Pilates is an extremely safe and effective exercise programme. It focuses on the core postural muscles which help keep the spine correctly aligned as well as working on the strength, mobility and flexibility of the whole body. As a form of meditation it will focus the mind, leaving you feeling less stressed and improving your feelings of wellbeing. Pilates works on correcting muscle imbalances and reduces the risk of back problems.

It was developed by Joseph Pilates at the beginning of the 1900’s. Joseph Pilates was born in Germany in 1880 and throughout his childhood, he was plagued by ill health. To make himself physically stronger, he took up body-building and various other sports, including gymnastics and diving. He later moved to England, but when World War I broke out he was interned on the Isle of Man. Whilst working as a hospital orderly, he came into contact with many war casualties and it was then that he started to develop his Pilates system as a way of helping them.

He believed that imbalances in the body and habitual patterns of movement cause injuries. He saw the links between weak areas of the body and overcompensation by other parts of the body, so he set about creating a programme based on re-education and realignment of the body. He moved to New York in 1926 and set up an exercise studio and Pilates soon became a favourite form of exercise for dancers and athletes.

In recent years it has become one of the most popular forms of exercise, not only improving the shape of the body and posture, but for a whole host of other health benefits too. It is recommended by doctors and back care specialists as a form of rehab following back problems as well as a way of preventing them.

Sportsmen are using this system of exercise more and more as a way of improving their core strength and balance. Pilates requires a great deal of concentration, precision, control and fluidity. It was designed to create a healthy body, a healthy mind and a healthy life. The Pilates philosophy is all about training the mind and body to work together towards the goal of overall fitness. It is all about quality, not quantity.

Josie site, http://vitalflow.tv, provides online Pilates videos and downloads, together with advice on healthy living. As well as running the website, Josie has a large portfolio of private clients and also teaches Pilates and yoga classes, drawing on 25+ years in the fitness business.

60% will be sub-acute or chronic and at least half of these cases will be caused by poor posture. The effects of these alarming statistics are far-reaching as the following facts show:

• 11 million working days are lost each year.
• Bad backs are the main reason for time off work.
• Last year 200,000 women took time off work to recover from a back problem.
• The cost to British industry is around a staggering £5 billion a year.
• The cost to the NHS is estimated to be £480 million.

So what are the main causes of back problems, apart from abnormalities in the spine (eg, a scoliosis), a trauma (eg, car accident) or the natural ageing process (degeneration of discs, osteoporosis, arthritis)?

Without getting too clinical and scientific, the following are 5 reasons for spinal complications:-

(1) Poor posture: The spine needs to be in a good neutral position so as not to create imbalances.

(2) Carrying too much body weight: Imagine the strain on your back, having to carry you around and if you are overweight, you are probably unfit, which brings us to our next point;

(3) Poor health and fitness levels: There is no direct blood supply to the discs and they depend on movement to push oxygen and nutrients to them. Smoking will restrict the oxygen supply. A poor diet will restrict the nutrition available. Short/weak muscles, lack of flexibility and immobile joints (spine especially) will have a direct effect on the spine.

(4) Being in one position too long can cause problems: Sitting (consider your driving position as well), standing (body on one leg, core muscles relaxed) and bending incorrectly will all take their toll. Check your mattress too.

(5) There seems to a link between depression and chronic back pain.

It is now widely acknowledged that pilates and yoga can help prevent back problems and aid recovery. Doctors and therapists are recommending pilates in particular to their patients for these reasons.

Josie site, http://vitalflow.tv, provides online Pilates videos and downloads, together with advice on healthy living. As well as running the website, Josie has a large portfolio of private clients and also teaches Pilates and yoga classes, drawing on 25+ years in the fitness business.

(1) Re-educate and realign your body to prevent imbalances. This is particularly useful for sportsmen, for example. If you think of a tennis player constantly hitting the ball using the same arm or a golfer always swinging from the same side.

(2) Make you more body-aware and co-ordinated. Pilates improves your proprioception skills, the way your body moves in space. Particularly useful if you are working by yourself.

