​Sciatica is when the sciatic nerve, which runs from your hips to your feet, is irritated. It usually gets better in 4 to 6 weeks but can last longer.

Symptoms

• Backs of your legs, butt, feet and toes will be painful, the pain may be stabbing, burning or shooting, tingling – like pins and needles or numb

Your symptoms may be worse when moving, sneezing or coughing.

How you can ease the Pain.

To help relieve your pain and speed up your recovery:

Do:

• Carry on with your normal activities as much as possible

• Regular back stretches

• Gentle exercise as soon as you can.

• Heat packs to the painful areas

• Ask your pharmacist about painkillers that can help – paracetamol on its own is unlikely to relieve your pain

Don't:

• Do not sit or lie down for long periods – even if moving hurts, it's not harmful and can help you get better faster

Causes

Sciatica is due to something pressing or rubbing on the sciatic nerve.

• Slipped Disc (the most common cause) – when a soft cushion of tissue between the bones in your spine pushes out

• Spinal Stenosis - narrowing of the part of your spine where nerves pass through

• Spondylosis – when one of the bones in your spine slips out of position

• Back injury

Treatments from a GP

• Exercise and stretches

• Prescribe painkillers that help with nerve pain like sciatica

• Physiotherapy – including exercise advice and techniques like massage

Physiotherapy from the NHS may not be available everywhere and waiting times can be long. Try Pilates 

Pilates involves building strength from the inside out, with strong abdominal and back muscles leading to overall physical strength. That's why it can be so effective for a condition like sciatica. Pilates for sciatica helps build up the deep muscles that can help provide support to the sciatic nerve

Contact sandy@dbchealthretreat.com

​Strawberry, Banana And Chia Smoothie

Blend with Almond Milk and optional scoop of vanilla protein powder. Enjoy

#successwithsandy #chiaseeds #strawberrybananasmoothie #healthybreakfast #sweettreats

​Yummy chewy Oatmeal cookies only 30kcals but you will eat more than one... 

• 1 cup Instant Oats
• ¾ cup  whole wheat or Spelt flour 
• 1 ½ tsp baking powder
• 1 ½ tsp ground cinnamon
• ⅛ tsp salt
• 2 tbsp coconut oil
• 1 large egg
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• ½ cup (120mL) Agave nectar or honey
• ¼ cup raisins or substitute for choc chips

1. Mix  the oats, flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt.
2. Whisk the coconut oil, egg, and vanilla. Stir in the agave.
3. Blend in the flour mixture, Fold in the raisins. Chill the cookie dough for 30 minutes.
4. Preheat the oven to 325°F, and line a baking sheet with parchment paper 
5. Drop the cookie dough onto the tray, and flatten slightly. Bake at 325°F for 11-14 minutes. Cool on the pan for 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack.

Cookies can be stored for up to a week in an airtight container. 

Enjoy xx​

​Flush the colon of any toxic build-up, will help you lose weight, improve digestive function and re-energize you.

​irregular bowel movements, pain during bowel movements, constipation and so much more. Keeping the colon clean and healthy is a challenging task.

The colon is a muscular tube which absorbs all the nutrition from your food and nourishes your body with the same

A sluggish digestion, poor diet, stress (a big problem!), environmental toxins and food toxins can really take it's toll

​There are lots of foods that help cleanse the colon naturally through diet. 

​1. Apples - Pectin in apples helps in removing all the toxins from the colon and strengthening the intestinal lining. Apples are rich in fiber which helps in relieving your digestive tract of all obstructions as well.

2. Flaxseeds - rich source of fibre. The fibre and good fat in flaxseeds help in improving your digestion and in cleaning the colon as well.

​3. Avocado - Optimize digestion by eating avocados daily. The rich soluble and insoluble fibers of avocado promote bowel movements and help in keeping the colon clean. They also help in reducing the likelihood of getting colon cancer.

4. ​Spinach - Green leafy vegetables like spinach offer a number of health benefits. One of them is colon cleansing. It also keeps the digestive tract free from all diseases.

5. Garlic - ​One of the most popular foods for most digestive issues, garlic is a super food for colon cleansing as well. Not only for the colon, garlic can do wonders in keeping your heart healthy.

Joseph Pilates, the man behind “Reformer Pilates” was a gymnast & body builder, following on to professional boxer, circus-performer, and a self-defence trainer at police schools.

During WW1 he developed a system that he named “Contrology”, which encouraged the use of the mind to control muscles, focusing attention on core postural muscles that help keep the body balanced and provide support for the spine. And so, Pilates was born.

He later created a Reformer Bed which is simply a narrow bed with a sliding carriage, straps, pulleys, and resistance springs which can be added or removed depending on his clients’ level of strength.

