Opposition, the bridge to lightness

So often, as we are working to better integrate our bodies, and become more effective and efficient, we get a bit fixed, or bogged down. We focus so much on engaging the core we forget about creating length. With out this component we loose the fluidity and lightness that we are working towards, not just in ourselves but in our horses as well. Remember our horses muscles will mimic our muscles, so if ours are fixed, or bogged down, then so are our horses.

To create this beautiful lightness we need to work with two forces, the grounding force and the lengthening force. We are then creating opposition which then creates lightness and fluidity. Opposition is one of the major forces in creating the Pilates connection. It plays a key roll in creating how we connect the core, and how we work towards symmetry; not only on the mat but in the saddle as well. When we correctly engage this concept within the Pilates connection we create a light, properly aligned, and connected body. We can then use this in all that we choose to do physically.

How does this work? Opposition in Pilates is easily created through grounding our powerhouse, and stretching as evenly and equally as we can through our limbs. As you reach you will notice your core draw up, or down in opposition to the limb you are activating the stretch with. In each exercise in Pilates there is a point of grounding (shoulders, pelvis, hip…) and a point of lengthening. As we grow in our connection we are then better able to refine, and challenge it by learning to lengthen more, and increase our ROM in relation to our stability. For example, in the roll up we create opposition in our legs as we lengthen them along the floor, and slowly articulate through our spine, up and over the stretch in our legs. Through this length we find and can feel opposition and, through opposition we then find lightness and fluidity in our movements.

This is true on the horse as well. As we become more balanced and more connected in our powerhouse, so follows a more balanced and independent seat and leg, that is better able to handle the challenges presented in our daily training. So how do you get this wonderful, balanced, adaptable seat?

You learn to create opposition!! Easily said, surprisingly, with practice, not that hard to do.

I want to take a few simple exercises that naturally relate, and give riders the tools they need to be effective and light. I have attached the related videos for you to practice with, and as a visual aid.

Rib Cage Arms:

This is the key to a correct half halt from your seat not just your leg and hand. This is easiest to learn lying down. You lie on your back, legs can be bent feet planted if you have a sensitive back, or legs can be straight on the floor and together. You want to have a neutral pelvis and feel the natural curves of you back on the floor. Have your arms long at your sides, and actively reaching toward your feet. Your shoulders are flat on the mat and stay flat and down away from your ears at all times. On an inhale you raise your arms to the ceiling, on the exhale you start to stretch your arms over your head. It’ s import to keep your shoulders down and flat, and to use your rib cage in opposition to the stretch in your arms. So as you exhale you draw your shoulder, arm pit, and ribs down towards the belly button. This will restrict how far overhead you reach. You want to feel your ribs slide down and in, filling up the space in the lower back, and keeping your powerhouse grounded to the floor. On your next inhale you lift your arms back up to the ceiling and then exhale and bring your hands back down to your sides. Here is a link to a video demonstrating Rib Cage Arms.

https://www.pilatesinmotionllc.com/videos/

Once you’ve mastered the feeling lying down, you can then try the exercise standing. I usually do this against a wall so you can be sure your are working the correct feeling and connection.

Seated Spine Twist

This exercise I have mentioned in previous posts, and is one of my favorite exercises to teach. It does a lot for the rider in terms of teaching proper engagement of the inner thighs, as well as correct rotational alignment in the core. This exercise helps riders understand how to better ride any bending line.

Start sitting tall, on the front of your sits bones, legs are together, straight out in front of you, (if you are stuck in your pelvis and can’t find the front of your sits bones, you can bend you knees slightly and ground your heels.) With your legs lengthen together in pilates stance, or parallel, toes pointed. Arms are out stretched to the sides, shoulders drawing in towards each other in opposition of the reach in the arms. If you have shoulder or neck issues you can do this with your arms bent at your sides as if you are holding reins. On the inhale you ground through your legs, draw that energy up you inner thighs, into your sits bones and turn to your right for a count of three. Keep in mind that the legs stay equal, one doesn’t get shorter than the other as you rotate. The weight stays equal on your sits bones, and you don’t sink or fall to the back or your sits bones. On the exhale you untwist, returning the the start position. On the next inhale you repeat the processes to the left. Below is a link that you can practice along with.

