Pilates Abs

I posted on the yoga blog about getting your core strong for improved breathing, digestion and posture. Pilates really causes you to focus on your core not just in class but during all your daily activities.

This routine is a great way to strengthen the core in 3 minutes-

Spring Mermaids

Spring is almost here and what better way to celebrate then to revisit a great Pilates stretch, the Mermaid.

The Mermaid is one of my favorite of all Pilates stretches. It stretches out the upper body, opens up the chest and lengthens the side body in a way you normally don't get to.

Instructions-

Side Mermaid Stretch- Deep Pilates Breathing Work

Starting Position
Sit on the floor, both knees bent, with your left leg in front and your right leg behind you. If you feel okay stack knees and ankles on top of each other to the side. Lengthen your spine and place your fingertips on the floor at your sides.

Action
Lift your left arm up in line with the shoulder as your bend laterally towards the right side as if bringing your right shoulder towards your right hip. Gaze is up towards the sky. Neck is long. No compression in the spine.

Breathe deeply and hold for 10-30 seconds. Repeat on opposite side.

Pilates Move of the Week- Single Bent Leg Strech

The Single Bent Leg Stretch is a classic Pilates poses that really emphasizes some of the best parts about pilates. The attention to breath, movement and alignment are really evident in the stretch. The one thing that students find the hardest in this movement besides the coordination with the breath is the exchange of the legs. Make sure not to just switch but instead lift the bent leg straight to the sky, pause in breath in movement while legs are in an "L" shape and then drop the highest leg as the lower leg bends in.

Single leg stretch is all about learning to move from center. It trains the abdominals to initiate movement, and to support and stabilize the trunk as the arms and legs are in motion. Many people find it especially helpful in targeting the lower abs. There is an element of coordination to this exercise as well.

Single Bent Leg Stretch-
1. Prepare: Lie on your back with your knees bent and your shins parallel to the floor. This is tabletop position for the legs.

2. Inhale.Exhale: Pull your abs in, taking your bellybutton down toward your spine, as you curl your head and shoulders up to the tips of the shoulder blades. As you curl up, your left leg extends at a 45-degree angle.

3.The right leg remains in tabletop position with the right hand grasping the right ankle and the left hand moving to the right knee. You will maintain your upper-body curve throughout the exercise. Be sure to keep your shoulders relaxed and your abdominals deeply scooped. Unless this becomes to much. If it does feel free to rest your head and continue with the movement. When right knee bends in take two exhale pulses.

4. Lift the bent leg straight to the sky, pause in breath in movement while legs are in an "L" shape and then with a 4 count inhale drop the highest leg as the lower leg bends in. Now the left hand is at the left ankle and the right hand at the left knee.

5.2 Exhale pulses. Then exchange with the above instructions. The hand to leg coordination continues with the outside hand of the bent leg going to the ankle and the other hand moving to the inside of the knee.

6. Repeat: Switch legs up to 10 times. Release the exercise if you are finding tension in your shoulders and neck or if your lower back is taking the strain.

This Weeks Focus- Posture

One thing that I try to stress to my pilates students is the importance of good posture in and out of class. Posture effects everything from your mood to how others perceive you. Good posture helps you breath more effectively, strengthens the body and could be the difference in you landing a job you want. Posture is an important part of our lives that we no longer pay much attention to. Pilates helps us to focus in on the posture to gain the most out of our movements in and out of the class.

I found this informative piece about posture on about.com. It's really worth reading.

Pilates is all moving efficiently. What makes Pilates so important with respect to posture is that Pilates trains us to develop and use core strength, rather than holding our position with superficial musculature.

Using the deep core muscles of the powerhouse - the abdominals, back, and pelvic floor - to support our posture allows the shoulders to relax, the neck and head to move freely, and relieves stress on the hips, legs, and feet.

Benefits of Good Posture:
* pain relief throughout the body, including back and neck pain, hip pain, leg and foot pain.
* allows us to move efficiently
* improves muscle function
* increases range of motion
* takes pressure off of compressed organs
* improves circulation
* creates a trimmer appearance
* radiates an attitude of confidence

Posture and Alignment Exercise:

1. Begin standing. Stand with your feet and legs directly under your hips. Your legs and feet are parallel, and your knees are pointing forward, straight but not locked.
Get details on good leg alignment

2. Balance Your Weight. Adjust your body so that your weight feels like it is falling directly through the middle of the foot. A good way to do this is to rock slightly forward and back on your feet, making the movement smaller and smaller until you feel your weight is balanced over the center of your foot.


3. Activate your core muscles. Lightly pull your abdominal muscles in and up. As you do so you engage the pelvic floor as well. You are going for a feeling of aliveness in the core. Just this move is usually enough to improve one's posture significantly.

4. Drop the tailbone. Activating the core will allow you to drop your tailbone directly down toward the floor. This is a neutral spine position, where the natural curves of the spine are present without tucking or hyper-extending(sway back) the pelvis. A popular image is that the pelvis is a bowl of water and you don't want the water to spill out to the front or the back.

5. Relax and open your chest. The chest is not caved in and not thrust out, just resting easily. There is a small point at the bottom of your sternum, and that, like the tail bone, should be pointing straight down.

6. Shoulders down, broad back. Allow your chest to drop and open as your back expands. As this happens, your shoulders drop away from your ears and your shoulder blades slide down your back. Cultivate a posture whereby the your core is holding you up, not your shoulders!

7. Ears reach for the sky. The head and neck are now completely supported by the core and easily float above the shoulders. Imagine that the tops of your ears are reaching for the sky. Your gaze is straight forward, with the throat open and the chin resting naturally.

8. Review the line up. If you were seen from the side your body part line up will look like this:
•ankles
•knees
•hips
•shoulders
•ears

I suggest going through this posture check list as many times as you can during the day. It is an especially good exercise to do once you are warmed up, or even after a workout, when your awareness is heightened and core well engaged.

Missing my Michigan Pilates Folks

So it's been less then a week and I am already missing my Pilates classes like crazy. I am so used to being on a schedule that not going to teach 17 classes this week feels really odd. Not to mention I am sure my butt is getting bigger. I was originally going to have just the yoga blog but figured for those only interested in Pilates this might be helpful. I will try to post regularly and let me know what you want to see and this could turn out to be a fun place.

Tip for the week- Check your posture every time you sit down. If that is to challenging check it at least twice tomorrow. Is the spine long? Are you leaning forward? Do you feel strain in one part of the back? Are the shoulders back and down?