(3) Create or improve space between vertebrae to minimise pressure on discs and nerves. There is no question that Pilates will prevent back problems or teach you to manage them.

(4) Improve core muscle and back strength to help support the spine and maintain good posture. Many of us have posture that is far from ideal.

(5) Strengthen all muscles so that the whole body can work together rather than one area becoming overloaded.

(6) Improve flexibility and mobility so that the body can move freely, without putting undue strain on the back.

(7) Teach you to breath correctly and fully so that plenty of oxygen reaches every part of the body, especially the spine. Try observing the way in which you breathe normally and you will see how inefficient it is.

(8) Give you that feel-good factor and relax your body and mind. Pilates is a form or meditation, allowing you to forget all your troubles and draw your focus of attention to your body – at least for a little while.

(9) Improve pelvic floor tone, reducing incontinence problems. A huge problem and not just for women!

(10) Flatten abdomen. There is no other exercise that flattens the lower abdomen – believe me, I’ve tried it all.

Josie site, http://vitalflow.tv, provides online Pilates videos and downloads, together with advice on healthy living. As well as running the website, Josie has a large portfolio of private clients and also teaches Pilates and yoga classes, drawing on 25+ years in the fitness business.

I know it sounds odd to start any exercise class with relaxation, but you need to let go of tension in the body. One of the key benefits of Pilates is that it addresses muscle imbalances: you need to relax your shoulders, your neck, your face; you need to release the pelvic floor and abdomen. We don’t want tension and we don’t want some muscles doing more that their fair share of the work. Classes may begin in any position – standing, supine, seated – but you can still relax the muscles that are tense. The mind needs to become still and focused.

Concentration

So with the mind still and focused, we can start to concentrate on our bodies. Pilates is a mind/body form of exercise and you must be present with the mind. Think about how your body feels, be aware of areas of stiffness and tension, focus on every movement you make and how that affects the rest of the body. This will lead to quality and precision of movement, increase your body-awareness, keep the practice safe and effective – all important, especially when you are working by yourself.

Alignment

Alignment, neutral position, posture, core, centring: all part of the same thing. You’ve relaxed your body and released any tension, you’ve cleared your mind and your focus is on your body, now you need to check your alignment, depending on what position you are in: if you are supine with legs extended, you will be more or less in neutral. If you are standing, you need to pay a little more attention to your posture. If you are seated or in box position, think about the alignment of the pelvis and the spine.

Breathing

Breathe fully and wide. This serves several purposes:

• it will remove any toxins from the lungs
• the exhalations will relax you, the inhalations energise you
• it will help focus the mind
• it will help you engage the core muscles
• it will dictate the speed of the exercise, leading to flowing movements.

Pilates uses thoracic/lateral breathing, enabling you to breathe fully, but still maintain that all important core contraction to stabilise the pelvis, support the lower back and keep the neutral position.

Co-ordination

Trying to co-ordinate movement with breath and remember all the principles will seem like an impossibility at first, but it does come with practice. Beginners courses can sometimes appear slow and boring, but it enables you to gradually build, layer on layer, until you can do everything all at once.

Precision

Every movement has a purpose, every instruction vital to the success of the exercise. Perfect, precise movement is what you are trying to achieve rather than many poor, inadequate repetitions. This is important for you to attain the results you are hoping for safely, efficiently and relatively quickly.

Fluidity

The human body is perfectly formed for movement, therefore every exercise in Pilates is dynamic (some modifications may hold a position, but the final form involves movement). They flow with the breath like a perfectly executed waltz, lengthening away from your strong centre, controlled, free from tension and stress, and rhythmic.

Stamina

Your deep postural muscles need to be working gently, but constantly in order to keep your body correctly aligned. For this to be possible, they require stamina. All your supporting muscles need stamina so that your body can work as a whole: think of a car – a great gear box or new brakes are no good without the rest of the engine being in good condition. Some muscles will tire very quickly without the support of the others and with practise, an exercise that seemed difficult to perform one week will soon appear relatively easy. For example, everyone complains about their arm, shoulder and neck when they perform a side plank the first few times. As they progress, they learn to use the torso muscles which become stronger with practise, they learn to engage the muscles of the legs which also have a role to play.

