As 2024 draws to a close, many of us are looking forward to the New Year and the promises it brings. Whether you’re a big believer in New Year’s resolutions or prefer to take life as it comes, there’s no denying that it’s the perfect time to make changes as we flip the calendars to another year.
While many of us aim for goals like growth at work, getting finances in order, or finally booking that vacation, there’s another, often-overlooked goal that I’m here to remind you of: getting your health on track. Without a strong, healthy body, enjoying life’s victories and getting through its challenges is impossible. Our bodies work tirelessly, day in and day out, supporting our every move. How are you supporting your body in return?
In this guide, I want to share more information about my services that can absolutely change your life, giving your body the strength and support it needs to keep supporting you. Not to mention, they all make the perfect presents for anyone in your life who could use the gift of health and self-care. Take a look at five of the best ProActive Pilates services to get started with.
As the name might suggest, Clinical Pilates is one of my core services at ProActive Pilates. This specialized form of exercise rehabilitation is designed to focus on the health of the entire body, looking at your physical condition in a holistic, interconnected way. Rather than simply focusing on the superficial symptoms you might be facing, Clinical Pilates examines the many factors that might be causing the root problem.
Clinical Pilates is unique from a simple workout or training routine. In Pilates, every exercise focuses on six parts of the body at once:
By simultaneously working on these six areas, Clinical Pilates exercises help you gain greater strength, control, and stability over your body as a whole. This makes it ideal for rehabilitation after an acute injury, management of a chronic condition, or as a regular exercise routine. Whether you’re dealing with an injury caused by a car crash, feeling the physical strains of pregnancy, or experiencing pain from poor ergonomics at work, Clinical Pilates has the power to put your health back into your hands and truly fix your problems—not just suppress the symptoms.
Your core involves so much more than your abs. In fact, what we call the core is actually made up of several different parts of the body, including the diaphragm, the pelvic floor, and a number of muscles that support the spine, pelvis, and internal organs.
When it’s working properly, your core is engaged and able to support the spine and pelvis, which make up the centre of the body. If any of these areas become weakened, it can compromise the entire core, leading to a myriad of issues ranging from back pain to incontinence. Core rehab works by tracing your symptoms back to the root cause, addressing weakened muscles and poor movement patterns to help stabilize and strengthen this vital part of the body.
When done correctly, core rehabilitation is an invaluable way to regain control and stability over the body. It allows the spine and pelvis to become stable and aligned again, which makes everything easier in turn. Whether you’re an injured athlete, a recent mother, or a pain-stricken office worker, core rehab has the power to transform your body and provide lasting relief.
Between the layers of your skin and muscles, surrounding your joints, and cradling your internal organs, there’s a thin sleeve of fibrous connective tissue known as fascia. This complex, self-regulating organ is completely interconnected, allowing your body to move freely. However, when areas don’t get as much use, they begin to dry out and stick to the areas they’re meant to glide over, preventing movement. Over time, this can lead to tension and pain slowly spreading throughout the body.
Fascial release is a treatment that can help reactivate and ‘unstick’ your fascia, restoring the slide and glide between layers that help you move pain-free. In my fascial release work, I use specially designed massage balls that lock into the fascial tissue, creating a shear force that heats, lengthens, and relaxes it. Over time, this treatment helps calm painful fascia, releasing painful tension and making it easier to move your body.
If you think of your body like a building, then the pelvis acts as the foundation. It’s the horizontal support beam that holds the weight of your spine, core, and head. When your pelvis is in alignment, your spine and the surrounding muscles don’t have to work as hard to hold you up against gravity. Just as a building with a shifting foundation becomes unstable, so does a body with a weakened pelvis. Because the pelvis is actually made up of several different parts, weakness in one area can lead to structural issues with the entire body, causing pain, immobility, or other health concerns.
In this form of therapy, we work to restore the strength and flexibility of the pelvic floor—a group of elastic muscles and connective tissues that supports the internal organs, stabilizes the different parts of the pelvis and lower back, and controls your continence.
Your pelvic floor can become weak over time, causing other parts of the body to be overworked. In some cases, a weak pelvic floor can also lead to issues with incontinence. Likewise, the pelvic floor can become overly tense and tight, leading to pain in the hips and lower back or pain during sex. No matter what the concern is, pelvic floor therapy can restore strength and balance to this vital area, helping you regain your confidence and move with ease again.
Stretch therapy is an invaluable treatment for reducing chronic pain, treating acute injuries, addressing old muscle injuries, or simply as a way to gain greater stability, strength, and flexibility in the body. Using a method known as the contract-relax (C-R) approach, we look at the body as an interconnected series of groups, each of which has an impact on the rest. In other words, stretching one part of the body can affect a completely different area.
Stretch therapy can have a big impact on the body, including:
With a holistic approach to stretch therapy, I can help you finally overcome pain and immobility caused by an injury or a chronic condition. By looking at the body as a whole, we approach recovery in a more holistic, all-encompassing way, greatly speeding up the rehabilitation process. Plus, stretch therapy is invaluable for people without injuries too. Whether you’re a skilled athlete looking to maximize your performance or simply looking for a way to gain increased strength and body awareness, stretch therapy can help.
The holidays are a time for gratitude, and I’m beyond grateful for every person who has placed their trust in me by coming to ProActive Pilates. I’m thankful for the opportunity to help so many people empower themselves, regain control of their health, and finally feel their best again.
As we get close to the holidays, you’re probably starting to think about gifts for the people you’re grateful for (including yourself). If you’re at a loss, I want to encourage you to consider the gift of a mobile, relaxed, pain-free life.
From Clinical Pilates to stretch therapy, any of these treatments have the power to transform your life, eliminate your pain, and start moving with ease again.
Learn more about the services offered at ProActive Pilates and pick up the gift of health today.