https://www.pilatesinmotionllc.com/videos/

Chest expansion

This exercise is great for learning how to use your shoulders, find length in the spine, and freedom in the neck. It also teaches you how to not lose your balance in you core as you move your head. You do this kneeling, if you want you can put a block or ball between your inner thighs. You place a thera band, or you can hold light weights (2-3lbs), or you don’t need to have anything. You kneel and ground through your knees, up your inner thighs and lift your your pelvic floor. If you have the Thera band it’s under your knees, and you have choked up on the band so you feel some resistance. If you have weights they are held lightly in your hands. If you have neither hands are at your sides, they are actively reaching down. From here you lengthen up and pay attention to your ribs. You will inhale and reach your long arms back behind you, bringing your shoulder blades together and down (imagine holding a pencil between your shoulders). Make sure you engage the “Rib Cage Arm” feeling and don’t let you ribs pop open like the prow of a ship. This engagement of the ribs will create opposition and make sure you stay in proper alignment. Exhale and turn your head to the right looking as far behind you as you can. Keep your arms behind you as your inhale and return to the center with your head. The next exhale you turn your head to the left. Inhale return to center and exhale return you arms to your sides. Here is the video to follow along with.

https://www.pilatesinmotionllc.com/videos/

Walking Backwards

This is great for learning how to lengthen the hip flexors and still keep the core engaged and the back happy. So many people have tight hips from sitting a lot, and collapsing into their pelvis. You will start by lying on your stomach, with your hands on top of each other and forehead resting on your hands. Your belly button is strongly lifted off the mat and your hip bones and pubic bone are grounded into the mat. Your legs can be hip width apart if you have a sensitive lower back or together if you do not. On an inhale you lengthen your right leg so much so, that it slides along the mat and then lifts. At the same time you are keeping the weight in your hips even and your pelvic floor and belly button strongly engaged in opposition to the stretch of your leg. Exhale and place that leg back on the floor keeping the length you’ve gained. Repeat on the the left leg. You can alternate this six times per leg. Here is a video to practice with.

https://www.pilatesinmotionllc.com/videos/

Side leg Series

This is great to help create a more flexible hip, as well as challenge your core stability, and create length and strength for the whole leg. I also find it’s a great way for riders to learn how to move from the hip, not just the knee. In the side leg series we use our powerhouse to create the stability and opposition we need. It’s important to remember to stay stacked and balanced on your hips, and ribs. There is no swaying in the body to counter balance the movement of the leg. You will lie on your side, you can have your elbow bent and support your head with your hand (if you need to rest your head on your shoulder that’s ok too). You will be one straight line from your ear through your feet, then you take your feet and move them forward to the front corner of the mat. If you need more support you can bend the bottom leg into a chair position to help create a more stable base. Your top hand is in front of your belly button, and helps you maintain your balance as well. From here lengthen your body from the crown of the head through the toes. Pull your belly button to your spine, and the area of your stomach that is between your ribs and hips, lifts off the mat slightly as if it’s going to be pricked by a pin. Lift your top leg up to hip height and flex the foot, lengthening through your heel. Exhale and bring the straight leg forward towards your nose, on the inhale reach the leg long, point the toes, and reach back to the long straight line you first started on. Your range of motion is determined by how stable you stay as you move your leg in the hip. If you are moving a lot make the movement as small as you need to create stability. To challenge the stability, first make the leg grow longer, then increase your range of motion. There are few more in the series, below is the link to the video.

https://www.pilatesinmotionllc.com/videos/

Once this concept is learned, it really transforms your practice on the mat and in the saddle. You will find not only, better engagement and more purpose in the Pilates exercise, but also in how you engage just with your body on a daily basis. It becomes fun to play with in and out of the saddle, and the exercises take on so much more meaning and direction. I hope this has helped answer some questions on how we create and manage the Pilates connection. If you have questions please feel free to reach out, I love questions, and look forward to feed back. Enjoy your practice and your horses!

Staying focused in the saddle and on the mat, during the holidays

So it’s that time of year, the holidays are in full swing. This time of year is often difficult, and stressful on so many people. Getting everything accomplished on the every growing to do list causes us to feel run off our feet. It’s no wonder that our practice on our horses, and on our mats suffer. So I thought this month’s blog post would be about ways to fit your mat practice in, to help you combat the stress, and helping you stay on track in the saddle. There is nothing better for stress than wine, oh sorry, I mean exercise. Well both really if I am being honest, but since this is about Pilates I’ll keep it there.

