junes news letter

Newsletter June 2012
Well, this month is going to be one of those that a few of you will be pleased to see the end of, with so many of you with youngsters taking GCSE etc, but never mind the summer will be upon us in no time and all thoughts of not completing those last few papers will be a distant memory. Very soon the Olympics will be upon us with wall to wall television and the problems of getting down to London in time to get our seats for the great spectacle. I, myself, will be getting ready to do my best, though I have to admit, it has been a little hard going getting the information but I think I have it in the bag now.  I promise that next year I will not give you so much trouble and I think Lyn has been through a rough time as well, never knowing what's about to happen.

The studio
has been a little quite for the last two weeks with so many bank holidays. No one seems to be able to arrange their lives around holiday weekends and school term breaks, but it should now settle down with a nice gentle plod until the long summer holidays, talking of which Adam and Joe have gone to Cyprus to get away from all the parties in London.  John and David seem to be taking the children on a camping holiday in Southwold; I think Ruby might be ready to give John the run around. Wednesday morning has turned into very interesting classes; Annie was on form and is getting ready for more of her art courses in India. Maryann also has a course starting up with Draw East and Annabel is also getting ready for the “tarts “next production at Maryann’s home, I will make time this year for it.  Phil has moved and Scilla has been in the studio, which is always great fun, she always has me thinking outside the box with some great papers to follow up on.  Chris and John have been making bee hives, I think the bees have been a little hard work and they are expecting the bee breeder to come and inspect the hive and the house on a regular basis.

Dance East
has been full on as well.  I have never seen the classes so busy. Not so many problems but a really good mix of clients to work with, but the class that has given me loads of fun has been the last one on a Tuesday.  Annie seems to be setting out the challenges. I have not seen Chris since the Wattisham triathlon, but I hope to find out more when he gets back to normal.  Mat has joined the later class and I think he is finding it a little challenging.

Woodbridge school
This term I have spent a lot of time dealing with youngsters who seem to have spent most of the holiday standing in growth hormone.  They all seem to have grown more than just an inch or two, even Will, so I have been left with exercises that might deal with this problem, so loads of stretches.


The council office
We have one more in the class at Hadleigh road.  Carl, I think has been enjoying some of the little banter in this group.  Everyone at Grafton house has been travelling around the world working!

This month stars
This month has been a lot of fun for loads of you.  David and Sandra have been performing well over the last few weeks and have had a win or two.  Very well done Aaron ,5 gold medals [4x100m freestyle and IM relay, 100m free, 50m free, 100m breaststroke and 4th 50m breaststroke 100 and 50] and now ranks 10th in the UK for his age.
Troy and Aaron have both been awarded a sports award !!!!
Julia from the Ipswich and Suffolk club won a gold medal at Chelsea for her flower arrangement and Jackie had a dinner for a young weightlifter in the Para Olympics, they collected £3000 towards her training.

This month I have decided to write about the shoulder, but I felt it would be better to break it down into sections over the next few months. So I felt it would be an idea to write about the shoulder blade and the reasons for it being so important whilst doing your exercises.

The scapula is an inverted triangle known as the shoulder blade, the bone has three hollows, these make a hollow on the front of the scapula and two either side of the spine of the scapula; the spine follows a line across the blade to the top angle towards the shoulder, the two hollows at the back of the scapula are above and below the spine of the shoulder blade, the top hollow being smaller than the bottom hollow. The scapula has a lip on the outer surface the indentations allowing the muscles to attach to the bone. The spine of the scapula is to the rear of the shoulder blade.

These bones give the impression of just floating in the middle of the back, and yes, we have two, one either side of the spine, far from just performing an aesthetic role, they perform an interesting role in bringing control to the arms, shoulder and spine and require 18 muscles to hold them in place. If you follow the spine of the scapula it forms a processor that joins up with the clavicle, below this processor it forms a small cup that connects to the humerus corner at the top of the arm forming the shoulder joint.
The shoulder blade often shows the signs of a problem before any other part of the body.
 How many times have you been told or you have told some youngster to stand up straight or even sit up?
 What happens as the lower back tightens up the shoulders take up the tension, which can be caused by any one of the muscles that hold the scapula in place to tighten up, not unlike that of a guy ropes on a tent, and so disrupting the movements of the whole body during our daily routine.

 So when working with you I often work with the shoulder first as this will help to reduce any tension around the shoulders and thoracic area of the body and so improve the mobility of the upper body and so help a productive session when dealing with other areas that might be under stress.

For instance, if the lower back is under tension often the neck and shoulders roll forwards to take up some of the irritation and tighten up the muscles supports the spine. I often find it unproductive to try to loosen the lower back when the shoulders are causing a problem and therefore the shoulders are unable to allow the back to relax.

may news letter

    A couple of things of interest have come up this month; one was a research paper Scilla showed me that tallied up with some information from the dance world, looking at dance injuries. I have found this interesting as it looked at the types of injuries young dancers suffered from and also at the different ways they managed the problems; one of the things that came to mind was that the youngsters suffered from their injuries at different rates throughout the year and that the winter months showed a marked change in the dancers rate of injuries, and that March was the worst month of the year. Much the same happens around the studio and at my mat classes, but I think for different reasons, as my clients seem to start to injure themselves as they wake the garden up by working on it, which we talked about last month.  The change in the weather also plays a large part in our behaviour, and [yes, I will sound like my mother] not dressing for the cold weather, as I have done it myself.

The studio news

Tuesday morning sessions have been running me round the trees a little, but by now I am used to that. Annie is enjoying the twins as well as Liz, Penny is back out on the golf course,John, on Monday is also taking a ball for a walk around. Adam and Joe are back in harness but are trying to get me to go to Ayia Napa Cyprus. I think these strapping young men have an idea that I need some help training in the bar, I think not!! But I have been around a bit and I spent a lot of time in Cyprus getting into trouble, but it was fun.

Dance east

Are all back after the Easter break everyone is trying to lose all the Easter eggs, which were eaten over the last two weeks.It's amazing how much we can eat during such a short break.

Council officers

Everyone is having fun, the Tuesday session has increased by one more; a young footballer who found the first session a little challenging, his stomach muscles hurt for a few days, but never mind he will get over it. The Friday’s class have all been travelling around the world.

Woodbridge

Should start this week, I have not seen them since the Easter break, looks like most of them will have been working hard catching up with studying, as they will be starting their exams soon.

Ipswich Cardinals

Are back to playing games instead of practice, the results do not look good but the team have been playing in the top league this season, so the results have not been good so far. Ithink they will look better by the end of the season. The last game gave me shoulder, knees and back problems to deal with.

