Balance after fifty: why it slips and how to train it at home
Why balance tends to slip after fifty, simple self-tests to try at the kitchen worktop, an eight-week practice plan, home safety and when to see a doctor.
Ruth Abernethy
Ruth started Pilates in her fifties and has not missed a week since. From Edinburgh she writes about wellbeing, balance and strength in later life, and about fitting movement into an ordinary, busy week.
Stories by Ruth
How to find a good Pilates studio, and what to ask before you book
A practical checklist for choosing a Pilates studio: teacher training, class size, equipment, the first conversation, trial classes, pricing and red flags.
How Pilates lasted a century, from internment camp to reformer club
From a German childhood and a wartime camp on the Isle of Man to New York dancers and city reformer clubs, how Pilates outlasted nearly every fitness fashion.
What regular Pilates changes first, and how long it really takes
Sleep, posture awareness, stairs and energy: what regular Pilates tends to change first for everyday stiffness, what the evidence says, and how long it takes.
Lateral breathing in Pilates and how to practise it
How lateral breathing works, why Pilates teachers cue it, how to practise with a band or your hands round your ribs, and when to stop worrying about breath.
Why the best Pilates teachers never stop being students
A Pilates certificate is where a teacher's education starts. Lessons, workshops, self-practice and reading keep good teachers improving for decades.
A Pilates travel kit and a 15-minute hotel-room session
A light Pilates kit for summer travel, a 15-minute session that fits between a hotel bed and the wall, and ways to cope with long journeys and jet lag.
Training as a Pilates instructor at sixty or later
Training to teach Pilates at sixty or older: what the course asks of your body, what older teachers bring to older clients, and how to choose a course.
A second career teaching Pilates, started at forty
What retraining as a Pilates teacher at forty involves: the training routes, real costs in time and money, early income, and office skills that carry over.