Good news! To meet the growing demand for morning Pilates, from the 24th February Embody Pilates will be running a new class at 10.30 on Fridays at The Wellbeing Studio in Clevedon.
This will bring the number of Pilates classes on the weekly timetable to twelve as follows:
Mondays: 12.30-13.30 and 19.00-20.00
Tuesdays: 18.15-19.15 and 19.15-20.15
Wednesdays: 10.15-11.15 and 11.15-12.15
Thursdays: 12.30-13.30, 18.00-19.00 and 19.00-20.00
Fridays: 09.30-10.30 and 10.30-11.30
Saturday mornings: 10.00-11.00
Plenty of choice then to help you find a Pilates class to suit your lifestyle.
If you’d like to secure a place on the new Friday morning Pilates class at 10.30, or to check availability for the other sessions on the weekly schedule, please contact me.
To close, here’s a classic Friday-themed track from The Easybeats…
1st December today and Christmas 2016 is just around the corner. Surprisingly, EP HQ is well-prepared this year with the class timetable for the upcoming festive period already confirmed.
The Wellbeing Studio is being refurbished over the Christmas holidays, which means there will be no Pilates classes from Monday 19th December to Monday 2nd January inclusive. The last class before the break then will be Saturday 17th December at 10.00 and the first class back will be on Tuesday 3rd January at 18.15 when the timetable resumes as normal.
Too early for a Christmas song? Probably…but who cares. Here’s this year’s Nobel Prize for Literature winner (hmmm!), King Bob of Dylan. Who’s got a big red cherry nose? Must be Bad Santa…
To meet demand, an additional Wednesday morning session at 10.15 has just been added to the existing timetable of Pilates classes running at The Wellbeing Studio in Clevedon. The weekly schedule of classes now looks like this…
Mondays: 12.30-13.30 and 19.00-20.00
Tuesdays: 18.15-19.15 and 19.15-20.15
Wednesdays: 10.15-11.15 and 11.15-12.15
Thursdays: 12.30-13.30, 18.00-19.00 and 19.00-20.00
Fridays: 09.30-10.30
Saturdays: 10.00-11.00
Did you catch our editorial in the latest editions of the Clevedon and Tickenham Green Paper, Clevedon Living and the Clevedon and Portishead Resident? A surprising number of people did and are now coming to class, which is great! Here’s one of the articles in case you missed it (click on the image to enlarge it)…
To close, the best version of Hushabye Mountain (yes Dick Van Dyke’s finest moment on Chitty Chitty Bang Bang!) you’ll ever hear by Richard Hawley and Lisa Hannigan…
I’ve just arrived back in Clevedon after 16 days teaching Pilates on retreat on the beautiful island of Skyros, Greece. I’ve managed to remain tan-free and goth-white, which is a bit of a result given the weather was hot and sunny most of the time.
Here’s where my classes took place – the Magic Circle overlooking the sea and Atsitsa Island…
And here is my hut where I slept under a mosquito net to the sound of ticking crickets, lapping waves, rutting neighbours (!) and the occasional braying donkey…I won’t mention the cockerel…
Normal service resumes from tomorrow at The Wellbeing Studio with the usual weekly timetable of Pilates classes back in play as follows…
Mondays: 12.30-13.30 and 19.00-20.00
Tuesdays: 18.15-19.15 and 19.15-20.15
Wednesdays: 11.15-12.15
Thursdays: 12.30-13.30, 18.00-19.00 and 19.00-20.00
Fridays: 09.30-10.30
Saturdays: 10.00-11.00
Aside from teaching Pilates, I did manage plenty of hammock time. Lisa Hannigan’s Passenger was one of the albums I listened to a lot while swaying in the breeze…
NB. Who knew getting into and out of a hammock would need so much core strength! Pilates for Hammock Users, a specialist class just crying out to be developed. You read it here first…
A quick heads-up on some upcoming changes at Embody Pilates. We’re adding four new sessions to the existing timetable of Pilates classes running at The Wellbeing Studio in Clevedon. So, from MONDAY 5TH SEPTEMBER the weekly schedule of classes will look like this…
Mondays: 12.30-13.30 and 19.00-20.00
Tuesdays: 18.15-19.15 and 19.15-20.15
Wednesdays: 11.15-12.15
Thursdays: 12.30-13.30, 18.00-19.00 and 19.00-20.00
Fridays: 09.30-10.30
Saturdays: 10.00-11.00
With a wider selection of morning, lunchtime, evening and weekend sessions to choose from, it will be even easier to find a Pilates class to suit a busy lifestyle.
