Align & Rise

When we set ourselves goals, we get excited about the changes to come and the thought of where we can get to.
To reach our full potential, change if necessary for self-improvement. Personal growth requires us to learn, evolve and sometimes alter our behaviours, attitudes and perspectives. By remaining static, we limit our opportunities and miss challenges and opportunities.
Sometimes this change is uncomfortable, sometimes it takes us away from who we thought we were, and it might not take us to the place we expected. We don't always consider the things we have to let go of in order to change for the better.
But change is necessary, change is natural, and ultimately, change always teaches us something to guide the next steps.

This is relevant in all areas of life; personal development, nutritional health, career progression, physical ability, relationships, and overall well-being.

What do you need to change to become who you want to be?

When hubby reads your posts, understands the memo and comes home with these 🍫

Send my post about the benefits of dark chocolate to your other half and see it has the same effect!

It's almost time for my next training weekend and this time there's an even bigger buzz around the workshop.

We are inviting all dance teachers or dancers who are ready to embrace a new way of teaching and learning dance. Knowledge of anatomy is the first step, applying it to the body in the studio is the next, and reaching the next level of strength and performance without burnout or injury can be achieved with continued learning and curiosity.

If you're ready to join us, email [email protected] to book.



Philip Cutts - MSK & Training Programmes
The Emily Redding Dance Academy
New Forest Academy of Dance
Embers Dance Company
rebecca_onley

Today is Global 'Hug Your Kids' Day, but I'm encouraging you to hug all your loved ones.
There's a surprising number of physiological benefits to hugging a loved one, for both parties.
Hugs makes you feel good because it triggers a release of several hormones and neurotransmitters that relieve stress, help you to relax and boost your mood. This important physical contact then impacts your immune system, heart health and even feelings of pain.

So reach out to hug your nearest and dearest, today and every day! 🫂

Every interaction is another opportunity to learn. Whether that be with an adult, a child, even an animal, when we approach an interaction with an open mind, we broaden our own knowledge.

In a classroom, the person who learns the most is often the teacher. As students respond to the new information, the teacher has to observe, react and adapt. Passing on knowledge to others reinforces that learning within yourself.

Are you ready to learn? Take a look at the opportunities with Philip Cutts - MSK & Training Programmes and sign up today.

I shall be attending this course in a couple of weeks because it's important that we never stop learning.

What can you learn today? 🧠👀👂

Happy World Chocolate Day!

Chocolate (specifically dark chocolate) has a huge amount of benefits to keep us healthy. The cacao plant is packed with antioxidants and minerals.
The key is, the more that plant is processed, it begins to lose those benefits. So choose a chocolate bar with a higher cocoa content - Lindt 70% Intense Dark is a good shout.

Do you want to:
🍫 increase blood flow to your muscles, heart and brain?
🍫 lower your blood pressure?
🍫 lower your cholesterol?
🍫 reduce inflammation?
🍫 feel happier because your gut's happier?
🍫 keep your brain sharp?

Then there's no need to remove chocolate from your diet.
Today is a day to celebrate chocolate and the wonderful benefits it has. So enjoy the chocolate!

Do you want to know more about nutrition to help your students? Or to better educate your own children?
Is there something not quite right with your own health that you can't quite solve because you haven't got to the true cause yet?
Are you a teacher or dance teacher struggling with lack of energy despite "doing everything right"?

Book a call, consultation or workshop with me today to finally understand the simple, scientific facts around nutrition for health.

Magnesium is an essential mineral our bodies need to maintain many bodily functions including:

🟢Protein synthesis
🟢Nerve function
🟢Muscle function
🟢Bone structure
🟢Blood pressure regulation
🟢DNA synthesis
🟢Pain management

It is widely available within our food, with the highest quantities found in flax seeds, sunflower seeds and almond butter (and dark chocolate!).

Want to know more about the benefits and impact of magnesium? Head to my website for a more detailed blog on how important this mineral is to you.
alignandrise.com/blog

Reaching out to schools and teachers:
Are you looking to bring a fresh, engaging, and beneficial experience to your staff?

After working in a secondary school for several years, I know how demanding the school environment can be, with breaks often interrupted and rarely a moment to enjoy a proper meal. This constant hustle can leave teachers, support staff, and senior leaders feeling drained and low on energy.
So I created this workshop designed to boost the physical and mental wellbeing of school staff through improved nutrition.

