Pilates or Alexander Technique?

[Lupiknits]

I'm toying with the idea of signing up for a few courses that start in Sept, just to get out of the house really. Anything too energetic is out of my league. I don't know, yet, how qualified the instructors are. Tempted by Pilates but that is probably too much, and would really require one to one sessions for me. Has anyone tried the Alexander Technique? What do you think?

Other than that I'm probably going to go for British Sign Language. Can do some, but I'd like to do it better, and have several acquaintances who rely on BSL.

[PMRpro]

I did Pilates for years - it kept me upright and mobile with undiagnosed and untreated PMR. I had a wonderful instructor who managed to supervise everyone who needed it even in a large-ish class. She also made very sure any particular exercise was adapted for me or gave me a different one. It very much depends on the teacher though - interview one closely before signing up!

[Lupiknits in reply to PMRpro]

Thanks! I think I'm keener on the Pilates so will do some due diligence x

[VanK]

I do pilates quite regularly having done yoga for many years. Its keeping me pretty supple & I always feel I stand a little taller after class. Instructors usually ask at the beginning of class about any limitations so if you find a good teacher who knows their stuff, let them know what your issues are.

[Barnclown]

Alexander has stood me in good stead since the early 1980s. Am v glad i began it before i began pilates in the 1990s. Both have helped & continue to help me every day.

Also, i started TM & yoga in my teens & tai chi in my 40s...i haven't actively practiced them since then, but the principles that most helped are integrated into my Alexander & pilates regimes.

I TOTALLY agree with PMRpro & VanK: clicking with your instructor is KEY to success

Sign language is a grrrrreat idea too

👏👏👏👏👏👏

🍀😘🍀😘🍀😘 coco

[Lupiknits]

Thanks for all the replies. You're good friends x

[NicT]

I would highly recommend pilates, I have benefitted from it myself and now I teach it. I'm an Osteopath so most of my participants a have some sort of pain or musculoskeletal issue, I run small classes and always complete a 1:1 session with case history first. I trained through the Australian physiotherapy and pilates institute (APPI) they train physio's osteo's and other healthcare professionals so if you can find a practitioner trained by them in your area I would recommend them. In my experience body control pilates teachers also take smaller groups and take care to understand any ongoing problems.

I hope you find something that suits you! X

[Hidden]

Hi LK. I think it's great that you're wanting to try and get out and try a course. I can say something about Pilates and BSL but not about Alexander Technique.

So I've just started Pilates - I have been told that it's the quality of the instructor that counts most and all the teachers at the school I attend were highly recommended by friends.

My teacher seems good but I get home and sleep for hours each time. This weekend I was fairly stiff and had a sore coccyx but was fine next day. This could have been because I over extended myself against her advice as I do have significant arthritis in my L4 and 5 and hips. I'm doing it to help my core and I think it will in time.

I like it much more than yoga and tai chi - mainly because a lot of it done lying down! But my BP often drops when I get up so last week she made me sit out on several really nice looking stretches. Tai chi used to trigger Raynauds flares and is all done standing up which messed with my balance as well as my circulation - I did it for two years. Yoga was good but I found some bits much too hard and others too boring - lying on my back thinking about my breathing for instance! I would just go straight to sleep and wake up to some amused stares to find them all getting their coats and shoes on!

BSL - well my sister is one of the top teachers of sign language in the UK and both my sisters are deaf from birth and yet I'm ashamed to admit that I still haven't learnt BSL!! When I'm with them I revert to our home sign - and all her friends assume I'm deaf until they see what my hands are doing and then they fall about laughing!!

So I'm considering enrolling on a level 1 course too. My teacher sis tells me that this will put me on top of the class which will be good for my confidence. Not sure as got no funds just now and what little mental energy I have I want to keep for my art work.

Learning sign language is quite intense but then I have many friends and two sisters to whom it would mean so much. So I think I'll do it. I also think that those of us with invisible illnesses share a bond of isolation and often being marginalised with the deaf community - so the more of us empathic hearing people who can sign the better!

[Lupiknits]

Thanks again for all the replies. I'm going to check on and consider the Pilates carefully. That's the one I'm most like to do, but it isn't often I can lie on my back more than 30 secs, even with a couple of memory foam toppers on the bed!

Some of the courses allow a discount for those with disabilities, and my PIP will allow for that. Worst comes to the worst, I get a full refund after one session if it isn't suitable. I've looked into private one on one specialist Pilates but it's just not affordable.

It'll definitely be BSL though. As long as the Raynaud's allows. Three dead fingers yesterday which took an hour to get to the blue stage. In a very warm room and it's nearly July! I'll find a way round it because a little better signing ability will help me communicate more.