Neutral Spine. Imprint. Pelvic Tilt. Are you confused?
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
