April, well hello there!!

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Spring and Easter is right here and I feel like how did that happen?

The sun has been kind and have enjoyed the odd break to feel a little of the sun rays on my face in-between my schedules. Restrictions are being lifted and people are starting to appear in the streets and beaches.

How do you feel about that?

Does it fill you with apprehension or joy?

Life has changed, people are choosing new ways to approach things and we are all still finding our feet.

I know lots of things have changed for me, and it is partly scary and partly exciting, as what will unfold.

I have no idea and I can only go with the flow and see what reveals itself, as they say one door has to shut for another to open, and whether that’s instant or slow and takes time I shall endeavour to know it will all be ok!

April term is all ready to go, with Pilates, Garuda, Franklin Method and Power Hour on the payment plan and Meditation and Yoga are available as pay as you go or a course, please enquire.

May is being worked on with hopefully some early morning Yoga slotted in to start your day the right way before work or a day entertains the children, grandchildren or yourselves.

May Coastal Retreat is FULLY BOOKED and hopefully will go ahead, 4 had to be cancelled over the last 12 months so I am excited for this to go ahead, to share time and space with beautiful people.

I shall be planning another for October/November in North Devon if you would like to be notified please get in touch.

SoundBaths are being scheduled along the way with different flavours and themes. on line aswell as in life realtime, yayyyy so excited to share these with you.

Private sessions available in live in my Woolacombe Studio, online and also monthly in Bristol starting soon.

So everyone, lets keeping hoping and being positive that we can move forward, we can see loved ones again, we can a coffee time, dinner, and even cuddles in the near future.

love to all

Sue x

Valentine Retreat

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I am so excited to share this event and to be able to work with my lovely friend Juliette.

We would love you to join us on our first, of hopefully many events. This will be on zoom, staying safe through these challenging times, so what better than gift yourself some YOU time for Valentines!❤️

We will be offering a beautiful morning of

Pilates, Garuda, Nutrition, Sound Meditation with love and giggles in the mix!😊

09:15 am Meet, connect, say hello

09:30- Pilates Mat – Juliette

A Pilates mat session with Juliette  to start the morning and wake up those bodies. Taking a contemporary approach to her movement, Juliette will lead you through 45 minutes of Pilates moves on your mat.

10:15 comfort break

10:30 Garuda Flow – Sue

Sue’s Garuda sequence of full spinal articulations to nourish discs and move all the joints of the spine. Fascial flow to create spaces in the tissues creating a more flexible and harmonious strong body. 

11:15 Comfort break and grab a drink, get comfy for your talk

11:30 Nutritional Nuggets– Juliette

Your nutritional session will be half an hour discussion, what really  is healthy eating? Myth busting the nonsense around not eating carbs. Juliette is very passionate about this topic, and believes toast gets a bad deal!! Bring a pen and notepad to jot down additional questions for Q&A

12:00 Comfort break, time to get your blankets, eye masks, run upstairs to lie on your bed and get super cosy

12.15 Guided and Sound Meditation– Sue

Join Sue (insight timer meditation teacher) on this Sound Bath of Himalayan Bowls, Crystal Bowls, Chimes & Percussion to help you drift into an altered state of consciousness to complete your wonderful day.

12:45 -13.15 Q&A on any subject (nutrition, exercise, wellbeing, advice) tea/coffee/cocoa and chance to share our experiences.

Please note these sessions are not suitable for anyone with sound epilepsy or in pregnancy.

we can’t wait to share the day with you! love Sue & Juliette

contact me sgpilatesuk@icloud.com

investment

£35 pp

Welcoming in 2021

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Day 2 of the New Year,

Sending love and compassion to all of you that have been affected somehow in any form from loss of loved ones, loss of work, loss of connection, I wish you more ease and peace for 2021.

For all of you reading this now, take a moment to reflect answer these, even journal them down for a reference point

How are you feeling?

Are you optimistic for 2021?

Have you made any conscious decisions to do anything different this year?

Maybe with more gusto or more surrender?

I would love to hear from you your thoughts.

2020 was certainly something different.

New challenges, new ways to approach what was our normality.

How did you cope?

Who was able to learn new things?

Who has learnt to acknowledge their own resilience?

Have you taken a moment to even give gratitude to yourself for how you have coped?

Got through the year?

Stepped up? Or even learnt to Let Go?

Let me congratulate you all for showing up today and every day, wherever you are on this map of emotions and life.

For those of you who have been with me in my online studio, much gratitude for your support and your wonderful energy you brought to the sessions.