#londonpilates #contrology #successwithsandy #cyprusretreat #healthretreats #pilates

Sir Muir Gray: NHS must use fitness industry to deliver universal personalised care plan

Veteran physician Sir Muir Gray has called on Health Secretary Matt Hancock to enlist the services of the fitness industry to help deliver NHS England’s new Universal Personalised Carestrategy.

In an open letter published in Health Club Management, Sir Muir welcomes the government's commitment to personalised care, and states that the fitness industry, with its "many thousands of trained professionals", is ideally placed to undertake a significant aspect of the Government's plan: that of appointing a thousand "link workers" to deliver lifestyle support to people in need of health interventions outside of pharmacies, hospitals and mental health services.

The letter continued: "The fifteen million people in the UK who suffer from long term conditions need the skills, enthusiasm and resources of the fitness industry – co-ordinated by ukactive – to realise your vision of universal social prescribing."

Sir Muir's intervention comes against the backdrop of what is being termed the third healthcare revolution – one in which there is a growing acceptance that activity can prevent many common diseases and transform their treatment.

"It's been agreed that the NHS needs to promote activity therapy alongside drug therapy, operative therapy and psychological therapy,” Sir Muir writes in HCM, arguing that activity should now be "prescribed like a drug", not simply as an instruction.

In closing, Sir Muir, who was knighted in 2005 for the development of the foetal, maternal and child screening programme and the creation of the National Library for Health, writes: "This offers the best opportunity we’ve had so far to link the NHS and the fitness world in a single therapeutic alliance, and we must work towards this goal with all possible haste to deliver on the Third Healthcare Revolution."

Article from Health Club Management  

Excellent article by Miranda Larbi

Lent is just 40 days. Six weeks isn’t loads but trust me, trying to go plastic-free for over a month is going to be a massive challenge. That means not buying any pre-packaged food, no bottles of fizzy water, no shiny bags of crisps, nuts or biscuits.

It’s a start and an opportunity to see just how much plastic we subconsciously consume every single day. Once you start noticing it, you’ll be horrified.

Lent shouldn’t be about going on a diet masquerading as piety. It’s a season of reflection, of dedicating time to God – and by proxy, our fellow beings. 

No one gives a crap if you eat chocolate or not…but you could choose to eat a chocolate that doesn’t come packaged in plastic (like Pana Chocolate, for example).

Why not take these six weeks to make an active difference – one that will impact animals, people and environments around the world?

We’re currently experiencing a ‘plastic smog’ in our oceans. You don’t have to go to places like West Africa or East Asia to see the impact. When we think about plastic pollution, it’s easy to conjure up images of shantytowns drowning in black plastic sacks or dirty beaches in far-flung developing countries. And while that’s not untrue, the terrifying reality is that we’re seeing the effect of our plastic addiction far closer to home; the Mediterranean Sea is, according to Plastic Pollution Solutions, ‘incredibly impacted’.

Article by Miranda Larbi

Metro Newspaper  

Empowering Plus Size Pilates.

Body Diversity is a workout aimed at overweight individuals to help improve, strength, flexibility and overall wellbeing, experience the transformation

Many people who are overweight or very out of shape struggle to perform weight loss exercises, however, Pilates will help you to build needed strength, toning your core, increasing flexibility and supporting Weightloss.

Details of classes coming soon.

#pilates #successwithsandy #overweightfitness #plussizepilates

Downward Dog a stretching and strengthening asana, downward dog provides incredible balance for mind and body.

It also targets your upper and lower body at the same time, so you'll feel it in your hands, arms, shoulders, back, calves, hamstrings and even the arches of your feet

#downwarddog #pilates #londonpilates #healthretreats #cyprusretreat #successwithsandy

Are your employees lacking motivation and decreased productivity?

ENERGY IN THE OFFICE

Negativity and low energy is not good for business.

Positive Educational Energetic workshops liven up the workplace and creates a more productive workforce all round.

Looking after your employees Health and Wellbeing by delivering educational, interactive fun workshops on a regular basis will boost energy and business!

Hour of Power

Research has shown that every single business improves when your brain is in a positive state rather than negative, neutral or stressed.

Book your workshop and TURBO BOOST your people

• Energy Slump - Learn about superfoods and try our yummy energy balls

• Wellness Wednesday - 45 Min High Energy Boxing/ Bootcamp style session or Pilates followed by 15 min stretch and relax

• Marvellous Mindfulness - 80% of workers experience stress at work. A program to give employees the tools they need to manage stress and leave smiling.

• Positive Posture Pilates - Learn proper body alignment and posture principles to help alleviate back pain.

• Meatless Monday’s - Meat heavy diets have been linked to cancer, heart disease, inflammatory and autoimmune disease. Learn about alternative delicious protein sources.