Did you know that to do the Fabulous Five, in a contiguous flow, takes less than two minutes!!! That’s right, less than two minutes. That’s six reps of each exercise, one flowing into the next. Speaking from years of experience, these five exercises can change around my entire day! To follow along with the flow all you have to do is go to the video page on my website, or visit my YouTube channel! How do these help you in the saddle? They will help you maintain the core connection, and control you need to have the connected, independent seat, we all strive for. When we get stressed we tend to rely more on our hands, in general and especially when we ride. We are so busy this time of year, and when we finally make it into the saddle it’s hard to shut off the get it done, check it off the list mentality. Due to this, we become very much rushed and put our balance into our hands to get the jobs done. This takes us out of our seat and creates unnecessary blockages in the energy for our horses. Less than two minutes and you can talk to that connection you need, so that when you finally get on your horse, it’s there ready to work for you and your horse.

Another go to for me is the seated series; these are Spine Stretch Forward, Twist, and Saw. These done in a flow take less than two minutes too!!! I love using the wall for Spine Stretch Forward, it really helps me be honest about my posture. It’s a great stretch, also it gets all that stale air out of your lungs! Let’s face it how many deep breathes are we all taking when we are stressed. These really reconnect the breathe, posture, and lengthen us back out of the fetal position. You can follow along with these, as well on the webpage of YouTube. How do they help you in the saddle? These allow you to truly ride the horse from back to front, without being tricked into closing your hip angle forward or side to side; therefore creating an escape door for the horse. Most importantly they help you control the whole body on the circle or in lateral work, allowing you to know when you loose perpendicular, and giving you the tools to correct it quickly. You are no longer at the mercy of centrifugal force, allowing you to show your horse where to be as well. Learning these gives you an amazing insight into your balance, and your horses, so you can always pick the balance point, instead of having it picked for you.

Extension work, is some of the most mood lifting work you can do. This literally takes you out of the beaten down, over stretched upper back feeling. It’ allows for you heart to open, it gives your tight hip flexors permission to lengthen, and it just plain feels good. Yes I have a fun, simple extension series on my webpage and YouTube channel that you can follow along with, and it’ll take five minutes. Or you can pick and choose which ones help you the most and use them throughout your day to lift you back up. How can these help you in the saddle? In so many ways, most notably is your posture, if you carry your head in a forward, or downward position, that disappears. If you are tight in your hips and have a hard time sitting, this trains your hip flexors not only how to be long but to be strong within the length. You learn how to engage and work your hamstrings as well. This is huge for allowing proper use of the leg, and creating a steady, still leg. One that is effective when it needs to be and stable when not in immediate use. These are just a few of the benefits, there are so many that I could really get going here. I will say this one last thing, back bending helps your adrenal glands, which at this time of year are in overdrive. So show them some love and bend back a bit each day.

Finally, there are all the fun rolling exercises. These are great messages for you spine, and really work on core control, and balance. There are videos on the webpage and YouTube channel, walking you through these as well. They are a nice way to roll the tension out of your spine, and maybe laugh a bit too.

All of this can be done in pieces as you need it. Two minutes here, two there. It’s a great way to kickstart a busy day, or release at the end of one. Pick and choose what feels good to your body, when your body is happy, you and your horse will be too. Most importantly remember to take two minutes for yourself. You’ll feel better, and be able to enjoy the beauty of the season.

The pelvic floor, the foundation of our powerhouse

The pelvic floor is our foundation, it's what connects us to the horses back more than anything else.  Most people I work with are completely disconnected from this area.  It's often taken for granted but it should be carefully considered and engaged in all that we do.

In Pilates the pelvic floor is the foundation to our "connection", the ability to control not only the muscles but the placement of the pelvis is crucial in all of our exercises.  This connection to the pelvic floor translates into all that we do, and most specifically how we carry ourselves, in the saddle and out.  When I work with new Pilates students, the first thing I look at is the pelvis and the feet.  My first question to their trainers is always how do the sit? Often people "dump" into their pelvis, what I mean by "dumping" is that it's unconsciously done, but they have a tendency to let all of their energy sag and collapse in the pelvis.  This creates a pelvis which tilts posteriorly, the person then sits more to the back of their sits bones or almost on their tailbone.  From her it makes it almost impossible for them to drop their leg down and open their hips, preventing them from achieving a deeper more connected seat. 

What it does to the rest of the picture as we travel up the spine is also not helpful.  Most often the riders are collapsed in their middle with the shoulders rounding and the head tilting forward.  This also then prevents the rider from properly supporting themselves from the inside, and they rely more heavily on their hands for balance than their seat.