Stars for the month

Well, Richard has completed the London Marathon in a very good time, well done.
David and Sandra are back on form, dancing back into first position and looking good for the rest of the season, as neck and shoulders are doing what we need them to do now,brilliant.
Shane has been on the radio over the last few weeks and is training hard, getting ready for a new season.
Gemma is doing well in London and hopes to be on television soon in the show, great news. You can look on her web site gogogo.
Maryann is not only doing well with her courses for Draw East but is going great guns getting ready for the “Tarts” next performance.

Thought for the month

The issue many of you seem to have developed recently is with the sciatic nerve, this has caused you some discomfort or even a lot of pain travelling down the leg towards the foot.

So let's look at the nerve itself , the sciatic nerve is a large nerve that travels posterially (to the rear of the leg) it is the largest nerve in the body, as it travels down the back of the leg and just before the knee the nerve splits into two sections, one part will travel behind the knee and the second will start to wrap itself around  the top of the femur and then breaks down in to two sections; one travels down the front of the leg, the other travels on the outside of the calf and travels down to the foot and splits into smaller nerves serving the muscles on top of the foot. The nerve that travelled to the rear of the leg continues down the back of the leg to the foot and breaks down into a series of smaller nerves that controls the muscles of the foot. The nerves job is to control and maintain the movement of the muscles of the body.

The issues pertaining to sciatica vary depending upon the severity of the condition, so a minor incident would cause discomfort around the pelvis area, radiating down the leg a short way, and can move into the foot causing a great deal more pain and discomfort. Problems other than pain around the pelvis and leg is a possible change to the patients gait and so causing a problem with the lumber area of the back, also a reduced mobility in and around the foot which would aggravate the lower back even further, increasing the amount of discomfort with the sciatica.

What can we do? Well, one of the first things to do is to reduce the inflammation in the area of the pelvis. This can be done by taking an anti-inflammatory that your doctor or pharmacist might suggest, to prevent any further tension in the area.
For exercises I like to take any tension from the lower back by doing pelvic tilts and lifts, this helps to relax the lower back and encourage a better body position.
I like to add hamstring stretches and most importantly a piriformis stretch, this can be done by bringing the leg into a table top position and drawing the knee across to the opposite side of the body. So, lay on the floor on your back, bring the left knee into a table top position, take hold of the knee with the right hand and draw the knee across to the right side and hold for five breaths and release. If this is too much, leave alone and take some advice from your doctor, never force a stretch whilst in pain.
For the foot, a massage, or sometimes, I like to use a small ball and roll my foot over it to take any tension out of the foot.

Other effective ways of dealing with this are Massage or Acupuncture, both can have a great effect on the problem, but what you must not do is just leave it as it may well become a much greater problem and will require a lot more time to heal and settle down

Well I hope the we have all got overall the bugs,val and Annie are spending three weeks in India going to a wedding both shell be stunning I hope to get all the news on their return .

Dance east
Has been very busy this month Friday afternoon has been some of the most popular classes. The docks are putting a fair on during December and I like the light show around dance east over November.

Woodbridge shcool
The youngsters at dance east have been great fun and still seem to be challenging me to the hilt.

Ipswich and suffolk club
Well what can you say about the ladies from the Ipswich and suffolk club that seem to lead me astray every week . Looking forwards to our Christmas lunch at the club in December .

Waldringfield ladies
Have also been working hard this month and no major problems this month I hope to add some more exercises to the routine.

Gilmour Pipers
We have been having loads of fun in the classes Monday's have been bouncing along with little john taking his golf ball for a walk during some of the best weather Peter and AJ getting the effluent sorted out and are running on hot air turning it into energy, tuesday morning classes have been great and we are booked into the salt house fro are chrismas breakfast,Wednesday morning will be nice to get annie and val back from India. The classes have started to run a little later on a wednesday and Thursday with the last class starting at 630 now to help with those needing to come in after work ,Thursday Joyce has been travelling to Italy to see her new grand child we have had so many new granma this year it has been a great year to see so many newly made grandmas and each and every one looking so young.

Council offices


Stars

Shane Supple has had a great finish to the end of the session with his team winning the galic football team league
David Write popped into the studio, it was great to see him having a great session with QPR such a shame he is no longer what Ipswich FC there loss never mind.
Jade and Kyle have had some great competitions this month coming in a 5 position.

David and sandra have also had some great results this month and are hoping to do well in Blackpool this weekend.

Mark Newman , Jame Zarro and Myself completed the hog run is was great fun.
I have got my selection for the olimpics next year I am so looking forwards to it.

Thought for the month, is that Christmas is about to come down on us and is swift any of the north winds which will drive us back into our homes with a raging fire to keep the cold at bay, it is at this time that when we seem to do the least of work around the home and garden .
It is at this time that we take on the largest meals of the year drink the greatest amount of alcohol as well gorge our selfs on chocolate and other forms of cakes and and crisps, but let's look at what we eat over the Christmas feast.

us at last i thought that we might look at what we are eating over the holiday period you might be surprised to hear that what we eat is actually very good for us but it fall down only on one point and that is we eat to much and our plates have to much on them .
So I have broken in the components of christmas dinner

