Body Basics

Hamstring Stretch

Hello to everyone.

I trust you are well and looking forward to the festive season as Autumn or Fall( depending on where you come from) descends upon us.

And just as the leaves fall due to gravity lets look at what that force does to the spine.

Everyday, as you move around or sit the spine is subjected to gravity- that force , without which your body would not stay on earth.

Over time and without measures to counteract and also giving in to gravity we get compression, less length,exaggerated curvature and even damage to the spine.The saying that as you get older you get shorter is not all an old wives tale.

But have you ever seen the middle eastern and African women who carry vessels on their head and shoulders. Have you ever noticed what long straight backs and graceful movement they have. They have a secret, and Joe Pilates made that secret common knowledge after he had worked out what it was. You can undo the effects of gravity just as those women appear to do.

It's a three way attack. Top of the list is strengthening the core to give you the easy uplift against gravity.

Next is keeping the spine regularly decompressed with certain Pilates exercises and then working on the muscles , keeping them strong but not tight and in balanced use.

Much of Pilates is done lying on the floor and there is a reason for that.It removes the gravity factor and allows the spine to relax without its usual force of gravity so you can concentrate on lengthening and stretching while allowing the back to be in its natural position.

Here is an exercise you can do:

Lay on the floor and place the pelvis in a neutral position. Find neutral by imagining you 2 wagon wheels on either side of your hips.Imagine they turn forward and tilt the bottom of the pelvis toward the floor, then imagine they turn backwards to tip the pelvis up towards the belly button.

Keep turning these wheels back and forth as far as you can go without arching your back.

Now get smaller and smaller with the tilts till you find an even spot for the pelvis between the two ends of the movement.That should be neutral pelvis and you can check it by placing the heel of your hands on the bony headlights on the front of your pelvis and the fingers down to the pubic bone.

If you have neutral pelvis the back of your hand will be flat not tilted.

From here you are going to lift your pelvis up in the air from a neutral position to a neutral position as high as your breastbone. Inhale through your nose as you do this. Then exhale and bring the spine down one vertebra at a time, starting from the top.Have a feeling of lengthening each vertebra into the floor as you come down.Don't let the bottom come down before the top.

Get the lower back into the floor and then allow the pelvis to go back to neutral.There is always a little space between the floor and your lower back in neutral pelvis, about the size of a pea.(You see the trouble with the princess and the pea is she did not have her neutral pelvis)

Good now do this again. This time as you bring that back down, if you feel a tight area, stop, take an inhale, send the breath into the tight muscles imagining them swelling with the breath, then exhale and ask the muscles to melt( like an ice-cream blob) as you get that area of the spine down into the floor. Do this with every tight area in your back.You can do it twice in one area. Feel how that lengthens your spine.

Now do it again. Inhale lift up, exhale but stay up, inhale raise your arms over your head.

Now exhale and with the arms still over the head bring the spine down again piece by piece, breathing into the tight areas as before, lenthening and feeling the tail bone growing long.

Good well done. You have done something to lengthen and decompress the spine.

Successes from my clients:

News:

Classes and privates in Canoga Park/ Woodland Hills Los Angeles. I now can offer small classes and privates and semi- privates at Comprehensive Therapeutics in Canoga Park. This includes some equipment work. This is a physical therapy studio that has room for Pilates and also offers excellent physical therapy . So you will be able to get your strength, tone and flexibilty with Pilates and handle all those deeper issues with a professional team.

Contact me for more information and to enroll.

Mat classes in Tujunga Los Angeles

Come on people , these classes need to fill up. I am offering you the benefits of a better working body, better shape, better posture and better overall health. To keep you going in life, that is survival. A body needs exercise and air in its lungs.A body responds to being challenged and pushed to its endurance. (not that I do that) You need to get going. There will be free introductory classes to basic Pilates in October.This is not a workout class but an introduction to basics you need to workout. Sat Oct 28th at 10am Wed lst Nov at 8pm

Where at Paskova Studios in Tujunga. Contact me for more details.

Don't forget. I also offer privates, semi-privates and classes in your home.

Also I have equipment private workouts available in Silver Lake , Los Angeles

I like to hear your feedback. Talk to you next month. Yours Louise