So how do I address this, you ask?  To be clear it's not a quick fix, this takes practice and resets up and down the kinetic chain.  Here's how I start.  I teach the rider what a neutral pelvic alignment is in all plains of motion. Just teaching it in the saddle, is a start, but I find isn't as effective as teaching them square and neutral sitting, lying prone and supine, and lying on their sides.  I start in a supine position on a mat with pelvic rocking, teaching the feeling of the pelvis in a tucked, extended, and neutral position.  This is also nice to help them learn to loosen up and not lock the hips,  from here we do various exercises to challenge their ability to maintain neutral and strengthen their pelvic floor. I then move them into a seated position.  Here we work on active sitting which engages and lifts the pelvic floor, and we challenge that engagement while we move the pelvis and the upper body.  This helps them to understand how not to "dump" into their pelvis.  I then take that to standing, and practice active standing, walking and wall roll downs.  All with the pelvic floor lifted and engaged.  Once the person is able to feel this and maintain good engagement we play with them on their horse and I have their trainer challenge them to see how well they can actively keep the engagement or if they quickly slip back into bad habits.  From here I can then come up with a good bit of homework that the rider and trainer can do to continually build awareness, strength and engagement in the pelvic floor.

There is so much more to be addressed when it comes to the pelvic floor.  I have given an overview of what I do and how I address the pelvis; but this is a very important area that is very individual to each person.  A lot more is involved in developing a better connection to the pelvic floor, and understanding how amazing this connection can be to opening your seat and developing better balance and control in the saddle.  So I plan on writing more blogs on this subject and welcome any questions you may have. I would like to leave you with one finally image on how powerful this connection can be, positive engagement of the pelvic floor has a positive effect up and down the body, and creates a beautiful picture in and out of the saddle. So keep trying to develop awareness and strength in this area it can only benefit you.

 

 

The Principals of Pilates

Pilates Core Principals 

 

These eight core principles are what you need to keep in mind while practicing your exercises.  Think of them as a check list.  Inevitably some will come up more than others in your mind that’s why I give out this list. It is vital to build from 1-8 to help your fully understand and integrate the method for your mind and body.

1) Concentration “Concentrate of the correct movements each time you exercise, lest you do them improperly and thus lose all the vital benefits of their value.”  J. Pilates

This seems simple but is often difficult.  To concentrate on the entire body while it performs a complex set of movements is challenging and takes time.  Keep in mind that to focus the muscles as they move is not an easy task. Often the body doesn’t follow what the mind wants, but after concerted practice the simple movements become more focused and what once was just a simple movement turns into something complex.

 

2) Centering 

The abdominal area is often described as the second spine.  It is your powerhouse of your anatomy.  Your center is a pivotal point of the body.  All strength movements emanate from this area.  Abdominal control is different from abdominal strength this is important! The former does not rely on the latter. In my opinion it is preferable to have control.

 

3) Breathing “To breathe correctly you must completely exhale and inhale, always trying very hard to “squeeze” every atom of pure air from your lungs in much the same manner that you would wring every drop of water from a wet cloth.” J. Pilates

Correct breathing should be performed with the following in mind:

-   Keep the neck and shoulder relaxed; hunching causes neck tension

-   Allow the breath to flow: don’t hold your breath at any point

-   Breath in through the nose (into the chest) for a five second count, without allowing the shoulders to lift at all ( it helps to do this in front of a mirror)

-  Without stopping breath out of the mouth with a sigh for a five second count (it is important to not purse the lips into any shape this can create tension in the jaw and you wont get all the air out)

- If you find it difficult to breathe into the chest, breathe into your back or shoulder blades as if you where filling up sails on a boat.  There is a whole section of space in the back of our chest cavity for extra breath intake!

 

4) Control “Ideally, our muscles should obey our will. Reasonably, our will should not be dominated by the reflex actions of our muscles.” J. Pilates

Once you master the previous three concepts control is more easily accessible.  In essence control gives you the ability to practice without injury, or putting yourself at risk for injury

 

5) Precision “Correctly executed and mastered to the point of subconscious reaction, these exercises will reflect grace and balance in your routine activities.” J. Pilates

Precision of movement leads to more overall grace throughout the body.  Precision requires controlled action, without which the movement becomes sloppy and aesthetically unappealing.  The space with which you move and preform various activities also determines, and is determined by precision.

 

6) Flowing Movement “Contrology is designed to give you suppleness, natural grace and skill that will be unmistakably reflected in all you do.” J. Pilates

Fluidity of movement while exercising leads to fluidity of movement when not exercising.  That’s a wonderful benefit! Conscious control of all muscular movement through all ranges of motion will help eliminate stiff, jerky movements.

