some would say that when our spine moves so do our extremities. Most Pilates practitioners know the ‘Dead Bug’ exercise otherwise known as Femur Arcs or Toe Taps. In the start position a single leg or both legs are in a raised position (table top) and the hip or both hips are flexed. The problem with this is that in ‘real life’ the pelvis should naturally flex with the hips and extend when the hips are extended. So theoretically how and why would we hold a neutral position of the spine when we are in a flexed position a in the beginning of this exercise?

The classical system of Pilates encourages a flat back position when performing these and similar exercises which actually makes sense when one thinks in terms of the pelvis needing to flex. This position however is scorned upon by the physiotherapy approach which determines that the flat back puts the spine into compressed position whilst displacing the vertebrae of the lumbar spine posteriorly. Given that the pelvis should slightly flex when the hips flex and that gravity is working along the length of the spine instead of down through the spine, one may question if the flat back position is so bad after all?

I think the main issue here is that we should differentiate between 2 types of outcomes for a specific exercise. Here at Bodyworks we differentiate between a ‘Functional Movement’ and a ‘Therapeutic Movement’. For instance if you sit at the edge of a chair and turn to the right your left shin should move forwards over the first two toes bringing the left knee with it which in turn is accompanied with a pelvic twist to the right (interestingly the sacrum would rotate left). The muscles down the right side of the leg, butt and spine along with the contralateral multifidii and left external and right internal oblique contract to turn you to the right . At the same time the antagonistic muscles are still firing eccentrically to help control the movement. This would be very much a ‘Functional Movement’ as it would be how we would want to perform such a movement in daily life. So what if we didn’t allow the left leg to move and performed the exercise with a static pelvis ? Would this be considered bad or incorrect ? Not really, especially if our goal was to stretch some of the shorter muscles and/or associated fascia in the chain of movement or maybe for instance help strengthen the right multifidii muscles to stabilize the lower back and stop excessive left rotation of the sacrum. This would now be considered a ‘Therapeutic Movement’ and the type of movement prevalent in so many ‘Pilates Exercises’ where one part/end of the body is often encouraged to be ‘fixed’. It thus has validity in terms of its outcome and reason for performing in this manner even though we would often choose not to move in this manner in our daily life.

The issue of ‘neutral spine’ and ‘flat back’ when performing the dead bug/femur arcs can be thought of in exactly the same manner and when thought of in this way may be seen as both methods being correct – it just depends on ‘what are you doing this exercise for’ ?

This leads us to another question in terms of practical usefulness of this exercise. That is “Why are we doing this exercise in the first place?” The most common reasons may include; differentiation of the hips, learning to switch on your core, stabilize your torso, release/stretch your hip flexors etc. This is invariably an exercise practiced at the beginning of a session or as a warm up. It would thus make sense to at least take the spine through some articulation exercises such as ‘Cat / Cow’ so that the body can experience the end of range of motion for flexion and extension before determining where it’s ‘own’ neutral spinal position would be.

Another concern is why are we doing anything on our backs? Obviously if someone is unable to weight bear through one or both legs it makes sense to lie on the back. But if not why are we on the back? Sure – flattening the spine or enforcing a neutral position (if possible) may help in stabilizing the pelvis and spine by encouraging a contraction of the abdominal muscles but what happens when we stand up? Remember we should be reinforcing and teaching movements that will help us function better in daily life or develop more power, strength, speed etc in a particular sport. So how many of these activities fall into the category of lying down on our backs. One of the worst things one can do after completing an endurance form of activity is to lie down on our backs ! This is because the ligaments and muscles around each vertebra and through the many kinetic chains of movement become supple and tired. So when we lie on our backs these soft tissues can literally lock the vertebra in a position placing immense stress on the intervertebral discs as they become displaced due to the change in orientation of the spine.