With so many various styles there is always something to chose that suits where you are, physically and emotionally and how you are feeling and with the added bonus of the recorded sessions to be able to chose the times that suit your own personal schedule so you never have to miss out from having a session.

Here is the new timetable for January, please note the titles are merely titles and what lies within each session will be an integral practice of mind, body, soul work depending on many factors of YOU, individually and collectively, who shows up to the lives, who is enrolled, what is going on, the time of day etc

This is why every session you do is always different.

this approach will also help keep your mind and body adaptive and engaged

I will be also adding a few 10 minute bonus sessions so keep your eyes peeled, watching out on your private Facebook page for all information.

We also have the Meditation and Journaling for Wellbeing Course Wednesday evenings so please contact me for more details

much love and appreciation as always

Sue xx❤️🙏🏼

December OnLine Studio

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I know it is early, but we have been “winter styling” and turned our home into a nordic ski lodge!!! I cannot tell you how happy this has made me! it feels super cosy and I just feel so happy to stay in and snuggle down ready for Christmas.

We have sleds, reindeers, (not real ones obviously, although how lovely would that be!😍) fairy lights, 2 Christmas trees, vintage skis, skates and snow shoes!!! We really have gone to town, or chalet I should say! So instead of buying presents this is our gift to ourselves. This December is also our 5th wedding anniversary so being super cosy and creating a space that fills our eyes and hearts with things that create joy and memories felt so important this year.

How are your plans? Does it excite you or fill you with dread? I know I have had some like that some years that I have dreaded it, for sure. It will be a very different one this year for us all I am sure in many ways.

If you would like to join me online for Our December program please do,

with a fun pre Christmas week, fancy dress, pjs, shades of red, green, white all optional to create some festive fun, plus a social zoom Christmas get together, bring your mulled wine or favourite tipple and prepare to play!😍😂

I look forward to spending December with you!

Please message me if you would like more information. Sessions are from 30, 45, 55 minutes

If you are already an existing client please continue to pay via Bank Transfer thank you x

if you would like join us, and do NOT have bank details then please book here. Thank you x

The Psoas, beyond the abdominals

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The Psoas,

your true core, your emotional centre.

Poor posture will upset the complex psoas amongst many things, and can affect your breathing, and can be the cause of your bad back or inflexible or tight hips. Upsetting vagal tone and the nervous system keeping you locked into the fight/flight/freeze.

A tight core can restrict the diaphragm and the lungs and disrupt coherency.

Understand its’ relationship and health benefits to breath, hip, back, kidneys and the pelvic floor, abdominals, back and it’s emotional links to good health

Fluid movement is what we want to encourage to establish a healthy core.

The Psoas -an embodiment and mindful movement workshop.

An holistic approach to relax and condition your Psoas.

Explore where the Psoas resides, what is it anyway?

Why it is something you should know about, and why

knowing and embodying it can help improve its function.

Enjoy discovering the location and function of the Psoas and illiacus, efficient movement and training and release and its supportive structures

Explore the emotional psoas. Finishing with a bonus meditation to fully absorb and embody an holistic workshop.

Who is this workshop is for?

Anyone who wants to

learn more about their body, embodying its movement,

those who want to

release tight hips or back tightness, and feel more open, physically and mentally.

Pilates/Yoga/Movement/Meditation Teachers or Therapists and Bodyworkers who want in-depth explorations and user friendly way to gain knowledge to help themselves and others

When?

Saturday 11 July- 10:00-12:00pm

Investment £35

Live teaching in the comfort of your own home through zoom

Limited spaces so BOOK NOW

  • master your own thoughts

Josephine Bush-SHE DID IT!!!!

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Josephine Bush-congratulations!!!

She did it!!!

 

Josephine Bush, is the first British Woman to complete the Amundsen  Expedition in Norways Hardangervidda, known as the hardest ski race in the world!

100 km in only 50 hours and 55 mins pulling a 40kg pulk.

We are so proud of you!

This is what she had to say,

“It’s a funny thing setting your sights on something, working towards it and then achieving it. There is a moment of quiet reflection always on the achievement. This event was gruelling and challenging in so many ways – the physical and mental demands are huge. You have to prepare well and not cut corners. Your body is your greatest asset so you work with it to push it forward beyond what you think it can do. Working with Sue Dawson was the string to my bow. I was physically fit – I had endurance ingrained in my muscles and cardio fitness. What I lacked though was solid core strength and stability. The meticulous nature of her Pilates training attuned me to my bodies imbalances. It helped me understand at a deep level how I was moving and enabled me to connect with small changes that made a huge difference. Such changes matter when you are pulling a 40kg pulk day and night over 100km. I finished the race with literally no aches or pains in the legs or back, something I had, prior to meeting Sue, contended with in training. So Pilates works. I’m proof!

