Zen Yoga in the Wintertime

Zen Yoga in the Wintertime

by | Dec 9, 2024 | Classes, Studio News, Wholehearted Living, Yoga

Our Zen yoga classes in Looe are deeply aligned with nature’s rhythms. As the season transitions to the serene palette of winter, we are invited to slow down and turn inward and reflect on the energies of this time of year. In Traditional Chinese medicine, winter shifts our focus to the kidneys and bladder. These vital organs not only support our vitality, but also cleanse and rejuvenate. By unrolling our mats and embracing a gentler practice, we cultivate warmth from within.

Guided by Nature

In nature, many trees and other plants have either lost their leaves or totally disappeared into the earth by December, so nothing is showing. Despite this apparent lack of activity, the plants are busy drawing and cultivating their energy into their core. In Zen Buddhism, this season is described as a time of nourishing the root.

The temperature is dropping and it is important to keep the joints of the body mobile with gentle movements and stretches to maintain our natural flow. If we don’t maintain our mobility we become like ice, when we want to our movement to flow like water.

Zen Yoga in the Wintertime

Winter is characterised by turning within oneself to introspection. In our yoga practice we can spend time in our mindful movement, sensing our inner body. Maybe spending a little more time in meditation and breathing practice.

In traditional Chinese medicine, the element of Winter is water, the most nourishing substance for life. Water is related to the storage and conservation of energy. The corresponding organs of the body are the kidneys and the bladder. 

The kidney energy meridians run from the sole of each foot, along the inner side of the feet travelling up the inner side of the legs up the front of the body and splaying outwards just before the collarbones.

The bladder energy meridians run up from inner corner of the eyes up over the forehead, and head, down the neck, back and over the glutes (bottom), down the back of the legs and then round the outside of the foot to the little toes.

Energy issues or blockages in the energy lines associated with the Winter organs can manifest as a sense of fear or anxiety.

In our Winter seasonal yoga classes in Looe we have been working on stretches to mobilise these energy lines. We have been using gentle movements to warm the body whilst conserving energy and encouraging reflection through longer elements of meditation.

Take care of yourself this winter season and nourish your root, When the days lengthen and Spring arises, like the plants you can burst into life with the energy you’ve cultivated and stored over the darker months.



See you on the mat soon!

Craig

Try Our Seasonal Yoga Classes

Join our friendly Zen yoga classes led by experienced and knowledgeable instructors!

Book Here
From Frustration to Flow: Overcoming The Top 6 Meditation Mistakes

From Frustration to Flow: Overcoming The Top 6 Meditation Mistakes

by | Aug 22, 2024 | Events, Meditation, Wholehearted Living, Workshops and Gatherings

“Inhale…. Exhale… inhale… exha-… must remember to ask Cheryl how her daughter got in the marathon… no, FOCUS!”

Sound familiar? Meditation and mindfulness are well known practices that can help us to quiet the inner chatter and slow our minds. But it can be frustrating to find it’s not just as simple as lying on a mat with your eyes closed!

Many beginner meditators encounter a few bumps in the road. Like any new endeavour, it’s easy to stumble along the way. but fear not—these aren’t roadblocks; they’re simply lessons waiting to be learned.

This blog explores six common meditation mistakes and how to gracefully navigate past them on your path to inner peace.

ONE: Expecting Instant Results

One of the most common pitfalls is the desire for immediate change. You might expect to feel forever blissfully tranquil after just one session. But meditation is a practice, not a quick fix, and the cumulative benefits come from practicing regularly.

Instead of seeking instant gratification, allow yourself to be present in each moment and embrace the journey itself.

Break down your meditation goal into tiny achievable goals to aim for along the way. Rather than expecting to meditate for 30 minutes on your first attempt, try aiming for just 5-10 breaths. This will help you build a sustainable habit and a positive association with your practice whilst avoiding becoming disheartened.

Don’t forget to celebrate every achievement! Remember, every breath is a step forward.

TWO: Struggling with a Wandering Mind

It’s natural for thoughts to wander during meditation. New practitioners often feel irritated by their inability to “clear” their minds. In reality, the goal of meditation is not to have a completely silent mind, but to become a passive observer of the thoughts and chatter that occur.  For instance, when you take the bus people may be talking all around you, but you’re able to tune out without becoming invested in “what Charlie’s mum’s sister’s nan’s dog said”!

