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

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The Zanzibar Yoga Festival

By juliet • April 28, 2026

Members news. Week upcoming : Bank Holiday Monday - class running as usual and this coming Wednesday, 2 x 30 min classes. Details in library. As I am away a few days here and there in May/June, I will continue to put in extra classes now and then to keep everyone topped up. It's all about give and take! Following on from requests this week, upcoming we have a Roll over/Control Balance workshop (Thursday 8am), Back care (Thursday 9am) and Body Conditioning, sculpt and tone style (Wed 8am). All updates will always be in your live calendar. We welcome 4 new members this week and can't wait to see you on the screen! We can now add Portugal to our community! That means that currently, we are beaming into the UK from Cornwall to Yorkshire, Spain, Italy, Greece, France, Germany and now Portugal! We are so much more than Pilates and our community continues to support in so many ways. While a couple of our treasured members are going through some hefty challenges, I am so pleased that you use our online connection as a form of support and to use the friendship of your fellow members. Don't forget you can log in 15 mins early for a natter before class and on Thursdays, I will leave the meeting open after we finish the 9.45am class for anyone to stay on and have a chat. Grab a coffee and log back in even if you weren't in the class. If you would like to join our "Friends of JP's" what's app group , let me know - we are slowly growing and it is a friendly place for a chat and check in, (and a grumble about how tough the class was!). Have a lovely weekend, Jx

Sitting in Southampton airport and other stuff

By juliet • April 9, 2026

I want to keep it as on point and brief as I can and here are some cold, hard facts. Doing SOMETHING is a lot better than doing NOTHING! Whatever equipment you use and program you follow is far less important than the fact that you show up. Regularly and consistently. Only 30% of adults meet the resistance training guidelines and this drops to as low 10% for older adults. What is required? Training all major muscle groups at least once a week Aiming for 2 - 3 sets per exercises Using a weight that is getting challenging by the end of the set Moving through full range of movement. Now, why this is good news is that this can be acheived in whatever form of exercise takes your fancy and over here on our Pilates mat, we tick a lot of those boxes. Going into the 100 and wishing for the end, sitting tall in your Spine Twist and pushing for JUST ONE MORE rep is meeting this! We go through full range of movement, we use bodyweight as well as small equipment, so even if you are not lifting weights, you are doing your bit. (N.b. provided this is min. 3 times a week and you are pushing yourself to max ability in each of those sessions in one way or another and bringing in bands, small weights etc for additional resistance) WHAT COUNTS BODYWEIGHT EXERCISES AT HOME BANDS, BALLS, BODY WEIGHT, LOOPS A QUICK EXPRESS SET WHEN YOU GET BACK FROM YOUR RUN/WALKING THE DOG 15 MINS IN THE KITCHEN - YOU DON'T NEED TO COMPLICATE IT IT DOESNT NEED TO BE FANCY, STRUCTURED OR ELABORATE. IT JUST NEEDS TO HAPPEN Generally ALL types of resistance training work, as long as they are performed with high efforts which means that you get to a point where you are almost at failure. In other words, choose what you enjoy as you are more likely to stick to it and work harder at ut. CONSISTENCY IS KEY and the BEST exercise programme to do is the one you enjoy and will be more likely to stick at! MEMBERS. We have multiple classes involving strength and resistance every week. NON MEMBERS - I am just putting dates together for another 4 week strength program. Please email me if you are interested. More details to follow (I am delighted to be starting a 4 week strength training session with my local running club so I really am doing my best to share the love! )

Why runners need to lift weights

By juliet • April 8, 2026

Let's start with Improves balance and coordination Improves bone density Boosts metabolism and weight management Enhances mental health Helps with daily activity A few more?! Improves posture by strengthening your core and back muscles Reduces risk of injury by strengthening joints, ligaments, and tendons Helps regulate blood sugar levels and lowers risk of type 2 diabetes Improves sleep quality and helps you fall asleep faster Enhances athletic performance (speed, power, endurance) Slows down age-related muscle loss (sarcopenia) The ACSM (American college of Sports Science) is the bible of the fitness world with regards to fitness and exercise prescription and has recently done a huge survey, publishing it’s findings in a new report which has got the fitness world very excited as it is the first survey of it’s kind since 2009.