HOLISTIC HEALING, MASSAGE AND BEAUTY THERAPY CENTRE

AVAILABLE CLASSES

Body Control Pilates, Yoga, Salsa

• Body Control Pilates.

Body Control Pilates is very closely based upon the method of body-conditioning and training developed by the late Joseph Pilates. It is an exercise method which relies on strengthening core postural muscles and developing body alignment. It avoids the muscle and ligament damage, sometimes associated with other fitness regimes.
What makes Body Control Pilates different ?
Body Control Pilates is remarkably effective - and medically-approved. It is of an holistic nature, being based upon a well-constructed philosophical foundation. Central to the Method is 'awareness of your own body' and each and every exercise is built around its eight basic principles.

Eight Principles:
Relaxation
Concentration
Co-ordination
Centring
Alignment
Breathing
Stamina
Flowing Movements

By working in the deep architectural structure of the body, 'core stability' is achieved, and then maintained, through increasingly complex movement sequences. Specific problem-areas can be targeted by an exercise, but always in relation to the rest of one's body.
Your body awareness is heightened by bringing together mind and body - Body Control Pilates literally teaches you to be in control of your body, allowing you to handle stress more effectively and achieve relaxation more easily.
The Method can work for everyone, regardless of fitness level! Exercises can be mat or machine based, but mat-work exercises have a great attraction in that they need no special equipment, and are particularly safe for those with back problems (and don't forget that 95% of the UK population has, or has had, backache). Its consistent success rate in solving such problems has brought it to the attention of osteopaths, chiropractors, physiotherapists and homeopathic doctors.
In fact, some of the more forward-looking osteopaths and physiotherapists are now setting up Pilates studios as part of their practices.
Screen legends such as Gregory Peck and Katharine Hepburn used the Method and, today, personalities as varied as Madonna, Jessica Lange, Michael Crawford, Joan Collins, Greta Scacchi, Sigourney Weaver, Britt Ekland, Pat Cash, Kristi Yamaguchi, Stefanie Powers, Wayne Sleep and Tracy Ullman are just a few of the well-known faces who use, or have used, Pilates-based exercise.
It is comforting to know that you are in such good company.

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• Tai Chi.

Tai Chi Chuan is a Chinese form of exercise derived from Taoism, one of China's oldest belief systems. The practice of Tai Chi Chuan is beneficial to health and it is also a subtle, sophisticated and scientific method of self-defence.

Since this system of exercise is suitable for people of all ages and requires little or no special equipment, it has gained an enthusiastic reception all over the world. Tai Chi Chuan evolved to help people improve their physical health, equip them to defend themselves against wild beasts and bandits, and also improve their powers of meditation. In other words, Tai Chi Chuan enables people to survive through fitness and self-defence.

Advantages of practising Tai Chi Tai Chi Chuan is good exercise which enables us to develop a healthy body as well as an alert mind. It is a system of exercise suitable for people of all ages. This exercise requires little or no special equipment. It can be practised in a relatively small area either indoors or outdoors. When performed in a slow and relaxed manner, the Tai Chi Chuan Hand Form offers a balanced drill for the body's muscles and joints through the execution of complex manoeuvres in conjunction with deep regulated breathing and the contraction and expansion of the diaphragm. The deep breathing promoted by the slow practice of the Hand Form causes the diaphragm to expand outwards and downwards and contract inwards and upwards. This movement of the diaphragm gently 'massages' the liver and intestines. Deep breathing also promotes a greater intake of air into the lungs than usual. Thus a greater amount of oxygen is available for consumption which increases blood circulation. In so doing it also expands the blood vessels which serve the heart and intestines. Therefore Tai Chi Chuan helps prevent thrombosis and many other ailments of the heart and intestines. The performance of the Hand Form creates a tranquil state of mind through concentration on the movements. In the long term, Hand Form stimulates the central nervous system, which increases the well-being of all the organs of the body. As our muscles move when practising Tai Chi Chuan, they exert pressure on our veins, forcing our blood to flow towards the heart, improving our circulation. The exercise that the stomach muscles receive will improve the digestion, leading to an increased appetite and the prevention of constipation. The graceful movements of Tai Chi Chuan can lead to changes in our disposition, making us more even-tempered and slow to anger.

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• Yoga.

Yoga provides one of the best means of self-improvement and attaining one's full potential. In the advanced stages of yoga, superconscious states are attained which result in a feeling of bliss, deep peace and the emergence of psychic powers.
Yoga was developed and perfected over the centuries by philosophers and mystics in India. It is basically a method by which we increase the body's supply of energy and remove any interference to the transmission of energy throughout the body. Yoga has specialized in this subject for thousands of years, and streamlined the methods to attain this aim.

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