Instead of fighting against your thoughts, acknowledge them and gently guide your focus back to your breath or mantra. Think of your mind as a playful puppy—when it strays, simply call it back with kindness and don’t beat yourself up. Over time, you’ll find it easier to maintain focus.

THREE: Not Committing To Regular Practice

Beginning a new habit can be tricky. Often, people start with great intentions to meditate for long stretches daily but become overwhelmed or simply forget before the habit has fully formed.

Planning specific protected time for your new habit and writing it into your calendar shows conviction and makes you more likely to show up for yourself. Join our upcoming 8-week Meditation and Mindfulness for Wellness course to dedicate weekly time for meditation with our professional coach, Craig, and avoid common meditation mistakes. You’ll also benefit from socialising with others who are building a meditation practice, so you can support and encourage each other along the way.

Additionally, setting smaller goals and focussing on consistency rather than results can help you to overcome this common meditation mistakes. Remember, consistency is key, not duration.

FOUR: Choosing the Wrong Environment

Your meditation space plays a crucial role in your practice. Beginners sometimes overlook the importance of a calm, relaxing environment, leading to distractions. Create a sacred space for your practice, whether it’s a cozy corner in your home or a serene spot in nature. Surround yourself with items that inspire tranquillity and signal safety—soft cushions, candles, or calming scents. A peaceful environment fosters a deeper connection to your practice.

Elevate Your Meditation Space…

Heavenly Scents

Heavenly Scents

Serenity Spritz

Serenity Spritz

Rest Easy

Rest Easy

FIVE: Being Too Hard on Yourself

Self-judgment can creep in quickly during meditation. You might catch yourself thinking, “I’m not doing this right” or “I should be better at this.” Remember, there is no “right” or “wrong” way to meditate. Each session is unique, and every experience contributes to your growth. Embrace the process with compassion. Treat yourself as you would a dear friend—offer encouragement and understanding.

SIX: Neglecting to Incorporate Mindfulness into Daily Life

Meditation is a beautiful practice, but it doesn’t end when you leave your cushion. Compartmentalising your  practice and forgetting to carry your practice into your daily life is a common meditation mistake. To overcome this, try to integrate moments of mindfulness throughout your day—whether it’s savouring the taste of your morning coffee, taking a few deep breaths in the traffic jam, or appreciating the beauty of nature. This is the key to your meditative mindset causing tangible, lasting change in your everyday life.

Find Your Zen With Cove

Are you ready to transform your practice and avoid the common meditation mistakes that many beginners face? Join our 8-week meditation & mindfulness for wellness course to work with a professional instructor who understands the journey you’re on.

Don’t’ let self-doubt or frustration hold you back from the profound benefits of meditation. Reserve your spot now and embark on an empowering journey toward inner calm. Your future self will thank you!

Learn More

And here’s some bonus tips…

  1. Wear soft, well-fitting clothes that won’t distract you by feeling itchy or tight.
  1. Choose a position you can sustain comfortably. If crossed-legged gives you cramps, simply lying on your back is a perfect alternative!
  1. Meditate under a light blanket in cooler seasons.
  1. Breathe naturally. Practice noticing your breath without controlling or altering it first.
  1. Check in with yourself after your practice. Noticing how you feel better physically, mentally, or emotionally can motivate you to keep making time for meditation.

See you on the mat soon!

 

Jennie

 

Hello@covecornwall.co.uk

Cove Mind & Body

Fore Street

East Looe

Cornwall

PL13 1AD

Pilates on Looe Beach: Honouring a Friendship

Pilates on Looe Beach: Honouring a Friendship

by | Jul 31, 2024 | Events, Pilates, Studio News, Workshops and Gatherings

At Cove Mind & Body, we put heart at the centre of everything we do. We believe that wellness and compassion go hand in hand. There are few things as powerful as a community coming together to support a meaningful cause. So last week, Cove held the first of our Pilates on Looe Beach charity classes. It’s wonderful when we can combine doing something lovely for ourselves where others can benefit too. Embracing the power of the heart allows us to spread love and positivity to all those we encounter.

Through the Pilates on Looe Beach charity classes, we’re raising money for Crohn’s & Colitis UK. This charity is close to my heart, and I have supported them since 2016 through my previous business Reset Sports Massage. I share a cherished friendship with my late dear friend Katie, whose life was impacted by Crohn’s disease. Cove’s connection with Crohn’s & Colitis UK honours Katie’s friendship.

