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.

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.

Before we can pull apart what makes Pilates good for posture, we first need to understand what posture is. Generally whensomeone talks about their posture, they mean how upright their body is, usually from sitting or standing. The idea that we must stand up straight (and that slouching is bad for us) is drilled in to us from a very young age, and there is some scientific evidence that leans towards supporting this claim. For instance; Evidence of how much heavier our head becomes the further forward it sits of our midline (1) and how it can, in turn, impact blood flow and muscular function of the connected tissues. Yes, this is true, however the reality is that our posture is dynamic, and we aren’t designed to hold any one particular position for a long period of time. And although we have hundreds of muscles that support our bones to keep us upright, the majority of these fatigue within a few minutes if they are held under constant full contraction for a few minutes. So this idea of holding an upright, vertical posture can be very tricky, and also very fatiguing!

Having been in the health and fitness industry for over 10 years now, one of the most commons questions I get from a client is either A) what are my pelvic floor muscles, and B) am I meant to be using my pelvic floor muscles now?! And this stems from the fact that about 20 years or so ago, when Pilates was still in its infancy in Melbourne, it became synonymous with physiotherapy in particular, as a support tool for rehabilitating injuries - mainly those of the spine. So it got drilled into not only the practitioners, but anyone who did Pilates that they had to squeeze their pelvic floor to do Pilates! In reality, this is far from the case, and has actually become quite problematic for a lot of people, creating dysfunctional pelvic floor muscles, as well as stiff and tight backs.

Having spent the last 2 years completing my Somatic Movement Therapy training, I have had the opportunity to work with some incredible clients as they bravely unpack the chronic pain or dysfunction they experience. Not all, but many of these journeys have ultimately boiled down to unresolved trauma held within their bodies. Being able to observe and hear real time feedback from these clients about what they feel, sense, imagine and kinesthetically experience, has fueled a passion in me to try and better understand what constitutes trauma. I am especially interested in how it manifests in the body and how to best guide someone through that experience so they can regain their power and confidence.

Running at its most basic is a fundamental skill we all develop as kids and generally maintain through most of our life span, if we want to. It has long been seen as an incredibly effective means of exercise for the masses, or a vital tool for many to complete their hobbies. It’s so effective, that entire industries have been built around helping us run better. We’ve got billion dollar sporting goods stored pumping out runners that are regularly refined (or perhaps just redecorated) in order to provide a more comfortable and sustainable run. And that’s just the shoes - let’s not forget about the clothing that helps hold everything in place, or the technology being developed to help provide more details analysis of your specific running regime.

One question that I’ve heard many many times over the year is ‘will I lose weight doing Pilates?’ And the answer is always the same. And unfortunately, the answer isn’t what most people want to hear - Pilates on it’s own is not effective for weightless, sorry to say! So then why do people often say that they feel amazing, or have lost so much weight doing Pilates? In general terms, it’s actually more a reflection of a number of choices they are now making and Pilates is just the method of exercise they are doing at the time. These choices will reflect their mental state, their food choices, their motivation to exercise, and their outlook on themselves. Taking up Pilates from doing no exercise at all will help shift some weight, but training Pilates with other forms of exercise won’t change things that much. Let’s explore this a bit more for you to understand.