Skip to main content

What do I think about when engaging my core?

 When I engage my core I think about being a Greek Goddess.  In another life at another time maybe, but seriously .............

Before you engage your core you need to know where you bottom ribs are (stop reading and feel them now).  You also need to know where you ASIS bones are.  They are the nobly bones at the front of your pelvis.  (You will now need to stop reading, stand up and feel the front of your pelvis.)  On each side of you pelvis there are bone close to the surface of your skin that you can feel with your finger tips.  They are your ASIS.  Finally you will need to find your tail bone and pubis bone.  Again you will need to stand up and centrally at the top of your bottom you should be able to feel your tail bone and at the front of your pelvis centrally you can feel your pubis bone. 

To engage my core I stand with my feet hip width apart and my pelvis in a neutral alignment.  I take a deep breath in and as I exhale I think about my lower two ribs and my ASIS bones pulling in and towards my tummy button.  At the same time I think about my tail bone pulling forward towards my pubis bone.  Nothing actually moves, but my deep abdominal muscles contract and my bottom remains soft.  I can only describe the feeling as your waist getting slightly thinner.  




You do not need to engage your core muscles to 100% of your ability.   It is best to practice engaging them around 40%.  When you are completing your Pilates work out, your body will tell you when you need to turn your core muscles on a little stronger.  Just listen to your body. 

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Pilates key principles: Concentration

 In a world of attention grabbing, Pilates is a 55 minute window of calm.  As a teacher of small group and solo Pilates I can tell if my clients are having a busy mind day. When the mind is elsewhere, movements are not as exact and clients ability to complete a challenging move is compromised.  It is OK to have a busy mind, we are not robots, however letting go of your thoughts and concentrating on the movements your body is making will help your Pilate practice to develop.  These are my top tips for concentration: 1) Be present, use the repetitive nature of the warm up to connect with every part of your body.  Try to visualize each part of your body, be selfish and only focus on yourself.  2) Pay attention to the alignment of your body.  The beautiful line from your toe, through your ankle, knee and then into your hip.  Maintaining correct alignment will increase the difficulty of an exercise.  Why not challenge yourself to completing level ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Osteoporosis

 Osteoporosis is a condition that lots of us recognise, but do we really know what it is?   It is a condition where your bones lose strength, this would not be noticed until you had a slip or a fall, you may not even know you have it.  However because the bones have lost some of their strength a simple accident could end up causing a bone fracture (break).  This condition impacts both females and  males.  How do the bones lose strength?  Your bone are just as alive and changing as your skin.  It is normal for us to shed some old skin as we grow new skin.  In our bones, old bone is absorbed by cells called osteoclasts and then new bone is built by cells called osteoblasts.  This process is know as bone remodeling and keeps our skeleton healthy.  As we travel through phases of our life the hormones that balance this cycle change.  As we get older some aspects of our bodies don't keep working as efficiently as they used to....
Post a Comment
Read more

Pilates key principles: Centre

In Pilates your Centre refers to the core of you body and the body's Centre of gravity. For anyone who may have forgotten what exactly makes up the core, please read  Your core muscles are like a tin can .  When thinking about the body's Centre of gravity.  This is an imaginary point where the body's weight is equally balanced, and around this point the body may rotate freely.  As we are all individually built, our Centre of gravity is unique to us.   You will find the the Centre of gravity for a man is slightly higher than for a woman.  Lets think about completing the perfect roll down:  Starting sat up, knees bent to ceiling, legs and feet hip width apart on the floor. You squeeze your core, roll your pubic bone towards the ceiling and your back pockets start to come closer to the mat.  You place your back pockets, then your waist band, each of your ribs and finally your shoulders and head onto the mat in a controlled sequence, keeping your...
Post a Comment
Read more