Josie site, http://vitalflow.tv, provides online Pilates videos and downloads, together with advice on healthy living. As well as running the website, Josie has a large portfolio of private clients and also teaches Pilates and yoga classes, drawing on 25+ years in the fitness business.

Throughout history, the importance of contracting the lower abdomen has been noted: this is nothing new – older than Joseph Pilates! In yoga it is referred to as applying the bandha, unifying the combined energy of the inhalation and exhalation. In martial arts and particularly in Tai Chi, drawing the belly back to the spine precedes each movement. Modern research has shown that drawing the navel back to the spine causes a co-contraction of the Transversus Abdominis (TA) and the Multifidus Spinae (MF)

With research we are gaining an ever-growing insight into the role of the core and how it works. In someone with ideal posture and no back problems, the core muscles are automatically recruited prior to any movement, thereby offering the required support for the spine. With back problems affecting some 80% of the population at some time in their lives, the importance of improving our posture and practising Pilates to strengthen the core seems logical.

Core Muscles

So which muscles contribute to core stability? These are the deepest muscles, the ones you can’t see and tend to be involved with stability rather than the global muscles (visible in athletes) which enable movement. Together, they make a kind of cylinder shape:-

• Transversus Abdominis (TA): This is the deepest layer of abdominal muscle and runs horizontally, more or less in a circle from the ribcage right down through the pelvis.
• Multifidus Spinae: This is the deepest of the back muscles, running the whole length of the spine.
• Internal Obliques: These lay between the TA and external obliques, running in a V shape from the ribs to the pelvis.
• Pelvic Floor: The pelvic floor makes up the bottom of the cylinder and acts like a hammock supporting the pelvic organs.

IAP

The co-contraction of the core muscles increases intra abdominal pressure which reduces compression on the lumbar spine, supporting and stabilising the pelvis and back. A very important part of a Pilates exercise is the preparation: as you exhale, you draw navel to spine, draw up the pelvic floor and hollow out the abdomen. You maintain this gentle contraction as you inhale: be aware of the rib cage lifting and opening out; notice the lengthening through the spine and from the pubic bone to the breast bone. You can think of IAP as the air in a balloon, the balloon being the core cylinder, the visual used above. When the cylinder is full, the balloon is strong and supported; when the air is out, the balloon is floppy.

Josie site, http://vitalflow.tv, provides online Pilates videos and downloads, together with advice on healthy living. As well as running the website, Josie has a large portfolio of private clients and also teaches Pilates and yoga classes, drawing on 25+ years in the fitness business.

episodes in which I describe and

discuss the virtues of the more

popular ghillie suits. In this episode

we’ll talk about the grandaddy of

modern ghillie suits; The Ghillie

Flage.

This suit like most ghillie suits is

built on a mesh netting, but this one

is the first we’ve talked about that

is made from jute. Jute is an organic

fiber second in popularity for all

uses, only to cotton. It seemed odd to

me that cotton bales used to be

wrapped in burlap which is made from

jute. Since jute has to be shipped

from India, that is testimony to how

much cheaper burlap is than cotton.

Most people probably are familiar with

burlap in its most common use; the

“toe sack” used for storing and

carrying a variety of goods such as

potatos and other vegetables.

Earlier jute suits were made by

“unweaving” the burlap to get the

thread necessary to tie to the

mesh.These threads in turn had to be

dyed to the desired colors. A

laborious task.

Jute suits are flammable and as such

must be treated with a fire retardant.

The Ghillie Flage comes pre-treated

and with an extra bag of fire

retardant powder. It comes with ample

extra thread for those who wish to

further customize their suit.

When dressing in this suit as with any

mesh lined suit, it is advisable to

cover your hands with plastic bags to

keep your fingers from hanging on the

mesh.

The sleeves have drawstrings and cord

locks to secure them to your wrists.

This suit has a split up each side to

make moving about easy.

This is a great suit for still hunting

or stalking. For those concerned about

such things ,jute is biodegradable. If

you should take it off and abandon it

in the woods somewhere, it won’t be

there forever, and

GhilliesandStuff.com will be ready to

sell you another one.

