Day 234- Single Leg Pull with Head Down

This exercise is a preparation for the classic Pilates Single Leg Pull exercise.

To do this exercise you will need a mat.  Start by lying on your belly with your legs long beneath you.  Use your hands to make a pillow for your forehead.  Inhale as you reach your through your big toe, which puts gentle tension and support through the hip flexor.  Then exhale as you bend your leg and reach your heel towards the ceiling.  Inhale to release your leg to the floor and exhale as you reach the other leg to the ceiling.

Things to think about

The length of the front of the pelvis is key in this exercise.  Be sure that the pubic bone stays connected to the ground as you bend each leg.

Because this exercise alternates the use of the legs, it is important to use the deep lower abdominals to support the pelvis. 

Day 163- One Hundred Table Top with Toe Taps

This exercise adds the work of hip disassociation to the breath work of The Hundred

To do this exercise you will need a mat.  Start by lying on your back with your legs in a tabletop position.  Bring your arms above your shoulders with your palms facing the center.  Inhale to prepare and then exhale as you press your arms down by your side and lift your head, neck, and shoulders.  Then take five short inhales as you tap one toe to the ground and then tap the other toe to the ground.  Continue this exercise by taking five short exhales and during these exhales make two more toe taps.  Continue this movement patter for ten breaths and then finish the exercise by releasing your head, neck, and shoulders to the ground followed by each foot reaching the ground one at a time.

Things to think about

If you have osteoporosis this is not the best exercise for you, but feel free to visit The Pilates Studio’s weekly blog to find a multitude of bone building workouts

This exercise requires a lot of stability in the pelvis.  Not only does your core have to be strong enough to support the weight of your head, neck, and shoulders, it also has to have enough strength to support the asymmetrical movement of your legs while tapping your toes.  As you do this exercise think of the axial elongation you can find in the exercise.  With each tap of your toes, imagine that your spine is getting longer.

Day 120- SIngle Straight Leg Lower on Slomo Ball

This exercise is intended to add challenge to the leg lower, while giving support to the sacrum

To do this exercise you will need a mat and a soft ball.  Start by lying on your back with the soft ball under your pelvis.  One leg should be in a tabletop position and one leg should be straight with the heel reaching towards the ceiling.  Inhale as you point your toe and exhale as you lower your leg towards the floor.  Then inhale as you float the leg up to the ceiling. Repeat 5 times on each side.

Things to think about

Wobbly pelvises can bring strain to low backs and sacro-illiac joints.  Use your breath to make sure that your pelvic floor and lower abdominals are working.

Feel the length in your hip flexor as you lower the leg down.

Day 114- Toe Taps from Table Top with Double Leg

This exercise is intended to increase the intensity of the abdominal work while maintaining the differentiation of movement from the hip and the pelvis

To do this exercise you will need a mat.  Start by lying on your back with your legs in a tabletop position.  Inhale to prepare and then exhale as you lower your legs to tap your toes on the ground and then return them to tabletop.  Inhale in between and then exhale as you repeat the movement.  Repeat 8-10 times

Things to think about

It is important to use the low abdominals to support the pelvis while the lever arm of the legs is lowering. 

Also be sure that as you exhale you are narrowing your ribcage towards the spine so that it is grounded into the mat and allows the muscles of the back to remain soft.

Be sure to maintain the angle at the knees to ensure that the thighs are arcing and not just the lower legs.

Day 113- Toe Taps from Table Top with Double leg tapping Foam Roller

This exercise is intended to intensify the abdominal work of the single toe tap exercises while maintaining pelvic stability.  The foam roller lessens the range of motion.

To do this exercise you will need a mat and a foam roller.  Start by lying on your back with your knees bent and your feet on the foam roller.  Exhale as you pick up one leg followed by the other so that both legs make a tabletop position.  Then inhale to prepare and exhale as you squeeze your legs together and lower your thighs to tap the toes on the foam roller.  Inhale as you return your legs to table top position and then exhale as you lower your legs again.  Repeat this exercise 8-10 times

Things to think about

It is imperative when doing this exercise to be sure that your spine remains neutral and that your pelvis doesn’t follow your legs.

It is also important to make sure that you release all of the air from your lungs as this will ground the ribcage to the mat so that the back doesn’t arch. 

Squeezing the inner thighs assists the body in finding the pelvic floor, but be sure that you are squeezing the inner thigh muscles together and not the knees.  This will ensure that you are not internally rotating the legs at the hips.

Day 112- Single Leg Toe Taps from Table Top

This exercise is intended to challenge the stability of the pelvis while flexing the hips and moving the legs in the sagittal plane.

To this exercise you will need a mat.  Start by lying on your back with your legs in a tabletop position.  Inhale to prepare and then exhale as you arc your thighbone towards the floor so that you can tap your toe and then return it to the tabletop position.  Inhale in tabletop position and then exhale as you lower the opposite leg to the ground.  Repeat this exercise alternating sides 8-10 times.

Things to think about:

It is important to be sure to use the breath to engage the core during this exercise.  Make sure each exhale is executed completely.  This will allow the spine to maintain its length as the thigh is moving in the socket. 

Remember the thigh is moving independently from the pelvis.  It is important to use the abdominals to ground the pelvis as the thigh is arcing away.  If the pelvis is allowed to follow the thigh then some strain in the lower spine can occur.

Day 111- Single Leg Toe Taps on Foam Roller

This exercise increases the abdominal strength necessary to keep the pelvis stabile while flexing the hip. The aid of the foam roller lessens the range of motion while strength is built.

To do this exercise you will need a mat and a foam roller. Start by lying on your back with your knees bent and your feet on the foam roller. The foam roller should be perpendicular to your body and the mat. Inhale to prepare and then exhale as you bring your legs to a tabletop position. In this tabletop position inhale to prepare and then exhale as you tap one toe on the foam roller then return the leg back to the tabletop position. Then inhale in tabletop position and then exhale as you tap the other leg on the foam roller. Repeat this exercise alternating sides 8-10 times

Things to think about:
This exercise requires abdominal support to keep the pelvis connected to the ground while moving the leg in the hip socket. On each exhale remember the pelvic floor and lower abdominals which will keep this movement out of your back. Exhale and imagine your spine lengthening as your reach the toe to the log.