Mbodies Pilates Instructor Training Academy

 In the previous first part of this series, we discussed how Pilates teachers can play a vital role in helping Women with their Pelvic health , providing expert exercise therapy and a comfortable environment to address the issue openly.   In this second and subsequent third parts, we will detail the individual dysfunctions and explore why Pilates is such an ideal form of exercise for the Pelvic Floor.  Starting with Stress Urinary Incontinence: What is STRESS URINARY INCONTINENCE (SUI) ?:   As a generalisation, Urinary incontinence is simply the involuntary leakage of urine. Stress Urinary Incontinence (SUI) occurs during everyday sudden physical exertion or movement such as laughing, coughing, sneezing, running, lifting, or having sex. These activities put pressure on your bladder, causing the accidental release of urine.  Stress incontinence is much more common in women than in men and this article specifically addresses women. If you suffer from stress incontinence, you may feel em

  Prevalence of Osteoporosis and related fractures occurring in the UK Older women are naturally at the greatest risk of osteoporosis due to their increasing rate of bone loss caused by decreasing oestrogen production at the onset of the menopause. Development of Osteoporosis increases considerably from around 20% when aged 50 years to almost 50% when aged 80 years but many of these people will be completely unaware of their reduced bone density. One in two women and one in five men in the UK will sustain one or more osteoporotic fractures in their lifetime, and around 300,000 fragility fractures each year are the result of Osteoporosis.  Although far less common and somewhat preventable rather than a natural occurrence, it is also notable that adolescent, elite sportswomen of slight frame and body mass; for example, gymnasts and dancers may fail to accrue enough bone density when young, when peak bone mass should naturally be formed.  Somewhat paradoxically, over-exercising before

 The women’s health problem, suffered in silence.  How can Pilates Teachers help? The Female Pelvis In this first of a three-part series, we will discuss the importance of Female Pelvic Health in general and outline how Pilates teachers can play a vital role in helping Women with this health problem, providing expert exercise therapy and a comfortable environment to address the issue more openly.  In subsequent parts, we will detail the individual dysfunctions and explore why Pilates is such an ideal form of exercise for the Pelvic floor. Dysfunctions in women's Pelvic Health are generally both widespread and underreported.  With the right expertise, qualified Pilates Instructors can offer significant help to women, not only with the correct therapeutic exercise regimes but with a detailed academic understanding.  The client will hopefully then have sufficient knowledge and confidence to seek further support and self help. Why does Female Pelvic Health matter so significantly? 1. 

The Pink Ribbon Breast Cancer Rehabilitation course will prepare Pilates Instructors to qualify and be certified as a Breast Cancer Exercise specialist. Overview of Breast Cancer in the UK   One in nine women will be diagnosed with Breast Cancer at some time in their life and according to the UK Office of National Statistics Breast Cancer is the most common form of cancer in England. More than 11,500 people will die of Breast Cancer every year.   Over 600,000 people who have been treated for Breast Cancer are currently living in the UK.    For many thousands of women who have survived Breast Cancer the disease will return, and the cycle of treatment and decision making will start all over again,  the return of the cancer may or may not be related to the first incidence. In 2010 there were approximately 50,000 new cases of Breast Cancer in women and 400 cases in men with the highest incidence in the 60 to 70-year-old age range.  Less than 20% of all Breast Cancer new diagnoses are in wo

The breath is an essential part of any Pilates practise and is considered to be one of the many principles of Pilates. While Joseph Pilates did indeed implore everyone to “breathe correctly” he didn’t actually fully explain what that meant.  I have often heard the story that Joseph Pilates would say “you must OUT the air to IN the air” encouraging a full exhale to then fully inhale, which I think is why we often hear the forced expiration in Pilates classes. Unfortunately, I believe this can lead to over-breathing - blowing off too much carbon dioxide. Whilst our muscles need oxygen to work, more oxygen is not necessarily better. We do in fact need some carbon dioxide to be able to offload oxygen to the mitochondria (the energy giving cells) in the muscles.  This is called the Bohr effect.  For more information on the Bohr effect: Don’t get me wrong; a forced expiration can be a really useful tool to bring the focus of attention to a particular muscle group, usually the abdominals, in