Gong Meditation is a very ancient form of sound therapy from Asia where the Gong is played in a therapeutic way.
The sound vibrations emitted by Gongs send signals that are interpreted at the energetic, biological & emotional levels, directing the cells to develop in a homeostatic rather than unbalanced manner.
Gongs bring an intense sense of well-being & re-stabilise the balance of energies.
“It’s a cleansing process for the subconscious mind.
~ Dr. Michelle Hebert
COMING SOON!!!
£29
After the great response to Aerial Yoga with Louise Keiller who normally teachers Barre and Yoga at the Wellbeing Warehouse in Newmarket, we are delighted to have her back on July 21st for AirBarre.
This workshop will be a fusion of Aerial ballet Barre and creative movement.
Working with the strengthening and conditioning that Barre method brings to our bodies, we will be using the swing as our partner. Unlike the Barre, the swing is a mobile support so its function in this workshop is to help us stabilise through the core. We shall visit familiar Barre exercises as well as supported deeper stretching which encourages all over body strengthening, core stabilisation, toning & conditioning & physical expression. Balance & coordination are also refined in this wonderfully energising and uplifting workshop.
This is a 2 hour workshop from 1pm-3pm
To book please follow this link
We’re rebranding…
I have wanted to bring Aerial Yoga to the studio for a while now and I am delighted to finally be able to release a date of when the first workshops will be. It’s been a long time coming as the research, training, ordering the swings and then finally the practicalities of attaching the swings into the dance studio have all been time consuming activities.
Aerial Yoga will give you a new found way to explore the capabilities of your body and mind in a weightless, free-hanging environment. It has all the benefits you get from your Pilates and Yoga practice already, all rolled into one, with a greatly reduced stress on joints, bones and muscles.
Aerial Yoga will be in two hourly workshops starting from 6th January, 2019. There are 13 spaces available.
Sunday, 6th Jan: Introduction to Aerial Yoga. 1pm-3pm. £25
Sunday, 10th Feb: Aerial Yoga for Stress. 1pm-3pm. £25
Sunday, 10th March: Aerial Yoga Inversions. 1pm-3pm. £25
All workshops will be in The Dance Studio. The Cut, Halesworth
Introduction to Aerial Yoga
This class will be suitable for beginners and will cover a basic variety of moves. It’s your chance to discover how moving in the swing feels, and try out yoga poses that you are probably more used to at ground level.
Aerial Yoga for Stress
This workshop will be a slow moving, deep breathing, stress reducing indulgence. The swing is a perfect place to hang out and let all the stresses of the body and mind ebb away. Expect gentle poses that make you smile and relax.
Aerial Yoga Inversions
This is what you’ve all been waiting for, a chance to explore your ground inversions in the safety and free hanging environment of the swing. Don’t be fooled that the swing will do all the work, though. You’ll need a good level of core strength an understanding of inversions for this workshop. You must bring your focus and concentration that you know from your Pilates or Yoga practice to be able to achieve great things in this workshop.
Booking available through the website.
Email millie@milliedobiefitness.co.uk for further information.
Come and enjoy the weightless experience where you’ll be massaged by the swing into a lovely new, invigorating, relaxing and energising practice.
I am so excited to be able to share with you this fantastic opportunity coming up in August. I have joined forces with Mike McKone and Marina Thomas of Sicily Active Holidays to bring you a week of not only relaxation, enjoyment of the the stunning views of Sicily that overlook the slopes of Mount Etna, yoga and mindfulness but Pilates with me as well.
This holiday will be from 25th August – 1st Septemeber
It’s only £1195 per person, and if you consider that that includes your fresh, local food & wine for the week, your luxury accommodation, daily Yoga, Pilates & Meditation, and on top of that use of the tennis courts and sauna, it’s really is a fantastic deal.
There is a maximum capacity of 16 people so it really will feel like a lovely, friendly, fun and relaxing get away.
Flights and transfers aren’t included, however, but we can arrange transfers for you upon request.
Massage and beauty treatments also available for that extra treat.
How many holidays can you go on and come back feeling nourished, toned, relaxed and fulfilled? All that expertly guided movement practice and exercise alongside the best Mediterranean food really is a treat for the body and soul.
Please email to reserve your place.
At whatever stage of your Pilates journey you may be at you’ll likely have heard me mention your fascia – especially those of you who attend my Zenga Flow class – or something called ‘Myofascial release’. Fascia is a word that has been getting increasing mainstream attention recently, yet is still generally misunderstood. So what exactly is our Fascia – and why is it so important?