A Fun & Witty Friend…

Katie was diagnosed with Crohn’s disease, a painful inflammatory bowel disease, at 19, but she never wanted to be defined by her illness. We met in year 8 through mutual friends. In her first year at secondary school, Kate had been friends with the popular girls (of which I was not one!) but she soon confided in me that she hated the cool girl politics. We both wanted friendships that were down to earth, fun, and supportive and we found that in each other.

Many remember Katie for her dry comedy, but together we found humour in the ridiculous. We had each other in stitches daily! I will never forget the day we turned up at Katie’s older sister’s university Halloween party in full body paint and homemade costumes whilst all the other girls had come as cute kittens or naughty nurses! We laughed and laughed. Crazy costumes became our speciality!

We also shared a love of water and swimming, especially outside. When the summer holidays came around, we’d pack a picnic and cycle to a local lake or outdoor pool for the day, or sometimes a special trip to the beach. The activity was important. But what meant more was the space to share our inner lives openly and receive full acceptance and validation from each other in that ride or die way that only teenage girls know.

…With Oodles of Inner Strength

Katie had a serious side too. I remember how she marched me down the corridor to confront our geography teacher when she found out that Mrs Gill had put me on the lower-level exam paper instead of higher. She advocated for me better than I was able to stand up for myself at that time. As an adult, Katie was an early years teacher. She cared so much for her pupils and I have no doubt that she was a powerful advocate for many people over her lifetime. Katie was a strong, brave, and tenacious person who wasn’t afraid to challenge authority or stand up for what she believed.

That formidable strength and bravery served her well when she became ill. Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis (UC) are the two most common forms of IBD (inflammatory bowel disease). These painful conditions can cause immense physical and emotional challenges for those living with them, and during flare ups they can be debilitating. Crohn’s & Colitis UK fund research projects, develop training and education programs, campaign for public and government awareness, and run a helpline for people with (or supporting someone with) IBD.

Katie’s spirit and impact on my life serve as a constant reminder of the importance of supporting this cause. From fundraising Pilates classes to community gatherings, there will be many uplifting opportunities for our members, friends, and the wider community to get involved. With every Pilates class, every donation, and every act of kindness we pay tribute to Katie’s memory.

I’ve written and rewritten this post many times, trying to find the right level of sharing our friendship without oversharing every little detail and story – they all seem important to me! I hope I have managed to find the balance. Crohn’s & Colitis UK is such a worthy cause. Together, we can make a difference, no matter how big or small our contributions may be.

See you on the mat (or sand) soon!

Jennie

Wellness on the Beach Series

22nd July 2024, 10AM – Pilates with Jennie

2nd September, 10AM – Pilates with Jennie

6th September, 10:30AM – Zen Yoga with Craig

9th September, 6PM – Partner Pilates with Jennie

11th September, 6:30PM Gentle Pilates with Jennie

How To Exercise Your Pelvic Floor

How To Exercise Your Pelvic Floor

by | May 17, 2024 | Pilates, Studio News, Yoga

This is part 2 of Fantastic Pelvic Floors & Where to Find Them.

Hello Pilatinis,

Does the cue to lift or relax your pelvic floor leave you confused? If you’ve ever just stood there pretending to exercise your pelvic floor whilst not really understanding what you’re supposed to be doing, you’re not alone my friend!

Many people’s understanding of the pelvic floor stops with kegels, and most people aren’t doing kegels right anyway. So I’ve written this blog to teach you how to exercise your pelvic floor.

This guide uses a combination of anatomical terms and informal language. This is to help you identify and understand your own pelvic floor through the jargon.

In my last blog post, I talked you through how to find your pelvic floor. If you haven’t read it yet, be sure to check it out now as it contains need-to-know tips before you try the exercises in this blog.

Firstly, let’s recap some key points from the previous blog:

  • The pelvic floor is a group of muscles that create a hammock shape in the undercarriage area. There are up to 18 pelvic floor muscles (depending on how you count them).
  • These muscles help maintain intra-abdominal pressure and continence, support the internal organs, and play roles in sexual function and natural birth.
  • It’s normal not to know how to exercise your pelvic floor because it’s out of sight & mind, functions automatically, and can be embarrassing to discuss. These two blogs aim to help you connect with your body from the comfort of your own home!

