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 muscles in our back and the deep muscles of the back are the target for articulation. We are working the erector spinae group that includes the spinalis, longissimus and iliocostalis. You can feel these muscles as a slight bulge in you back either side of your spine. Deeper than these are the transversospinalis group which includes the semispinalis, multifidus and rotatores. These muscles hold each vertebra to the next in a network of crossed layered muscles. There are also more muscles running between the vertebra, but now we are getting very complicated.

Needless to say, articulating through each vertebra has a great impact on a large number of muscles that you don't always think of. These deep small muscles contain a high density of muscle spindals sending sensory information about movement to the nervous system. Keeping these muscles healthy and active is great for your spinal health.

Next time you are asked to articulate your spine take your time over the movement and really concentrate on the deep spinal muscles.

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 ...

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....

What is my rotator cuff?

We all have two rotator cuffs which are very important to our shoulder operation, one inside each shoulder. Your rotator cuff is made of four muscles that provide joint security (I love this term, a tiny little police force living in your shoulder making sure that the glenohumeral (shoulder) joint remains functioning). Why does your shoulder need a police force? Well the ball and socket joint of the shoulder is a bit rubbish (and also very good *). It is not like a caravan and car ball and socket joint where you have a deep strong connection (a bit like the hip). It is more like a scallop shell and a stick with a bulbus end. It fits ok, but really needs lots of tape and string to keep it together. Your rotator cuff muscles are the police, the tape and the string that hold this amazing joint together. The next part is only for reading if you are super interested in the names and actions of the muscles. The four muscles of ...

Katie Leaver Pilates

Search This Blog