Brian's Run Pod
Welcome to Brian's Run Pod, the podcast where we lace up our running shoes and explore the exhilarating world of running. Whether you're a seasoned marathoner, a casual jogger, or just thinking about taking your first stride, this podcast is your ultimate companion on your running journey.
Join us as we dive deep into the sport of running, covering everything from training tips and race strategies to personal stories and inspiring interviews with runners from all walks of life. Whether you're looking to improve your race times, stay motivated, or simply enjoy the therapeutic rhythm of running, Brian's Run Pod has something for every runner.
Brian's Run Pod
The Unseen Power of Pilates: A Transformation Story with Lucy Tomlinson Part 1
Are you ready to transform your body and mind, and feel more confident and energized? Join us as we converse with the delightful Lucy Tomlinson, the experienced Pilates teacher and founder of Welcome Pilates. Lucy shares her personal journey of finding solace in Pilates amidst university stress and how it sparked her passion. We delve into the essence of Pilates and how its core principles can lead to marked improvements in flexibility, strength, stability, and body awareness.
Our conversation takes an interesting turn as we discuss the effect of the COVID crisis on Lucy's business and how she adeptly adapted to the new circumstances. We also go in-depth into the world of Pilates exercises and their countless benefits. Listen to Lucy debunk myths around Pilates and highlight the notable differences between Pilates and yoga. Plus, we explore the four essential movements of the spine that Pilates promotes - flexing, extending, rotating, and lateral flexing – and how they enhance one's posture and increase body awareness. This episode offers a wealth of knowledge, inspiring stories, and useful insights into the holistic world of Pilates. Tune in and let Lucy guide you on a journey to better physical and mental health through Pilates.
Plus, we have a new feature on the podcast you can now send me a message. Yep you heard it right- Brian's Run Pod has become interactive with the audience. If you look at the top of the Episode description tap on "Send us a Text Message". You can tell me what you think of the episode or alternatively what you would like covered. If your lucky I might even read them out on the podcast.
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Welcome back to Brian's Rompod. I hope you're having a great week. I have another series of interviews. This week we have an interview with Lucy Thomason, who runs her own Pilates company and has been doing for the past five years a massive achievement considering we've had a once in a lifetime pandemic. I have split the interview into three parts. The first part is how she got into Pilates and she also explains about the core principles of Pilates. I'm sure you'll enjoy our chat. So you're thinking about running but not sure how to take the first step. My name is Brian Patterson and I'm here to help. Welcome to Brian's Rompod. And welcome back to Brian's Rompod. And today we have another special guest and I'm really excited to have with us Lucy Thomason, who is the Pilates teacher and founder of Welcome Pilates.
Speaker 1:You might be asking well, what has this to do with running? Well, I'm always a believer. To be the best runner you can be, you have to draw on different disciplines and it provides variety to training and will, in the long run, make you a better runner. So anyway, back to Lucy. She got into Pilates at university and says I discovered Pilates at university when I was going through a period of particular poor mental health, and it gave me a place to escape while studying for my degree. She says that her mission is, and I quote I created Welcome Pilates to help people connect back to themselves, to feel more confident in their bodies and more energized in their minds. Pilates helps people to gain strength, improve flexibility, mobility and stability, and have more body awareness and prevent injury. Welcome to the podcast, lucy CHEERING Right. Enough of that, anyway, over to you, lucy. So, anyway, how are you today?
Speaker 2:I'm good, yeah, thank you so much for having me on your podcast.
Speaker 1:Great. So you said, you discovered it at university. I mean, were you always quite an active person anyway?
Speaker 2:Fairly active. I went to school locally, around here actually. So, I was at Watergrave. Oh right yeah, so they are quite big on sport, but I was never that much of a team sportsman as a woman, I should say I really liked athletics, but I was awful at netball and hockey.
Speaker 2:So actually for me, discovering Pilates was quite a good thing because I found something that actually really enjoyed for me. You mentioned in your intro that I was going through a bit of a poor mental health, but I had been using exercise as more of a punishing thing rather than for good.
Speaker 1:Oh, right OK.
Speaker 2:It was really good for me to find Pilates because, yeah, like I said, I'd been using it in quite a negative, unhealthy way, and it showed me that you can still exercise, and in a better way, basically. So that was a really positive thing.
Speaker 1:Oh right, ok, Did anyone you know in particular was you know kind of said, well, why don't you try that? Was there anyone there, or was it just something you just other came across?
Speaker 2:It was just something I came across. I had always heard of Pilates, but I didn't really know what it was. And then I was a member of a gym. I went to Plymouth University and I was a member of the gym there and it was just. It was a great package. You had all classes included for it. It can't have been very expensive, but yeah. So I discovered it there, started going to classes and my teacher at the time was amazing. She actually was also called Lucy.
