Tell us about your team and what makes the studio special?

We are one of the best equipped pilates studios in London, situated in a spacious, bright, airy studio in the heart of Teddington. Our five seasoned instructors, most having trained and instructed with the world renowned Alan Herdman, bring a wealth of experience and individual knowledge – from a professional ballet dancer, university lecturer of anatomy and sports injuries, a PE teacher and one who studied for five years as a trapeze artist in the USA!

All of our clients receive a detailed oneto-one assessment. Everyone is different, therefore an individually tailored programme is created that is right for the clients’ needs and goals. Our wonderful equipment, especially the reformer, is suitable for just about everyone; supporting the body and allowing targeted muscle focus, we challenge super fit dancers and sports people and can teach people in their 80s and even 90s. Post-operative clients and pre and post-natal women can also rehabilitate their bodies.

Teddington Pilates Studio takes referrals from GPs, chiropractors, osteopaths and physios; helping people with back pain, disc bulges, spinal fractures; hip and knee replacement, pelvic floor dysfunction, sports and life injury management; people with MS, ME, stroke patients and low bone mineral density (osteoporosis and osteopenia).

With a balanced ratio of men and women attending, daily life fitness is most relevant: The ability to improve one’s posture, maintain or develop bone and muscle mass, helps reduce fall and fracture risk: to enjoy life and sport more confidently, to move freely with purpose and less pain is our main motivation.

Can you tell us about the ground breaking work you are currently involved in and pioneering?

I develop exercise countermeasures and equipment for astronauts on long duration human space exploration and have the support from the UK Space Agency (UKSA) and European Space Agency’s (ESA) Astronaut Centre.

For many years I have been developing exercise countermeasure to counteract low bone mineral density, osteoporosis and osteopenia. Previously, with King’s College London’s Space Physiology department, we transformed Teddington Pilates Studio into a physiology lab for research. King’s presented our results to the space science community at the German Aerospace Agency (DRL) in Cologne. Successfully received, European Space Agency’s Chief Medical Officer wrote: “This concept is potentially the future for human space exploration”.

My work and research has since lead to cooperations with NASA, ESA and UKSA. I have teamed up with an amazing engineering team, they engineer special effects for Star Wars, Mission Impossible, Gravity and Bond movies. Together we built the prototype of my design for the next generation of exercise countermeasures for long duration human space flight.

Recently teaming up with the European Astronaut Centre in Cologne and St Mary’s University, Twickenham (Dr Daniel Cleather) we applied and have successfully been awarded the United Kingdom Space Agency’s Exploration Technology Development Grant. This support enables preparatory testing of our prototype at Teddington Pilates Studio in readiness for parabolic test flights; where the prototype is bolted to the floor of a specially adapted aeroplane for a series of parabolas, experiencing zero gravity for up to 22 seconds at a time and 31 parabolas each flight. The aeroplane, called Zero G, is also known as the vomit comet.

What is the focus for you over the next few years?
2019 will be busy completing 1G ground testing. Then, with the backing of ESA, French Space Agency (CNES) and UKSA, we will travel to France for a parabolic test flight campaign.

The following years will involve refining the equipment and completing further indepth research of the exercises our space equipment affords. This is the next step towards the design being used on future space stations orbiting earth, the moon (gateway) and used on moon bases and mars.

Fundamentally, this will all benefit us terrestrially, as we apply this game changing research to improve the bone density and reduce fall and fracture risk that currently millions are at susceptible to here on earth.

Teddington Pilates
135 High Street Teddington, TW11 8HH
www.teddingtonpilates.com
020 8977 3579