August 2011

August is here at last and we are over half way through the year. So what has happened over the last month, for those that have followed the Harry Potter saga the last film has at last been and gone, and the Dark Lord has failed to take over the world. However as it is the last day of the month, I, myself have to sit down and write a piece, I always find this the hardest thing I ever do, I know everyone in the family thinks this is a laugh, I am the last person to ever pick up a pen to write something I would rather do is 10 k run over a mine field. Every word or letter seems to have the same effect on the page, but this is not getting us started ! The summer holidays are at last in full swing, I have seen this for myself as I walk to the club for lunch most days young ladies seem to have taken too walking around town with tops a little to tight for the body and jeans at the hips with a large amount of flesh being squeezed between the said two items and then we have the young gentlemen of the town, these fine lads sporting the latest hair do’s, which I must add they seem to spend more time on than the young ladies but as they will only have hair for a short period of their life's we can forgive them, but I digress gentlemen move around town with one hand upon the jeans waist band so trying to keep them up in vain with the jeans dropping down to the knees giving us the impression off a penguin and a nice view of their underpants!. This of course is the rantings of an old man who has lost both body and hair some years ago alas. Studio News Not much this month with a lot of you going out and about on your holidays Sue and Toby have been to see their daughter to make sure she has not been forced into a marriage with a local bandit as she has take a year out in some foreign outpost. John has been taking his summer holidays in his usual foreign out post in Southwold but he is back now and no worse for wear had he also managed to bring the girls back without a local bandit wanting to marry them, such a relief ! Trudi should be back in the studio soon after a short break now that she has moved into her house, the Ipswich Town Football club is now gearing itself up for what I might say could be a great season, Liz is considering joining Chris on her bike ride around Scotland and the ladies from Waldringfield have asked if I could run some class in the Village Hall, I am still looking to see if this is possible and I am hoping that June will soon return with Alison after a bit of a break. Ipswich and Suffolk Club The summer is going to carry on as normal once I have got the last two weeks sort out but all has been fun. Jackie has returned from her holidays at last, we did all miss her Eileen in her Irish lilt has had us in stitches with phrases, o thats very nice Michael, and I think we have done enough for today Michael; And we managed to get a Pilates table for the Champagne and Strawberry evening with Shirley and Trudi as well as Steve and Linda also back from sunning themselves on a beach, the evening was great fun. Woodbridge School Has closed for the summer holidays but I can promise you that none of them can be seen around the town sport the same attractive attire. Dance East Is quietly calming down for the summer with a few shows and the classes are now only on Tuesday at afternoon and evening 530 and 645 both need to be pre booked but it might be possible to get a space at the last minute. Council offices Well, I think I will have to break these into two group's Tuesday and Fridays, Tuesday seems to be building with Kirk getting more men into the session, Sandra managing to get into most classes when she not running around the road with her orange spray can Sue is still lifting an eyebrow whenever I manage to say something out of turn which by the way is quite often I think, Pat and Barbra are perfectly well behaved during the class. Fridays class has had a few stops due to one thing or another which is a shame, Penny is getting close to having her baby and I have the feeling that I might start to bring in the rubber gloves just in case. Kim has changed her hair colour which has quite thrown me I always start from the top and work my way down with all my clients but I seem to have a new person in another body or do I mean a new body in another person. Ipswich Cardinals So far I have not mentioned the Cardinals before I spend my time trying to put them back together during and after a game, for the records this an American football team that play during the summer at Northgate I have so enjoy this as it give me a chance to practice some of the other things I trained in. I have also been given a new nickname the master of pain, I have noticed the bigger the player the lower the pain thresh hold but I so enjoy it. Olympics 2012 This year I put my name down to be a First Aider at the Olympics and I had my first training day. I think I am going to have to put it down as a CPD day as I felt I came away with so much information and had a great deal of fun. So far I am unable to tell you what I have done or where but the things I have been doing took me straight back to my Air Force days, it was great. Gilmour Pipers Mark arranged a team to run the Ekiden at St Joseph college with Anna, James Z , James Potter and Luke as well as myself and Mark N. It was a bit of a wet session but we all did a good job James and Luke did a brill job in keeping us in the running, as for myself I was not up to form which has been my problem for the month. This month I am taking some time off to catch up on some paper work and to run some First Aid courses for companies in the area. Studio is closed Thursday 4th August, Friday 5th August,Saturday 6th August Monday 15th August, Tuesday 16th August, Wednesday 17th August Thursday 25th August, Friday 26th August, Saturday 27th August and Monday 29th August Competitive pupils David and Sandra came back on top form after a short break after getting through to the semifinals in a major Competition. Kyle and Jade also did well in the Professionals coming third in the rankings and a 6th and 5th place in the ballroom. Aaron is competing this week in Sheffield in the National Junior championship. Colin had a good game in the reserve team for Ipswich FC last week. Joe, I have had nothing from this month I think he might be resting for the summer, he will be back for the winter session and in good form I think. Troy is also resting for the summer but I am also sure he will back to working hard later in the year. Matt has had a few issues but I have not seen him for a while but I will also keep a look out for him in news letters. This month I thought I might write about the common cold and the effects on your training and why. During the July we had a little rain if you had not noticed, and I picked up a cold as well as a few other. So I thought I might give you some reason on why you should not train or compete during this time. Well lets start with symptoms A viruses that cause the common cold or flu can effect us in both summer and the winter months . Most of us will get on average 2 to 3 infections a year and some times avoiding these infections seems an impossible task especially when all around you are coughing and sneezing. The symptoms are coughs, sore, throats runny and congestion of the nose. And if that is not bad enough muscle aches, fatigue, headaches shivering and loss of appetite, Fever is often present giving us influenza which is much more severe. Progression The virus will start to replicate within the 2nd and 6th hour of contact symptoms will then occurs 2 to 5 days after the initial infection. The symptoms peak between 2 to 3 days after the onset and the symptoms will resolve in 7 to 10 days but some can last for three weeks. The common cold is at it most infectious during the first 2 to 3 days but it can also be Infectious 2 days before the onset of the symptoms. Manage the cold by take medication to meet the symptoms that manifest themselves in the body. For your interest the common cold was coined in the 16th century and Norman Moore relates that James 1 continually suffered from nasal colds. Exercise is a good way of keeping cold at bay, but over exercising can impair the bodies immune system and so leave you susceptible to infections. When taking medication exercise is not advisable due to the increase in the heart rate and the possible increased body temperature which will then lead to possible problems with the heart. Due to a raised heart rate then adding exercise, decongestants can cause the heart to work hard and so you can become short of breath and have difficulty breathing. If at the same you have asthma the breathing will be compromised even further. The best plan is to rest, sleep and recover from the infection Complete light exercises to maintain fitness but your aim should be to increase the numbers of hour you sleep and rest Push yourself and you will lose out in the end. The cost to subscribe to this site is £10 a month for individuals and groups is £40 , with 3 new routine available each month. To subscribe, please see the subscribe section at www.pilatesmann.com I have been ask if you can pay by cheque, yes send the cheque to me and make it payable to Michael Mann at 10 Fonnereau Road, Ipswich, Suffolk, IP1 3JP

July 2011

Well June has passed and July is again upon us which means that for many of us the schools have broken up for the summer so your lives change over this period of time. We will have to take account of having children around us, this seems to mean cooking around the clock, staying up late wondering when the house will return back to an equilibrium and everyone is in the correct place at the correct time giving you the time and space to what you might need to keep you fit.

Gimour Piper

We completed the Great East Swim I had a good swim not my best but I will get better I completed the mile in 1hr 4mins but my hay fever was very bad that day but July started with a flash. This is why the newsletter was a little late this month, later in the month I will be taking part in my in my first Olympic training I hope to be able to pass on some of the things I will be doing. Also at the end of the month I will be taking part in the Culford tri.

Studio news

Some of the news from the studios has been a little strange some of my clients went to Ascot Particularly Ladies Day. Some of the tales that came back were enough shock the best of us. John is still cycling every week. I have seen Shane Supple and he was looking well a little leaner but looking fit. Gemma is still doing well and enjoying her work, Phil has just returned from the States after working on Sir Cliff's latest record and Adam is about to build himself a studio again this is great news. David and Sandra are getting ready for a competition after a short break, Kyle and Jade are also at the same competition but are at a different grade. Sarah has been unwell but I have been told that she is using all her strength to get herself back to fitness.