The astute readers among you may have noticed earlier that I mentioned it functions automatically.

Nonetheless, knowing how to exercise your pelvic floor voluntarily is beneficial.

Here’s 3 reasons why…

  1. The pelvic floor is like any other muscle. It can contract/squeeze and relax/lengthen. It also has an optimal tone, or state of balance, where it is neither too tight nor too relaxed. Learning to take the pelvic floor through this range consciously can help the muscles to work more effectively when you’re not thinking about it.

2. Everyday activities and normal life stages can affect pelvic floor tone. For example, long periods of sitting, lifting & carrying, hormone changes (pregnancy and menopause), physical injury, periods of heavy coughing. Training the pelvic floor can reduce negative effects of these factors.

3. Another muscle that works involuntarily is the heart. Training your heart through cardiovascular exercise can help it to function better and for longer. Well, the pelvic floor is just the same!

Certainly, most peoples’ pelvic floors naturally rest at the optimal tone. But what happens when the pelvic floor isn’t at its best?

The Overactive Pelvic Floor

If your pelvic floor is too tight it has poor flexibility and is unable to relax. A tight pelvic floor is usually weak as well, as it’s unable to generate the force to support the body properly. You may experience some or all of the following symptoms.

  • Incontinence
  • Pelvic heaviness, pressure, tenderness, or prolapse
  • Flatulence, especially if it’s difficult to hold in
  • Pain in your low back, pelvis, or tailbone
  • Changes in sexual function, sexual sensation, and/or delayed or absent orgasms.

The Underactive Pelvic Floor

If your pelvic floor is weak, you may experience some or all of the following symptoms.

  • Chronic constipation
  • Incontinence or trouble starting or stopping the flow when you go for a wee
  • Painful urination, urgency, or frequent need to urinate
  • Pain in your low back, pelvis, or tailbone

If you have any symptoms of overactive or underactive pelvic floor you should seek medical care from your women’s health physiotherapist, physiotherapist, or GP.

How To Exercise Your Pelvic Floor – The Exercises

I know what you’re thinking… you’re ready to try the practical exercises! And we’ll get there shortly.

First, sit up tall on a firm chair, and make sure you can feel your sit bones against the seat. If you like, close your eyes to help you focus on the physical sensations.

Take a moment to identify your pelvic floor, find the hammock area from your clitoris/base of your penis to your left sit bone, back to your bum hole, and to your right sit bone.

How does this area feel when you are not doing anything? Is it tight, soft, hard, relaxed?

Easy Squeezy

Now, focussing on your pelvic floor area, do whatever you think a kegel is.

What happened?

Does your hammock lift or pull downwards? Did it move or contract in position? Did the whole hammock move or just a tiny part of it?

Most people will notice that just a tiny part squeezes, usually around the urethra (wee hole), especially if you were taught to kegel only using the cue to stop the flow of wee.

Remember, the pelvic floor covers the area of the wee hole, bum hole, and vagina for women. So, by only squeezing the wee hole, you’re not getting much bang for your buck!

Let’s try again.

This time, try to lift your pelvic floor upwards, away from your underwear.

Use between 3-5/10 effort, to avoid bigger muscles taking over. If you feel your glutes squeezing, activating, or tiring, you’ve not quite got it yet.

Notice all 3 holes squeeze and close, stopping the flow of wee, holding wind, and squeezing a tampon.

Here’s some other cues that may help:

  • It may feel like a pincer squeezing and lifting like an amusement claw pick-up game.
  • Imagine picking up a Malteaser without using your hands.
  • And a lovely one courtesy of one of my Pilates clients; “imagine sitting in a bath of eels and you don’t want any to get in!”

For many people learning how to exercise your pelvic floor doesn’t come straight away.

So, for the next few days, try 3 of these contractions each time you boil the kettle. Eventually you’ll start to feel those muscles engage!

Control The Holes

Now you know how to contract your pelvic floor, you need to be able to relax it too.

Stay seated on your firm chair with your sit bones on the seat. But this time, slump forwards. It’s important to stay slumped throughout this exercise, so if you struggle to feel the cues try slumping deeper and trying again. You can rest your forehead on a table for support, as long as you remain slumped through the torso.

Take a big sigh. Do you notice your pelvic floor lower? How low does it go? Does it go down low?!

Now, relax your jaw, relax your shoulder blades, maybe close your eyes.

