That Pesky Psoas....

Since I started going to Pilate's back at the end of April, my awful back pain has subsided and I no longer have to see a chiropractor/osteopath every 4 weeks or so.

In fact since April, I have only had to visit him twice, this is most definitely a great testament to the wonders of Pilate's, and the very knowledgeable Mel, who teaches us.

Anyway, to get to my story.... as you are all aware (from my profile info) I am the proud owner of a flashy crystal blue sports car called Betty Blue.... she is beautiful and spends most of her life with her lid down so that my unruly locks can feel the wind, and become even more tangled than they normally are!

In an effort to ensure that she stays beautiful, Betty gets garaged at the end of each and every outing. Unfortunately, because of all of the accumulated possibly useful in the future' stuff' we have acquired over the past 2 and 1/2 years, it has become increasingly difficult to open Betty's door, once in the garage, to exit her lovely sleek little profile.

After one such outing, I parked a little nearer to the wall and 'stuff' than normal and only lefty about a 2 inch gap to climb out of her, and PING! upon twisting my leg into the available gap my Hip Flexor (Psoas Muscle) popped and then...... PAIN!

and O M G what PAIN! - this was back in July.

Mel got our her anatomy charts and showed me what the muscle was and how it could affect my movement, and suggested some lovely stretching moves that would help with the release of the muscle and aid it's repair.

God Bless Mel!

Anyway, to cut a long story short, the pain is still there, and since our initial decision of the cause, we have decided that due to the length of time it is taking to heal, and the areas of movement that have been affected, that some of the 'attached bits' (no that's not the technical term) got torn - this means a long drawn out process of healing.

Meanwhile, Mel, being the complete anatomical genius that she is, has given me yet more moves to help release this pesky Psoas Muscle, some of which are the Cat Stretch, Shoulder Bridge, Leg Slide, Side Stretch, Clam, and of course the 'doorbell, letterbox, catflap combo'. There is also this rather awkward looking thing I do lying across a hard foam roller with my legs stretched out - it pulls the Psoas out long and feels fantastic!

One of the bits of information about the Psoas Muscle that Mel found out, is that is affects your mood, and depending on it's state, that's how you are, if it is relaxed and happy so are you - yeah right! - Well you know what? I reckon, having laughed about this, it must actually be true, for the last couple of weeks I have felt totally miserable, and this can only be down to my Psoas feeling miserable too - No Kidding!

I know that it will be a long haul, but there is a light at the end of the tunnel and with any luck, my sleepless painful nights will soon be over!

Thanks Mel - without you and Pilates I would have gone do lally tap! Roll on Monday nights class!

I'm a Reformed Girl

Mel asked me a few days ago if I would mind being her guinea pig on her Pilate's Reformer machine. She wants to understand how hard or easy it is to show someone the ropes so to speak and generally see it working on someone first hand, and what muscle groups are used when etc.... personally I think she just wanted to see me trussed up like a chicken!

Anyway, I emailed with her and today was the day that suited our work plans, any anyway, the weather was too rubbish to body board LOL.

She started me off with some simple moves that I am familiar with from the mat work that we do in class, but this time they have the resistance of the bands on the machine to work against. I did not think I would last 2 minutes, but hey anything for a friend!

Then the real work began - I looked more like I was going for a check up at the OB-GYN by the time my feet were stuck in the elastic hooks... I was asked to push my legs out and round like a little froggie jumping off the ground..... after the laughter stopped and I began in earnest, I found it quite a nice move - it works all your butt and thigh (inner and outer) your ankles and calves and just about every other muscle group in the human body no doubt.

One hour rolled into 2, as Mel kept saying I would have liked to try that, but it looks quite hard, and me saying lets just have a go, and if I hurt I'll scream...

I was amazed, I was able to do all that was asked of me, bar one thing I think, which was a seated on the bench, ropes in hands over head and moving the bench by pulling hands in front of me move.... tough, but I think next time I may manage it.

We finished with tea and cakes - OBVIOUSLY - after all that exercise, and a wander around the the local surf shop 5 minutes away to have a mooch. Unfortunately they were closed - the sign On the door said GONE SURFING! Oh well next time eh.

Anyway - all in all a really great afternoon, where I found out that I must now be a lot fitter than before I started my Pilates, as I would not have been able to do any of the moves today, this time last March !

Woo Hoo Fantastic - and it's all down to the wonderful Mel's' teachings. Visit her blog if you don't believe me: Pilates in Portreath

A Very Busy Week!

Despite being at work all week, I am only there until 2pm each day, and, as the guys are still here on holiday, we are trying to fit in as many trips to the beach as possible before they go back to Luton.

Tuesday took us back into the water, and was the first time using my new body board

I literally popped home from work, let poor Fred into the garden for a potter whilst I put on my wet suit and grabbed my board, and then I headed down to Portie beach to meet Mel and the boys once more for a play in the sea.

All of this time I was feeling guilty that Paul was still slogging his guts out at work, but I did leave him a voicemail on his moby to come straight down after work and join us at 5pm.

