As discussed in our previous article, the idea of having good posture isn’t as simple as sitting up straight. Any posture or position held for prolonged periods can become problematic. In recent years, statements such as “Sitting is the new smoking” have been used to encourage people to avoid staying in chairs for extended periods. In reality, standing for prolonged periods is no better than sitting. A more accurate saying might be, “Your best posture is your next posture,” emphasizing the importance of movement rather than forcing yourself to remain in an “ideal” posture.

How many times have you heard someone say to sit up straight, or pull your shoulders back? Many people complain about having bad posture, but they don’t truly understand what that means. Prolonged periods of sedentary behaviour can result in muscle discomfort, or wastage in extreme situations. But majority of the time, our posture isn’t bad, it’s the general lack of movement that creates the discomfort. Posture is not just about muscles and bones; it's a complex interplay between multiple systems in the body and our emotional, mental and gut health.

Chronic pain differs from acute pain in that it often involves heightened sensitivity in the nervous system, a condition known as central sensitization. This means that the nervous system can become hypersensitive, causing even minor or non-harmful stimuli to be perceived as painful.

Chronic pain may also lead to muscle guarding (where muscles tighten around painful areas), loss of range of motion, and a decreased tolerance for activity, all of which can exacerbate pain.

Pain is a universal experience that can range from a mild, temporary sensation to chronic discomfort that affects daily life. While we often consider pain as something to avoid, it plays an essential role in alerting us to potential harm, helping protect us from further injury, and guiding healing processes. However, to understand how pain works, it’s important to explore its biological, neurological, and emotional dimensions.

With Rob's blend of sports science and Functional Neurology training and Ash's Dance and Somatic Movement Therapy training, their Pilates sessions are always multi-faceted and multi-dimensional and cover a broad range of health interests that go beyond simply stretching and strengthening our bodies.

Their combined knowledge based has facilitated many life-changing journeys for their clients, and has resulted in being recognised names across the Australian Pilates scene. Their work also extends to facilitating world-class yet affordable professional development opportunities to Pilates Practitioners across Australia and online.

It’s often a tad confusing when you first start attending group Reformer Pilates classes, when it’s time to move up to the next level. There’s often differences between practitioners' styles, modifications for clients within each session, and the same level class but at different times of the day. You may even attend the same class, with the same practitioner at the same time for a few weeks, and have a completely different experience each session! These are all common bits of feedback we get from our clients who attend regularly, and is also a common thread across most studios’ I’ve ever visited or worked at. So what do you do?

Movement specialist and owner of Movementality in Melbourne, Ashleigh Berry explains to us how we get our clients to move is just as important as what we ask them to do.

Pilates Journal talks to Ashleigh Berry

When was the last time you explained something in detail to a client and they looked more perplexed than before you started explaining? We’ve all been there. In this moment did you make the assumption that they didn’t get it, and that they were missing something? It may sound harsh, but if the client is confused, it’s more likely a reflection on how you’ve demonstrated or explained it, rather than something they’ve done wrong. Perhaps you said too much or overcomplicated the answer. Maybe it’s time to take a breath, revise your approach and try something different.

Reciprocal Inhibition is a term used to describe how muscles “talk to one another”. Muscles work together to move joints, usually with an agonist (the driver), an antagonist (the passenger) and sometimes some synergists (backseat drivers) helping out. When the agonist (let’s say the hamstrings) contracts to bend your knee, this sends neurological messages to the antagonist (the quadriceps) to eccentrically lengthen (we often sloppily say “let go” or “switch off” but it’s more complex than that). This is how muscles communicate to one another to move joints in a coordinated way. It’s important to note that a muscle is never switched off, or deactivated - think instead of it like a coordinated tug-of-war where when one muscle starts winning, the other has to choose to let go, and vice versa. 

Whether it be a physical training modality such as Pilates or more treatment-based modalities such as Myotherapy, Functional Neurology or Somatic Movement Therapy, touch plays an important role in initiating, enhancing and supporting movement. Throughout this blog I aim to highlight how movement and touch intersect in the Movementality studio and how I use them as a Somatic Movement Therapist to facilitate the greatest learning and embodiment experiences for my clients.

Pain is a complicated beast. Recently, Rob posted a blog about pain, delving into the differences between pain and nociception and detailing how we work with both in the Movementality studio, from a physical and physiological perspective. As a Somatic Movement Therapist, as well as working with the physical and physiological components, I must also consider the psychological component of pain, and in particular, the relationship between emotion, pain and movement.

Osteoporosis (porous bones) is a topic close to my heart as my previously fit and healthy 72 year old mother was diagnosed with it. What I’ve seen in her, is that she has progressively become more bent over, and experiencing significant changes and disabilities to her lifestyle as her spine crumbles. This led me at age 44, to get my own bone density tested, which isn’t normally recommended until age 60 onwards unless having suffered from specific medical conditions that can impact bone health. And at the youthful age of 44, I have been diagnosed with Osteopenia (low bone density), which is the precursor to osteoporosis. And as someone who considers themselves healthy and active, and was still diagnosed, I thought I’d put together a bit of information and a few tips for optimising bone health for the thousands of people who get diagnosed Osteoporotic/peanic every year.

Having the mentality to move because I wanted to feel good, is what finally got me to become regular with exercise and turn it into a habit. This is something a lot of people struggle with, often treating exercise as a way of being able to maintain or adjust their weight, their figure, maybe a necessity for long-term health, or as a means to an end for other goals. As a practitioner, it isn’t as often as I’d like that we get clients who come to see us because they have already connected the dot’s that regular exercise actually makes them feel good. And it can sometimes be a bit of a journey to find a place with experienced instructors that offer the style of classes you like, at a time and price point that works for them. But once you find it, it makes a huge difference to your willingness to exercise.