Last week’s blog, discussed staying relaxed, concentrating, and using the Pilates’ breath to get the most of out of a Studio Blue workout. This week, the discussion continues. Thinking about the following before and during a workout will ensure that you receive Pilates full benefits.
• Check your alignment
• Coordinate your movements
• Create movement from your “center
• Make your movements flow
• Work to build your stamina
• Check your alignment
Posture affects the entire body, including the internal organs. A misaligned body is like an unstable building—eventually something is going to give. Therefore, developing and maintaining excellent posture not only helps us feel and look better, it also keeps us fit, and can help minimize pain.
As we move, weight is transferred through the center of each joint. If the postural alignment is off because of injury or poor habits, weight is transferred forward or backward, rather than through the joint’s center. This stresses the bones, muscles and ligaments around the joint, causing greater injury or pain. Every Pilates movement at Studio Blue begins with properly aligning the body.
• Coordinate your movements
In addition to concentrating, checking alignment, and using proper Pilates breath, it’s important to pay attention to the intended next movement. While some people have a greater “kinesthetic sense “ or “body sense” than others, most people need help building this sense.
As one part of the body moves, the cerebellum maintains a sense about what the rest of the body is doing, and what will come next. At the beginning of a Pilates practice, this kind of coordination seems difficult. How do we maintain core control, breath, keep the body relaxed, and prepare to lift a leg to tabletop all at once? The more we practice movements, the easier they flow. The improved kinesthetic sense built by Pilates in turn improves individual exercises. It’s a synergistic relationship.
• Create movement from your “center
The abdominal muscles are the support for the spine and the internal organs. Joseph Pilates referred to these muscles as a “girdle of strength.” Therefore, “centering” is the starting point for every Pilates exercise. The Oblique, Rectus Abdominis, and Transversus Abdominis muscles support our posture as well as allow us to move and bend.
The Transversus Abdominis is a deep abdominal muscle that Pilates is able to work. It, along with the Multifidus muscle, are essential to low back stability. During a Pilates workout, it’s not unusual to hear the instructor say, pull your belly up and in toward your spine. Instructors regularly remind us to “breath laterally” as well. These two requests remind us to isolate and engage the Transversus and Mulitfidus, the starting points for most Pilates movements. By engaging these deep muscles, not only is core strength improved, the lower back is also protected.
• Make your movements flow
Every Pilates movement has its own rhythm, part of which is determined by the breath, part of which is defined by the movement. Some exercises are performed very slowly with each part of the movement measured and controlled, while others, like the hundreds, are preformed at a faster pace. No matter how quickly or slowly the movements are done, they should never be jerky or rushed. There is no “bouncing” in Pilates.
Pilates is about balance. Many exercise regimes, like aerobic exercise, involve quick movements, bouncing, and so on. Pilates avoids these types of movements because of the effect on the muscles. Pilates lengthens muscles while “bouncing” can cause the
“stretch reflex.” Muscles are like rubber bands. If they’re stretched quickly and too hard, they “snap” back, shortening, not lengthening the muscles. It is much better to stretch into the movement, slowly allowing for the full effect of the movement to take effect.
Moving slowly through exercises often proves to be more difficult than working quickly. Slowing down allows the body and mind time to work together pulling energy from the core, and lengthening it through the body.
• Work to build your stamina
No exercise is going to be easy at first. With time, patience and regular practice, multiple repetitions of Pilates core movements will seem almost effortless. The challenge of Pilates never ends, however, as every movement can be made more intense, creating a longer, leaner, stronger body.
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