In essence, your fascia is one big continuous net that surrounds everything in our bodies, including our skeleton, muscles, nervous system and organs. The term is derived from Latin and means ‘band’, or ‘bandage’.
Thomas Myers, author and thought leader in fascial systems describes the fascia as:
‘…the biological fabric that holds us together, the connective tissue network. You are about 70 trillion cells – neurons, muscle cells, epithelia – all humming in relative harmony; fascia is the 3-D spider web of fibrous, gluey, and wet proteins that binds them all together in their proper placement.’
Recent research has shed light on just how much fascia matters, from affecting range of motion in joints to the role it can play in injury prevention and healing. Like the musculoskeletal system, the fascial system changes in response to repeated stress and injury, and small changes in the fascia in one area of the body can ripple out and affect the body as a whole.
Grab hold of the collar of your shirt and give it a little tug. Your whole shirt responds, right? Your collar pulls into the back of your neck. The tail of your shirt inches up the small of your back. Your sleeves move up your forearms. Then it falls back into place. That’s a bit like fascia. It fits like a giant, body-hugging T-shirt over your whole body, from the top of your head to the tips of your toes and crisscrossing back and forth and through and back again. You can’t move just one piece of it, and you can’t make a move without bringing it along.
Now, pull the collar of your shirt again, only this time, hold onto it for eight hours. That’s about the time you spend leaning forward over a desk or computer or steering wheel, right? Now, pull it 2,500 times. That’s about how many steps you’d take on a half-hour run. Your shirt probably isn’t looking too good at this point.
Fortunately, your fascia is tougher than your shirt is, and it has infinitely more self-healing properties. In its healthy state it’s smooth and supple and slides easily, allowing you to move and stretch to your full length in any direction, always returning back to its normal state. Unfortunately, it’s very unlikely that your fascia maintains its optimal flexibility, shape or texture. Lack of activity will cement the once-supple fibers into place. Chronic stress causes the fibers to thicken in an attempt to protect the underlying muscle. Poor posture and lack of flexibility and repetitive movements pull the fascia into ingrained patterns. Adhesions form within the stuck and damaged fibers like snags in a sweater, and once they’ve formed they’re hard to get rid of. Hard, but not impossible.
Education
Pilates is one of the best known movement therapies. Dancers and gymnasts have long embraced movement therapy. They use verbal cues, light touch and simple exercises to lessen the unconscious destructive movement patterns that may be irritating their fascia.
Respect your body
If you’re attempting to run through an injury, or returning from one with a limp, beware: Your fascia will respond to your new mechanics and, eventually, even after your injury is gone, you may maintain that same movement pattern. That’s a recipe for an injury cycle. It’s better to take some extra time than to set yourself up for long-term trouble.
Do a variety of activities instead of just one. If you just walk your body gets adapts to a certain pattern and this is detrimental to your fascia. Continually do a wide variety of different activities such as walking, swimming – and of course, Pilates! Zenga Flow especially is fabulous for stretching and conditioning the Fascia gently and creating Myofascial release.
Stretch your fascia
Once your fascia has tightened up, it doesn’t want to let go. Because the average fascia can withstand up to 2,000 pounds of pressure per square inch, you’re not going to force your way through, so you need to stretch gently.
Fascia also works in slower cycles than muscles do, both contracting and stretching more slowly. To stretch the fascia, hold gentle stretches for three to five minutes, relaxing into a hold.
Stretch your muscles
When you hold your muscles tight, the surrounding fascia tightens along with them. Over time the fascia becomes rigid, compressing the muscles and the nerves.
Move it or lost it
Sticky adhesions form between fascia surfaces that are not moved regularly. Over time these adhesions get strong enough to limit your range of motion. Take a few minutes first thing in the morning to roll around in bed and really stretch out, head to toe, just like a cat after a nap.
Stay lubricated
Just like every other tissue and organ in your body, your fascia is made of water. It works better, moves better and feels better when it’s hydrated. So, drink up.
Relax
If you spend all day tense and tight at a desk, 15 to 20 minutes in a warm Epsom salt bath can coax a tight fascia to loosen up, releasing your muscles from their stranglehold. Make sure to follow it up with 10 minutes of light activity to keep blood from pooling in your muscles.
Luxury Pilates, Yoga and Mindfulness Retreats, Sicily Active Holidays, is the collaboration of longtime Fitness Professionals and personal friends of mine, Mike Mckone and Marina Thomas.