 

7) Isolation “Each muscle may cooperatively and loyally aid in the uniform development of all our muscles.” J. Pilates

As you gain more control over the weaker muscles and you are more able to integrate them into your movements the greater isolation you’ll be able to achieve.

 

8) Routine “Patience and persistence are vital qualities in the ultimate successful accomplishment of any worthwhile endeavor.” J. Pilates

Ok this is so important and really does develop as you build on the pervious principals.  Simply put an established Pilates routine will improve mental and physical conditioning in all individuals.  The more you do, the better the results.  So use your videos, they are designed to assist you in achieving your personal goals.

Good luck and I am always here to answer any questions you may have.

Inner thighs our doorway to a strong balanced seat

Our inner thighs are immensely important in our seat and how effective we are as riders.  It is extremely important to have to proper leg position no matter what discipline you practice.  Without this correct positioning we are unable to give the specific aids we need and to effectively communicate to our horses.  This can take a while to attain in of itself, every horse is a little different and reacts a little differently to our aids. I see a lot of times with my rider clients that although they have developed "strong" inner thigh muscles they often don't know how to effectively use them.  Most times most riders are griping with them instead of using them and releasing them. They are unaware of how they are effecting their core connection and from there their stability in their seat.

The inner thigh group is a massive amount of muscles and ligaments that when weak and imbalanced through off our pelvic stability, and from there our spinal alignment.  Conversely when they are to tight and short they do the same thing.  So what do we do about this? 

Specifically for riders it is often more about lengthening and teaching the muscles to be as effective in their length as they are when they are contracted.  Most horses tend to lean on one leg more than another.  So over time as riders when get one leg that gets a little more work than the other.  The more horses you ride the more balanced you become because you experience among many things involves more diversity between both sides of the body.  We also have a dominate leg just like we have a dominate hand.  So this leg tends to be a bit stronger, with the effect that the muscles tend to be slightly tighter.

So this is a lot of background on what's going on.  What do we do about it?  I suggest a number of things to my clients based on the individual, but to start I am going to go over foam rolling of this region. 

Foam rolling on the cylinder.  HAAA everyone hates this because it hurts.  Ok yes it does a bit but the rewards so outweigh the short bit of pain.  This is a great way to get in touch with this region and how the blockages are effecting other parts of your body. Remember spend no more than 5 seconds on a blocked point, so one inhale and exhale. Pay close attention to these pain points and notice if the refer to another place in your body.  Also try to use different foot positions on the quads. Try Pilates stance, try pigeon toe as well this changes the angles and allows neglected areas to get some much needed attention.  

Here are some of the benefits:

Helps keep your knees healthy

Helps with imbalances in the pelvis.

Releases tension held in from stress

Instead of writing this all out I created a video here's the link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gCUulvWMlTQ

(From here I do the other side then the side of the other thigh, fun point often times the first side is much more uncomfortable.  The releases you get on the first side can sympathetically release the other so by the time you do the other side, it's not as intense and experience) 

Next week I will be continuing with the inner thigh and the exercises I do to help strengthen these muscles. If you have any questions please feel free to reach out. 

 

 

The Importance of developing your extensions for a more independent and flexible seat

Ok so my last blog was about posture and it's importance in and out of the saddle.  So this week I would like to focus on the importance of have a good extension/back-bending practice as part of your daily routine.  It is an essential part of a strong core and and independent seat. Not to mention it has numerous benefits for the body.

It counteracts rounded shoulders (specifically good for kyphosis)

Increases mobility of the spine

Improves your posture

Boosts your mood and relieves stress

It wakes you up

Opens the heart and the mind

It helps recharge your adrenal glands

Those are all great benefits right? So how does it benefit the seat and the rider?  Just as they help open the heart and mind they help open the hip flexors.  With longer hip flexors you are more able to drop you leg and wrap, this helps to develop a pelvis that is a more effective shock absorber.  Also when you learn to lengthen through your hip flexors a lot of lower back issues start to dissipate. On top of that good extension work really teaches you how to unite your abdominal wall with your back muscles.  Creating a torso that truly works as a unit. What does this do you for your seat?  It helps you develop a stronger, deeper, more independent seat.  It allows your body to truly channel the horses energy through you and back to the horse.  For you it allows you to rely more on your whole core to balance and receive the energy, while letting you free up your arms so you're not riding or balancing yourself off your hand.  

