Tag Archives: music

Music key to mental health in old age

Maintaining our mental health with music

As a qualified musician, as well as writing this blog about mental health, I was very interested to read recently about a Scottish study that suggests playing a musical instrument can have lifelong mental health benefits — including staving off dementia.

Researchers at Heriot-Watt University compared the mental agility of musicians and non-musicians aged between 60 and 88 in memory and spatial reasoning tests. Those who played an instrument completed tasks up to 25% more quickly.

Professor Alan Gow, who led the study, published in scientific journal Aging, Neuropsychology and Cognition, said it “highlighted that learning and playing a musical instrument may be associated with cognitive differences in older age, and supports musical activity as a potentially cognitively protective lifestyle factor”.

I have written many times about the simple things that we can do that can have a lasting impact on our mental health, and learning or playing an instrument can also bring a lot of joy. But maybe talk to your neighbours before you start playing the drums…
Chris Hunt ACII is qualified in rehabilitation, Pilates, meditation, personal training, NLP, and Thai Massage. Contact Chris here or for more information about simple and free wellness advice click on www.pilatesevo.com

Beyonce & Paul McCartney are Pilates buddies!

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It doesn’t get any more celebrity than this, Beyoncé and Sir Paul McCartney doing Pilates together!

Regular readers of my blog will know that as well as more serious articles about Pilates, I also write about famous Pilatistas. My opinion is that anything that raises awareness of Pilates can only be a good thing. In today’s culture, it’s a fact that many people associate themselves with celebrities. It’s not my place to argue the rights of wrongs of this, I just accept it as a fact, and if just one person tries Pilates because of one of my blogs, then I consider this to be a success. If you want a technical Pilates discussion then please click on the link above to my website or my Facebook link below and let’s chat…

So back to Beyoncé and Sir Paul McCartney. The two music legends were staying in the same hotel, the Four Seasons, during the Coachella Music and Arts Festival in California.

The famous pair were seen going through their paces at an LA gym, according to the UK press. It’s reported that they hit the treadmills and after some cardio, Macca, 71, and Beyonce, 32, did some Pilates before heading off for a run.

Celebrity gossip aside, this Pilates pairing shows the world exactly how great Pilates can be. Yes, men and women do it! Yes, old and young do it! Yes, you can do Pilates with a friend because it can be done at many different levels as it is possible to modify the movements to make them appropriate for all levels of ability.

It is clear to the world what amazing condition Beyoncé is in, and it is a good job Sir Paul is staying in good physical shape at his age after he added six more dates to the North American leg of his Out There Tour.

Celebrities, love them or hate them, they do sometimes show the world the possibilities when it comes to using Pilates. For that, I thank them.

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