And as to that end of race, it’s not all it’s cracked up to be, as you realise that the real joy is the journey to get there. What you learn, who you meet and where that takes you.”

I love the last part, so profound and humbling!! it is always the journey!! and recognising that, is the key to happiness 🙌🏼⭐️

Thank you Josephine, its been a real pleasure working with you.

She has raised over 7k there is still time to donate to these worth while charities,

The Pilgrim Bandits and South West Childrens Hospice. –donate here

An Evening with Josephine

if you are interested in coming to meet Josephine, hear her story, her drive, what inspires her and so much more, we are arranging this to help raise money for her charities so da please get in touch so we can send you details as soon as they are scheduled.

sgpilatesuk@icloud.com

last Josephine  and SGPilates Blogs

Josephine-knowing how to help your body recover through a challenge

Josephine and Pilates Training

Josephine Bush PT session-balancing the systems

Inspirational Lady to be the first British Woman to…

 

 

 

Josephine-knowing how to help your body recover through a challenge

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Our last week together before Josephine leaves for Norway.

Josephine’s challenge is to be the first British Woman to complete the Amundsen Expedition, known as the hardest ski race in the world! And I have the pleasure of training her over the last 2 months of prep to help her. We have been working on true core strength and resilience.

Todays 90 minute session we worked on techniques to help ⭐️rejuvenate, relax and restore⭐️.  One of my favourite sessions that I teach.

As a professional bodyworker I showed Josephine how to release tight muscles and tension by using her hands, body weight and also spiky balls (something I have promoted to all my clients, over the last 20 plus years, whether this is in Pilates sessions, restore or one-to-ones) for massage and acupressure points and through breathe and imagery. We discussed and practiced meditation and breath, and the relation between a tight psoas (hip flexor)  breath, stress, back stiffness, less resilient core and pelvic function. I showed Josephine bones and props to  help her have a clear mental imagery to help her improve the function of the psoas and diaphragm link when she practised her release conditioning exercises. and breath work.

Having her mind focused is so important she has to think clearly under such stress in order to survive the conditions and succeed in her challenge.  This is no ordinary race.  Josephine has a time pressure (it’s an endurance race), but also has to navigate in extremely dangerous situations, whilst cold, in the dark and with little or no rest.   She is in unknown territory, on her own, competing in an extreme physical test of her strength, endurance and determination to survive and succeed clarity and focus is not just needed it is essential.  So how do you maintain that clarity and focus under such pressure?

So practising Meditation and rhythmic breathing will help keep the pre frontal cortex optimally working for performance,  quick thinking, decision making, something that is impaired when stressed. Practicing these skills is equally important in both the rest and recuperation phase as well as the exertion phase. This is why  as part of your trying for such an extreme endurance event it is critical to learn how to rest and recuperate properly and effectively. This is an area, in my experience where most athletes and most of us in general, could increase there performance of many levels by focusing on these areas. After all muscle is built and healing takes place when the body is in a rested state.

Josephine, I send you off with so much love, energy and the best of all my knowledge and wish you success and ease! I cannot wait for your return to gear all about it!!

If you would like to hear more, please contact me and we will let you know when we arrange

⭐️An evening with Josephine⭐️

a fund raising event to hear her story, an event you really must attend and see what inspires this amazing, lovely and humble lady!!!

contact me here sgpilatesuk@icloud.com

support Josephine and Donate here

josephine relax

 

 

 

 

Josephine and Pilates Training

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With only a couple of weeks left until the hardest ski race in the world, Josephine is working hard dragging tyres around the hills of Wrington, Cleeve and Redhill prepping her for pulling the 40kg pulk around Norway’s Hardangervidda Mountain Plateau.

Josephine’s challenge is to be the first British Woman to complete the Amundsen expedition, known as the hardest ski race in the world! And I have the pleasure of training her over the last 2 months of prep to help her. We have been working on true core strength and resilience.

Strength comes from balancing all systems. Over the last two months, when I was introduced to Josephine, I have watched her move and how she moves, listened to her challenges and created plan of what would really help her the most. We are working on being flexible, resilient, balanced, using functional movement patterns, anatomy trains, facial slings, dynamic neuro cognitive imagery and somatics, integrating Pilates, Franklin Method, Bodywork and Garuda.

