Recommended ...

In this section I will be recommending and reviewing various books, websites, CDs and DVDs. If you would like to recommend any for review then please contact me with the details. A lot of these items can be purchased from www.amazon.co.uk

DVDs

I would always recommend to my patients that they use Pilates in three ways:

A few (as many and often as you can afford) One-to-One sessions, at home or in a Pilates studio with a fully qualified Pilates Instructor. They can vary from £20 - £50 per hour depending where in the country you live. This allows you to get a full understanding of what Pilates is all about and makes it easier to follow the classes and the DVDs.
Go to at least one weekly class with a Pilates teacher you feel very comfortable with and who understands you particular musculo-skeletal problem. You can also suggest that your treating specialist, i.e. chiropractor, osteopath, physiotherapist has a word with the Pilates instructor, to help them understand your specific problem, and areas to be extra careful with, especially in the first few months of learning the Pilates principles, if you recently have had a bad back.
Use DVDs at home as the ones recommended here; do it with a friend if possible, so you can keep the discipline going (same time, same place every week!)

Do remember that it may take months to feel and see the full benefits of Pilates and that you have to maintain a regular programme, to persistently protect you spine. It has to become a regular habit in your life, just like brushing your teeth every day! Remember you can get new teeth; you can not get a new spine!

The Pilates Body – The Pilates Way with Lynne Robinson

"The Queen of Pilates"

The Times

If you want to:

streamline your body
flatten your stomach
manage your weight
tone your thighs
shape your arms
slim your waist
firm your buttocks
strengthen your back
improve your posture
increase your flexibility
heighten your body awareness
learn to relax

...this may be the form of exercise for you. Pilates is ideal for people who have suffered from musculoskeletal problems; gentle and precise for those all important muscles that help to support and protect the spine that, unfortunately, with today’s lifestyle, often are very weak and imbalanced. Always check with your GP or your treating specialist first when you may be ready and have healed far enough for you to begin the next stage of your recovery from your particular musculo-skeletal problem. Also great if you want to help prevent serious back problems, before they become a major problem in your life.

The DVD contains three workouts and a ‘Back to Basics’-section:

Workout One (25 min)

Discover your natural girdle of strength as you work the ‘powerhouse’, strengthening your abdominal and back muscles. Improves flexibility and mobility of the spine.

Workout Two (25 min)

Focuses on your core strength, includes amazing buttock firming exercises, finishing with exercises to sculpt and tone the upper arms.

Workout Three (25 min)

Exercises to improve your balance, streamline your waist, flatten your stomach and strengthen upper body.

Back to Basics

The Three basic principles of Alignment, Breathing and Stability (centring) are clearly explained step by step to ensure that you work precisely and with control.

Available at www.bodycontrol.co.uk or check out www.amazon.co.uk

Pilates for Pregnancy – Lynne Robinson

... the complete pre and post natal workout

"Women today…are often physically unfit for pregnancy and labour ... Pilates exercises, breathing and relaxation will help the journey through Labour and safe delivery of the child"

Lisa Marshall, Midwife, RGN RM Diploma in Health and Professional Studies

At last, a safe and effective Pilates Programme that takes into account all the changes your body is going through whilst pregnant.

Designed for use in pregnancy from 16 weeks onwards and from 6 weeks after the birth, these exercises will:

make your pregnancy more comfortable
prepare you for the rigours of labour and for the demands of motherhood
help you get back into shape more quickly after birth
teach you to use your natural ‘girdle of strength’ allowing you to carry the added weight of the baby easily
improve your body awareness, helping you discover how to use your breath and release tension so that labour is more comfortable
work the pelvic floor in every exercise, so you can gain greater control during the delivery itself, and soon return to normal after

Contents of the DVD:

Introduction

Back to Basics – Alignment, Breathing, Stability clearly explained with pregnancy in mind to ensure that you work correctly

The Main programme (40 min) – A 40 minute balanced ante- (16 weeks plus) and post- (6 weeks) natal workout

Additional Postnatal section (10min) – Extra exercises for after the birth, which when added to the main programme, create the ideal postnatal workout.