Their luxury retreats offer guests the perfect balance of invigorating hatha yoga, toning pilates and calming mindfulness while enjoying the convenience of a full board stay at one of Sicily’s finest country estates, Villa Aranjaya.
With Sicily Active, not only will you enjoy a week of Pilates, Yoga, Mindfulness and other exercise, you can also indulge in a menu of healthy, tasty Sicilian food and authentic local wines.
Sicily Active Holidays have very kindly offered £100 off their beautiful retreats for all Millie Dobie Studio Members.
Read more about their upcoming 2018 retreats at Sicily Active Holidays or to book, contact Mike and Marina.
We are delighted to have Tracy Taylor of POD Reflexology offering treatments in the studio at various times throughout the week. These treatments are available to all but Studio members will receive 10% off all treatments.
Reflexology uses a hands-on technique to offer a wonderfully relaxing and rejuvenating therapy. Reflexology can help with a wide variety of conditions by stimulating the body’s natural healing system, and restoring vitality. Commonly treated conditions include pain, sciatica, digestive problems, IBS, migraines, posture, hormonal in-balances, ME, fatigue, insomnia, stress and lymphatic problems.
You can book directly via Mind Body or for alternative appointment times, you can contact Tracy directly at Tracy_d_taylor@hotmail.com .
Prices
1hr reflexology treatment: £40.00
Courses of 5 treatments: £160.00
* From Monday 11th September to Saturday 23rd Tracy will be offering free introductory treatments to new clients so book now to avoid disappointment.
Tracy tells us how reflexology can act as a powerful tool to help achieve mental and physical well-being:
Most of us know the importance of taking regular exercise to keep us healthy physically and mentally.
Finding a regime that enables us to keep our bodies active and supple is probably one of the biggest favours we can do for our bodies and will improve our health and reduce the risk of diseases including type 2 Diabetes, cancer and cardiovascular disease. Physical activity and exercise can have immediate and long term health benefits. But most importantly, regular activity will improve the quality of your life. It’s now well documented that exercise creates a healthier state of mind, improves sleep and affects the levels of chemicals in your brain such as serotonin, endorphins and stress hormones.
But of equal importance when trying to aim for a heathy lifestyle is recovery. Recovery time is hugely important to allow the body to replenish energy stores through healthy eating and repair damaged tissues with sufficient rest.
For those who take their exercise seriously, it can be tempting to overtrain and not recognise the importance of the recovery phase. This can actually result in the opposite to what you are trying to achieve including feeling general fatigue, lack of wellbeing and an actual decrease in fitness.
Getting good quality sleep is vital to how effectively your body replenishes and repairs itself not just from physical activity but also the general mental stress that many of us experience every day.
Unfortunately these very everyday stresses can prevent us from achieving the quality of sleep and relaxation that our bodies need to do their stuff!
How often have you woken up after a poor nights sleep and felt exhausted? This is your body’s way of telling you that it has not fully recovered and repaired.
Deep relaxation allows you to ease off the pressure and have a break but its more than just lounging on the couch with a glass of wine. What you are looking for is a state of deep relaxation where tension is released from the body on a physical level and your mind completely switches off.
Regular relaxation on this deep level is every bit as important as proper diet, sleep and exercise, and is vital for feeling your best, physically and emotionally.
Reflexology is a powerful tool to help with many physical and mental issues but at its core is the help that it can give to putting your body into a deep state of relaxation to help get it back in balance.
I am so excited to welcome Meg, the Equestrian Yogini to the studio this September. Meg will be holding a weekly Vinyasa Flow class at 6pm on Wednesdays throughout September in my absence. She has space for 8 people per class and it will completely free to my members so book now to avoid disappointment as spaces are going fast.
Here’s what Meg says about her classes:
‘Deep Flow is a type of yoga that moves with the breath. My teaching style is more about the feel of the pose rather than the look. Making it suitable for all levels, using the posture to introduce you to parts of the body you’ve not met before and feeling your way through the practice, I shall take you on a journey through the body, searching out any tension and breathing through to release.
Building the internal heat you will find yourself flowing with breath into many different postures and ending in relaxation.
I bring in spiritual texts and the deeper meanings of life, causing you to think about your journey through this life and how to make the best of it.
We use pranayama (breathing exercises) to cleanse the body and clear the mind that lead us towards meditation and relaxation.
I’ll always add modifications and adaptations to the more challenging postures’.
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