Pilates

When I first started Pilates I didn’t know my neutral spine from my pelvic tilt. And as I tried to learn the breathing technique I found it even harder to figure out where my neutral spine is—if you’re new to Pilates, you’re probably experiencing the same challenge.

What is ‘neutral spine’? The neutral spine is the natural position of the spine when all parts of your body are in proper alignment. Proper alignment for your body! This natural position will not necessarily be the position that feels the most comfortable. I know when I started this is where I got confused—I thought if it was natural it would be comfortable. Unfortunately, we get comfortable with the feeling of our ‘out-of-alignment’ bodies after years of poor posture and bad habits and it’s a challenge to correct it.

It is essential that we are able to find our neutral spine and maintain it as our bodies move. If we lose this neutral position, we will lose the benefit of the exercise and we’re simply making our bodies stronger in our preferred, non-aligned posture. In addition, we increase the chance we will acquire muscular imbalances, injuries and increased tension in our bodies. While it’s important that all of our joints are in a neutral position, we are especially focused on our pelvis and lower spine sustaining neutral. This is how we strengthen our core. You should practise finding your neutral spine until it becomes a habit to feel the natural position while exercising.

How Do We Find Our Neutral Spine?

While you can create a neutral spine standing, sitting or lying down, most people find it easiest to accomplish while lying down.

1. Start by lying on your back on the floor in a relaxed position with your knees bent and feet flat on the floor. Slowly tilt your pelvis to increase the curve in your spine and the space between your lower back and the floor. Do not take this position too far, you don’t want to feel any discomfort in your lower back. Relax out of this position.

2. In the same lying position, slowly tilt your pelvis in the opposite direction and eliminate the space between your lower back and the floor. Again, don’t push this too far. Relax.

3. Now, shift your body between these two positions to find a position halfway between the two. You should have a small space between your lower back and the floor, just big enough to slide your fingertips under your back. There should be no tension in your back, chest, shoulders or legs. Place your hands on your lower abdominal muscles with your fingers pointing to pubic bone and your thumbs across your pelvic bones to form a triangle. In your neutral position your hands will be level (with floor).

Practice finding your neutral before your Pilates workout and periodically with your ‘level’ hands to make sure you are keeping it throughout all the exercises. The next step is to sink your belly button towards your spine, without sucking in your stomach, and you’ll be in the ideal position to develop your strongest core.

Next time, we’ll talk about Pilates breathing. Sounds simple, but it’s another challenge to maintain proper breathing throughout your Pilates work—and of course, keep that neutral spine at the same time!

Technorati Tags: Pilates, neutral spine, Pilates workout

Read: Neutral Spine. Imprint. Pelvic Tilt. Are you confused? »

If you’ve been looking for new Pilates or Yoga workout clothes, accessories or equipment…now is the time to take advantage of the savings offered during the Boxing Week Sales. Here’s some great offers that I found today…I’ll add to this list as I find more. Some are ending soon, so don’t hesitate!

Save $50 0ff your purchase of $100-149.99 or $75 off your purchase of $150 or more. In addition, you’ll receive free shipping for orders over $100. This sale ends December 28, 2006 so act quickly! $50 coupon code: 160043 $75 coupon code: 160044. You’ll find Prana, Nike, OMgirl, Fila, Marika, Puma and much more. Check out Paiva’s Roll Down Waist Pant reg price $65, on sale for $19.99. These great workout pants come in 3 lengths and 5 colors—perfect for both Pilates and Yoga!

Technorati Tags: workout pants, Pilates, Yoga

Read: Boxing Week Sales »

The presents are all opened, the left-overs beckon and a new year is on our doorstep. If you’re like most of my friends and family, we view the next week as a kind of a ‘grace’ period for relaxing and feasting before our new year’s resolutions take effect.

Coming in January, our resolve to get our bodies into better shape, improve our fitness levels and banish bad habits will be strong and for me, it’s the perfect time to figure out my goals with my Pilates practice. Am I concerned about any specific areas—well, yes, my back is always at the top of that list, but this year I want to increase my stability and flexibility for my golf swing. I have just joined a golf club and I’m determined to really improve my game this year—Pilates will be a big part of that effort. I’m also planning on buying an ocean kayak, so upper-body strength makes it to this year’s fitness list too.

And finally, I’m going to concentrate more on working on the equipment, in addition to regular mat workouts, to compare the benefits. In the past, I have focussed on matwork, as it’s easier to find the classes and practice at home, but a new Pilates studio has opened in my community, so I can take a weekly session on the Pilates equipment. Friends that workout on the Pilates Reformer, Cadillac and Wunda Chair say that some exercises on the mat are actually more challenging than doing them on equipment as your stability and balance come into play more. I’m really looking forward to this change in routine, so my motivation is high.

In the meantime, here’s to a healthy and fit New Year—we’ll see you on the mats.

Technorati Tags: golf, fitness, Pilates, Reformer

Read: Wishing You a Pilates New Year! »

It’s that wonderful time of year when we get to spend a little more time with friends and family and, of course, share food and drink in celebration. Thank goodness for Pilates is all I can say. The focus of doing a Pilates routine serves not only as some much-needed ‘quiet time’ in the middle of all the madness, but it also re-energizes and restores your sense of balance and control.

I have finally found some time to explore the growing number of downloadable Pilates workout mp3s and audiobooks. I am quite surprised at both the quality and great selection that is available, and it can’t get any easier to download one of these files and start using it right away! I have discovered that these audio downloads are the solution to the problem I have always had with trying to use videos and DVDs for my Pilates practice at home. It’s hard to concentrate on your movements and at the same time watch the video to see what the instructor is doing—it’s far easier and ultimately more effective for me to listen to the clear instruction while I do the workout.

I can leave them on my computer or, I’ve found it a real advantage to throw them on my iPod so I can take them with me when I travel. I’d suggest you use them with speakers on your mp3 player or iPod. I haven’t figured out a good way to keep from getting tangled up in the cords for the earplugs! I know these downloads are going to help me stay interested and motivated to keep up my Pilates practice at home. So far, the best selection I have found is at iAmplify.com, where I downloaded my current favorite, ‘Pilates 4 Athletes:Full Body Toning‘. You can listen to sample audios and many downloads come with illustrations of the positions.

I’m going to gather up the best online sources for these fitness downloads for you and post them on the web site in time to get you started with your New Year’s Resolution. Stay tuned, I’ll let you know when that’s done.

Technorati Tags: Pilates

Read: Holiday Stress?
Pilates to the rescue ~ »