If you are planning on getting pregnant, try to get into shape, via Pilates, BEFORE this happens and then maintain the exercises whilst pregnant and especially after, because as we all know, babies only get heavier and there will be plenty of bending, lifting and twisting when there is a new born baby in the house! All things that are hard on your back and can cause back problems.

It is safe to have chiropractic treatment, whilst you are pregnant, so should you develop any back trouble, go see your local chiropractor and let him/her help you through the pregnancy, with the least amount of discomfort as possible.

Available at www.bodycontrol.co.uk or check out www.amazon.co.uk

The Perfect Body/The Pilates Way – Lynne Robinson

"In ten sessions you’ll feel the difference
In twenty you’ll see the difference
In thirty you’ll have a new body"

Joseph Pilates

Step by step, you can change the way you look, the way you feel and the way you move. If you want a new body – reshaped, rebalanced and realigned – a body that is longer, leaner, more supple and yet with a hidden strength, then this DVD is for you.

Practised regularly, the exercises in this video will strengthen you deep postural muscles, gradually building your own ‘girdle of strength’ to protect your back. Recommended by physiotherapist, osteopaths and chiropractors as THE way forward in exercise for the new millennium.

Contains:

BACK TO BASICS: Alignment, Breathing, Centring or Stabilising using the deep abdominals are all clearly explained.
WORKOUT ONE: A perfectly balanced workout targeting your abdominals, circulatory system, trimming the waist, and toning the thighs and buttocks. Including gentle stretches to lengthen out tight, tense muscles.
WORKOUT TWO: This exciting workout focuses on strengthening the trunk, mobilising the spine as well as toning the upper arms. There are fabulous exercises for improving the shape and circulatory and lymphatic systems of the legs.
THE SERIES FIVE – FEEL THE POWERHOUSE: The Series of Five is a challenging workout designed to make you feel the ‘girdle of strength’ or ‘powerhouse’ around your centre. Five classical Pilates exercises are demonstrated in stages – from beginners through to the full advanced versions so that you can practice at your own level.
THE RELAXATION SESSION: The final session is worth waiting for! A series of gentle movements designed to release tension from the body followed by a relaxation exercise. A perfect end to the perfect workout for a perfect body.

This is another gem from the Queen of Pilates. If you do this DVD on a regular basis, you will feel and see a difference in your body. If you have had recent back trouble, always have a word with your treating therapist, and get them to review the DVD to remove any exercising you may (in the beginning only) not be able to do. As you get fitter and stronger, they can always be re-introduced into the programme.

Available at www.bodycontrol.co.uk or check out www.amazon.co.uk

Chillates – Litza Bixler

…with the coolest music from Ministry of Sound…a GREAT soundtrack!

Introducing Chillates from Ministry of Sound, a brand new concept taking influence from yoga, Pilates and dance. A complete mind-body workout which improves balance, aerobic fitness, co-ordination and muscle tone.

Professionally programmed by top international choreographer Litza Bixler, Chillates is suitable for all standards with beginner, intermediate and advanced demonstrations of key moves and sequences.

Chillates features a ‘Wake Up section to warm up the body, ‘Salute & Strengthen’ developing strength and tone in the large muscles of the lower body, ‘Core Strength & Flex’ working the smaller muscles of the upper/lower body and abdomen and ‘Standing Yoga & Dance’ improving strength and tone for the entire body.

The workout finishes with a 10 minute guided meditation section helping you unwind and forget about the stresses of the day. Also featured is a half hour Ibiza sunset section set up to the Chillates soundtrack – the perfect backdrop to a chilled night in!

Exclusive 12 track chillout mix, featuring Bent, Deepest Blue, iio, Jakatta, Lost Witness, The Thrillseekers.

DVD extra: 10 minute meditation section, 30 minute Ibiza sunset section, behind the scenes featurette.

A great and challenging workout; not the place to start if you have just had a bad back, but once you have done Pilates as described above, for a couple of months and is starting to feel stronger and stable, this is a fantastic, funky & modern twist to exercise with a fab soundtrack! And the meditation section is great after a busy and hectic day at work!

Available at www.amazon.co.uk