Wirral Pilates & Movement Centre

General information

Wirral Pilates & Movement Centre is based in 1st Floor Vale House, Vale Park, New Brighton, Wirral, where classes are taught by the owner and operator, Louise Porter. The studio is fully-equipped with Balanced Body apparatus including 6 Allegro Reformer beds, Tower, Wunda Chair and Baby Arc. These are the fundamentals of a pilates equipment studio.

An introductory class must be attended before joining the regular class schedule in order to ascertain whether it is suitable for you. The class is free of charge and open to all newcomers provided there are no severe health restrictions. It enables the teacher to explain the machine mechanics, address any health or injury concerns and allows you to experience a basic Reformer class.

There is also the option of one-to-one and one-to-two coaching for those who prefer a customised program, want to experience pilates on a deeper level or perhaps prefer individual attention. This also is a good option if perhaps the class schedule is unsuitable for you.

If you are new to pilates you will be directed to a group that is working at a more-elementary level so that you will never feel out of your depth or discouraged. The groups are kept small to enable first-class teaching supervision and attention to detail, particularly when it comes to alignment and posture.

Who comes to pilates? All sorts of people. Some people first encounter it as a way to help heal from injury. Low back pain is prevalent in the western world and pilates strengthens and aligns the core muscles to support the spine whilst increasing mobility, so this is often a reason why many seek out the method. Or it could be that you want tighter, toned abdominals, which come as a by-product of improved core strength. Pilates is also being targeted to sport-specific populations, who often suffer from overuse injuries (think golfers and runners) - in fact many elite athletes now use pilates as a regular component of their training regime. The discipline of beautiful, aligned movement applies to anyone who cares about their health and posture.

Why Equipment Pilates and not Mat Work? Mat work is a beautiful and fundamental part of pilates movement but it only represents 25% of the pilates repertoire, leaving 75% of pilates exercises that require equipment. Mat classes often incorporate a lot of lying-down exercises and very little joint mobility movements. The more advanced exercises are often too difficult to be performed well by many participants whilst, conversely, the easier exercises may not be challenging enough for more-athletic persons.

Through spring resistance the Reformer classes offer support when required whilst also challenging more-advanced participants via increased spring tension or greater instability, depending on the goal of the exercise. This allows for participants of varying ability to perform the same exercises, each being challenged and/or supported appropriately. Most people who experience pilates on the Reformer report a deeper connection to core muscles that they were unable to access on the mat. The use of straps and cords also allow for full range of motion at all joints, which is also hard to achieve on a mat.