We had just come out of the water when he finally arrived at 5.20 - he did not check his phone until he got home, but at least he had a few minutes to relax on the beach before we headed back to Fred

Thursday it was chill out time on the beach, as we just lay on towels and nattered, I had left a message for Paul that I would not be home until after 7 as I was going straight to Pilates before coming home. Paul was having a really crappy day and so I asked him to order a Chinese from the place around the corner from the beach, and I could collect it after class. This went a good way to cheer him up but he was not looking forward to tomorrow - Friday, as he had to fix the machine break down that had ruined his day today.

Friday morning arrived, and I had to go into work and ask if I could leave a bit earlier as the chap that was coming to service the boiler was coming earlier than expected previously - it's a good thing that I had some overtime from this week to claw back against!

The chap dutifully arrived just before 1pm, and set about the task. He was pleased with how well it was holding up, as the salty air normally fries everything inside them apparently. Whilst the chap was doing his thing, Paul went off the Perranporth to see if he could find a wet suit, having come top the conclusion, if you can't beat 'em join 'em!

As soon as the boiler man had finished and Paul returned from Perran , we headed on down to the beach again to join everyone, and once again vegged out on towels and generally enjoyed the beach, and the peace it created. Paul was happy to finish his week off like this, despite his morning at work not being as bad as he expected.

Everyone wanted to know about Paul's wetsuit - What wet suit he said dolefully - no-one had one big enough, or small enough or just right enough for him, as it was the end of the season and only small amounts of stock were left.... He was not a happy chappy.... We will keep looking though.

We did not get back from the beach until just after 7pm, and once we had eaten and tidied around a bit it was quite late. I went up for a shower only to find there was no hot water! Not possible I hear you say.... just serviced I can hear you all shout..... well after Paul had taken the cover off the boiler and played with it for a while, he realised that one of the clips had been left undone. Hey presto Hot Water... YAY!

So, tomorrow is another day and we are on the beach having cream teas before J and P go home, but before this, Paul and I are planning on heading over to Truro.

It's been an exhausting but fantastic week, with beautiful blue skies and sunshine. Long may it continue!

Men and Excersize- Phooey!

The lovely Mel of Pilates Portreath fame, had managed to get hold of the hall this morning to give 2 lots of free Pilates classes for complete beginners as a sampler.

The Pilates Virgin Chicks were to be at 09.00 and the Virgin Men at 10.00

Simon had already agreed to go, and roped in Jamie and Phill (who were due to arrive at 5am that morning from Luton!)

The local chap from Portreath cried off at the last minute, so, as we all know each other or were related to each other, Sally-Ann and I were asked if we would like to join the lads.

We jumped at the chance, and I even managed to get Paul to come along!

Mel started off by showing the men, how to find neutral using their TA... They listened intently

She showed them how to release their back muscles in child's pose...

Then the hard work really started with the kilo and half kilo weights..... Now these exercises were ramped up for the lads, and SA and I found them quite tough, but they were not going to get the better of us in front of the lads!

Then it was time for the plank - keep those buts down lads!

and scissors with a raised circle - 45 degree angle for the legs boys!

We had great fun and were completely pooped at the end of it! Thanks Mel x

My 300th Post!

Wow - My 300th post - I know I can talk for England but who knew I was as bad when I write things down too!

So ....... For such an epic event, I thought it should be dominated by friends - naturally, as they are such a huge and important part of my life.

Firstly, Sally-Ann and Mike always there in a crisis, and always there for the fun times too - my life would not be complete without them - and that goes for my Family Tree too, as Sally-Ann has done most of the hard graft on that for me, usually whilst I'm at work, and making me smile with daft little questions by email to break up the monotony of my paid for duties to my employer!

Then there are the friends I left behind in Birmingham, who I still love dearly, and wish meeting up could be a more regular thing.

There is my new friend Mel. Mel is my Pilate's teacher, and despite only knowing her for about 3 and a half months, I feel like I have known her for years, she is so easy to get on with and we do laugh a lot, especially during the strange positions she gets us into during class. She has just adopted a greyhound from the local greyhound trust, and I can foresee many walks on the beach with her, and Ernie. The first of which we had on Tuesday, along with Sally-Anne and Mike, Fred and Hamish.

And last, but by no means least, there are the friends I have made in the blogging community, who boost my spirits with the lovely comments they leave me, and make me smile with the witty and interesting posts that they write.

So there we are then. Post number 300 complete. Role on the next 300 is all I can say.

XoXo

Pilates Perfect

When Mel suggested a one on one with her for our Pilate's we jumped at the chance - after all, what better way to make sure that we were doing all of these moves correctly...

Sally-Ann went first and I panicked a bit when I saw what we had to do - and balanced on a sausage of sponge too!

but amazing as it may seem - I did manage more than I thought....

until it all went horrible wrong and I went tipping off the side (thankfully SA did the same thing so I didn't feel so daft!)

then the items of torture came out, in the way of the ring, the band and the ball...

and all the time - Core girls, think about keeping your Core active...

we finished with a final stretch or two, and then came the good bit - tea and cakes YAY for the Pilate's chicks....

Go Girls!

Next it's the boys turn - I know that Mel already has her sights on Paul - in the whole pull your shoulders back sort of way - LOL!

We had a great time - thanks Mel