I am James Mizzell, owner of 3 websites;
www.ghilliesandstuff.com
www.uniquegiftsandfigurines.com
www.melanesianskincare.com
I am retired, living in Florida and working on another site.

1. Buying from the internet without trying them on first…remember the secret of great fitting cycling shoes is to try on before you buy, this eliminatesmistakes such as…

2. Different Manufacturers sometimes produce different widths of shoes to suit all anatomy of feet. Sidi are a very popular motorbike boot manufacturer but also produce excellent cycling shoes. Their shoes are produced in womens, child and men’s sizes with a good variety of widths.

3. Not choosing the right shoe for the job in hand…before choosing your cycling shoe its important to get advice from your cycling friends or look at reviews of cycling shoes in your chosen discipline. Its not a good idea to to have a road cycling shoe for mountain bike use!

4. At www.teamspiritcyclingcamps.co.uk

we can recommend local bike shops in Gwent that not only supply quality cycling shoes but also get great advice and even try on a few pairs to see which shoes fit the best or colours match your bike frame! Mark Taylor the Managing Director of Team Spirit Cycling Camps states “Having a good pair of cycling shoes can enhance your cycling and provide many hundreds of miles quality comfortable riding”.

5. Not thinking about seasonal use…If you intend to use your cycling shoes during the winter months than think about layers of socks re do you need to buy an extra size larger? Is it worth investing in a cycling thermal boot that not only provide extra warmth but also keep you feet dry.

www.teamspiritcyclingcamps.co.uk

My name is Mark Taylor I am a qualified coach to level 2 of the British Cycling recognised coaching award. Is also a recognised coach with the Association of British Cycling Coaches. I’ve been fortunate enough to represent Wales as a junior competitive cyclist, I am a well known and respected coach with a “hands on” coaching and training approach that gets results from riders that put the effort in. I am experienced at time trials, road racing and track racing.

The terrain varies from peaceful meandering stretches of river through boreal forest to the wild rapids of Pontook and the great spots just below several dams along the river.

If you are a fisher who enjoys the early morning hours or the quiet moments around dusk, you are likely to find yourself sharing the river now and then with a moose or a pair of nesting loons.

Depending upon your choice of overnight accomodations your choices range just as broadly from camping at the small and friendly Molligiwock State Campground to “roughing it” at the Balsams, one of New Hampshire’s premier resort hotels.

The Thirteen Mile Woods begins just north of New Hampshire’s largest northern City, Berlin (pronounced “Burl’n” if you want to talk like a native). Your experience won’t just be a few hours of fishing. It will be a trip back into history as well. You’ll notice, for one thing, a lot of submerged logs along the river. The Androscoggin River was used for many years to run logs from the forests along and above the Thirteen Miles Woods down to the mills in Berlin. Large formations of rock and logs line the midcourse of the river just north of Berlin.

The Rock Crib Piers in the Androscoggin River were built by the Berlin Mills so they could store the logs until they were needed. The piers were connected by log booms, connected end to end and also by log booms from each pier to the shore line. This created a series of storage areas and as the Mill called for logs, the boom was opened on the downstream side so the logs simply floated to the dam just north of the present day paper mill. From there the logs were taken out of the water, and sent into the mill. At one time, this was done via a steam powered conveyor system.

The rock piers were built in the wintertime. They waited for the ice to form so they could drag the rocks and logs out to the middle of the river. They were then placed in the proper place, and then the ice was cut around the rock pile, then the rocks settled to the bottom. It took many repeats of the process to get the rock islands up to water level, then the rock crib was formed and the balance of the rocks were placed.

You will also undoubtedly share the river with canoeists and kayakers as this river has the best year-round whitewater paddling in all of New Hampshire.

If you visit the Thirteen Mile Woods area, you will also want to make a few sidetrips to see Lake Umbagog one of the most pristine lakes in New Hampshire. In fact you may decide that you want to make your trip a multi-day combination canoe and fishing trip. If so you have lots of choices.