During the workshop, we delve into:

🔹The best times to eat to maintain energy throughout the day.
🔹Nutrient-rich foods that support physical and mental performance.
🔹Practical strategies to incorporate healthier eating habits into a busy school schedule.

By focusing on what we eat, when we eat, and why it matters, we can improve energy levels, mood, cognitive abilities, and overall creativity, boosting wellbeing both inside and outside the classroom. Simple changes, making big differences.

Would you like to gift your staff members this opportunity to learn and grow?

Dancers / teachers - check out this wonderful opportunity to improve your knowledge and, most importantly, the ability to apply it in the studio!

I'll be attending, will you?

Education around our nutrition should begin at a very young age. Establishing healthy habits around food and movement at this early stage not only supports their growth and development, but it allows children to make informed decisions about their own health and their own bodies.

These good habits will be taken forward into their adolescence and adulthood as they explore the world. This may help to prevent some health conditions such as obesity, high blood pressure, diabetes, and keep bodies stronger to fight illnesses and injuries along the way.

Eating well does not need to be expensive, and the movement children need can be as simple as playing at the park.
What do you think is missing from the education children and parents currently have access to around nutrition and health?



Philip Cutts Pain Management & Rehabilitation Group The Emily Redding Dance Academy Embers Dance Company New Forest Academy of Dance rebecca_onley

Online studying allows us to access content from anywhere. We can complete it at our own pace, and work in our own way.
Learning with the Philip Cutts Pain Management & Rehabilitation Group originally meant just that. Students from around the country and even the world can access this content.

However, learning can be lonely when done this way. So, every few months, we come together to consolidate our knowledge in person. It allows us to test our knowledge from paper, and put that into practice. This time, we focused on our clinic skills. Using every sense to reveal as much information as we could to lead us to the root of the problem for a patient.

Seeing everything in front of us, listening to what they tell us (and what they don't), carefully considering the questions we ask, and using safe physical touch to investigate the problem.

Training these skills is not possible with remote learning, but the combination of remote and in-person learning provides a well-rounded approach to our studies, developing each of us into confident, aware, and open-minded clinicians.



Embers Dance Company The Emily Redding Dance Academy rebecca_onley New Forest Academy of Dance Philip Cutts - MSK & Training Programmes

Keeping our bodies fuelled ensures our energy levels stay consistent throughout the day and can replenish each night. Although it is important that we fuel with the right foods. It can be tempting to reach for the fast sugar hit to get you through the next hour or two, but the blood sugar crash that follows will leave you even more tired than before.

The brain and the body require energy to function, and good energy will lead to optimal function.

If you're struggling with a lack of energy, let's take a look at your nutrition.
If you're not sleeping well, let's take a look at your nutrition.
If you've got digestive issues, let's take a look at your nutrition.
If you're experiencing brain fog, disinterest, difficulty concentrating, let's take a look at your nutrition.

Studying and developing with Philip Cutts - MSK & Training Programmes has taught me that to be our best selves and reach our goals, we need to be working from our strongest position, which means our highest functioning body and brain.



Philip Cutts Pain Management & Rehabilitation Group The Emily Redding Dance Academy New Forest Academy of Dance rebecca_onley Embers Dance Company

This term is show term!
Traditionally, this means us dance teachers are stressed, extra busy and have an even longer to-do list. So naturally the "unimportant" things like time off, rest days, eating healthily and sleep all get forgotten!
We know these things are important, but our priorities get a bit wonky when the only thing that matters is helping our students shine on that stage.

This year I'm going into this term with a better plan. One that will help me perform at my best right up until show day, AND the day after. When we usually collapse in an exhausted heap.

- Carefully considering my nutrition each day and each week to keep me energised
- Using this energy wisely to focus on the daily to-do list
- Ticking things off means I can go to bed at a reasonable time
- Sleeping well because I'm not worried about the things I haven't yet done
- Having time to exercise for myself, keeping the energy up and my body healthy
- Taking a day off before the show because I can (Maybe, we'll see on that one!)

This is all down to learning with Philip Cutts Pain Management Rehabilitation. Giving our bodies the right environment in which to thrive. This will be clear in the numbers our students perform on stage too. They will be prepared, fuelled, and energised to dance their hearts out.

