Colleen Craig

Blonde and vivacious, Maxine had a habit of throwing up her hands and laughing at herself whenever she lost steam or balance in the middle of an exercise. It was well over twenty years ago that she and her friend Honey, both then in their mid-fifties, came together to the first Pilates classes I ever […]

At least 1 in 3 women and 1 in 5 men will break a bone due to osteoporosis in their lifetime! (osteoporosis.ca) Osteoporosis is a serious condition where bones deteriorate so much that the bone tissue becomes porous. It is an invisible and painless disease, and without a bone density test we have no way

Many people, myself included, have not been in a studio, gym or recreational facility for over 13 months. What will be the posture, balance, strength and mood consequences of over a year of reduced activity due to pandemic lockdowns? I fear that when it’s all over there may be another epidemic: of out-of-condition kids, adults,

On my second visit to Gabby, the physio I had consulted for my shin and hip pain, he tried a new approach. He suggested the Clamshell Exercise to awaken the glutes before we redid the Bridge. I confess to you, but not to Gabby, that twenty-two years ago when I first started teaching Pilates, I

I was one of the lucky ones in the 60 to 64 age group invited to get my first shot of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine at the pharmacy down the street from my house. I had mixed feelings about jumping the queue ahead of older people, but followed the advice of health experts to take the

I know you’ve heard of osteoporosis—loss of bone tissue. But have you heard of sarcopenia, which is the loss of muscle tissue? In last week’s blog we discussed how our bodies lose muscle power, mass and fiber-type composition as we age. Both osteoporosis and sarcopenia are a real threat to all of us in our

Recently I asked my students if they felt tired after their online Pilates class. Some insisted they were not at all tired, but relaxed. Others said their muscles felt good. They felt stretched out. But had I asked the wrong question? What I really wanted to know was what level of exertion did they feel

It—the throb—comes out of nowhere. It feels like the burn of a shin splint, except the pain can’t be a shin splint as the sensation traverses my left knee into my left thigh, ricocheting around my hip. I limp into the treatment room. ‘So?’ Gabby, my physiotherapist, quizzes me as I lie back on the

‘Attention is our most important tool in the task of improving the quality of experience.’ –Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi What is the difference between having a massage and taking a Pilates class? They can both be pleasurable and relaxing, but massage is passive enjoyment, whereas the participant in a mind-body class invests concentration, discipline and flow into

I must sheepishly confess that in the past I was incapable of finding the time to take Pilates classes for myself. I don’t need classes, I told myself; I get some sort of workout when I teach.  But I was living in denial. And it would take a pandemic for me to find the time