Day 248- Quadruped: Single Appendage Hip Extension

This exercise allows the body to begin disassociating the movement of legs from that of the pelvis and low back

To do this exercise you will need a mat.  Start by standing on your hands and knees with a lengthened and supported spine.  Inhale into the back of the ribcage and then exhale as you lengthen one leg behind you.  Inhale as you place the knee on the floor and then exhale as you reach the opposite leg behind you.  Continue alternating legs for 6-8 reps.

Things to think about

As the body lifts the leg in back it is important to lengthen the front of the hips.  If there is gripping in the quadriceps and hip flexors, then the movement will begin in the low back.  Imagine reaching your leg as far away from you as you can.

As the body tires check in with your shoulders.  Be sure that you are not starting to lost the support of the myofascial system.

Day 74-Straight Leg Circles with Theraband

 

This exercise uses the theraband to assist with the leg circle, which in turn increases the hamstring stretch.

 

To do this exercise you will need a mat and a theraband.  Start by lying on your back with one leg long along the floor and one foot pointing to the ceiling.  Wrap the theraband around the foot that is in the air while holding each end of the theraband in your hands.  Begin circling the leg in the hip socket.  As you pull your leg towards you, feel the stretch in the back of your thigh and lower leg then as you lower your leg out and around engage your deep abdominals and pelvic floor to keep the pelvis from rolling with the leg.  Repeat the circle 5-10 times in each direction to really increase the length in the back of the leg

 

Things to think about

This exercise increases the length in the back of the hamstrings and is what is called a dynamic stretch.  Encouraging movement and length at the same time in any muscle will increase the length found and increase the chances of maintaining the length once the exercise is finished.

Day 62- Figure 8 Knee Stirs

This exercise is intended to increase the range of motion of the hip sockets.

 

To do this exercise you will need a mat.  Start by lying on your back with your knees hugging to your chest.  With one hand on each knee you will make a figure eight with the circular motion of your hip sockets. Breathe continuously as you circle one leg outward (out and then down) and one leg inward (down and then out) Continue this motion allowing the release in the muscles of the hip to increase the range of motion at the hip sockets. 

 

Things to think about:

This exercise is a great way to increase flexibility in the hip joint and at the inner thighs. However, as an asymmetrical exercise it is a little tricky for those of us with unstable sacroiliac joints.

Day 50-Bridge with Side Stepping

This exercise is intended to help facilitate spine mobility especially targeting vertebral joints that might be stuck or immobile

To do this exercise you will need a mat.  Start by lying on your back with your knees bent and your feet planted in the ground.  Then inhale as you rock your pelvis towards your tailbone and exhale as rock your pelvis towards your belly button and then begin lifting into the air one vertebra at a time.  At the top, inhale into the chest and then exhale as you lower the spine down just one segment.  Next inhale as you shift the pelvis towards one side and exhale roll down one more segment.  Inhale as you shift the pelvis towards the other side and exhale as you lower the spine down one segment.  Continue this pattern until your pelvis has returned back to the ground.  Then lift the pelvis segmentally through your spine again.  Notice the increased mobility of the spine. Repeat 3-5 times.

Things to think about

This exercise increases strength in the hamstring and as you are gaining this strength there may be some cramping in the hamstrings.  If this happens simply place the pelvis on the ground and reach the heel to the ceiling to stretch the hamstring.  You may also want to check in with the movement initiation.  If during your pelvic rock, you are skipping the step of engaging your pelvic floor and lower abdominals and jumping straight to the hamstrings then the hamstrings may cramp even more.

It is important as you are sidestepping to remember to keep the front of the hips long.  If the pubic bone drops towards the floor as you are side stepping then this will increase extension in the lumbar spine and reduce mobility in the spine.

Day 48- Pelvic Clocks on Slomo

This exercise is very similar to the previous post, but it adds the soft ball as a prop to increase the mobility in the lower spine.

To do this exercise you will need a mat and a soft ball.  Start by lying on your back with your knees bent and the bottom of your feet planted in the ground.  Lift your pelvis in the air so that you can fit the soft ball underneath it.  Then let your pelvis release into the ball.  Begin some small micro movements in the pelvis to feel the feedback from the ball.  Then begin rocking the pelvis between the belly button and the tailbone. Next practice rocking the pelvis from side to side, and finally allow a circular motion to happen as you rock your pelvis from your belly button to your hip to your tailbone to the other hip and finally back to the belly button.  Reverse directions and repeat several times. 