Josephine will be needing her body to be working efficiently so she can maximise her performance and endurance. She needs her body to move smoothly and well and not be in a tension state that just causes the body to be under more stress, not a good place to be if you want to be efficient or need to able to repair itself.  Moving well, For example tight hip flexors need to be conditioned to be more fluid which will then release tightness in the back and dysfunctional hip patterning. This is crucial to her when her core needs to be balanced and functioning well for walking and pulling the pulk. A tight psoas (hip flexor) will also impair breathing, not something anyone wants let alone when you will be challenged aerobically, under extreme stress and cold weather conditions! We mobilised her spine in all ranges, paramount for spinal health and disc health.

She is raising money for two wonderful charities: The South West Children’s Hospice and The Pilgrim bandits.

This is the link to her fund raising page:

Please support this awesome inspiring lady on this enormous challenge
Thank you 💕

look out for the next session, we have only one more until the big event!

josephine 6 ad

josephine psoas stretch

Josephine Bush PT session-balancing the systems

Posted on by sgpilatesuk

 

Josephine, as you may of read in my previous blog, has a huge challenge ahead of her.  She is taking on the enormous challenge of being the first British woman to complete the Amundsen Expedition, the hardest ski race in the world. She will be pulling a 40kg pulk across the Hardangervidda in Norway on skis for 100km. She will be facing all sorts of cold weather conditions as well as self navigating and supporting herself on the race.

In order to pull the pulk effectively and without injury, it is imperative for her to be balanced in strength and resilience in her left and right sides.  In her training sessions in my studio, we tackle this with lots of unilateral work as well as bilateral movement to see where she needs most help and also working with the felt response, somatics.

“If you can’t feel it you can’t change it!!”

The split pedals on the Pilates Chair is great for unilateral work.

Working the systems and looking for weaknesses and strengths and re-balancing and educating the self through movement and waking up parts of the body that are not performing as it should.

Working with the myofascial slings -(for full information on slings check out Anatomy Trains, Tom Myers. Anyone who works with the body will know this work)

SO WHY IS THIS important?

with the body being balanced and aligned there will be less chance of injury, pain, discomfort, less tension, and the body will be more economical, efficient, faster, stronger and also giving more balance. Everything needed for everyday life let alone pulling a 40kg pulk on uneven surfaces through thick snow with no idea whats underneath.

Take a look at the time-lapse video (below) of our latest training session below, I am guiding Josephine with verbal and tactile cueing to create this balance.  It is definitely harder than it looks! Josephine will vouch for that!!

If you  are interested in moving well and really getting a good balance and flow to your body for whatever reason, improve your posture, reduce pain, reduce injury, better sports, athletic performance you really can not beat a one-to-one session with an integrated advanced Pilates Professional so they can use their trained eye and skill to help you.

Josephine is raising money for two wonderful charities: The South West Children’s Hospice and The Pilgrim bandits. Here is the link to her fund-raising page:
https://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/Josephine.Bush1
Please help to motivate Josephine further with this enormous challenge by supporting the causes above.
Thank you 💕

 

Inspirational Lady to be the first British Woman to…

Posted on by sgpilatesuk

Josephine Bush

Josephine is taking on the enormous challenge of being the first British woman to complete the Amundsen Expedition, the hardest ski race in the world.

She will be pulling a 40kg pulk across the Hardangervidda in Norway on skis for 100km.

She will be facing all sorts of cold weather conditions as well as self navigating and supporting herself on the race.

She has been training for a year for this event.

You may have seen her pulling a tyre around the hills of Wrington, North Somerset.

The physical requirements of the challenge mean that she must have great balance, core strength and equal strength left and right side.

I have the absolute pleasure of working with Josephine to prepare her for this unique challenge.
I am training her to strengthen her body whilst making sure she has the right balance of ALL systems to support her, training her in somatics, teaching her techniques to support her mind and body through any situation or injury, creating a resilience that she will truly need in these tough conditions.

Follow her journey here with me in the studio, and how she gets on in Norway.

I will also be interviewing Josephine and she can tell you about her challenges, her fears, her drive, dedication and passion. And how Pilates is helping.

She is raising money for two wonderful charities:

The South West Children’s Hospice and The Pilgrim bandits.

Here is the link to her fund raising page:
https://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/Josephine.Bush1

Please support this awesome inspiring lady on this enormous challenge
Thank you 💕