We’re going to work with the breath, squeezing on your exhales and relaxing the pelvic floor on your inhales.

Take 3 big breaths, noticing your belly, your ribs, and your low back stretch with each inhale.

Keep going with those deep breaths.

I’m going to bring your attention to different areas with each breath, but feel free to take more than one breath at each stage until you’re sure you can feel the cue.

Inhale

Your belly is soft, though full of air

Exhale

The lower belly, bellow your belly button, pulls away from your t-shirt

Inhale

Relax your bottom. Notice your tail bone lift and push back.

Exhale

Notice your tailbone close like a flap drawing forward.

Inhale

Feel your anus/bumhole soften, widen, open.

Exhale

The anus closes like a gentle kegel

Inhale

Feel your undercarriage stretch soft and wide. The sit bones draw apart and open.

Exhale

Notice the undercarriage close and gently tighten.

Inhale

The vagina lowers and stretches slightly. The labia (vagina lips) open like French doors.

Exhale

The vagina lifts and tightens and the French doors shut.

Notice how pelvic floor relaxation is just a gentle drop and stay, which is why I love the visual of a hammock so much. It’s held in integrity, but not bulging, pushing, or straining.

Try this exercise a few times a day for up to 10 breaths each time until you truly understand how to exercise your pelvic floor and how it feels when it relaxes. Once you’ve felt that connection, try it from different positions e.g. in the shower, whilst watching telly, or on all fours.

About The Breath

Many people say that the breathing is confusing when they first try Pilates. The pattern feels opposite to what they feel comes naturally. Breathing the opposite way isn’t incorrect, but through using the Pilates breathing pattern (as above) you’ll probably feel more movement!

Experimenting with the breathing pattern can be an interesting way to connect with the pelvic floor though, why not try contracting as you inhale or even without a breath. Notice how much harder that is!

Balance Your Pelvic Floor with Pilates at Cove

Our Pilates classes are designed to include exercises that help you strengthen and relax your pelvic floor both voluntarily and involuntarily. Why not join a class to find your balance?

Book Here

I hope this blog has helped you to understand how to exercise your pelvic floor. If you haven’t felt connected to your pelvic floor before it can take a while to get used to, so don’t worry if you didn’t get it first time. Keep trying and over time you will start to feel the engagement!

 

See you on the mat soon,

 

Jennie

 

How To Find Your Pelvic Floor

How To Find Your Pelvic Floor

by | May 2, 2024 | Cove Mind & Body, Pilates, Studio News, Yoga

This is part 1 of Fantastic Pelvic Floors & Where to Find Them.

The pelvic floor. It’s kegels, right?

In my beginner’s Pilates classes we often spend time learning how to find your pelvic floor. This part of the class usually results in scrunched faces and eyes rolling upwards as people try to connect with the elusive muscles. And how do you know if you’re doing it right, anyway? You can’t SEE the instructor’s demonstration, and she can’t see your effort to check it! So, I decided to write this “how to find your pelvic floor” guide to solve that problem.

Both men and women have a pelvic floor and benefit from using it. This blog includes information relevant to both genders.

This guide uses a combination of anatomical terms and informal language. This is to help you identify and understand your own pelvic floor through the jargon.

The Bottom Of The Can

Picture your torso. The part of your body between your shoulders, to your bottom. Imagine that area as a cylinder or Coke can. Your rib cage and abdominals create the sides. Your diaphragm is a large umbrella shaped muscle that caps the top. And at the bottom? The pelvic floor muscles.

These muscles all work together to stabilise your trunk, keep your insides in, and control intra-abdominal pressure.

So, let’s look closer at the pelvic floor.

It’s a collection of up to 18 muscles (depending how you count them) that line the base of the pelvis.

Their most important role is to support the organs that sit within the pelvis (e.g. bladder, rectum and others). When we cough, sneeze, lift heavy objects, or vomit, that intra-abdominal pressure increases, and pushes the pelvic organs down. The pelvic floor’s job is to stop the organs from being pushed out during strain (prolapse).

The pelvic floor is also key to maintaining continence, so you can move through life without wetting yourself. Lastly, they support the presenting part of a baby during natural birth, and help the baby maintain a birthing position.

It’s normal not to know how to find your pelvic floor.

Here’s 3 reasons why the pelvic floor is not discussed enough:

1. It’s a bit embarrassing. The pelvic floor is all to do with continence, wee, and wind. Not exactly dinnertime conversation!