Things to think about

This variation of the pelvic clock will increase the mobility of the lumbar spine, but it is important to remember that while the movement may appear to be larger, the effort is similar to the previous exercise.

Remember you are rotating your pelvis around the heads of your femurs (thigh bones.) The pelvis is moving and the thigh bones are staying still.  To find this separation it is important to continue moving the pelvis with the myofascial connections of the pelvis and to find ease in the larger muscles of the legs.

Day 47- Pelvic Clocks

This exercise takes the subtle movements of the pelvis in different planes of motion.  It introduces rotation to the spine, and can add relief to imbalances in the piriformis.

 

To do this exercise you will need a mat.  Start by lying on your back with your knees bent and the bottom of your feet planted in the ground.  For the purposes of this exercise imagine that there is a clock on the front of your pelvis.  Your belly button is twelve o’clock and your pubic bone is six o’clock.  Each hip is three and nine o’clock respectively.  The first part of this exercise is the pelvic rock, inhale as you rock the pelvis towards the pubic bone (six o’clock) and exhale as you rock the pelvis towards the belly button (twelve o’clock) Next you will introduce slight rotation in the spine by rocking the pelvis from side to side (three and nine o’clock.)  Now we want to move the pelvis around the imaginary clock.  You will start this movement by exhaling and rocking the pelvis towards the belly button (twelve o’clock) then begin rolling the pelvis to the side, and then towards the tailbone, to the other side and back to the belly button.  Inhale as your pelvis finds rest in the middle and then begin again, this time moving the pelvis counter clockwise.

 

Things to think about

This exercise is unusual because it provides an environment in which the pelvis is the mobile entity moving around the heads of the femur (thigh bones) so as you are moving your pelvis be sure that your knees continue to point towards the ceiling.  Your thighbones are stabile as your pelvis moves around them.

 

This is also a small movement.  Be sure that the feet are light on the ground so that the muscles and fascial connections of the pelvic floor can move the pelvis rather than the muscles of the legs.

 

Sometimes people like to imagine that their pelvis is a bowl of soup and the movement of the pelvis sloshes the soup around the edges of the bowl.

Day 46-Pelvic Rocks on Slomo Ball

This exercise adds a prop to the pelvic rock of the previous post.  The soft ball allows the pelvis to be raised from the floor, which can add to the release in the muscles of the low back.

To do this exercise you will need a mat and a soft ball.  Start by lying on your back with the soft ball under the back of your pelvis.  Your knees are bent and your feet are flat on the ground.  As you inhale rock your pelvis towards your tailbone, and as you exhale engage your pelvic floor to rock your pelvis towards the belly button.  Allow the soft ball to move with the pelvis for increased spine mobility.

Things to think about

The soft ball aids in this variation on the pelvic rock so it may feel like a larger movement than the last post.  You still want to have your feet touch the floor lightly to avoid pushing, and it is also a great idea to revisit the image of the string lifting the tailbone away from the ground.

Day 45- Pelvic Rocks

This exercise is intended to introduce mobility to the lumbar spine. It also allows the body to find the relationship between engagement in the pelvic floor and release in the muscles of the low spine.

 

To do this exercise you will need a mat.  Start by lying on your back with your knees bent and your feet planted in the ground.  As you inhale rock your pelvis towards your tailbone, and then as you exhale engage the pelvic floor and gently rock your pelvis to your belly button.  Inhale as you rock your pelvis towards your tailbone and exhale as you rock your pelvis towards your belly button.  Keep repeating this movement with the breath and notice how your low spine releases.

 

Things to think about:

This is a small movement that is the initiation of many Pilates’ exercises and so learning to execute it correctly will be important to the progress of any Pilates practice. 

 

A common mistake is to “push” the pelvis towards the ground by pressing the feet into the ground and engaging the hamstrings and the gluteus maximus (glutes).  Initiating the pelvic rock in this way can interrupt the sequencing of the spine.  As you are doing this exercise imagine that your feet are light on the ground and the pelvis moves from the center not from the legs.

 

Imagery is a good way to create this movement.  As you are inhaling become very aware of the weight of your tailbone in the ground like an anchor, then as you exhale imagine that a string attached to the tailbone is gently lifting it out of the ground.  Inhale the tailbone is gently lowered onto the ground and exhale the string lifts it gently to the ceiling.