-
AllActivities Age Concern Anytime Fitness Gym Art Beauty Beer Of The Week Blog Business C2C Care Care Home Chalkwell Beach Charity Children Christmas Cinema City Status Cliffs Pavilion Cliffs Pavilion Cliffs Pavilion Review Cocktail Recipes College Community Competition Competitions Construction Coronation Coronavirus Covid 19 Dannielle Emery Design Easter Education Emma Smith Employment Emsella Chair Environment Essex Police Essex Police News Events Family Fun Fashion Festival Film Finance Fitness Food Food & Drink Football Fresh Face Pillow Company Gardening Hair & Beauty Halloween Harp Havens Hopsice Havens Hospice Havens Hospice Havens Hospice Press Release Havens Hospices Havens Hospices Havens Hospices News Health & Beauty Health & Fitness Historicaleigh History Holidays Housing Indian Indirock Indirock Jubilee Karen Harvey Conran Kids Kids Blogs Kids Competitions Kids Reviews Lady McAdden Legal Legal Eagle Leigh Folk Festival Leigh Library Leigh On Sea Leigh On Sea Finds Leigh Road Leigh Striders Leigh Town Council Leigh Town Council Press Release Leigh on Sea Leigh on Sea Sounds Leigh on sea Folk Festival Leigh on sea Town Council Leigh on sea news Lifestyle Little Red Panto LoS Shop London London Southend Airport London Southend Airport Los Shop Marathon Melinda Giles Mortgage Angel blog Mortgages Motherofalloutings Mughal Dynasty Mughal Dynasty blog Music My Mortgage Angel MyLoS NHS News News Newsletter Offers Other Outfit Of The Week Palace Theatre Parenting Parking Picture Of The Week Pier Politics Press Release Professional Property Property Of The Week RSPCA Ray Morgan Re:loved Recipes Recycling Restaurant Restaurant Review Restaurants Review Roads Rotary Club Royal Hotel Royal Hotel Southend Royal Visit Schools Seafront Shopping Show & Music Reviews Show Review Show Reviews Show Up Productions Shows & Music Shows & Music Review Shows & Music Reviews Southend Southend Airport Southend Airport Press Release Southend Airport Press Release Southend Borough Council Press Release Southend City Council Southend City Council Southend City Council Blog Southend City Council News Southend City Council Press Southend City Council Press Release Southend City Council Press Release Southend City Council blog Southend Council Press Release Southend Hospital Southend In Sight Southend In Sight Press Release Southend on Sea Southend on Sea City Council Press Release Southend on Sea City Council press release Southend on Sea city Council Press Release Southend on sea City Council Press Release Sport The Mortgage Mum Theatre Theatre Blog Theatre Review Theatre Review Theatre Reviews Transport Travel Village Green Volunteer Weddings What's On Whats On blog c2c news shopping
Powerful Pilates
A couple of months ago I posted a blog here about how I did my back in moving house. When I posted it online, someone commented and said I should try pilates.
But pilates got me interested because it would be for my back, which is a medical thing, so I thought I'd give it a go. I went to my first class at White Stag Wellness with trepidation. Was I wearing the right clothes? Would the other people in the class be able to smell my fear? Could I keep my glasses on in the class or would I be doing it blind?
I walked into the room which smelled of incense, and a stereo was playing Zero 7 and three women were chatting away, and welcomed me in. It was a small class, not in a capacious room. 4 of us! I could take my glasses off and still see everything! The other women were in normal clothes, not ultra-expensive hip 'fitwear' that would make me feel like the poor relation in my leggings and baggy tshirt. The teacher, the amazing Nikki, immediately put me at ease and said that her classes cater for all abilities, and that I should just take it slowly.
I got onto a mat, and we began by lying down with our eyes closed. I'm down with this, I thought, as chillout music played and sun danced through the window. What followed was an hour of stretches that seemed gentle, but that I could tell were doing me good. I could feel how it was benefitting my back because White Stag Wellness' Nikki is a lower back specialist. Nothing could cause unnecessary wear on my back because the stretches were made to strengthen those important muscles.
Nikki Nicholas moved to Southend in 2004, a personal trainer and pilates instructor from London. It was due to her own lower back injury that she discovered pilates, and couldn't believe the results, so she always wanted to be able to share these benefits, and White Stag Wellness was born.
I have to say at this point, I'm on my third course of pilates and I went along in the first place because when I get into bed at night, my lower back seizes up and it's agony. Now, after my first eight classes, not only has my back improved, but if it twinges, I'll be able to do these gorgeous, satisfying stretches and it really does help.
Nikki has also got me doing pelvic floor exercises for the first time in my life and now, when I'm brushing my teeth or waiting for the kettle to boil... well... I won't go into the details but Nikki, you'd be proud of me. That's all I'm saying.
White Stag Wellness now has a new home on Southend seafront at Ultimate Results gym, with the pilates room boasting uninterrupted sea views. Nikki also teaches yoga, is a personal trainer, and can be found at www.whitestagwellness.co.uk
This article is by Ray Morgan.
To read all of Ray's previous articles, please click the link here
ADD A COMMENT
Note: If comment section is not showing please log in to Facebook in another browser tab and refresh.