Is teaching Pilates . . . 

. . .  doing you harm? . . .

What we teach + cue, we simultaneously do. Cueing the “scoop” with my clients for the last 25 years had ME scooping all day long unknowingly, inadvertently. 

This really messed me up.

 If only I knew then that . . . 

. . . speaking is an exhalation activity ➼ we need to get a good, deep inhale to have enough breath to speak properly.

Unconsciously scooping all day when cueing clients to do it, cinched my waist and blocked my inhale from descending. This weakened my deep low abs (transversus abdominis, TrA) and prevented my pelvic floor (PF) from relaxing, lengthening + accepting the downward pressure from the diaphragm’s descent (intra-abdominal pressure). 

My pelvic floor tightened like a steel drum 🥁!!! No wonder I never felt it!

This also tightened my transversus abdominis ➼ tight muscles = weak muscles.

If we can’t feel expansion in our low back ribs + side ribs, and sternum on a deep, full inhale, chances are the breath is leaking out the belly. 

This makes it harder for pressure from the diaphragm to reach all the way down to the pelvic floor. 

Efficiency in contracting / strengthening the pelvic floor and TrA is predicated on the ability of these muscles to relax + lengthen with the in-breath.

Goal ➼ Direct the breath to the low back ribs, side ribs, sternum + PF by restricting belly breathing.

Set Up

• Stand against the wall
  
• Hips, legs + feet parallel, hip-width apart
  
• Bend the knees + walk the feet forward to press the lowest ribs/low back into the wall
  
• Press the back of the head into the wall
  
  • A pillow might be necessary behind the head
    
• Press heels down and forward
  
  • Limited ankle dorsiflexion requires a pad or similar under the heels
    
    • NB Pad should be more back, toward the wall, than in the above photo
      

Breath

• Inhale directing the breath into the lowest ribs/low back on the wall
  
  • Breathe into the side ribs and sternum, too
    
    • Breathe into the pelvic bones (see last week’s newsletter)
      
      • Do not breathe into the belly
        
• To exhale
  
  • Open the mouth + fog up a mirror
    
  • Join the coccyx to the pubis, the sit bones together and pull up in the middle, where they intersect
    
    • DO NOT SQUEEZE THE BUM!
      
• Repeat as above for the next + subsequent inhales making sure to get a deep, full breath

If you feel this in your quads, there’s not enough retroversion at the pelvis. The goal is not to retrovert the pelvis per se BUT to get the low back on the wall. The degree of retroversion needed to accomplish this task will be proportional to the degree of lumbar lordosis + thoracic kyphosis we have. We’re all different.

Joining the coccyx to the pubis, the sit bones together and pulling up in the middle contracts the TrA automatically. Tension is felt in the deep low abs. That’s how you know you’re contracting the pelvic floor!

By keeping some tension in the belly on the subsequent inhales, we help direct intra-abdominal pressure to the PF. This is the secret to a more pliable, responsive and strong pelvic floor. 

Reduced PF tightness via intra-abdominal pressure from the inhale, positively biases it to naturally contract on the exhale ➼ optimal communication between the thoracic + pelvic diaphragms ➼ better “stack” ➼ improved alignment ➼ stronger you!

Take this entire concept, set up + breath to a supine position on the Reformer for Corkscrew

Set Up

• Lie supine on the Reformer
  
  • Headrest down
    
• Hold onto the metal handles behind the shoulder blocks or similar
  
  • Elbows wide, open + pressed in the frame
    
• Gently press the back of the head into the headrest
  
• Soften the lowest ribs/low back in the carriage
  
• Knees to chest
  
  • Slowly + gently extend the knees slightly keeping contact of the lowest ribs/low back in the carriage
    

Breath

• Inhale directing the breath into the lowest ribs/low back on the Reformer
  
  • Breathe into the side ribs and sternum, too
    
    • Breathe into the pelvic bones (see last week’s newsletter)
      
      • Do not breathe into the belly
        
• To exhale
  
  • Open the mouth + fog up a mirror
    
  • DO NOT “PULL UP IN THE MIDDLE”!
    
    • We want to train the PF in “propaedeutic exercises” like Wall Breathing so we don’t have to think about it when doing Pilates

Pilates choreography

• Inhale as above as you rock on your sacrum bringing the legs to the left
  
  • Exhale as above to return to center
    
• Repeat opposite side
  
  • Perform 3x each side
    
• After 3 reps to the left, “swing” the legs forward, toward the footbar holding the breath
  
  • Hold the position
    
    • Is your head still down?
      
    • Do you still have contact with your lowest ribs/low back?
      
• Exhale to return the legs to the right and back to center
  
• Repeat in opposite direction
  
• Photo above in prep position focusing on set up
  
  • With time, keep the “stack” on the carriage (like you did on the wall) as you decrease the degree of hip flexion
    

Make sure you’re inhaling fully and deeply when cuing, teaching, talking and working out! We don’t want to sacrifice our health while improving the health of others!

By practicing the above Wall Breathing exercise, we help the PF stay supple, responsive and strong like a springy trampoline so it shows up for us automatically when we teach, do Pilates, talk and live.