Dance East.

Dance east is coming to the end of the term and their will be a short break for the summer I will be running some classes during a few weeks before we break for the summer.

Council Office.

Turn of events this week the ladies over at council office allowed one of the men of the men to join them this made me have to change the conversation around a little but the class did enjoy Kirk be put through his paces.

Woodbridge School.

As with Dance East Woodbridge school has finished for the summer, but last Friday I had a pleasant afternoon with the some of the team leaders for first aid course in the grounds. It was very pleasant teaching them in the garden. It was also strange to say farewell after teaching some of the students for some years. To see them leave is something I thought I would not feel such a strange lose.

Isn’t it amazing how much better we all feel when the weather is good and we have some good sunshine, by that I mean when it is warm not blisteringly hot .
It is a scientific fact that during the summer we suffer from a lot less depression that is unless we suffer from the opposite of what we think of as the normal form of SAD [ seasonal affective disorder] which is caused by too much sunshine.
When the weather is hot it is thought that the body produces less of the thyroid hormone which leads to a lack of energy and the heat also reduces the bodies ability to cope with mental stress. You will often see a decrease in appetite and also start suffering from insomnia. This will means that we have to find more motivation to exercise which in itself will help to increase levels of “happy hormones “, hopefully improve our appetite and also possibly relax us enough to help us to sleep.
It is especially important that you continue to exercise when you are on holiday either at home [ which so many more of us are starting to do !] or away, so here are some guide lines for you :-
Try to find an exercise routine which you can do either outside in a cool, shady area or possibly in an area of your home or where you are staying which is cool and only do an intense workout when the heat is bearable [ see a previous newsletter re heat stroke, not very pleasant which I can testify too !!] . Perhaps look at changing your exercise routine, by that I mean when you do the majority of your more intense workouts. For example do them at the weekend [ knowing the British weather it will probably be raining ] when you can choose the time when it is cooler to workout or try doing your exercises first thing in the morning or later in the day when it gets cooler. Also remember to keep your fluid intake up as if you are working hard you will be loosing more .
I think the most important thing is to find a routine that suits you thus ensuring that you continue your exercises all year round.

The big Swim
The annual Big Deben Swim took place yesterday and saw 33 local triathletes brave the waterway for a 10k challenge between Ramsholt and Woodbridge in aid of the Deben Estuary Partnership.

This event is the brain child of Dr Simon Rudland, a Suffolk GP. Its purpose is to raise the profile of the DEP, through shared enjoyment of the river, whilst also raising funds to support their work.

the swim raised £1000

June 2011

Wow, May has been so dry , very little water here in the East and the ground is like working with concrete, this has lead to a few back problems and many of us have been out watering the gardens to keep at least some of it alive. Again this has bought some back problems and also a few neck and shoulder issues and this month I have written the routines to meet those needs but at the same time I have built the routines to help meet David and Sandra's need and also I think David in France may need some exercises to help with the cycling , also Sebastien with his bumper crop
of strawberries!

Gimour Piper

Studio news

Gemma has had some great news about the show she has been working on is to move back to London for a 2 week period then it goes around the country.
I saw Shane supple for the first time since leaving ipswich football club looking great
also David Wright pop in to the studio this month and he also was looking in good form.

The car parking in Ipswich has caused me some issues this last month. As a businessman it is now becoming something I will have to start looking at and maybe consider a move from the town centre. It would be a great shame as I have
always found Ipswich a great place to work and Gilmour Piper to be the one of the best practises I could possibly work out of and I think, as so many others do, that the set within the practise to be the best around the country. For some of
my clients in business parking has already become such an issue that they have moved out of the town centre. If street parking is not resolved and suitable parking is found for our non-ambulant clients and those travelling long distances
such as from Cambridgeshire within our town centre area. I also may find I have no other choice. I am hoping things may ease but who knows what the council will do in the future!

Dance East .
The classes at Dance east have been very busy and I have enjoyed the new one at 530 on Tuesday the remaining classes have also been very busy as well.

Council Office
We have had some giggles at Gipping House Sandra hopes that her husband is going to join us. Sarah is going great guns over at Grafton Rob is back in competition biking.

Woodbridge School
This month has be a little strange to see some of the pupils I have been working with over the last few years move away from the school it has left with a little empty space that you have a feel that it might never be filled this is the first time I have really noticed it over the years of teaching I will miss all the other pupils but this time I have been working with them for what seems years and it has been a great pleasure.

With all the recent publicity about "laughter being the best medicine" I thought we'd look at the evidence etc as I see it.
Recent research found that certain hormone levels improve after laughter or happiness. Researchers measures levels of hormones that regulate our appetite.
Ghrelin which spurs hunger and leptin which tells us when we're full. They found that the hormone levels only changed after volunteers had watches or
listened to comedy or funny films which was when the ghrelin levels had risen and the leptin had fallen meaning that the body felt full. This also happened when the volunteers had engaged in moderate physical activity.So after all that I must say to all those that may not understand why I encourage so much laughter etc in my classes is that its all for the good of our hormone
levels; and also in my experience people perform their exercises better if they are in a happy mood. The mental and emotional condition of individuals also
increases as they're able to speak clearly and able to accomplish mental and physical tasks much more successfully.Sometimes as we workout the muscles that surround our mouth and eyes tighten and
so reduce the ability for the muscles in the body to function correctly and therefore it stops us from performing movement at the highest level. These ring
muscles are called sphincter muscles and are present both externally and internally in our body, coordinating and harmonizing contractions and relaxation that
initiate breathing, digestion, circulation, elimination and also protection,ie
closing eyes etc.Laughter and relaxing the muscles of the face will help to relax the muscles around the whole body and is a great way to reduce the stress levels within our life and so might go a long way towards helping us deal with muscular pain. By relaxing muscles and therefore the body we can ease back ache for example.
Backache can be due to muscle and tendon strain and sprain, muscle tension, emotional tension, poor posture and numerous other causes. Individuals who seldom
exercise can over exert their bodies which can cause muscle spasms in the back. So go on laugh daily??!! and if any one says anything tell them to join in !

The big Swim
We are swimming the Deben again this year on the 3rd July I hope to have more information on the swim as we get closer to the date. we will be looking for some sponsorship for the swim this year.

Courses over the next few months

Art workshops
Draw East www.draweast.com
May 10th,11th,12th,18th,19th
June7th, 8th, 9th, 14th, 15th, 16th,
September 6th, 7th, 8th, 13th,14th, 15th.