So what's limiting your extension practice?  Well for most people it's usually a couple of factors.  The major one I hear as soon as I mention extension work is, "I have a bad back, or I injured my back."  So people are already mentally turned off to the practice and maybe they've developed some fear as well.  It's natural when you have an injury or perceive the possibility of injuring or aggravating and an injury of the back.  Well the good news is in Pilates we develop extension work slowly and appropriately for each body.  Not everyone is going to be able to do a full wheel, but most people can retract their scapula and stretch their chest muscles.  The other little talked about part of extension work is the pelvis and hip flexors.  This is an important area to understand and focus on as you start any extension exercise.  A lot of the work I do introducing extensions to the body starts in a prone position.  Learning to hold your connection the same way you do supine and learning how to lengthen before you engage your back muscles is all part of how to safely start extension work.  Often I find these simple exercises on the mat make a huge difference in my clients lives.

So here's how I start extensions for most people.

Prone Baby Cobra: Lying on your stomach, place one hand on top and the other and the rest your forehead on your hands.  From there stretch your legs as long as you can, feeling your hips connect to the mat under you (feet are hip width apart for most but if you have a healthy lower back and SI joint they can be together).  Then really pull your belly button to you spine (you will have space between your stomach and mat, however your pelvis is very grounded in the mat) from there you will take and inhale and slowly retract your scapula together and down your back, lifting your head and hands off the ground a little bit.  On and exhale return to the start position making sure you stay connected in your core the whole time, belly button away from that mat. I do about 6 of these.

Single Leg Extensions or Walking Backwards: This is the same position and connection as above.  In this exercise we are lengthening our legs so much that they lift off the ground.  You lengthen and lift on an inhale and place the leg back down on an exhale.  As you do this the key is to lengthen the legs put keep the weight in you hips and pubic bone equal and steady.  If you lift your leg to high the weight in your hips shift and you need to keep the lift smaller.  I usually do 6 to ten of these.  

A Full Upper and Lower Body Lift Together (Modified Superman):  So this basically combines the first two exercises.  This may not be for everyone so if you found the first two helpful it's ok to stay with them for a while till you feel more confident and stronger in this practice.  Ok if you are ready for this and most people are.  All the same principles from above apply.  Keep you head attached to your hands the whole time.  Prepare on the mat, engage the core and lengthen the body on the mat.  Start your lift on and inhale, retract your shoulder blades and lengthen both legs so that both the upper and lower body float off the mat at the same time.  (Quick note, most people are more comfortable with the legs at hip distance, but if you have a healthy lower back you can do it with your legs together)  On your exhale slowly return to your start position strongly pulling your belly button in, and away from the mat.

I will be posting videos of these exercises soon. They will be available on the Facebook page this week.  I will also have a few bonus exercises for you there as well.  If you have questions or want any clarification please feel free to reach out, or schedule a session.  I am hear to help everyone and look forward to peoples feedback. Good luck and be mindful in your extension practice.

The importance of Posture in and out of the saddle

Ok so we've all heard our parents, relatives, even teachers tell us since we were children to not slouch.  Then we start riding lessons and we hear it all over again.  Somehow in the saddle we take it more to heart and really do work on our posture.  We try so hard to sit straight, bring our elbows in, and lower which ever shoulder is offensively up.  As we know the list can go on, my favorite for a while was that my head tilted to the right.  No matter how much I was determined for it to stay on straight, it would tilt.  Drove me batty but once I was off my horse I never thought of it for long. So why aren't we paying more attention to it out of the saddle? 

The truth is that slouching is a habit caused by many factors, and we become comfortable with our habits. We defend them because leaving our comfort zone is uncomfortable. Well I am going to reveal a secret that I share with all my students.  Everyone who annoyingly corrected your posture was right.  Quite simply it's the easiest way for you to work continuously on building a strong core and connection to your body.  So learn your body's definition of straight and work toward that as much as you can throughout your day.  

Here's another point on posture, it has an effect on how we are perceived by the people we meet.  It's subtle and most of us don't realize we are making these assumptions but they happen.  Think about, it the first time you meet someone you usually see them before you speak with them.  In those few minutes your posture tells a story about you without you being aware of it.  Whether it's a potential boss or a potential trainer they are making inferences about you based on your posture. I am not saying that is good or bad it really just is what it is, as they say.  I will tell you that how you carry yourself in your daily life effects how you carry yourself in the saddle. This will always reflect on some level how your horse is relating to you as well.  Are they able to influence your posture and maybe avoid really working through? Or are you so stable and connected in your posture and seat that you are truly able to influence theirs?

