Seasonal Saturday - Movement and Mindfulness

We are celebrating this new season with a wonderful, inspirational session to welcome in new beginnings. It’s about finding new connections within the body, strengthening your core and creating flow in your movement for the months ahead. But most of all it’s about letting go of tension and branching out to new possibilities in the mind and body.

Our session will be a mix of movement – Pilates and gentle stretching, and mindfulness – meditation and a yoga nidra – deep rest practice. We’re entering the season of Autumn, which will resonate throughout our morning together – giving us the chance to sink into this season, and all it has to offer.

With Autumn just around the corner, there are so many similarities between the exercise known as Pilates and the fall season. When we think about Autumn, we think about releasing and letting go – mindfulness and rest can really help us to sink into this rhythm. We can learn how to be less attached to how our lives “should” be and start to accept how they are just now.

We are inextricably connected to nature and the flow of the seasons. Our bodies follow the same rhythm, just as sap rises and seeps through the veins of new growth, causing new shoots to emerge. The changing leaves can be a metaphor for your body changing and developing on your Pilates journey.

This session is suitable for both beginners and those with more exercise experience. If you have any mobility or injury needs please discuss these prior to the class and modifications will be offered. Due to the nature of some of the exercises in the classes they are not suitable for women in their second or third trimester of pregnancy.

Our morning will be held on Saturday 23rd September, from 10am-1pm. During the morning there will be a break for hot drinks and home-made snacks (provided). The cost of the morning is £30 / £24 for concessions (those in receipt of their pension / students / on lower incomes). Our two reduced cost places have already been taken. Please pick the price that best reflects your circumstances.

Do get in contact with any questions: pause@pauseandbreathe.co.uk

Timetable for the morning:

10-10.30am: Introductions and Meditation

10.30-11.30am: Seasonal Pilates

11.30-11.50am: Break

11.50am-12.10pm: Stretch Class

12.10-12.50pm: Yoga Nidra

12.50-1pm: Close

About your facilitators:

Gillian Booth from Acorepilates in Glasgow qualified as a mat Pilates with the Pilates Foundation 6 years ago and is passionate about all things in movement, health and well-being. Having practiced in Pilates over the last 16 years she knows the benefits it can bring to our busy and stressful lives. Through practicing the 6 principles established by Joseph Pilates in 1945 of Breath, Concentration, Centring, Control, Precision and Flow she offers classes that are both energising and restorative to the body. Stretching exercises are always incorporated into her classes to promote longer term flexibility and range of motion, preparing the body for relaxation and reducing stress levels.

Gillian says “In today’s world we are surrounded by the belief that we need to push our bodies hard through exercise to achieve results, which often places unrealistic and unachievable expectations on us. I believe that through a balanced approach that incorporates regular whole-body movement, valuing connection with the mind and being outside with nature to be more sustainable longer term.”

Expect classes to help develop toning of the body, lengthening of muscles and strengthening of the core. Above all you should feel refreshed and stretched ready for whatever awaits the rest of your day. “Always remember when you’re on your mat everything is better”.

Susie Hooper

Susie worked as a Social Worker for 20 years and is passionate about helping people to make difficult changes. Since the beginning of 2017, Susie has been delivering mindfulness within her local community in Falkirk. She co-founded Pause & Breathe CIC with her husband, Phil Blackburn and is delighted to have opened The Place to Pause & Breathe in Bonnybridge - bringing people together in community.

Susie says: “I discovered mindfulness through my work as a Social Worker – we introduced it to clients, and I realised what a great practice it was. When I first started to practice, I found it so difficult to work out what I was feeling, and I was really cut off from my body – not really picking up on any of the messages my body was giving me about how I was. I had bad IBS, got lots of colds and generally felt under the weather a lot.

Through practicing mindfulness, I gradually started to be able to tune into my body more – to hear what it was telling me about how I was feeling. Doing this encouraged me to make major changes in my life – I left a marriage which was unhappy and focused more on my self-care. My IBS is now under control, I’m generally a lot healthier physically and I have more understanding of my emotions. I’m less reactive to emotions like anger and anxiety – generally feeling a lot more in balance. And I’m so much nicer to myself! Less of the inner critic, which had been so pervasive. And I’m now in a marriage which is happier, and in which I feel I can really be me.”