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.

Comments

Tight hip flexors from sitting at my computer all day! How to release this feeling at home.

At home there are a number of ways to release tight hip flexors. Think about the main hip flexor the Iliopsoas for a moment. It originates in the lumbar spine attaching to the vertebra at the bottom of your back, it then attaches to the inside of the pelvis (illiac crest the bony bit you feel at your waist) and then passes through the pelvis and connects to a nobly bit of the leg bone your can't feel at the top of your inner thigh (the lesser trochanter of the femur). Its helped by some other muscles, but to keep it simple we are going to only think about the Iliopsoas. Now think about being sat down, The front of your body is scrunched up. Your legs are brought closer to your lumbar spine (the bottom of your back) and the Iliopsoas is contracted or squashed in size. Now think about being sat for 3 hours. Upon standing up you might feel tightness along the front of your legs/pelvis. This tightness is from you hip flexors. Humans are ...

When I stretch my hip flexor muscles I feel it in the front of my thighs. Is this right?

The short answer is yes! In my first post I talked about the movement of hip flexion and listed the hip flexors. We have already covered the iliopsoas the main flexor of the hip. Today I am going to talk about the rectus femoris muscle which also assist with hip flexion. The rectus femoris is the large muscles at the front of your upper thigh. If you sit down with a tray on your lap, the tray would be resting on your rectus femoris. It is part of the quadriceps, four muscles on the front of the leg between the pelvis and the knee. Rectus femoris is the only quadricep that reaches over the hip joint as it originates on the front of the pelvis. In class I often reference your ASIS ( A nterior S uperior I lliac S pine), you have two and they are the nobly bones you can feel through your skin at the front of your pelvis. Well you also have two AIIS ( A nterior I nferior I lliac S pine) this is another nobly part of the pelvic bon...

Flex, rotate, extend and articulate your spine.

Articulate your spine! How many times have you been asked to do this in a Pilates lesson? If you come to one of mine, probably lots. The cue, "articulate your spine" is used in the large pelvic tilt exercise and is used to promote movement between each individual vertebra. In a large pelvic tilt you start in the Pilates relaxation position. Firstly you tilt your pelvis so that your lower back moves closer to your mat and your pubic bone rises (a small pelvic tilt). Then leading from your pubic bone you peel your spine from the mat one vertebra at a time, until you reach a bridge position. To come back down, I like to think I am trying to imprint my spine into sand. So to make a really good spine print I have to get each vertebra to touch down individually finishing with my tail bone. Naturally I am engaging my core throughout the whole exercise. So what do we achieve by articulating our spines? We have lots of muscl...

Katie Leaver Pilates

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