2. When it’s working well, it works automatically. You don’t HAVE to think about lifting your pelvic floor when you cough, it just happens.

3. You can’t see it. The pelvic floor is out of sight and out of mind.

But here’s the thing. Even though it’s normal not to know, you’re missing out on a whole range of benefits if you don’t learn to connect with your pelvic floor.

  • The pelvic floor weakens over time, with some injuries, and during menopause. It’s never too late to learn how to use it though! Like any other muscle, the pelvic floor muscles strengthen with use.
  • Strengthening your pelvic floor contributes to an easier birth and postpartum recovery.
  • The pelvic floor is key in sexual function, so knowing how to control it makes for fun and pleasurable sex. If you experience pain during sex, you should consult a women’s health physiotherapist.

Are you ready to try something practical?

Here’s how to find your pelvic floor.

Take a seat, somewhere you can sit upright. Make sure you’re sitting tall, with your feet firmly on the ground, and can feel your sit bones against the chair.

Now, bring your finger to your belly button. Trace downwards as if along the fly of your jeans until you reach your clitoris or the base of your penis.

This is the front of your pelvic floor.

Next, trace further still.

Women: trace from your clitoris, past your vagina, to your tailbone, just above your anus (bumhole). Notice you’ve traced a hammock shape from the front to the back of your body.

Men: trace from the base of your penis (underneath), along your perineum (gooch), to your tailbone, just above your anus (bumhole). Notice you’ve traced a hammock shape from the front to the back of your body.

This is the base of the pelvic floor.

Now, men and women, notice the base of your sit bones as they rest on the chair.

These are the sides of the pelvic floor.

See how these three points create a diamond shape in your undercarriage area. The whole area that you have drawn is your pelvic floor.

Notice that the pelvic floor encompasses the urethra (wee hole), rectum (bum hole), and vagina for women.

Controlling the pelvic floor gives you control over the hole!

Visual Prompts

Here are some great videos and diagrams to help you visualise the pelvic floor.

For Women: click here and scroll to the second image. This shows you a bird’s eye view of the pelvic floor oriented with the spine at the bottom of the picture.

For Men: see the video here. This shows you the pelvic floor anatomy and what happens when you engage them.

Kegels: How To Do Them (Properly)!

Learn how to exercise your pelvic floor in our next installment of “Fantastic Pellvic Floors and Where to Find Them” in which I will walk you through some simple exercises to contract and relax your pelvic floor.

Read More

I hope this article has helped you understand how to find your pelvic floor. It’s important to keep the pelvic floor strong to support the body for daily life as well as during special life events such as pregnancy and menopause. 

See you on the mat soon!

Jennie

Harnessing the Healing Power of Pilates for Sciatica

Harnessing the Healing Power of Pilates for Sciatica

by | Apr 22, 2024 | Cove Mind & Body, Pilates, Studio News

Sciatica, a nagging and painful condition affecting countless people worldwide, can turn everyday activities into uncomfortable ordeals. Pain, numbness, and tingling that runs down the leg occurs when the sciatic nerve is irritated, compressed, or damaged.

Whilst GP advice is important for diagnosing and ensuring appropriate treatment, Pilates can play an effective complementary role in relieving sciatica. Delve into this blog post to explore how you can harness the healing power of Pilates for sciatica and make it a thing of the past.

Covering sciatica causes, Pilates for sciatica goals, exercises for varying fitness levels, and six bonus sciatica soothing tips, this guide contains invaluable information for your recovery.

A Pain in the Back Side

Sciatica is a radiating pain that starts in the buttock and spreads down the leg. It can go as far as the toes, or just to the knee. It’s usually described as a burning sensation or dull ache. Although many people refer to any radiating leg pain as sciatica, a true clinical diagnosis includes neurological symptoms such as numbness, tingling, or progressive muscle weakness.

* If you experience acute sciatica pain AND problems controlling bowel and bladder movements OR loss of feeling in the saddle area you should seek urgent and immediate medical care*

Sciatica is usually caused by irritation or compression of the sciatic nerve, which originates at the lower back (L4-S2) and travels to the legs. This nerve’s job is to send & receive movement and sensation information between the brain and parts of the thigh, lower leg, and foot.