Speaker 1:Oh right.
Speaker 2:So I was very inspired by her. But she was great and I was going two to three times a week trying to get all my friends to come along. Some of them did, but no one seemed to really get the boxes, get the bug.
Speaker 1:Yeah, the bug, exactly. So was there kind of an inflection point where big word there, but basically where you felt you know, your well being, your mental health had improved because of, and then you saw, maybe this is something I could, I could do, I could run with.
Speaker 2:Yeah, well, lucy the teacher at the time, she strongly encourage me. I think I was going so much she can't. You're enjoying this, do you think you'd want to do it yourself? I was studying for my degree and I didn't actually make the full connection until I came back to London, was working in industry, so I was working in graphic design. You can't really go from do parties classes in the middle of the day like I was doing it uni, so yeah I'm sure your listeners being sat at desk, that kind of stuff is quite common and I really struggled with it.
Speaker 2:So it was then I kind of made the connection.
Speaker 1:Actually I would want to do something more physical and retrained, and then started my party so you're a level three, level three mat work and as well as reform, as I'm trained in the reform as well, which is one of the key machine yeah, yeah, we'll talk about that later, because I am, I told you, you know, when we were communicating, I complete, I really don't know idiot. I mean in terms of you are talking about this is with the idiots guy to what is this? Right, that's fine, so okay. So you discovered parties at university and then you know you went into industry and I take it, you just you study graphic design at university. Yeah, yeah, okay, and so well, let's kind of move on to you know about what's kind of the core philosophy of parties.
Speaker 2:So parties generally, I often get asked you know what? What is parties? I think it's quite love Miss conceptions around it. A lot of people ask me if it's the same as yoga, and they definitely are similarities. So obviously you're based on the mat, which you are in yoga, but, as I mentioned just a moment ago, there are machines as well. So, like you said, we can go on to that in detail later, but there are similarities with yoga.
Speaker 2:I think the easiest way to distinguish it from yoga is the yoga is more about stillness, poses, lattices, more about flowing movements and moving from one exercise into the next, and it's more about mobility aspect of it. So that's the real difference. Also, yoga is much older than parties and is more was used to do before prayer, which stillness where as parties, and was created by a man in the early 20th century right okay, and so Joseph parties. Where the name.
Speaker 1:I see.
Speaker 2:He didn't call it after himself. He and he's an interesting man, but he didn't actually call after himself. He originally called it chronology, and that's the control element, because it is a lot about control and, you know, really being in control of your body. But it was later changed to being called parties, once he died.
Speaker 1:All right, okay, so was this sort of in the 50s or?
Speaker 2:Well, he started his exercise, he came up with the exercise, he did actually study yoga and he also studied the movement of animals, especially cats, and so that kind of spinal movement you see cats do that stretch. A lot of that came from the really intuitive movement animals do. Yeah but this was in kind of first world war. So he was actually in camps and he did lots of rehabilitation on soldiers, seriously injured soldiers, which is where he got his idea for the springs of the reformers and use the springs from the beds.
Speaker 1:All right. So even the reformers are.
Speaker 2:Go back then yeah, so the beds are really his. It was. It was very innovative his time. He kind of was really ahead of the curve.
Speaker 1:All right, okay, and was it all about the? Because I know, was it all. I've always thought that, you know, core strength was kind of a recent thing, but that even then. It's yeah, he focused on that he really had the idea.
Speaker 2:So he, before he was in the camps, he was a martial artist and circus performer and he did Lots of boxing. And that was all because he was a very sickly child, so he had lots of different elements which made him his Overcoming. Those found that physical exercise really was the thing that helped him because that's interesting.
Speaker 1:I mean one of the athletes I interviewed, stuart Hayes. He was hyperactive and the only thing they felt they could his parents thought they could do was to take him swimming or to do lots of physical activity, because he was really really hyperactive and to get rid of that excess energy.
Speaker 2:Yeah, but anyway, that's a yeah, probably similar they seem to be probably a similar thing.
Speaker 1:So the core principles being self-connection I've got here body confidence, mental energy. Obviously we talk about the core. Is that right in terms of the product.
Speaker 2:Yeah, the kind of when, if somebody was first coming to my class, is those things that you mentioned, definitely, but you can kind of think about it as the ABCs of Pilates. So a for alignment and we talk a lot about your alignment in Pilates we want you to be moving from the best place possible, so we often get set up it before we start moving. So if you think about your spine and the natural curves that you have in your spine, it'll be different for everybody.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:And we want to get you in your best. Neutral is what it's generally called Most some school of thoughts have. We talk from a neutral perspective. So that's your neutral spine, neutral pelvis and when you're in that, really good. Neutral it means that your body is going to be moving from ease, a place of ease, so that you're going to get the best out of. And then B. So the B of the ABCs is breathing, which is really important for functional movement, and the more you can use your breath to help facilitate each movement.
