Libby takes a Bottle to Pilates
You know, you could really benefit from regular Pilates Libby,” purrs my glamorous instructor as she guides my shaking leg to a previously unattainable angle. Probably true, as right now my hip flexes are screaming at me about my days spent sitting at a laptop.
I have been persuaded to try my first Reformer Pilates class after my friend, Anna Lancaster, raved about her instructor Millie and she certainly is very encouraging of my beginner’s skills. I was also lured by the fact the class is in a not-officially-open-yet members wellness club, the gym being surrounded by a wrap-around wine cellar. I guess that is what is called motivation. It comes as no surprise Anna got us into this space for a private class before the launch, her little black book is unmatched and Tatler once called her “the best kept secret of Society’s elite”, while naming her the best hypnotherapist in the UK.
From a background of luxury property and fashion, Anna suffered a spinal leak over a decade ago which made her completely rethink wellness and the power of the mind. After three failed operations, she used a series of visualisation and healing techniques and, when the fourth operation was a success, it led her to retrain as a hypnotherapist specialising in RTT (Rapid Transformational Therapy).
We met years ago in Soho’s Groucho Club, when I took issue with her creepy date, who quickly fell by the wayside while our friendship grew with escalating evenings of champagne and shots pinwheeling around Soho and Mayfair.
Now however, Anna is glowing with health as she brushes aside her mermaid blonde hair and tells me: “If you don’t look after your wellness, you’ll have to look after your sickness”. I nod and try to look as elegant as I can while squeezing a rubber ring between my thighs and pumping my hips at the ceiling.
The new phenomenon of the wellness industry intrigues me, but I work in wine and many health zealots would see that as incompatible. Thankfully Anna disagrees, which is good news as I have packed a bottle of Chateau de Cremat Organic 2016 (Naked Wines £24.99 Angel Price £18.99) as a reward for later.
“I focus on a 360 approach with my clients – mind, body, soul and spirit,” explains Anna as we leave Move With Millie feeling newly stretched and about three inches taller. “Look at the Blue Zones, those areas of the world have the best longevity and health and they all drink wine in moderation. Isolation is one of the most harmful things for humans and wine is a social tool. I don’t mean binge drinking but a nice bottle with friends is a story, a memory”.
We open the wine on the cosy cream sofa of her Chelsea clinic, and it is all the comfort my aching limbs need with its smooth, generously plump, red berry notes. I wonder who else has sat here, having heard rumours of certain celebrities being fans. “I can’t possibly tell you that.” laughs Anna and I top up her glass, “but my clients are entrepreneurs, high powered and they can suffer from burn out, anxieties, imposter syndrome… Your belief system creates your life. The reason this is so effective is that I go back to the root cause of the ‘why’, accessing their subconscious mind to create new positive patterns. We live in a society where people want things done immediately and I can pretty much fix anything in one to three sessions”. A bold statement, but given her reputation, potentially true.
I leave feeling uplifted in body (pilates), mind (therapy) and spirit (wine) and am happy to learn that Anna had enjoyed my choice so much, she bought six bottles from Naked Wines herself that evening. Moderation in all things, but a case just in case.
www.movewithmillie.uk
www.annalancastertherapy.com
A Naked Pairing: Comtesse de Malet Roquefort Bordeaux 2020 x Roast Beef
It was a Sunday lunch and the chill was biting in the air so I wanted to make something properly comforting, that would warm my guests from the inside out. I rubbed some sea salt on a beautiful piece of beef from my local independent butcher, Chadwicks and seared it in the pan before roasting it for three hours on a low 120 degree heat in the oven. Red meat is often best paired with a red wine, thanks to the tannins found within that typically create a slight drying sensation in the mouth. When drunk with a roast however, these tannins cut through the fat of the meat, enhancing the juiciness and creating a wonderfully flavoursome dining experience. The Comtesse de Malet Roquefort Bordeaux 2020 (Naked Wines £16.99 Angel Price £12.99) is an award-winning silky deep wine of dark cherries and plums, dried kitchen garden herbs and sprinklings of baking spice which enhanced the richness of the meat and made a satisfying savoury pairing that is as simple as it is sophisticated.
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