Valerie Armstrong has an exhibition at the Kendrew Quadrangle gallery St Johns college Oxford. Moving Closer form 4th to 7th June 11am -5pm
www.saveachildsponsoring.org

The month has been a little up and down. On the upside, it seems that the studio has turned into something like the Shrublands Lambing sheds. It seems we have a few more newly made grandparents in my classes and they seem to be younger than ever. Annie Owen's daughter has had twin girls, my niece has also had a little boy Oliver and Vicky Bingham has also had a grand son.

As for myself I have had a rough month with a poor competition during the month but I think I am over it now and back in the river Deben with a short swim last Sunday and a great swim this morning as well as training on Friday morning at Deben pool. Also Lyn and I have taken up ballroom dancing, It has been great having something to do together. I think March is going to be a little better than February with the promise of better weather on its way, so with the hope of warm weather I expect a few of us will be getting the gardens back into shape. So lets get back to some basic information on how to survive the garden. Stop at regular intervals, change job's from time to time and have a cup of tea or similar throughout the morning.

The studio has been busy. We seem to be getting back into full swing but we still have a few clients who are suffering from bugs of one type or another, and this is giving me some worries about what we should be doing to get them back on their feet again. So for those who have been down with some of these illnesses a suggestion: take your time rest as much as possible and when you are ready a little light exercise is always the best thing to do. The other thing I have noticed is that a few of you have been having problems with the cold weather, the joints and muscles are suffering a little too, so take your time when exercising.

Woodbridge school is on half term at the moment. I have been impressed with the work the youngsters have done this year so far. All have pushed themselves further than I thought possible in the last two weeks of the half term.

The Ipswich Town Football Club seems to have moved on from the changes in the club in the new year and all seems to be going well with them. I still miss Shane Supple and David Wright, the past players, but I still keep in touch in one way or another and both are doing well.

Ipswich Cardinals have been giving me a lot to think about. I get to see them twice a week for a short time on Wednesday and Sunday afternoons. Last season the team finished well as semi-finalists and have upped their training to two hard sessions a week without too many problems so far into the training season.

Dance East has decided to increase the number of classes in the next term on a Tuesday afternoon at 5.30 to 6.30. I believe that this class will be running as a booking system only. Other than that all is doing well at Dance East. We hope to be running a Dance East session on the web site but this has yet to be confirmed.

The Council office classes are also doing well at the moment and I hope all are enjoying the classes.

Gilmour Piper. Andrew's web site should be up and running by the start of the month. I am hoping to see Tom during March in the hope he will be able to sort my shoulder out. Tom has been working out hard in the gym on a regular basis to get ready for his Hockey. I am hoping to get out on the road with James if the weather starts to warm up. Luke Jackman is looking great in the pool, training in the water on a regular basis, I am not sure how much training Mark Newman has done since the birth of his son I should think he and Emma have a lot on their hands at the moment. Mark Piper has been away for a week or so, we have not seen much of him, but he seems pleased with the football club at the moment. Andrew has just got back from sailing and has a great suntan and looks as if he has enjoyed himself.

Ipswich and Suffolk Club is getting very busy at the moment even with Barbra away. At times it's a little like a scene from a Carry On film, with my words being changed a little. The other Friday I said to one of the pupils that it might be a good idea to place a ball between her legs and at that point I lost the whole class. At least Jackie was not in the class, she would keep giggling throughout the session and it's very infectious, I did have to leave the room to calm down, it does takes me back to Shrublands days.

A few things have happened this month and I thought it might be nice to address these issues in the hope it might be helpful to your basic First Aid techniques.

The aims of First Aid :

To Preserve Life.

Prevent the condition from worsening.

Promote Recovery.

If you have never had any basic first aid training call for help. Do not move the casualty This can be done by calling for the emergency services on 999 or 112 and/ or shouting for help.

Basic First Aid has three things to look out for,

Airway - is it blocked?

Breathing.

Circulation.

Check the airway by looking in the mouth to see if there are any obstructions. Gently tilt the head by lifting the chin a little and listen for breathing. At the same time look to see if the chest is rising and falling and feel for breath on your face.If absent call 999 or 112.

If the above is present and all is well check for circulation. This can be done by checking for bleeding.

Promote recovery. Only give first aid in accordance with your training and call for help 999 or 112.

Keep a First Aid box in the home and in the car. Most First Aid containers are green with a white cross and wording on the box.

For your home the minimum suggested contents will meet your needs.

A guidance leaflet.

20 individual wrapped and assorted sizes of adhesive dressing.

2 sterile eye pads.

6 triangular bandages.

6 wound dressings.

2 large sterile wound dressings individually wrapped and unmedicated safety pins.

Disposable gloves.

You should have no Creams, Lotions, Potions or tablets.

It is always best to take a basic First Aid course on a regular basis to keep you up to date with your skills.

I have been asked to write some of the recipes down from Shrublands on the website so I thought I would ask Maria for some of the dishes that were used in the clinic. so if any one has any favourites I will arrange for them to be written down for you.

February

February has arrived, and most of us have come through January without too many problems, but still we have a few issues with colds,flu and some bad tummy bugs that are lasting a few weeks, not nice and it will take few weeks extra to get over. So I will be keeping to the same routine as last month with a few extra movements to help.

This month sport has come into some ridicule with 2 very so so journalist who have now lost their jobs, these men criticises the judgement of a female lines official in a game. So for the records without women football would have floundered during the war as can be seen from the excerpt below
The Munition Workers Girls' teams. When so many young men marched off to war in 1914 it had fallen to women to pick up some of the tasks they normally performed. Many young working-class women were only too ready to respond to this call, not just for reasons of patriotism, but to break free from the domestic drudgery that was their only other hope of gainful employment. The manufacture of munitions in particular attracted large numbers of women, and by March 1917 they comprised 80 percent of the workforce. Never before had such a large cohort of young women found themselves thrown together so closely, and they enjoyed their new-found freedom, even though they worked in dangerous conditions, with rates of pay approximately half that of their remaining male co-workers. They organised social activities among themselves, and one of the recreational outlets they explored was football. They did not play in organised leagues, but staged friendly matches for charitable causes. Women's football teams sprang up all over the country, and Tyneside was no exception. On April 22nd 1919 30,000 spectators saw Tyneside take on Dick Kerry's Ladies of Preston. In the last four and a half years the ladies raised £15,000 for charity, the web site below will show how women.
http://www.donmouth.co.uk/local_history/great_war_football/great_war_football.html

The other thing that happened this month was that Sport England have put up £10 million and are hoping to promote women in sport by funding set sports for them, but as long as this country uses men with such low opinions of women no matter how much money is used this will never happen.

