Written by Dorothea Csutkai

Stress and anxiety is an inevitable part of life and chances are you are among the 13.1% of Australians who have experienced it at some point. According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics in 2017/18 3.2 million Australians aged between 15 and 64 had anxiety related conditions with a higher rate in females than men. The Australian Psychological Society found that 1 in 3 Australians experience symptoms of stress short or long term. The physical, social, financial and emotional impacts of stress and anxiety are many and as a Pilates instructor, I see what happens to the body from prolonged periods of stress.

(more…)

Written by Dorothea Csutkai

Almost every Australian will experience some form of musculoskeletal pain at some point in their lives. But for some, it is a chronic debilitating illness that is a daily reality for months and years affecting their ability to live a normal life and impacting on mental and emotional health and wellbeing. 

(more…)

Written by Dorothea Csutkai

We have all heard over and over again that we should exercise because it’s good for us mainly in terms of weight control, weight loss or muscle mass gain. There are many really beneficial reasons to exercise that go beyond the visual aesthetics such as maintaining strong muscles and bones as we age to prevent poor posture and decreasing bone density. To get you motivated here are just six of a long list of health benefits that are as important which you may not know about.

(more…)

For a lot of people when there is mention of pilates there follows an assumption that it’s another form of exercise like yoga. In some ways it is true, many of the exercises come from a base of yoga, there is the essential connection of the breath to the movement, principles of awareness and concentration and there is an element of strength and mobility to each exercise.Similarly, with yoga there are many styles and hybrids of pilates. I like to think we practice a nice mix of traditional pilates broken down for accessibility as we work towards mastering Joseph Pilates’ exercises based on each individual student’s needs. There is a  feeling that Pilates is missing the spiritual and emotional aspect that is so well known to yoga. It is true there is no chanting, mantras or deities but there is definitely a spiritual connection to the self through focus, concentration and awareness. 

(more…)

It’s winter. It’s cold. The days are shorter. It rains a lot. The body is creaky. 

Most people would much rather head to a bar and warm up with some wine or head out to dinner and load up on those hearty warming foods the body so badly craves at this time of the year. Just because the weather has dropped doesn’t mean the fitness routine should too. In fact this is the time to be working out and staying active because with the cold comes stiffer muscles and joints as we consume less water, there is less moisture in the air and the body uses more energy to stay warm. And we all know summer bodies are made in winter.

(more…)