For over 40 years, I’ve taught movement the way a good dressmaker makes a dress. I watch how you stand and move, then I adjust, pin and check again until it fits you and only you.
Now I’m putting away my pins. I’m no longer teaching any new clients face to face.
But everything I learned at all those fittings hasn’t gone anywhere, and you can still have it. Here’s how.
The haute couture years
Teaching face to face has always felt like couture to me. Every session was a fitting. I’d watch how you stood up from a chair, which leg you trusted more, where your shoulders went when you were concentrating. Then I’d change a cue, adjust your position or swap an exercise, there and then, until it fitted you. Even how you put on your shoes and coat!
That close, personal guidance is how I’ve worked with groups, 1:1 clients and the Pilates teachers I’ve trained.
Putting away my pins
I’m no longer teaching new clients face to face. It’s a big step after so many years, but it doesn’t mean I’m stopping.
Many great couture houses eventually created a ready-to-wear line, so more people could wear their designs. That’s exactly what I’ve done.
My ready-to-wear collection: BRIO!
Everything I learned at all those fittings now lives in my online mobility and movement hub, BRIO! It’s my legacy, and it’s how you can work with me now.
BRIO! is designed for women from 50 onwards, including those living with a new hip or a dodgy knee. Because I can’t see you through the screen, I don’t call it Pilates. But every exercise is built on over 40 years of teaching movement, including 26 years teaching Pilates, 15 of them also training Pilates teachers. Inside you’ll find:
- Spine-safe core work, with protection of your thoracic spine built into every exercise – no crunches, no curl-ups, no roll-downs
- Resistance band strength training for your upper back, shoulders, hips and legs
- Balates, my blend of ballet and Pilates, for standing strength, poise and balance
- Realistic Yoga
- Bone Building, a short aerobic section designed with bone health in mind
Alterations included
Good ready-to-wear can still be altered. In BRIO!, exercises come with options and alternatives so you can find your size, and Choose My Lesson helps you pick what suits your body and your day. If you’d like something more personal, you can ask me to build you a personal plan based on the content library within BRIO! Think of it as taking up the hem.
Be your own mirror
Online, I can’t see you, so a little more of the responsibility sits with you. All that I ask is that you listen carefully to my carefully chosen words.
Exercising from the inside out with instructions on how to compare and contrast how it feels doing it one way then another. It matters more that you can FEEL how it your muscles are responding rather than only looking in the mirror.
A few tips:
- Move in front of a mirror, or side-on to one, when you’re learning something new
- When you bend your knees, check they point in the same direction as your middle toes
- Keep your shoulders away from your ears and your spine long
- Choose the option that feels right today, not the one you managed last week
- Stop if something hurts, and check with your physiotherapist or GP if you’re unsure
Is BRIO! a good fit for you?
- You’re a woman from 50 onwards who wants to stay strong, steady and independent
- You’ve finished physiotherapy after a hip or knee problem and want to keep making progress
- You’d like to move at home, at a time that suits you
- You want exercise designed with your bones and your spine in mind
The best fit is the one you’ll wear
The loveliest coat in the world is no use hanging in the wardrobe. The same goes for exercise. The important thing is that you keep moving, and I’d love to help you do that. Hurrah to that!
Come and try on my online mobility and movement hub, BRIO!, at BrioFitness.co.uk