Glimour Pipers
Mark and Emma Newman have had a little girl this month. Andrew Gilmour has been setting up a new web site for those suffering from back problems, this should be going live later on in the month. Ken and John came back from riding in Ireland without any broken bones, The ladies on Wednesday morning class last week had a little to say about the above so so journalist, this was Annie a cricket umpire and couch, Vicky who’s daughter is a sports journalist. Vicki also mentioned that the first person to serve over arm in tennis was a women called Maude Watson in 1884, she won the first ever Ladies’ Singles title at Wimbledon at 19. The ladies of this class on a Wednesday think nothing to cycling around India and Cambodia, not to mention some who walk anything up to 50 miles in a day.

Dance East
classes have been very busy this month and a lot of fun as well as challenging problems but all doing well. The booked classes on Tuesday have been very fullwith a lot of my pupils being turned away due to the lack of spaces so we have added to the Tuesday evening class at 5.30 in the new term this is still to be confirmed as yet.

The Council Offices
are back and running up at full throttle but we have a few problems with the bugs but I hope all will get back to normal soon for every body.

Woodbridge School
At last I have been able to get back to teaching them and on Friday we had a great session, all did a great job and if the so called so so journalist and Sport England had a chance to look at some of the young ladies in the school they would be aware of what talent can be found in this country and it does not need so much money thrown at it.

Ipswich Cardenals
Training is now back full and giving me some problems but we seem to be keeping them from nocking seven bells out of each other, I get few injuries each week but nothing as yet the last game in Glasgow was a little rough but all doing well now waiting for the start of the session.

Ipswich Town

Great to see Ipswich back doing well. But I still miss the old boys But I hope to see a few players again doing well.

This month we are going to discuss the problem of cramp, that is an involuntary, painful, muscle spasm that is usually brief but can be prolonged and repeated. It can affect either a whole muscle or a group of muscles but is most commonly found to affect the whole limb. Mostly cramp is not serious although while it is occurring it can be agonising however there are a few occasions that it can be a sign of something more serious and it is important to be able to identify that.

Cramp is the involuntary contraction of either a muscle or part of a muscle which is continuous, this leads to a build up of lactic acid and some other wastes in the muscles which causes pain and occasionally some muscle fibre damages. The causes are not always clear but it is often some change a chemical change within the muscle , lack of sodium, calcium or magnesium for example or the narrowing of the arteries through disease preventing the muscles getting enough food.

The circumstances of the cramp will help to diagnosis its type

For example:-

common night cramps---affecting usually the elderly lying in bed and stationary for long periods and occurs for no reason are generally not serious.

intermittent claudication--- leg cramps occurring after walking a fixed distance and are usually a result of reduced blood supply to the muscles.

angina pectoris ----cramps affecting the centre of the chest and are often associated with exertion of the heart and should always be investigated.

tetany -----this is a hysterical attack with over breathing and is usually due to a drop in calcium due to loss of carbon dioxide. This is the type of hysteria that we sometime see people breathing into a brown paper bag which reintroduces carbon dioxide into the system.

The common types of cramps are writers cramp , also a symptom of Repetitive Strain Injury and also tetanus [lockjaw]

Cramp in the chest must be investigated by the Doctors , however occasional night cramps for example can be eased by gently massaging affected area and also stretching it . If by nature you sweat profusely made sure you drink enough and also take a little salt especially in hot weather

The important thing to remember is always when exercising to warm up and cool down with a range of muscle stretching exercises to loosen up before and after exertion and also drink water regularly.

October 2010 news letter

September is over, 12 weeks to Christmas and trick and treat is is nearly on us all. Our Aussie friends have left for warmer climates, so to you guys looking forwards to seeing you when the weather gets warmer. Studio News at Gilmour Pipers John has been cycling well over the summer Christine and her Husband had a great biking holiday and did over a 1000 miles during the holiday Jan has stopped running and has taken to up biking as well. Just a quick note that biking out side burns up 5% more energy than in a gym. Which reminds my of Prof. Goldman cycling around Suffolk during his stays at Shrublands 40 miles a day. I am still swimming in the Deban sunday morning biking to work upto 20 miles a day also a run once a week. Amit Lahav has a new show The over Coat that about to open at the Wolsey from the 28th to 30th October it looks and sounds great. The Web site news A few clients have subscribed the web site for their youngster going to university David is doing well in France. Dance East have had a flying start to the new year after a few weeks off during the summer The Fashion show last night was a great success. Council offices Are doing very well Sandra has had trouble getting to classes due to getting the roads sprayed with orange paint your doing a great job; Rob played back up for his wife on a long distance bike ride across the country. Ipswich and Suffolk The classes are a lot of fun !! I think Robert could run a dinner for the Pilates group on their own, we could ask him to make a fish night that way Jackie could come along. Woodbridge School Has started on Friday afternoons and as per normal its a full group and I think I will have to keep my head on my shoulders and brain engaged, I have set a routine up for you all on the web site please use it Mr Thorley will be able to give you the pass word to get on to the site. Adam Came up with some information you might enjoy, I saw a programme on the television which asked what was better for your to help with mental powers , A bike ride , Sudouko or ballroom dancing it turned out that the bike was the best thing to do before an exam. Adam came up with the reason for this, the Brain takes 2% of the body mass but needs 20% of the oxygen we take in food for thought. This month we are going to look at Carpal Tunnel Syndrome [which I will refer to as CTS ] This is a condition which only affects the arm and hand and is characterised by pain, tingling, numbness and other symptoms which are caused by pressure on the median nerve at the wrist, where it passes through the tunnel formed by the carpels [ wrist bones ] and a broad ligament that lies just under the skin. The median nerve supplies sensation to the thumb, index and middle fingers , part of the ring finger as well as controlling muscles of the thumb. The little finger and part of the third finger are served by a nerve outside the tunnel and is that is why these fingers are unaffected by CTS. Apart from the tingling, pain and numbness other symptoms include shooting pain in the arm, weakness in the hand [ especially first thing in the morning ] an impairment in the ability to grasp and handle objects especially small ones and symptoms that worsen at night or can wake you. The cause of CTS can be varied but all resulting in inflammation and swelling of the joint linings, tendons and muscles. These include. Arthritis. A wrist injury. A job or hobby that involves firm pinching or grasping. Pregnancy. Diabetes. A medial nerve tumour. Thyroid disease. Symptoms tend to come and go to start with and only tend to seek medical attention when they become constant, with severe pain . Unfortunately if it is not caught early enough the thumb can suffer severe muscle wastage. CTS is diagnosed by analysing movements that provoke symptoms if there is nerve pressure within the carpal tunnel. There are 2 main tests, one is called Tinel’s sign which involves tapping the front of the wrist to see if it causes shooting pain into either hand or forearm. The other is called Phalen’s sign, the hand is bent backwards for 3 minutes as far as it will go and if patient gets shooting pains it is deemed a positive result. Early diagnosis and treatment will give a much better result of recovery and prevent permeant damage. Treatments include wearing a wrist splint at night to hold the wrist straight and reduce swelling. Aspirin and anti-inflammatory drugs or injections of cortiscosteroid may also be given to reduce swelling and relieve pressure on the medial nerve. If these measures are unsuccessful surgery may be necessary to prevent permanent damage. This is called carpal tunnel realise and is often carried out under local anaesthetic and requires the patient to limit movement for 6 weeks and wear a wrist support splint before exercises are used to restore finger and thumb motion to prevent stiffness. Results are usually good. To try and avoid CTS adjust daily movements that are repetitive and insure you avoid keeping wrist bent on an unnatural position, ie typing for long periods if you are unused to it . Take regular breaks and alternate tasks for example ironing can help strengthen the wrists due to weight of iron and the movement involved. The cost to subscribe to this site is £10 a month for individuals and groups is £40 , with 3 new routine available each month. To subscribe, please see the subscribe section at www.pilatesmann.com I have been ask if you can pay by cheque, yes send the cheque to me and make it payable to Michael Mann at 10 Fonnereau Road, Ipswich, Suffolk, IP1 3JP