Every class is suitable for all ages, abilities and fitness levels. For those wanting to explore the repertoire of Pilates exercises more fully, we’ve purchased some foam rollers and Therabands. Similar to the small balls we already use, the rollers and bands allow us to challenge our stability as we perform an exercise, and help us to isolate or engage targeted muscles more effectively. We’ll start to use the rollers and bands in class from Monday 5th September.
Regular visitors to the EP website will remember this post from January with details of a retreat I’m going to be teaching at on the Greek island of Skyros. The time for this is fast approaching; I can’t believe how quickly it’s come around!
I’ll be working abroad from Saturday 10th to Monday 26th September inclusive. Obviously I won’t be able to teach my usual timetable of classes in Clevedon and Bristol during this period. Apologies for any inconvenience. It’s a great opportunity though for me to learn and grow as a teacher and bring back to class lots of new ideas, skills and experiences.
I hope you will return to class after this short interlude. Just so we’re clear, the last class before I head to Greece will be on Friday 9th September at 09.30 and the first class back after my time abroad is Tuesday 27th September at 18.15.
Finally, look out for Embody Pilates in the local press in late September/early October. We’ve managed to secure editorial space in three free monthly glossies – the Clevedon and Tickenham Green Paper, Clevedon Living and the Clevedon and Portishead Resident – to promote the new class timetable and to spread the word about the huge benefits that regular Pilates can bring.
To close, here’s an apt song about the perils of being a white-skinned northerner heading abroad to sunnier climes. It’s also a favourite tune from my summer playlist and arguably has one of the best intros and guitar riffs of all time…
The Easter Holidays are on the horizon so to confirm, the usual sessions on the following days during the Easter Holiday weekend will not take place at The Wellbeing Studio:
Easter Saturday 26th March
Easter Monday 28th March
For those who normally attend the 10.00 Saturday morning and 12.30 Monday lunchtime sessions, you’re very welcome to come along to any of the other classes on the weekly schedule.
There will also be no Piloga class at Strode Leisure Centre on Easter Saturday.
Looking for a healthy, chocolate-free Easter present? Why not buy an Embody Pilates gift card for a friend or family member? They’re available from as little as £10. More information about the gift cards on offer and how to buy one, via the link.
To close, here’s fake cleric and folk rock god, Father John Misty with his thought for the day…
Yes, Christmas just isn’t Christmas without a picture of Alfred Hitchcock in a sleigh eating snow with his three grandchildren.
Anyway, in case you’re struggling to find the perfect Christmas present for a friend or family member, you might like to consider buying a Embody Pilates gift card. They cost from as little as £10. Here’s what we have available…
£10 gift card to treat someone to one group Pilates class
To see what the cards look like and for full details on how to pay for and get hold of a card in time for Christmas, click here.
I said last week I don’t really do Christmas albums. Turns out I was wrong – I have five of them! In last week’s post, I included a song from Mindy Smith’s My Holiday album. Here are tracks from two of the others. The first features on Sufjan Stevens’ Songs For Christmas album. Come On! Let’s Boogey to the Elf Dance…just you try and stop us, Sufjan!
And here’s the title track from Sarah McLachlan’s Wintersong album. This is definitely a contender for the saddest Christmas song ever written…
Next week I’ll post a video with a medley of songs from the best Christmas album of all time…stay tuned…
The festive season is just around the corner and here at EP HQ, we’re ironing our evil elf and Bad Santa costumes in preparation…not really. We have finalised the timetable of Pilates classes that will run at The Wellbeing Studio over the Christmas and New Year fortnight though. Here it is…
All are welcome to come along to the above classes. Some people have booked a place on one or more of the sessions, but for those of you who find on the day that you’re available to attend, please feel free to join us. I’m sure we can fit you in.
To sing us out and get us into the holiday spirit, below is the title track from folk/country/bluegrass/Americana singer-songwriter, Mindy Smith’s Christmas album. I don’t really do Christmas albums but My Holiday is a bit of a cracker.
Melissa is going on a short holiday, which means the following Pilates classes at The Wellbeing Studio in Clevedon will not take place:
Tuesday 20th October at 18.15
Tuesday 20th October at 19.15
Thursday 21st October at 12.30
Thursday 21st October at 18.00
Saturday 24th October at 10.00
Sorry for any inconvenience this may cause. The usual Monday lunchtime class at 12.30 will take place on 19th October though so the week is not a complete wipe-out! Do come along to that class if you happen to be free.
PILATES x MELISSA 