For more information on courses to benefit you and your students, email [email protected]



Philip Cutts Pain Management & Rehabilitation Group New Forest Academy of Dance The Emily Redding Dance Academy rebecca_onley Embers Dance Company

Have you visited our website yet?
Take a look around, and get to know what we offer.

Link is in the bio!

How many dance teachers do you know that study the formation of DNA?
DNA > mRNA > tRNA > amino acids > proteins. Could you explain how proteins are synthesised and used within our bodies?

You might wonder why it's important to understand this. Amino acids are the building blocks of all proteins. The body uses proteins for a huge array of functions including enzyme production for chemical reactions, production of antibodies within the immune system, hormone regulation, DNA/RNA regulation as well as muscular contraction and relaxation.

So when you see fitness coaches and diet plans telling you how important it is to have a good amount of protein intake within your diet, ask why. It isn't just to improve muscle development; our bodies need protein for healthy function in many other ways!

If you're interested in learning more about making your own body healthier and stronger, follow www.alignandrise.com for more nutrition information.

If you want to learn more and delve into these subjects for your own teaching of dance or sport, check out the courses on offer with Philip Cutts Pain Management Rehabilitation. As a registered provider with the UKRLP, this organisation has provided me with career direction, training, and a supportive network.
Email for more information on courses available: [email protected]



Embers Dance Company
The Emily Redding Dance Academy
rebecca_onley
New Forest Academy of Dance
Philip Cutts - MSK & Training Programmes

Overtraining and Burn Out Training smarter not harder is the key to avoiding burn out.You may think that training for longer periods, more frequently, and more intensely will improve your results. However, this approach is generally unsustainable and can lead to burn out and increase your risk of injury (and illness).Here ar...

As children and teenagers we were/are usually told that we have to learn information within particular borders. Finding the topics that interest us spark a desire to learn because we want to know more, not because we have to pass a test.



rebecca_onley
New Forest Academy of Dance
The Emily Redding Dance Academy
Embers Dance Company
Philip Cutts Pain Management & Rehabilitation Group

Pain is a defence mechanism of the body. We experience pain as a cue to remove ourselves from a dangerous situation. The human brain then takes an extra step to avoid repeating this in future and 'learns' from this experience of pain.

Emotional state, anxiety levels, distractions, stress levels and fatigue can alter our perception of pain. So these pain pathways are even more complicated than they seem.

Understanding how pain is experienced and modulated within the body allows us to treat injuries and illnesses with more precision and speed. A stressed, scared or extremely fatigued dancer is likely to experience a greater level of pain than one who is calm and, crucially, feels safe.



Philip Cutts Pain Management & Rehabilitation Group
The Emily Redding Dance Academy
New Forest Academy of Dance
Embers Dance Company
rebecca_onley

We should never stop learning, challenging ourselves and growing.



New Forest Academy of Dance
Philip Cutts Pain Management & Rehabilitation Group
rebecca_onley
The Emily Redding Dance Academy
Embers Dance Company

Diet Culture
The overriding message we see currently is that the simple answer to weight loss is to keep our calorie expenditure higher than our calorie intake. Sounds so easy.

But what this doesn't consider is the quality of those calories. Not all calories are made equally. By that I mean, 50 calories of honey does not have the same impact on the body as 50 calories of white pasta. Honey is a monosaccharide, which means the body can use this energy source immediately. Pasta is a polysaccharide, which means the body has to process this into usable units of energy first, breaking down the bonds that hold it together.

The time it takes to process can vary from person to person. Hormone levels greatly impact our body's ability to utilise energy from the food we eat.
Insulin resistance means blood sugars levels rise faster which damages nerve endings over time. Food combinations, time of day, weight, morphic type, recent activity levels, hormone cycles, stress levels, sleep patterns, inflammation. All of these affect how the body processes the food we eat into energy.

So rather than counting calories, maybe we should try understanding the effects different types of foods have on our bodies each day. Once we understand this, we can choose better foods to fuel ourselves as we individually need to.

If you have questions about weight management or nutritional medicine visit alignandrise.com to book a consultation.



Philip Cutts Pain Management & Rehabilitation Group The Emily Redding Dance Academy New Forest Academy of Dance Embers Dance Company rebecca_onley