Last month, I completely lost my voice for 3 days. Physically, I felt fine but I couldn’t talk at all! I had to cancel a number of classes at short notice and felt bad about letting people down. I didn’t realise that for teaching Pilates, even though I’m using my body to demonstrate the exercises, it’s my voice that is one of my biggest assets and it wasn’t until I lost it that that made perfect sense. Upon reflection, I realise I wasn’t taking very good care of myself - I’d been working longer hours, covering classes for my colleagues, not doing enough of my own Pilates practice, eating on the go and not getting enough sleep or rest - it’s no wonder I lost my voice. Like a phone, I was using up all my battery and not taking the time to recharge. I suppose the moral of the story here is that we need to make sure we take care of ourselves as you don’t know what you’ve got till it’s gone. In my case, it was my voice, which luckily returned after 3 days, but it could have been longer, which is a scary thought! Now I’m making a conscious effort to make sure l’m getting enough rest in between teaching classes, taking time to do some of my own Pilates practice, sitting down to eat my meals and even having an occasional nap if I am feeling tired. What could you do to take better care of yourself? Is there something that you used to be able to do that you’ve since lost that you’d like to get back? At Present Pilates we take the time to ground ourselves in the present and focus on the movements we’re doing. Taking the time to do some gentle exercise is a great way to recuperate your body and your mind, come and join a class this week!