Rotate! How far can you go?

In my last post I talked about the muscles of the back. Today I want to talk a little more about the muscles you use and the benefits of rotation.

When we rotate we use some of the muscles of the back, including the multifidus and latissimus dorsi. We also use some muscles from the side internal and external obliques and front, rectus abdominis. The rogation of the trunk uses both thoracic and lumbar vertebrae.

Now stand up and rotate (twist) to look behind you. I bet your hips move and you are rotating from your ankles, your feet may even have swiveled a bit. That is great, because that is how we move as humans.

Now find a cushion and a wall. Fold you cushion in half and prop it behind your bottom so you are stood up straight and the cushion is held between your bottom and the wall. Rotate again, but this time do it without moving your hips. We are looking to find a strong twisting feeling in the trunk, a bit like you are wringing out a dish cloth. If your bottom is lifting off the cushion or pushing into the cushion more on one side then try to do it again without this pelvic movement. When you get really good at this rotation you will be able to rotate your trunk without moving your pelvis. This stability is working your core muscles around your pelvis and the movement is strengthening your waste muscles and deep spinal muscles.

I love rotation in my mat class I teach, standing, kneeling, laying using a roller rotation as part of strengthening you from the inside.

Comments

Pilates key principles: Precision

Before I trained as a Pilates teacher I attended classes for years. I was always trying to speed through exercises to get extra repetitions in and prove to myself that I was really strong. However I was not really strong and I was not aware of the key Pilates principles. Precision in movement is the exact manner that an action is executed. When you are completing a Pilates exercise you are using your breath to power you movement, your concentration, your Centre, your control and finally your precision. The greater the precision the more likely you are to find the muscles that should be exercised and then to achieve your goal. When exercising I am thinking of the muscle that should be working, isolating it and being precises in my movement. Precision can make the difference between accessing a muscle or not. Next time you are in a class, slow down and connect with the muscle your working. Use all the Pilates princip...

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 ...

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 ...

Katie Leaver Pilates

Search This Blog