Happy Birthday to us!!

IT'S OUR FIRST BIRTHDAY TODAY .


Happy birthday to us!! 

 WOOHOOO

One year ago today, I taught my first online class. After the mutterings going on, people were starting to get nervous and I turned up to an empty hall. I decided to bite the bullet and deliver a FB live instead from Beaulieu village hall on Tuesday 16 March at 9am. 

I was so nervous I thought I was going to be sick (and those nerves reappear for every new style of class/introducing a new piece of kit/anything new - I think a lot of my fellow teachers will agree about the nerves - no matter how experienced we are, it’s always a bit scary presenting to an audience). 



What a ride it’s been since then! We have had workshops, themed classes, our summer party, (everyone dressed up and over 70 of us danced in our sunny gardens - it was amazing) - 21 days Facebook live (launching Pilates and Prosecco), 30 day November challenge (be warned - consecutive day events are so exhausting and thank goodness for Lou at Box Pr who was in the background checking all soash meedya and chasing me up. - never underestimate the work that goes into THAT bright idea!


We have grown in both class size and geographical reach and include HIIT, circuits, Barre, LBT, power Pilates, Pilates using a towel, a toilet roll, tins of soup....we have zoomed from our sunny gardens, we have compared Christmas decorations and we even zoomed from out in the forest when we managed a couple of sessions last year with the laptop on a picnic table and ponies and donkeys visiting us . 


We reach to Cornwall, Scotland, Cardiff, Dubai, Bahrain, The French Alps, Canada, USA, Germany... I’ve had Teacher Trainer workshops, we had Christmas charades, book club and wine talks and A LOT of Pilates and Prosecco ... those pictures pop up a lot!

I have grown my tech skills dramatically as have many of you! Many a grandchild has been rather gobsmacked when Granny has suggested hotspotting from their mobile for an independent WiFi connection or screen sharing to a bigger screen (love, love that )!!!




My front room looks like a recording studio with lights, tripods, webcam, music and mic kit and cabling ... don’t assume that no studio hire means no financial outlay.

Many have suggested that because I don’t hire venues, I must be better off? 

Never forget the back office work!! 

The hour on screen is the result of nearly 20 years of study, research, ongoing career development, teaching practise, attending courses as well as admin, banking, customer relations, marketing, class planning, editing and storage of recordings, ongoing CPD and standardisation training, business development...

Paid Subscriptions include Zoom, Vimeo for all recordings to be stored, online payment programs, insurance, calendar and booking programs, website costs... not to mention all the now not so new equipment. 



It’s been EXHAUSTING!! EXHAUSTING. 


 I’m shattered!! It is very, very hard work and any fellow teachers reading this will I’m sure, agree. Anyone who uses Zoom will agree that we all get screen blind/Zoomsick! 



There has been more than one occasion when I have closed my laptop and just laid on my mat with a few tears... (and googled application forms for Waitrose)!!

There have been plenty of sleepless nights, shushing barking dogs, ignoring the doorbell and OMG the technology issues!!! Everyone who attends my classes know that bin day is Tuesday, announced by Bertie and most of us now know eachother’s pets!! 

I’ve never done so much Pilates as I have this last year (as we no longer walk around the class to correct) and as my regulars will know, my old body has (and currently is) fallen apart from time to time (a lifetime of intensive sport, riding and long distance running NOT Pilates!) 

BUT.... we have carried on!!! My membership has quietly grown consistently month on month and we have such a brilliant community of which I’m so proud. New friendships have formed and so many of us are planning now how we can meet up to see each other for real after only knowing each other on screen. 

I’ve been highly amused at how many people forget I have two screens and think that when my back is to the camera, I am no longer watching you.... yes you know who you are!!!!...as do those of you who, despite emails, posts and a live calendar with full class instruction, still wait til the start of class to run around finding what you need!!!


We have had plenty of pyjamas and bed hair turnouts (but enough about me ) and no shortage of family members and pets doing a Zoom crash. 

THANK YOU all 

 Thank you those who turn up to EVERY SINGLE live class, thank you to those who choose only to do the recorded classes and stay behind the scenes. Thank you to those who have been with me for 12 months and thank you to those who just signed up last week or dip in and out. Thank you for giving a four week block of classes as a birthday/Christmas/mother’s day present 

 - what better gift than the gift of teaching someone how to exercise safely and build a strong body? 

When I went back to some live f2f classes in that little window last year, the difference between those who had kept up with their online classes versus those who had missed 6 months was staggering!! In fact a few were so shocked that they signed up that week to stay online 



The convenience has been evident! Just roll out of bed, pour a coffee and switch on the class. I don’t know how you all prepare for classes but it works for me

 (that is obviously a joke.... as my regulars know how hard I work to keep variety and interest!!). 

I had a message from a regular yesterday who said “sorry to miss barre but I really fancied an abs workout”... WHAT?? Where??? WHO WITH???? .... oh! With me from my recorded library ... PHEW!!!!!


I couldn’t have done it without you. No seriously, I couldn’t - as I wouldn’t have any clients!!! So thank you all and happy birthday to us!

We are a breath away from Easter and I’m taking a week off plus it’s my real birthday and then we start to see the restrictions slowly lift.... we however, we still be online....

If you have been to my classes or workshops or our book club or Prosecco parties or anything else, then please put a little comment below!! I always love to hear from you.

Happy birthday and well done us 

Supersets? Pyramids? What is it all about?

