This column was published in the February 2025 issue of Women's Fitness, as part of my regular Pilates Doctor feature.

Cold weather affects joints more than most people realise. As temperatures drop, the body prioritises keeping your core organs warm — which means less circulation to your hands, feet and joints. For anyone living with arthritis or a chronic joint condition, this can mean increased stiffness, pain and reluctance to move. But staying still makes it worse.

Pilates is not about pushing through. It is about learning how your body moves, where it holds unnecessary tension, and how to build the kind of deep stability that actually supports your joints rather than straining them. The approach I write about here — breath, alignment, core connection — is the same foundation I use with clients at Beyond Move every day, whether they are managing osteoarthritis, recovering from injury, or simply noticing the effects of age and cold on their body.

The five Swiss Ball exercises in this feature are a good starting point. They are low-impact, adaptable, and work precisely the areas that tend to suffer most in winter: lower back, shoulders, hips and the smaller joints of the hands and feet. Five minutes a day of focused, intentional movement is enough to make a difference over time.

If you are unsure where to begin, please speak to your GP or physiotherapist first — and when you are ready, seek out a qualified teacher who understands your condition, not just a general fitness class.

The full article is featured in Women's Fitness, February 2025.

This column was published in the April 2026 issue of Women's Fitness, as part of my regular Pilates Doctor feature.

Running is one of the most accessible and beneficial forms of exercise — but because it is repetitive and one-directional, it creates imbalances. The same muscles get loaded, the same joints take the strain, and over time that pattern leads to injury.

This is where Pilates earns its place in a runner's training plan. It is not about adding more intensity — it is about addressing what running misses. Foot and ankle stability, hip strength, spinal mobility, pelvic control. These are the foundations that determine whether you run efficiently or whether you compensate, overload and eventually break down.

In this feature I focus on when and how to bring Pilates into your running routine: as a warm-up, a cool-down, and as active recovery between runs. The four moves I share work across all three planes of motion — forwards and back, side to side, and rotational — because your body needs all three to move well, not just the sagittal plane that running dominates.

If you are dealing with a recurring injury, weak ankles, or just a sense that something is slightly off in how you move, these exercises are a good place to start. The goal is a body that is stronger, steadier and more resilient — not just faster.

The full feature is published in Women's Fitness, April 2026.

This feature was published in the November 2025 issue of Women's Fitness.

Most people come to Pilates for core strength or back pain. What fewer people know is that Pilates — done in the right way, by the right teacher — can be genuinely transformative for people living with neurological conditions. This is the work I am most proud of at Beyond Move, and it is the reason I trained at the International Petö Institute.

Petö Pilates bridges general Pilates and specialist neurological rehabilitation. It draws on Conductive Education — a Hungarian method developed by András Petö — which teaches the brain and body to work together more effectively through small, deliberate, achievable movement. The approach is built on a simple but powerful principle: that the brain can form new pathways, and that movement is one of the most effective ways to support that process.

At Beyond Move, I work with clients living with Parkinson's disease, multiple sclerosis, stroke, cerebral palsy, ataxia and other neurological conditions. Each session is adapted to the individual — their condition, their energy levels, their goals. For someone with Parkinson's, that might mean a faster pace and rhythmic cues to encourage movement initiation. For someone with MS or anxiety, a slower, gentler approach. The exercises themselves may be small — chair stands, seated rows, heel rises — but the cumulative effect on independence, confidence and quality of life can be significant.

This is not exercise for exercise's sake. It is movement as medicine.

The five Petö moves in this feature are accessible to most people regardless of ability level. They can be done seated, require no specialist equipment, and focus on the areas that matter most for daily function: leg strength, posture, circulation and hand dexterity. If you or someone you know is living with a neurological condition and wondering whether Pilates could help, this is a good place to start.

The full feature is published in Women's Fitness, November 2025.

This column was published in the March 2026 issue of Women's Fitness, as part of my regular Pilates Doctor feature.

Back pain is one of the most common reasons people come to me at Beyond Move — and one of the most misunderstood. The instinct is often to rest, or to avoid movement altogether. But in most cases, the opposite is true. A healthy back needs to move, and it needs to be supported by the muscles around it working properly.

What I focus on in this feature is not just strengthening the back in isolation, but addressing the whole system: alignment, core engagement, spinal mobility and the smaller stabilising muscles that most people never train. These are the muscles that do the quiet, essential work of keeping you upright, balanced and pain-free over time.

The five exercises I share — breaststroke, modified side plank, hip twist with weights, oblique abdominal prep with a ball, and diamond press-ups — can be done three to five times a week. They work across the posterior chain, the obliques, the lumbo-pelvic area and the upper back. Done with attention to form, you should start to feel a difference within five to six days.

As with all Pilates work: do not push through pain, start with fewer reps and build gradually, and always consult your GP or physiotherapist if you have an existing condition.

The full feature is published in Women's Fitness, March 2026.

Boost Your Energy with Pilates

Pilates is a great way to increase energy. It's a system that connects the mind and body with precise focus.

Feeling tired or sluggish? There are many Pilates movements that can be energising and shift you out of that mood.

Here are a few tips:

1. Focus on Form. Always start with a warm-up. No point doing Pilates with more reps if you're doing it wrong and your core isn't engaged. Listen to your body and what feels right.

2. Breathe with Purpose. Breathe. In through your nose, out of your mouth. Exhale fully in the hardest part of the exercise. It not only helps release tension, but also supplies oxygen to your muscles.

3. Fire Up with a Few Go-To Moves. My favourites are the Plank, Hundreds, and Saw. These exercises are fantastic for boosting energy and focusing on core strength, breathing, and flexibility.

What are your go-to energy-boosting moves?