Of course we can say that lying on the floor gives us a kinesthetic awareness of how the spine and body is organized but then so does standing against a wall. There are a large variety of exercises one can practice against a wall that would target the same muscles and principles of movement as lying on our backs so why don’t we do those especially if you consider that performing the exercise whilst standing incorporates more of the kinetic chain of movement or myofascial slings used or required in daily life. Injury and pain are naturally 2 very good reasons but what if there is no injury or pain. It’s all very well to work smaller muscle groups in terms of rehabilitation but the bottom line is that we function as a whole unit and not separate parts. For this reason we should be looking at exercises invoking gross body movements in a ‘normal’ orientation within gravity. This would help address left / right, front / back and rotational imbalances throughout the whole system. This doesn’t mean blowout maximal workouts – far from it – must of us know that the anticipatory muscles work best in exercises of no more than 20% effort. However this doesn’t mean that we do not progress the amount of work performed in a session although this is very much based on the individual where Personal Training sessions come in.

The bottom line about all the above statements is that when we are exercising  – as teachers we should have enough anatomical and kinesiology knowledge to make the right decisions for each intended outcome and as students or practitioners let’s just get off our backs and get on with it !

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The spine consists of the 7 vertebrae (bones) of the neck (cervical vertebrae), the 12 vertebrae of the upper back (ribcage or thoracic vertebrae), the 5 vertebrae [...]]]> “Neutral Spine” is a very commonly used term within the ‘Pilates’ world but do you know exactly what it is and just how useful is it ?

The spine consists of the 7 vertebrae (bones) of the neck (cervical vertebrae), the 12 vertebrae of the upper back (ribcage or thoracic vertebrae), the 5 vertebrae of the lower back (lumbar) and the sacrum and coccyx (sacrum and tail bone). Each section has a natural curvature to it which gives the spinal column it’s distinctive wavy shape so that each vertebra can share the load placed through the column. If the spine was a straight line the load would go straight into the bottom vertebrae and we would be in a lot of trouble !

At the base of each segment (vertebra) where it is stacked on top of the one below there is a space which allows the nerves at that particular segment to come out nd go to where it is needed. The space is bigger at the bottom of the spine than at the top where the vertebrae are smaller. Each vertebra is separated from the one below and above by a cushion or shock absorber known as an intervertebral disc. This disc is similar to a jam doughnut in that the fluid (jam) inside gives the disc volume and consistency. If two vertebrae were to be compressed on each other the disc would be squashed. If the compression were to be more from one side than the other the disc may ‘bulge out’ as it flattens and ultimately the ‘jam’ may burst completely destroying the shock absorbtion properties of the disc and thus becoming a herniated disc. Before it bursts however the bulge of the disc may impinge and touch the nerve exiting that spinal segment thus causing local and/or referred pain to another area of the body.

Imagine therefore that in this picture you could place a hand either side of the spine and by bringing your hands together you could flatten it out. What would happen ? Pressure would be created unevenly on the discs causing them to bulge out and is some cases (along the thoracic spine) the bony parts of the vertebra would be forced closer together making the space smaller for the nerves to exit. The resulting flattening of the lower back (lumbar vertebrae) would cause the pelvis to go into whats called a posterior tilt resulting in tightness of the pelvic floor muscles and compression of the hip joints – both conditions which are especially pertinent to ballerinas. These conditions along with the weight bearing aspect are clearly ones we do not want to have ! Therefore a reasonable definition of a Neutral Spine could be ” a position and alignment of the vertebrae which maximises the natural space between each vertebra for the nerves to exit whilst minimizing compression through the whole column and uneven compression at each spinal segment”

This of course would be very different for each individual and as such Tom may need to have  ’flatter’ lower back than Harry but not as ‘arched’ as Dicks in order to gain the best alignment. Teaching ourselves to hold our spine in this neutral position (or as close as possible) especially whilst sitting or standing would theoretically go a long way to alleviating or preventing back pain or other areas of the body.

Now we know what a neutral spin is – just how useful is it and how does this apply to exercising ? This will hopefully be at least partially explained in a forthcoming article.

Most people I have met who suffer from back pain usually express a single incident at which he or she ‘put their back [...]]]> Many people turn to Pilates as an aid to helping or coping with back pain but just how useful is it and what are the common causes for back pain ?