By juliet • September 10, 2026
It was lovely to see lots of you yesterday for our “Coffee and catch up” . It is always so good to see each other in person and I love our socials and getting together. I know those of you further afield are a bit left out of this and I really hope that lots of you have the Christmas lunch in your diary to come on down (or up) but I am also working on a London day out before then as a central meet up for everyone scattered around this country as least. Those abroad are a bit harder to reach. Perhaps we should hire a coach and go driving around Europe and find you all! Either which way, it is always a joy to see you “in civvies” and off your mat. We have been working really hard on the fundamentals over the last couple of weeks, covering breath, understanding imprint versus neutral, better control and precision and I have had some great feedback on this so thank you too! Working more slowly is, for some of us still a work in progress. I do know that a lot of you will be very glad to see me slightly further away and back on my mat.. although I am very much enjoying being right up at the screen so don’t hold your breath! I am getting a lot from observing you closely and seeing what you are getting from me and what adjustments I also need to make. I have been talking weights quite a lot recently and fear not - I will move on but I am on my soapbox so let’s see this one through, not least because in October the British Heart Foundation are doing the “Strong woman challenge” so if you find them on your socials or go to their website and want to join, you will be well prepared (and if you do, please post and tag me too and thank you Lou for drawing my attention to thi s). Ok, so we know why. The many, many benefits. We know how frequently and hopefully last week helped explain what a heavy weight will be to each individual. Now let’s talk about the different styles of lifting. If you are doing your own thing at home or in the gym, you will very probably keep it simple. I usually do. Select 8 - 12 exercises. Repeat each one 8 - 12 times. Repeat this 3 times.

I know I need to lift weights but WHAT do I lift?

By juliet • September 3, 2026
As the schools go back and the weather takes a dramatic turn, there is no doubt that Autumn has invited herself along. If you need any more convincing, apparently Tesco has got Christmas foods on display. Bonkers! SUE SUE SUE - I'm sorry for those who thought I had finally lost the plot (and GREAT to see two of you laughing as much as me) as I managed to squeeze that into a class online yesterday. Still making me laugh out loud. If you havent yet seen Ann Droid on Iplayer, do yourself a favour and settle in. It has got to be one of the daftest, funniest things I have seen in a very long time, and having started to use Chat Gbt a lot more, it is uncannily accurate. I met one of our fabulous online friends for coffee this week and every time we drifted into more serious subjects, we just kept coming back to quoting lines from the series like a couple of daft kids. A great tonic if you need a bit of a lift. And so to weights... It can be really overwhelming. I saw a post recently online that said "I feel more peer pressure in my 50's to eat protein and lift weights than I ever did in my teens to take drugs"! You can't go too far without being bombarded with podcasts, documentaries, magazine articles and radio interviews all promoting the need for a healthier lifestyle and how to achieve it but it can seem too much and very confusing. We recognise that Pilates is excellent but on its own, is not enough. The ideal blend is to practise Pilates, lift weights and then also bring in your walking or running or cycling or tennis. A bit of everything really. We have already discussed the "WHY" element of lifting weights and if you are still unsure, scroll back a few weeks as I have written a few posts on this but there is no denying the many ways it helps us and I regularly get comments on where in your day to day lives you see the benefits. I LOVE this! However, we are still not sure about how heavy to go so let's try and break this down and make it easier to understand . “Heavy” is personal—it means a weight that challenges you, not a particular number on a dumbbell. As a beginner, start light enough to learn the movement and stay in control. If you’re aiming for 8–12 repetitions, the final few should feel noticeably harder, but you should still be able to complete them without swinging, rushing or changing your posture. Aim to finish feeling you could manage another two good repetitions if you had to. If you reach 12 and feel you could easily do several more, try the next small increase in weight. If you can’t reach eight without losing technique, choose something lighter. Different exercises will need different weights, so one pair of dumbbells won’t suit everything. Take time to find your starting point—there’s no rush to lift heavier, and muscle effort should never mean pushing through pain. When you are more experienced and feel more confident, you are aiming to really dig deep to finish the last couple of reps. Typically we use 8 - 12 as a guide. If you are swinging the weights about, rushing the movement or feel you could do more, you are not lifting heavy enough. If you can't maintain an appropriate posture, are holding your breath or using momentum to lift the weight, it is too heavy.

The Autumn Series and what is coming up

By juliet • August 27, 2026
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Kayaks, clip boards and spinning for Prince Edward.

By juliet • July 30, 2026
As I go all things NF show for a week, I thought I would share some of the memories with you.

Balance. What does that mean to you?

By juliet • July 23, 2026
It's all about balance.

Why slowing down can give us so much more.

By juliet • July 16, 2026
Slow down.... which is what I did on a fabulous day at Wimbledon!

Tennis, Football, Ghosts and Hipflexors!

By juliet • July 9, 2026
WHAT a week it's been...

Route planning and going back to the fundamentals

By juliet • June 25, 2026
Firstly and most importantly, what a wonderful group we are! While several of you very sensibly chose not to travel on the hottest day ever recorded, and some of you are just too far and even overseas, we had a really great turnout for our first Summer Picnic on Wednesday. Ironically I had been searching for somewhere with shelter incase of rain - how could I have possibly known that we would need it for shade. We met in a beautiful venue, with a very welcomed sea breeze and had a great catch up over some amazing picnic offerings. It is always such a joy to bring us together and our social events are something that (as you know), I value enormously. While we continue to grow and reach ever further online, the funny thing is that we are so sociable and the more we meet up for things like this, the better connected we feel when we have a pre class chat online. The photos don't really do it justice and I apologise to those I haven't included but I chose not to use my phone too much and to just capture a few snaps of a really happy lunch. Thank you to those who came. It is always such a pleasure to see you.

Be more Scilly... and why lifting weights can keep your brain healthy...

By juliet • June 18, 2026
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Why teachers need teaching. 'Crete 26

By juliet • June 9, 2026
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