Sciatica is not usually a condition in and of itself. More often it is a presentation related to a spinal or biomechanical problem such as;

  • Tight hip muscles & gait patterns (Piriformis syndrome)
  • Disc problems (herniated, bulging, “slipped”)
  • Narrowing spinal canal (Spinal stenosis)
  • Vertebral displacement (Spondylolisthesis)

Treatment options include patient education, physiotherapy, medication, and surgery depending on the cause. Pilates for sciatica is often recommended as a self-management technique.

In many cases sciatica eases within 6-8 weeks, especially if you take steps to manage it at home. But you should see your GP if the pain doesn’t get better, gets worse, or restricts you from your daily activities.

Managing Sciatica with Pilates

Although medical advice is crucial to diagnosis and appropriate treatment, Pilates can be used as an effective self-management tool for sciatica. The exercises strengthen and stretch all the affected muscle groups. Your instructor is also on hand to ensure correct technique and encourage you.

The goals of Pilates for sciatica include:

  • Strengthening the hamstrings
  • Strengthen the gluteals
  • Improve general posture & core strength
  • Stretch hamstrings, gluteals, & low back
  • Teach safe & proper movement patterns (e.g. for lifting and bending)

Try these Pilates for sciatica relief exercises:

Shoulder Bridge

Lie on your back with your knees bent.

Tuck your tail bone under to flatten your low back against the mat.

Press through your feet to lift your hips from the floor, but keep your low back flat.

You can target the hamstrings more by beginning with your feet further out from your body.

This exercise strengthens the lower abdominals, buttocks, and hamstrings, and mobilises the lower spine.

Resisted Deadbugs

Lie on your back with your knees bent.

Lift one knee to your hand and push, resisting your knee with your hand and your hand with your knee. Hold for a few seconds before switching.

You can make this harder by preforming this exercise with both legs in tabletop ensuring you keep a neutral pelvis.

And harder still by adding a stretch with your opposite arm and leg.

Strengthen your lower abdominals and hips whilst testing your coordination.

Lift & Lower with Hamstring Curl

Lie on your side with your legs long. Use your top hand to stabilise, or rest your hand on your top hip. Draw your belly button in and lift your waist from the floor.

Lift your top leg to hip height, then bend your knee squeezing your heel to your bottom. Gently lower and repeat.

You can make this harder by holding a Pilates ball or small cushion behind your knee. Lift & lower with your knee bent, squeezing the ball.

To strengthen your hamstrings, hip, and waist, and to strengthen proper biomechanics of the low back and hip.

Hamstring stretch

Lie on your back with your knees bent.

Loop a strap (or belt or towel) around one foot and stretch your leg up into the air. Keep your foot flexed and your knee straight (even if that means you need to lower your leg a little). Hold for 30-45 seconds each side.

Advance this stretch by straightening your other leg.

Stretch those tight hamstrings.

Figure 4 Stretch

Lie on your back with your knees bent.

Place left foot onto right knee. Stay here for a gentle stretch or lift and catch behind your right thigh for a deeper stretch. Hold for 30-45 seconds each side.

Release the pesky piriformis, a muscle that runs over the sciatic nerve and can cause irritation.

Don't Let Your Niggles Turn Into Naggles!

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And here’s some bonus tips…

Six more Sciatica Soothing Strategies

  1. Use hot & cold packs to manage inflammation and discomfort. Generally, heat soothes sciatica well, but use ice after exercise.
  1. Avoid static positions. Don’t sit or stand for prolonged periods but switch between the two.
  1. Carry on with your daily activities. Although sciatica can make daily life uncomfortable, it’s important not to let it stop you as staying active eases symptoms and reduces the risk of other complications developing.
  1. But modify where needed. Modify activities that cause discomfort e.g. put your foot on a chair or step to tie laces instead of bending down. Don’t be shy to ask friends and family for help too!
  1. Wear supportive shoes. Flat shoes are terrible for sciatica, but so are high heels! Choose a trainer with a heel-toe drop of ½ – 1 inch or insert 4-8mm adhesive heel lifts into flat shoes.
  1. Walk that walk! Daily walking is really helpful to sciatica, as it flosses the sciatic nerve and encourages gentle twisting in the low back. Walking might cause discomfort at first, but after the first 5-10 minutes your pain should ease. Stick your favourite podcast or playlist on to distract you in the beginning.

See you on the mat soon!

Hello@covecornwall.co.uk

Cove Mind & Body

Fore Street

East Looe

Cornwall

PL13 1AD