Speaker 2:And also so we do. We use a breath called the lateral breath, which is breathing into the sides and backs of your rib cage, and that helps. So the in breath is often used to prepare for the movement and the out breath is often used for the more challenging part of the movement, because then you're going to be able to connect to your deeper abdominal muscles and your. That leads into the sea, which is centering or your core strength.
Speaker 2:So that's all about the kind of Joseph Pilates call it your powerhouse. That's your trunk and you start your movement from that. You engage in that so that you can then move more fluidly with ease.
Speaker 1:Like I think we're going to be coming to that in terms of later one, in terms of the Q&A, which is but that's quite a lot too, because, let's say, if someone who's new to Pilates and they start and they come along, so to take in all that, how do you kind of overcome that? You know you've got to breathe in this way, in that way, what? How do you approach that Someone who's really new let's say I come to your class.
Speaker 2:Yeah, well, I'd love you to come. But the best thing I say especially with the breathing, because often people do get quite focused on it and they worry they are not breathing or they forget to breathe. I always just say, when you're new, as long as you're breathing it's fine. So I always remind people in class. You can see it happening when we're doing something, even if it's not a particularly challenging exercise, but people start to focus and concentrate and then they stop breathing and obviously we need breath for life Of course.
Speaker 1:So I'm always saying make sure we're breathing.
Speaker 2:You know, don't forget to breathe. And it can become quite humorous because people think, oh yeah, I'm not breathing. But so I always just say, as long as you're breathing it's fine, and the breaths will come later. So people think, oh, you know, you have to breathe in at this part, you have to breathe out, at another part you don't. There's definitely certain exercises that it helps the exercise to breathe in or out at a certain point, but as long as you're breathing, that's the main thing when you first start.
Speaker 1:Okay, okay, and then no doubt, sort of later on, you kind of get the hang of it.
Speaker 2:It becomes second nature. And I remember when I first started even having those thoughts myself and then one day it just kind of clicks. And I thought oh, I'm not thinking so much about those things anymore, they just become second nature.
Speaker 1:So you said alignment, so breath, and there's a C.
Speaker 2:Yeah, c is centering which can be known as core strength. So a lot of people come to parties wanting this core strength thing which again it's quite an elusive term but again it kind of goes hand in hand with the breath that the core strength element All right, Okay, Okay.
Speaker 1:So, and do you see that? I mean we touched on it earlier in terms of kind of that mental health aspect of it, I mean do you? I mean, how long have you had your company? I mean, have you seen, you know the benefits that other people have had through that kind of the health aspect?
Speaker 2:Yeah, definitely, I think I have been running my business since 2018.
Speaker 1:Oh right, Well done.
Speaker 2:Well, I was originally Pilates with Lucy. Yeah, there's quite a lot of Pilates with Brian, or Pilates with. Lucy and I. So then I changed the name to Welcome Pilates, actually in 2021. So kind of middle of COVID times, and it really was during COVID. We went online and did all the classes online and I think that was a real moment.
Speaker 2:Obviously, everyone was going through lots during that time, but I had a lot of people say that just coming online and doing that class with people that they knew and you know people would chat at the class, but often everyone was rushing around, kind of coming to class and then leaving. But actually having that human point of connection, seeing everybody else on the screen and obviously everyone in their homes and things, it was for me as well. It was really important that I could even keep going during.
Speaker 2:COVID and actually it showed me how I could work in a completely different way. So I do still run four online classes a week, which is nice, because I moved I was living in a different part of London and I've still kept some of those members because they still come online.
Speaker 1:Okay. So do you have a studio at home or not?
Speaker 2:Well, not a studio at home. I rent a space and whole classes there, which are in Twickenham. But yeah, doing a combo of both is quite nice that you can see people online and then also have people come in person.
Speaker 1:All right, okay, so is that how you do it? Oh, church.
Speaker 2:Yes, the Holy Trinity Church, holy Trinity, yeah.
Speaker 1:I know because I've seen in one of your pictures on Facebook, and I know a couple of people and, well, one person.
Speaker 2:Oh, really. Oh, you have to tell me after, yeah.
Speaker 1:So that was quite good to sort of, you know, keep the business running throughout COVID and also to come out the other end.
Speaker 2:Exactly.
Speaker 1:Because obviously there have been sort of obviously casualties in terms of businesses. But that was quite good.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it was definitely something I'd never considered teaching online.
Speaker 1:When.
Speaker 2:I did my training, it wasn't really a thing, whereas now it's much bigger and there's definitely benefits to it.