May 2010 news letter

News from the Studio Last month was a great month, the weather was brilliant. I hope you all enjoyed it, I did. I have increased my bike rides to around 20 miles a day and we have been swimming in the Deben for most of the month. David and Sandra have had a great competition this month and are back on form taking a third position, Adam has been training very well in the pool and John Howard bike rides have been great, 38 miles last weekend.
Steve Britt has been walking the streets for the election to help Daniel Poulter I think Linda will need a big thank you at the end the election. Ben Gummer has been doing a great job, I have not seen or heard of any other candidates other than Terese Coffey in our area, but I did warn Mr Brown about ladies with handbags, he did not take any notice never mind it will all be over for us all very soon.

Fitness

Our overall fitness combines two related concepts:
General fitness--which is a state of health and wellbeing
Physical fitness --which is achieved and maintained through exercise

In the past , the word fitness was not used but people did different forms of movements to improve the bodies strength, flexibility, muscle endurance and general skill training. In many cases this was done as basic drills to help ensure that the skill level of the pupil improved before any other training or tasks were undertaken. This can be seen especially in disciplines such as sword fitting and marshal arts. In both these disciplines it is always important to look at controlling the body before it is placed under stress. This will help prevent injuries and also keep the pupil alive and well. Basic skills can be seen in the training of all sports and until they have been mastered it is difficult for the athlete to carry on to the next stage of his training.
During training athletes develop an aerobic capacity which gradually increases as their skill levels increase until they reach an ability to work at an anaerobic level , this means an increase in the bodies ability to work without oxygen,
Examples are:
400m sprint--in a sprint the athlete must be trained to work anaerobically
Marathon - in this case the athlete must be trained to work aerobically and their endurance must be built-up to a maximum.
Many fire fighters and police officers undergo regular Fitness testing to determine if they are capable of the physically demanding tasks required of the job.

In all sports we should return back to the basic and maintain our skill level the swimmer will go back to many of the skills such as kicking and breathing arms only, the dancer will return to the bar to perform any of the skills taught to them in their early years; And it is this section that Pilates returns the pupil to as a skill level that was first taught to ensure the pupils has the correct range muscle control and tone to perform any task under stress.

In each sport and in life we place the body under stress and it is our ability to deal with the stress that improves our fitness.

Many myths have arisen surrounding exercise, some of which have a basis in reality, and some which are completely false. Myths include:
Spot reduction is a myth that exercising and training a particular body part will preferentially shed the fat on that part. For example, doing sit-ups is not the best way to reduce subcutaneous abdominal obesity. One cannot reduce fat from one area of the body to the exclusion of others. Most of the energy derived from fat gets to the muscle through the bloodstream and reduces stored fat in the entire body, from the last place where fat was deposited. Sit-ups may improve the size and shape of abdominal muscles but will not specifically target belly fat for loss. Such exercise might help reduce overall body fat percentage and shrink the size of fat cells.

One misconception is that muscle tissue will turn into fat tissue once a person stops exercising. This is not literally true — fat tissue and muscle tissue are fundamentally different — but the common expression that "muscle will turn to fat" is truthful in the sense that catabolism of muscle fibres for energy can result in excess glucose being stored as fat.[38] Moreover, the composition of a body part can change toward less muscle and more fat, so that a cross-section of the upper-arm for example, will have a greater area corresponding to fat and a smaller area corresponding to muscle. This is not muscle "turning into fat" however — it is simply a combination of muscle atrophy and increased fat storage in different tissues of the same body part. The muscle is being replaced by fat. Another element of increased fatty deposits is that of diet, as most trainees will not significantly reduce their diet in order to compensate for the lack of exercise / activity.