Most people I have met who suffer from back pain usually express a single incident at which he or she ‘put their back out’ or on the other hand say something like ‘I can’t think of what I did to make this happen ?” Both examples indicate the ‘Western’ reductionist approach which is the basis of ‘western medicine’ of reducing something to it’s simplest form and thus we end up missing the forest for the trees. Simply put, every person is living in a body which is the sum parts of their whole life ! For instance when we experience an emotion our bodies respond through small facial expressions (Lie to me – great show! ), to gross body movements such as slumping or tensing our shoulders. Each emotion is intrinsically linked to our breathing patterns which in turn affect or are affected by the autonomic nervous system which has control over our whole body……. and so it goes on…….

Take a deep breath in and feel how the chest lifts. Take a shallow breath in and feel how the rib cage stays somewhat down. Correct breathing patterns for example are essential to pump and maintain fluid in the thoracic intervertebral discs thus encouraging good spinal alignment. Shallow breathing may cause the ribs to stay depressed causing the upper body to slump forward thus causing the lower back and neck muscles to over contract to keep the head up. Think about the stress now placed on the spinal column and now multiply this by 24 hrs a day for X number of years.

If you were to tie a small weight to a thick rope and hang it from the ceiling and everday cut just one strand of the rope. What would happen ? Probably nothing. However do this every day for a month, year or more and eventually one day the rope is going to break. It is literally the straw that breaks the camels back !

As humans we are very good at learning and enforcing patterns of movement. As a martial arts instructor I could tell almost immediately if a new student had studied before and what particular style just from the way he or she would perform a couple of movements. We learn very quickly for instance that it is a lot ‘less effort’ to turn a light switch off if we just lift our arms and don’t bother to move the body with the arm. Multiply this a couple of thousand times over a number of years and we have a great movement pattern to give us a shoulder problem for when we play golf !

The good news is that if we screw up the ‘correct movement’ in one part of the body there is generally another part of the body which will compensate or take over. Imagine you have a right knee problem and it hurts to place weight on the leg. Probably you would compensate by placing more weight on the left leg and swinging the right leg around to get it in front thus placing stress on the lower back muscles. One day your knee ‘gets better’ (doesn’t hurt) so now what do you do to encourage a better movement pattern for walking – the answer is nothing ! What happens is the body would have adapted somewhere else and thus started to place stress somewhere else in that kinetic chain of movement. The right knee probably didn’t actually get much ‘better’ but the amount of neural feedback to and from the knee becomes diminished and the brain actually literally turns off to that area of the body.

So to go back to our original statements of what did we did to put our back out – probably it would be more accurate to ask – “what patterns of movement have I ingrained and learned that have placed such stress on my body that it has now given up on me ?”

The more the body is forced to compensate the sooner there is nowhere left to take the stress. Also as we get older or if we live sedentary lives we begin to place more and more collagen fibers in the tissue which lack elasticity and are more prone to break when being stretched. It then only becomes a matter of time before something somewhere gives out.

Grab a towel or piece of cloth and apply a twisting movement at both ends. Where does the stress go ? Not into the moving parts initially but into the middle of the cloth which becomes very taut. So the same happens in our body – just substitute the middle of the cloth as being the spine.

Daily forces place extraordinary stress through the muscles and spinal column resulting in compression of the spine and intervertebral discs. The real killer though is that these forces are very rarely uniform and so there is a twisting or ‘torque’ component which if not released can be the instigator of many conditions. In western medical terminology these conditions associated with the spine are given names such as scoliosis, spondylosis, spondylolithesis, stenosis and herniated disc. Medical conditions are for the most part a symptom and not the cause ie:  common treatment for a bad shoulder is to treat the shoulder – problem is that the cause of the shoulder pain is more often than not coming from somewhere else ! Eighty five to ninety percent of all back pain can not be diagnosed through an xray although of course it is very useful to have an xray to determine what condition is not present.

Therefore no matter what the presenting symptom of the back pain it is usually a very good starting point to initiate a course of treatment which takes away the compressive forces into the spine. These means identifying the imbalances causing the dysfunction (could be a sprained ankle when you were 2 years old !) and bringing about a sense of balance to the individual which is not forced but natural and doesn’t mean sucking your belly in and consciously contracting your stomach muscles when walking down the street! Functional Corrective Exercises and Pilates are excellent methodologies to incorporate in long term rehabilitation and prevention for back pain whilst incorporating sound, natural patterns of movement.