Are you stressed? Have you have done all you can to reduce the causes of your stress but are still experiencing symptoms? Or perhaps there is nothing you can do but wait it out? You might not be able to directly address the cause of your stress or do anything about it but there are still things you can do to help you manage your mental wellbeing and reduce the signs and symptoms of stress. Stress Management Activities. Try one of these activities to help: Self help activities (CBT) Talk to someone Get active Positive thinking Get creative Do something you enjoy Losten to music Mindfulness Med ..read more

What causes you stress? How does it manifest? How do you cope? How do you de-stress? What stress is worse, for you, above all others? Write your answers down. Get the person next to you to do the same. Are the answer exactly the same? Are they similar in places? Or are they wildly different? The chances are high they are similar or different. It's unlikely they are exactly the same. It's because of this stress awareness is important. What stress means to one person is a walk in the park to another. What Causes Stress? Stress can be cause by many different things. So as always this list is exte ..read more

Hello and a belated welcome to April! Focus April is Stress Awareness Month! #StressAwarenessMonth   April is all about stress awareness. It's about recognising if you are stressed and seeing the signs and symptoms. It's about knowing what to do about, how to cope, how to se-stress and how to make changes to prevent stress. It's about understanding your personal triggers and how & why it manifests physically in the way it does.  As always VFJ Pilates is here with all the information and answers to your questions. Check out our blog for our latest posts on the subject or follow us ..read more

Hello and a belated welcome to March! Focus March is National Bed Month! #NationalBedMonth #rightsideofthebed   March has been National Best Month since about 1990 with the intention of improving sleep in the UK.   Three charities are involved - The Sleep Charity, Bed Advice UK and The Sleep Council.   Sleep is when a lot of the systems in your body, including your brain, rest and heal. Because of this sleep is so important to your mental wellbeing and your health, it's not just about how much sleep but also the quality of sleep that you get. There various steps you can take to ..read more

What is national bed month? Quite simply it's all about sleep. It's about getting enough and the right quality of sleep. Why sleep? Sleep is so much more important than most of us realise. It's vital for your health and wellbeing and in fact lack of sleep can adversely effect your mental health and make you prone to illness. Sleep deprivation is very real and not something to be taken lightly. During sleep your body heals, repairs and restores. The immune, nervous, skeletal, and muscular systems all benefit. These repairs are vital to your health and wellbeing as they help maintain mood, memor ..read more

Heart month isn't just about keeping your heart healthy. It's also about learning CRP to save lives. Here at VFJ Pilates we have the basics for you so you know just what to do in an emergency. What is CPR? CPR, or cardiopulmonary resuscitation, is a live saving technique performed when the heart stops beating. Combined with the use of a defibrillator it can double a persons chance of survival according to the British heart Foundation. How do you perform CPR? CPR involves chest compressions and rescue breaths. Ideally you will perform 30 chest compressions followed by two rescue breaths. Chest ..read more

Heart month is all about keeping your heart healthy. Heart disease is a leading cause of death in the UK and heart month is all about changing that. It is all about promoting a healthy lifestyle and awareness about the causes of heart disease. What is heart disease? Heart disease, or cardiovascular disease (CVD) is an umbrella term that refers to a group of conditions that effect the heart or circulation, such as: Angina Heart attack Heart failure Abnormal heart rhythms (Arrhythmia) Coronary heart disease Atrial fibrillation Congenital heart disease Of all of these coronary heart disease (CH ..read more

Hello and a belated welcome to February! Focus February is Heart Month! #heartmonth Looking after your heart is very important as it is one of the most important organs in your body. Heart disease is a leading cause of death in the UK and world wide with coronary heart disease being top of the list. But do you know what it is? And what to do about it? As always VFJ Pilates is here with all the answers. Check out our blog for our latest posts on this subject or follow us on Facebook or instagram for more information. The British Heart Foundation and Heart UK both celebrate heart month to promot ..read more

Are you peri-menopausal? Have you started experiencing symptoms? Not sure how to cope and what to do? Don't worry VFJ Pilates has your back...here is a list of things you can to to help ease symptoms and a few things to avoid that might exasperate them. What To Do To Help Yourself... Rest - Get plenty of rest. Try to keep a regular sleep routine to help. Exercise - Make sure to regularly exercise. Weight-bearing activities are good to help your bones. Exercise also helps lift your mood and helps you get better sleep. Diet - Eat a healthy varied diet. Eat small light meals. Relax - Try and min ..read more

Lateral breathing is a way of breathing. It is the chosen technique used in Pilates. Lateral breathing is a good technique to use whilst doing gentle exercise and especially during ab work. It is, however, a less efficient method and doesn’t get as much oxygen into the body but it enables you to keep your tummy muscles pulled in at the same time as breathing whilst exercising. It can be particularly useful if you usually breath into your abdomen, such as in tummy breathing, though it can take a little practice to master. How do I lateral breathe? Place you hands onto the sides of your rib cag ..read more