Now we all slouch from time to time but here's the thing, you need to first determine if your slouch is because of lazy posture or because of actual pain or weakness/spinal issue in your body.  It's best done with a person well trained in posture analysis, but given that we don't always have access to these professionals, a good friend with a good eye to give you feedback, or in front of a mirror are options that will help you monitor your posture. I personally like to take video or a picture and then review it to see where I am at.  Now this is my opinion (but a lot of other people will agree with me on this) Pilates instructors are obsessed with posture.  We are trained to read your spine and your muscular imbalances, always with the eye to achieve the most balanced posture for our clients. With this in mind we work every session to help the posture imbalance we are dealing with that day along with the ones that are consistent.  There are many exercises in our method that are designed to help with posture, in fact all of them are, but which ones are right for you? 

I feel that the seated spine exercises are wonderful for an every day posture picker upper.  

These are:

Seated Spine stretch forward: I like to teach this to people using a wall.  I have my clients line their mats up against the wall and then sit, straight backed against the wall, feet no wider than the edges/corners of your mat, feet strongly flexed, and arms actively reaching straight out infant of you from your shoulders, palms facing each other.  (If you can't sit with legs straight you can sit up on a block, I feel blankets are to soft for this exercise, you need to feel your sits bones. If you don't have block you can bend you knees slightly keeping your heels on the ground to help with grounding.)  From here connect your spine to the wall, take a few breaths to do this.  Every time you inhale imagine your spine growing up the wall.  When you exhale try to keep you length and really ground into you sits bones.  From here on and inhale you start: grow tall ground through your sits bones and hamstrings, reach your heels to the opposite wall, toes pulling back towards you.  On your exhale, tuck chin to chest, chest to ribs, just your upper back should be off the wall and your lower back will be against the wall, as if your belly button is trying to make a mark on the wall. Take and inhale in this forward position. Then exhale and reverse slowly stacking your spine back onto the wall, with your head coming up last.

Seated Spine Twist: Sitting away form the wall, in the center of your mat, legs together toes pointed or flexed (I have found that for some people they are better able to ground flexed, traditionally you are in pilates stance/ballet first position for this exercise) Sitting with your straight back raise your arms out to the side.  Arms are long fingers are closed not open, and shoulder blades are down and flat on your back. It is very important that you only turn your torso not your hips.  (if you hips turn your heels will slide past each other this is not correct and you need to reset and then do less of a turn with your torso. It's quality of your form not your range of motion remember that.) From here it's a three count inhale turn for one, turn more two, turn all the way for three. Then exhale and untwist returning to your starting position. Repeat to the other side.  In this exercise it's helpful to visualize yourself growing taller as you wring out your spine.  As you untwist you should aim to keep the length.  I do three turns to each side.

Saw: So this exercise combines the Spine Stretch Forward and Spine Twist.  Return to the seated Spine stretch position with the only change that your arms remain in the Twist position.  Make sure you feel both sits bones and that you are as long as you can be through your spine, and hamstrings.  From here growing tall on your inhale twist to your left, on your exhale fold chin to chest, chest to ribs, ribs to thighs. Your pinkie finger is going to be sawing you pinkie toe.  Exhale reverse the forward bend and then untwist. Repeat to the other side.  I do three per side but feel free to do more. Again points to remember here: weight must stay the same in both sits bones throughout the exercise, especially in the forward fold over the leg.  This means you might not fold over that much and your pinkies may never meet.  That's not a big deal what is a big deal is that you stay equally grounded through both sits bones and that you go into and out of the exercise the same way.  

PS these seated exercises aren't only wonderful for your posture, the are great for you lungs and lymphatic system.  Not to mention that your core is working very hard to hold your posture and your hamstrings are getting work and a stretch. 

Please enjoy and if you have any questions please reach out I am always available:)

 

Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5gz0oxkkws...

Pilates in and out of the saddle

I first heard about Pilates from my mother when I was 17.  She actually bought a book and I thought ok whatever, like all 17 year olds whose mothers tell them you should do this. At the time I was aggressively pursuing my riding.  I am a dressage rider and was working as hard as I could to become the best I could be.  I wanted so badly at the time to develop the beautiful independent seat. To really sit the trot, to have really long still effective legs. I started out in my riding career at four years old as a jumper so I was learning to stretch out my seat so to speak. 