The Lone Daisy
Purchase cards or prints of this image

Wayne King is a recovering politician, political commentator and President of Moosewood Communications in Rumney, NH. Moosewood’s principle mission is to assist companies working to achieve a higher sustainability profile. He blogs from his space in the Blogosphere, Unified Visions: UnifiedVisions.Blogspot.com where he advocates for a post-partisan approach to governing; and from the Moosewood Communications Blog www.MoosewoodCommunications.blogspot.com.

The best 17 super hot hiking tips are here for you in no particular order:

1. Get in shape. Every hiker’s pace will vary but the average estimated pace is 1.5 miles per hour. Start walking outdoors to get in shape so you won’t injure yourself on the hike. Muscle strains and cramps are the results of untrained bodies and you don’t want it to be you.

2. Proper Clothing & Footwear. Always wear comfortable clothes that don’t bind or chafe. Wear a hat; it protects you from the sun and from ticks. Have a lightweight jacket with you for wind and rain protection. Good hiking boots are essential. Look for boots with a high ankle and solid soles to prevent slipping on uneven terrain.

3. Know the expected weather conditions and climate of the trail. Dress in layers. Bring along extra clothes, a raincoat, water, bug repellent, sunglasses, sunscreen of at least 15 SPF, and poison ivy block.

4. Drink water only from a safe water source.

5. Provide close supervision of children in your care.

6. Make sure to give your itinerary to family and/or friends. Be sure you include any telephone numbers and any other important trail information.

7. Watch the trail for any hazards. Watch for any natural hazards on the trail. Always consider what is before you before moving forward.

8. Learn CPR / Carry a first aid kit in your backpack. Also bring along a whistle, compass, waterproof matches and a warm blanket.

9. Bring your camera along to capture those unforgettable moments.

10. Plan breaks according to the length of the trip.

11. Put the slowest hiker in front. Set the pace to that person.

12. Do not wander off the trail.

13. Don’t bring anything of value on the trip. Leave them at home.

14. Be smart with your food supply. Keep hot foods hot and cold foods cold. Pack dried, dehydrated and non-perishables for longer hiking trips.

15. Be able to make fire. Follow proper instructions for fire in a campsite.

16. Always take home what you brought. Do Not Litter!

17. MOST OF ALL: HAVE FUN!

Like you, Charlotte Winslow appreciates all the hiking tips she can get. Go to http://hikingbasics.info and grab these, too!

Here are the basic guidelines to follow while tandem kayaking:

• The heavier person should sit at the back for the kayak to perform best.
• If you are kayaking in heavy cross-winds then the heavier person should sit up front.
• The back seat is considered the ‘Captain’s Seat’ because this is where most of the steering and directing is done from. For this reason it is best to have the most experienced kayaker in the back seat so because they will have more experience on directing the boat.
• However if you are kayaking in calm weather then it might be a good idea to allow the less experienced kayaker to gain confidence and experience in steering the kayak.

What if you are paddling a double kayak while solo? Where should you sit then?

• If it is possible to adjust the seats, remove one seat and secure the other in the middle of the kayak. This is where you will have the best control.
• You want the kayak’s weight to be distributed evenly so if you have to sit at the back, place some gear or extra weight up front in order to balance out the weight distribution. You will still have decent control of the kayak from the back seat (but not as good as you would in the middle).
• I would not recommend kayaking from the front seat even if you place extra weight in the back. This is where you will have the least amount of control.

Paddling with a child or dog?

If you are kayaking with a child or your dog the best thing is to seat yourself at the back of the kayak and place the child or dog up front. This will allow for your heavier weight to hold down the rear as well as to be able to keep on eye on your passengers while still directing the kayak properly.

Keeping all of these guidelines in mind, the most important thing of course is that everyone is comfortable and safe. Some people will simply naturally prefer to be in the front or back and personal preference will play a huge part. The basic rule of thumb to follow is that if kayaking in normal weather conditions the heavier person should stay at the rear of the kayak. From there you will find out very quickly what works best for you and your partner.

To get much more information about inflatable kayaking visit InflatableKayakWorld.com where you’ll find this and much more, including comprehensive inflatable kayak reviews.