March news letter

Studio news. David and Sandra are still coming out on top in competition. Penny Kay and Elizabeth Nicols are getting ready for a concert at Aldeburgh church on 13th March. Joe Freezer is getting ready for the County Championships next Saturday good luck Joe. All my skiers have returned all safe and sound I am pleased to say. I have been asked to run a First Aid Course for some clients if any one would like to join please call me. I hope to join the Suffolk sunrise 100 on the 09.05.10 great training day info on www.action.org.uk/suffolk for action Medical Reseach for children. I am sorry to say that I have had to put the prices up this year but I have been paying for car parking across the road for the last year. So I thought the following might be the best way of increasing prices. Which will start from the 1st April 2001 2 or more blocks of ten session paid together will remain @ £170 per ten sessions £175 for a single block 10 £18 per session Pain The Origin of the word comes from Middle English and was in use between 11th century and about 1470.( in the sense- suffering inflicted as punishment for an offence] ): from Old French peine and also from Latin poena ‘ penalty’ and later became ‘ pain ‘. Referred pain. Problems in the spinal joints can cause referred pain, due to the tiny nerves which emerge between the joints being interferd with. The actual interference may be very slight, this could be a change to the blood supply to the nerves may impair their function.This may be the result of a minor strain to one of the smaller ligaments that stabilize the vertebra; Or it may be a major impedance to the function of the nerves, caused by damage to the disk which might cause pressure against the nerves as they spread out from the spinal cord. When the nerves are interfered with, you will feel the effect throughout the pathway which would be under the normally influence of those nerves. The nerves from the lumber spine supply sensation and control muscles sending messages to your legs, so referred pain through lower back problems affects your legs. If the damage is on one side, you will feel the effects in one leg. If the problem is central, or wide spread, both legs will be effected.The effects can vary from numbness, tingling, or an awareness of strange feelings in the leg, to pain down the leg.The symptoms may vary from intermitted or constant. They may affect one part of your leg, for instance the back of the thigh from the base of the knee, or they may seem to be more widespread, down the whole leg into the foot. The pain may altered sensation depends on the exact level of the spine effected, as the nerves at each level have their own specific pathway. The amount of pain or alteration in sensation depends on the nature of the damage to the spinal joint, and the amount of the impingement or impairment over the nerves near the joint. You may feel referred pain in your legs without necessarily being aware of hurting the back. Usually this type of referred problem only effects the back of the legs , but it may travel down the whole of the leg. In your back, you may feel only slight stiffness, or even no symptomsat all. Often , however, you know that you have had a back strain, just before the time you start noticing your leg pain. Because the leg pain seems to be localized, you may assume that you have strained a muscle somehow; to complicate matters, the refered symptoms do sometimes coincide with a localized muscle strain in the painful region of the leg. The signs that you have a referred, rather than a localized, problem are , firstly, that your leg pain is intermittent, and seems to follow an arbitrary pattern, rather than relating to a specific movement; it often feels worst when you are sitting down, especially if you slouch in a chair; bending your head forward may bring on the pain; if you feel gently over the painful region of the leg, and then compare the sensation with the other leg, you may find that your painful leg is not as sensitive to touch as the other, and you will probably will not be able to find any localized tender spot over the area which you think is injured. Keep a record of symtoms, this will help those who threat you decide whether you have referred pain from the back problem, or localized pain muscle injury, or even a combination of both. Meanwhile, to help yourself you should not work out if the pain become worse according to your activities and be especially aware of the importance of the backs posture to avoid aggravating the pain. You should not try to do any sport which might place stresses on the back while you have referred pain to your legs. It is also wise to avoid full stretching movements in the back , unless you have been advised to do particular movement. When teaching an exercise to relieve pain I always start slowly with basic movements such as pelvic tilts, if pain occures during the exercise I stop the exercise immediatley. If I feel that the injury is compromised I will stop and start again later or work from a different area. I can not put right what is wrong, that is up to others, my job is to reteach that which has been misused and no more. I always pass something that is not functioning to some other party to help. I have written about the lower back and leg pain but the same go’s with any other section of the body. Reproduced by kind permission of Andrew Gilmour , Gilmour Piper Oesteopathic Practice Ipswich Springtime Activity --------------------------------------------------------------------------- As springtime approaches many of us launch headlong into more vigorous activity than we have been used to over the cold, dark, short winter days. And we can’t wait!!! Gardening, golf, decorating, spring-claening and other sporting activitiy commonly bring patients to the consulting room. The following tips may keep you out of our hands a little longer! * Make the transition to a more active style of life gradually. It is often sudden changes of activity that willl awaken dormant joint problems or strained mouscles which are unused to it. * Little and often is the message.Long periods of unaccustomed activity are sure to find you out. Try to plan the activities ahead so they are mixed and varied rather than heavy and prolonged. * Watch out for periods of time when the weather improves over several days at a time. Bright longer days, particularly when the clocks change , make us feel better and our enthusiasm gets us carried away. * If you are a gardener try and break the tasks up or have 2-3 different tasks running at the same time. * When you have been active don’t come in and slump into a soft chair.Poor sitting positure after periods of activity can lead you into trouble. *Try not to let your own time agenda dictate the activity. For example, if you have been in the office all week and only have 3 hours to do the garden on a Saturday, don’t rush into it all at once--try to vary the tasks. * If you suffer a sudden onset of spinal pain, ice packs can be useful to reduce inflammation.A cloth covering a pack, or bag of frozen peas , over the affected area for 15mins once an hour can help reduce the inflammation. If you have a favorurite non steroidal anti-inflammatory drug you can use , such as ibruprofen, then this can help. If you suffer any sort of gastric irritation or respiratory problem from it then you should stop. * If your activity has caused you pain then it is most helpful to alternate between short periods of ‘pottering about on your feet’ and short periods of rest probably lying down. Periods of sitting, once you have hurt your back, can make the situation worse. Finally, if you are unsure what to do with your problem, whether to leave it or seek help, you can always give use a ring. We are quite happy to give you advice over the phone and , if you are in need of an urgent appointment, then please make this clear when you speak to the Reception. Lets hope the spring sun shines and equipped with this information you will survive it well!!

Michael trained in 1987 with Alan Herdman, who introduced Pilates into the UK in the early 70’s.

A brief bio:

During Michael's time in the RAF he trained as a swimming instructor and went on to train as a disability swimming teacher which sparked his interest in learning about anatomy and physiology. During 1985 and 1986 he worked as a swimming instructor and set up a disabled swimming club at Felixstowe which he ran for 20 years.

In 1986 while still working as a swimming instructor he met Lady Julia de Saumerez of Shrubland Hall Health Clinic. She encouraged him to go and train with a good friend of hers, Alan Herdman. Lady Julia also encouraged Michael to help others through Pilates, especially dancers, her special interest, and athletes. It was owing to this that Michael started his involvement with Danceast in the early 90’s, at first working with the dance trainees and now with the general public.

Michael has always been a keen swimmer, competing both at junior and senior level, representing Suffolk in the Masters age groups. In 2007 he took part in the London Triathlon completing the swimming length for his three-person team. Michael also trained as a First Aid Teacher and Assessor during his time at Shrubland Hall which he continues to do. He has used this qualification to assist Pilates teachers with their student training programs and also other organizations. Michael has found Pilates has kept him fit for swimming. He has also used it to help to maintain other swimmers’ fitness.

Michael was one of the founding members of the Pilates Foundation which was set up in 1996 by a group of Pilates teachers with the intention of protecting the integrity of the Pilates technique. This professional body, organized and run by fellow Pilates teachers, runs regular workshops and training sessions to refine the teachers’ knowledge which is a requirement of membership.

Michael worked at Shrubland Hall Health Clinic until it closed in April 2006 when he was invited to join the Gilmour Piper practice in Ipswich. Gilmour Piper originated as an Osteopathic practice 25years ago with the aim of delivering high quality osteopathic care to the local population. Our practice has developed beyond this and now involves a wide range of carefully selected and integrated disciplines. Practitioners working and communicating together ensure that your needs are properly considered and met by the most appropriate practitioner.

Throughout Michael's career he has worked very closely with both doctors and physiotherapists, notably Dr Andrew Boag at Shrubland Hall who was renowned for his manipulation techniques.

He has also worked closely with osteopaths and many other alternative therapists who have greatly expanded his expertise in handling all sorts of injuries and illnesses, assisting recovery and recuperation, and also maintaining the clients good health once achieved.