At this time I finally had my own horse. He was a beautiful big dutch warmblood.  I was so excited because this was my chance! He could teach me and I could grow and succeed.  Well about six months into owning him he started coming up lame.  That was the beginning of the end of our journey together.  Turned out that he had been nerved years before I bought him.  It was cleverly done and well concealed but now he was in pain.  I had to retire him it was the best thing for him.  Instead of being defeated I found a new trainer and barn.  I started taking lessons on school horses again and worked with my new trainer who really helped me develop the seat I so wanted.  Lots of lunge lessons with weird coordination exercises.  During this time I was fortunate enough to get another horse, Tyler.  My young riders horse, and to be the working student for my trainer.  She was the first person who influence me toward fitness out of the saddle.  I started swimming laps which really helped with my strength and stamina.  I was still struggling with the core strength but was improving with every ride.  I also started getting to warm up some of my trainers other horses.  All riders know to become better you have to ride, and ride, and ride.  The more horses the better you become. 

I did exceptionally well that first year, placing nationally, winning the juniors at Devon.  Things improved rapidly from there.  A few years later I was the proud owner of a very talented six year old Argentinean Warmblood, Provinciano. It was my last year of Young Riders and I was a bit burnt out and this six year old reminded me how much I loved riding, how fun showing really was.  During the second year with my lovely horse my support system started to fall apart.  My parents were divorcing.  I rode and went to school, I worked in the family business. There was constant stress and anxiety. So to get a release from the stress I was living under, I joined a new gym that had just opened by my house.

It was at this gym that I took my first Pilates mat class and yes my mother was with me too.  I found freedom on the mat and a chance to connect to my body. A way to work around and strengthen a bad shoulder.  I also noticed that it made a lot of sense to my body.  Like riding but without the horse.  My body started to crave Pilates and even though things were going from bad to worse with my parents divorce; my riding and seat where getting even better.  Imbalances that my horse and I had for years were suddenly apparent. Better yet and I was able to feel my mistakes, and to correct our imbalances.  At this time I had to retire my young riders horse Tyler.  This was also very traumatic for me, but I was able to put him in a good place and still move forward with Provinciano.  We were winning all our classes and getting ready to move up the FEI ring.  

Now I was taking Pilates about six days a week and if I couldn't make a class I knew the mat routine and would practice by myself in my room.  A few friends I took class with regularly decided we should get certified to teach mat classes.  The gym gave us a upcoming certification program.  It was weekend type, where you get a book and teach yourself the core principals before attending the conference. At the conference they go through the core principals as well as the fundamentals of the exercises and then you go through a testing at the end.  

Well I passed and the gym hired me as sub.  Other teachers were supportive and helped me get teaching jobs at other gyms.  During this time I was still going to college, riding every day, working in the family business, and then at night teaching.  Looking back being scheduled and filling up my days helped me deal and gave me a sense of control.

I was happy with my teaching but I wanted to learn more. I really liked being able to help people and get them from states of pain to states of freedom.  So the head of the Pilates and Wellness program at my gym gave me information on getting a full studio certification. To clarify a full studio certification in Pilates involves learning all the exercises on all the different apparatuses.  It's a year to over a year program that's pretty involved.  You get a through knowledge of the human body including anatomy, and biomechanics.  There are thousands of hours of work, but it was just what I was looking for.  I started in the fall and it was just myself and one other pupil, who later transferred to another program at the studio she planned to work at.  So I got one on one training which was fun, and intense.  At this time things were really deteriorating in my home and work life.  I had to leave the family business for my own personal reasons.  It was to hard to be involved in home life and work life with two people who were for all intents and purposes at war.  Due to this war I wanted to make a new life forward for myself and to figure out a way at this time to keep my horse.  Pilates gave me a way.  I started teaching a lot I worked for a studio that I was able to help build I loved it there, I made wonderful friendships.  I was able to keep Provinciano and the barn I moved to was a nice place.  Other riders liked the way I rode and asked for advice.  I was able to help not only in the saddle but out of it as well.  It was then that I started Pilates in Motion LLC.  I am still in touch with riders I've helped that have moved away but still contact me for help or visit for lessons.  

Every ride I can call on my knowledge from Pilates to help me interpret what my horse is telling me.  It allows me to absorb this information and help direct it to where I want it to go.  It helps me fine my balance and my horses, it helps me give the correct and sit still to let it take effect.  Pilates is with me all the time I am so grateful to have this gift in my life and even more happy to share it with others. Pilates carries me through my days in and out of the saddle.