Speaker 2:Obviously, you can join from anywhere that you are in the world time difference yeah, sure, and factoring in, but the thing about the in-person is that I can really kind of get my hands on people and offer those corrections. I think with online, the beauty that I had is that I had already taught a lot of those people in person, so I knew their bodies quite well and they knew me. When I have someone new coming, it's still. You can still do it online. I still offer corrections and adjustments and you can still try and make it the best studio experience in the comfort of your own home. But nothing really beats being in a room with somebody and being able to see their bodies 360 rather than on Zoom.
Speaker 2:You can only really see one or two angles because you don't want to be making people move around too much, but it does work very well and it's nice to have both options.
Speaker 1:So do you? I mean, just getting back to I know this is a running podcast, but whatever, but do what kind of reasons? Do you get people who have done other forms of physical exercise? Do they come to you to say, well, I really struggle because I don't know, I'm a cyclist or I'm a runner, or I do this or that, and I really need to have these different things to help me.
Speaker 2:Yeah, definitely. A lot of people come to parties. They've been told to do it because they've had some kind of injury or back pain. But in terms of cyclists, runners I think you're a runner as well, you probably know the tight hamstrings. Maybe saw hips or knees or ankles hips yeah so that kind of thing is.
Speaker 2:I mean, I'm a runner, as I love running, but the two really complement each other, so it's really good to be able to utilize the smaller, more intrinsic muscle groups that support those joints, so your hips, your knees, your ankles, especially if you're a runner, but also the mobility aspect, so building flexibility. You will find that doing a combination of the two, they do really work together and you will be a stronger runner if you're doing those kind of mobility exercises.
Speaker 2:I'm sure you know, obviously everyone says to stretch before and after a run, but not sure how many people do, or do it effectively.
Speaker 1:No, you're looking worried. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2:But it's kind of that thing, I think. Sometimes people I think the misconception with Pilates is people I think it's boring or very slow or yeah, not, not high impact, and it's not high impact but it can be very challenging and you often get people coming who are very fit, very active, you know run marathons, but they find the exercises really challenging because it's completely different discipline.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that's right. So for those who are starting out, who are very new you know so, and they're sort of coming to your class or who has a class, whatever. So what are the kind of basic exercises that I mean? I tell you may say to them well, go away and do this and you know if you're sitting down or you know lying and watching from the TV.
Speaker 2:What are the sort of the basic?
Speaker 1:things they can be doing.
Speaker 2:Yeah. So I would always start with the spine and say you want to be moving your spine in every direction that you can Flexion. That's basically like rolling down. If you're from standing rolling all the way down so you're getting a rounded shape in your back Extension. So if you lie flat on the floor and you're basically lifting from your head, your neck, your chest, all the way up, all the way down sorry, to your hips, if you can, if you've got that range of movement, so that's kind of if you see dogs on there when they're in a kind of a four points and they go into that extended position of the spine. That's kind of that.
Speaker 1:So you're on all fours.
Speaker 2:If you do it from lying down, so your impron flat on the floor face down and then you lift up from your head.
Speaker 1:I'll demonstrate, you'll see.
Speaker 2:This is not an audio podcast, but yeah, you're lifting basically from your head and you're peeling your spine off the mat.
Speaker 1:Oh, I see, so you're getting that extension from the spine.
Speaker 2:So those two, they're kind of the opposites, flexing, rounding, extension coming up into that position and then you have rotation. So turning the spine side to side and then lateral flexion is basically a side bend, so you're moving over to the side. Right, okay, so those four movements for your spine. I'd say try and incorporate those every day.
Speaker 1:Right.
Speaker 2:Often, obviously in most people's life, we are kind of sat down at death with often inner flex position of our spine. So getting that extension opening up the chest, opening up around the hips is okay important because you're counteracting the movement that we tend or the position that we tend to be in for most of the day.
Speaker 1:Yeah, because we can you know well I think probably, you know I do.
Speaker 2:we tend to have that rounded shoulder yeah exactly which is quite normal in everyday life, because we're sat at death with our laptops, phones, all that kind of stuff. So that's kind of what Pilates does. It helps you to become aware of those things. So when you are sat at your desk, noticing your posture, thinking can.
Speaker 1:I sit up taller. Where am I?
Speaker 2:sat on my sit bones and my feet flat on the floor. You know just all those things building that awareness to, and the exercise that we do in the class emulate things that you do in everyday life. So there's very functional movement and we want people to start to become aware of their body in space, in the class, so that when they're out in the real world living their lives, they are more aware of how they're holding themselves.
Speaker 1:That's right. So by just by doing those you know spine exercises every day, that will just help with the their flexibility of the spine.
Speaker 2:Yeah, mobility, in particular of the spine, yeah.
