I have recently attended a weekend Yoga workshop with Annie Carpenter in Seattle at Mother Yoga in the international district. The workshop attracted many local teachers and I am always so inspired when teachers continue to show up and keep learning. I am grateful that Annie Carpenter continues to do the work herself and shares the knowledge she’s attained over her many years of teaching. She is constantly learning and growing in her own practice. She has had to overcome her unique challenges in her own body and generously shares her experience which encourages her students to grow in themselves and give that back to their students.
Annie teaches her students how to find neutral pelvis, using the 3 planes of movement (Sagittal, coronal, transverse). It is a simple and effective way to learn and establish neutral pelvis, which is, in my opinion, so important to practice for whole body health and function. Of course once you establish this awareness of neutral pelvis and what it is and is not – it takes attention and practice to sustain it as one unravels possibly unconscious poor habits and holding patterns.
This is the practice! Paying attention to our posture to enhance our inner connections, circulation, and function in our day-to-day activities. Our bones and structures directly affect our muscles, fascia and inner organs inside to function and work properly!
I believe pelvic placement and awareness is everything as it is the center of our body and affects our whole system. Our pelvis not only connects to our upper body through our spine, but it also connects to our lower body through our femur bones. The pelvis also has 2 sides – a right pelvic half and a left pelvic half and that is significant!!
I made a short video/practice on my YouTube channel if you are interested understanding neutral pelvis where I use the 3 planes of movement. I have also started incorporating this in my Thursday mat classes:)
If you are reading this, you may already know that it is Annie’s focus on the pelvis that drew me to her and her teachings. Annie emphasizes how our femur bones drive pelvic placement, so when we work through the 3 planes of movement to balance and neutralize our pelvis, it is essential that our feet and our legs are integrating into our hip sockets though out our movements too .
As you can imagine, if we are not paying attention, the pelvis, could take many shapes and forms! It could be a combination of either tucked, arched, hiked up on one side and/or rotated too much in one direction. If you are suffering pain or discomfort in your lower back and/or hips, a misaligned, unbalanced pelvis could be to blame.
To clarify, the pelvis is going to move when we move as it is part of the spine and the legs, so its normal for the pelvis to move in and out of a neutral posture. For example, every time we walk we move in and out of tuck/tilt, hike up and down, and we rotate side to side. However, problems arise when the pelvis gets stuck in an unbalanced position and cannot unstick.
When the pelvis is imbalanced, it can directly affect the health and well-being of our pelvic floor. The following are some interesting facts on our pelvic floor to better understand why our physical alignment is so crucial.
1 – the pelvic floor is the base and the foundation of our core.
Its a group of muscles that sit at the very bottom of our pelvis, like a sling or hammock. It supports everything above it – bladder, bowel, hips and spine.
2 – the pelvic floor has openings.
For example – Women – 3
urethra
Vagina
Rectum
These muscles need to open and close at the right times to keep everything moving and working smoothly.
3 – the pelvic floor muscles should lift and lower with our breathing which is why taking deep breaths is soooo very important.
It’s a dynamic! Think of an elevator. When you breath in the elevator goes down and when you breath out the elevator goes up! A healthy pelvic floor should be able to move easility depending what your body is doing! BREATHE
4 – your pelvic floor is 70% fascia and 30% muscle.
Fascia is a stretchy connective tissue that connects our whole body like a web. It relies on the muscles to give it support, as it cannot contact on its own! When the muscles are not doing its job and the pelvis is out of alignment for whatever reason, the fascia can over stretch and as consequence can be weakened. When the fascia is overstretched it can make matters worse as the pelvic floor muscles try to work harder..it can be a vicious cycle. When this cycle continues, the pelvic floor becomes hypertonic and unable to relax as it is working overtime to compensate for the stretched out fascia. This tightness overtime leads to weakness as our pelvic floor never gets a chance to relax! This can lead to damage and several pelvic floor issues – muscle spasms, leaking, straining, inability to empty, prolapse.
I first hand understand this dynamic as I have experienced many of these consequences. Although I did not welcome any of them, they have made me a better teacher and someone that understands the importance of body alignment, especially the value in neutral pelvis!
At the biological level, aging results from the impact of accumulation of wide variety of molecular and cellular damage over time. This leads to gradual decrease in physical and mental capacity….the diversity seen in older age is not random…. “ – World Health Organization
This past weekend, I took a course named, – “FUNtional Movement and SmartFLOW yoga” with my teacher Annie Carpenter and another SmartFLOW teacher and doctor of physical therapy; Brenna Barzennick, PT, DPT. The workshop explored the 7 functional movement patterns:
squat
hinge
push
pull
lunge
twist
gait
These functional movements are a part of our daily life and done well, these movements can support healthy aging. We explored how walking involves all of the 7 functional movements! Can you feel all the above actions when you are walking? Interesting fact – We learned how walking speed can predict the probability of functional decline in older adults. Keep walking with good attention to posture:)
During this training, we learned that the hub for human movement, as well as all the above functional movements is called the lumbar-pelvic Hip complex (LPHC). The “LPHC” consists of the lumbar spine, sacrum, pelvis, femurs(thigh bones), and includesof 35 muscles! Some of the larger muscles in the “LPHC” include the gluteal muscles, erector spinae group, hip flexors and extensors, hip adductors and abductors, spinal rotators, abdominal muscles, quadriceps, hamstrings, calf muscles, and latissimus dorsi.
The heart of this training was to communicate and show how complex these basic functional movements are as they involve an intricate and sometimes tangled part of the body. Furthermore, there needs to be both participation and coordination of all 35 muscles to support the movements in a balanced way.
This was a great workshop! I felt grateful for the knowledge that I already knew as the information was being lectured and discussed among the group of yogis. The Lumbar Pelvic Hip Complex is essentially the Pilates powerhouse:). More reason to practice Pilates!!
In this post I would like to highlight how the practice of Pilates, with a well trained teacher – me:), and other practices done well day-to-day, will support us in all we do, and help us age with strength and vitality.
Some examples of everyday activities:
squat/hinge- toileting, up and down out of a chair/car/tub, picking up items on the floor or gardening, putting on and tying shoes.
push – pushing a shopping cart/stroller/vacuum, sliding furniture, opening doors.
pull –opening doors/cabinets/drawers, pulling a suitcase, lifting body up from the floor.
lunge – stair climbing, walking up hill, kneeling gardening, picking something up from the floor, cleaning house.
twisting – reclining behind you, tolieting, cleaning body, turing to look while standing/standing/sitting, cooking/dishes.
gait – the human gait depends on a complex interplay of major parts of the nervous, musculoskeletal, and cardiorespiratory systems.
As all functional movement forces are generated and transmitted through this ares in our body.
What is Pilates really?
Pilates =contrology = art of control = mind controlling your muscles.
What do we want the muscles to do/be?
Pilates wants us to find balance and have a balanced support of our structure on all sides to promote optimal alignment.
Powerhouse muscles that support our pelvic center (LPHC) are key to finding balance:
As mentioned above; there are 35 muscles supporting this region in our body….the following are just some ‘larger player’…
inner & outer thighs
hamstrings
gluteals
quadriceps
erector spine muscles
transverse abdominals,
oblique abdominals
pelvic floor muscles
psoas muscle
The above powerhouse muscles is just our ‘lower powerhouse!’ There is a ‘secondary powerhouse’ (also known as the ‘secondary hub’) that focuses more on our shoulder girdle and upper body. However, the pelvis (primary and lower powerhouse) is our first priority as it connects our 2 halves – lower and upper bodies. If our pelvis and hips are out of alignment there will be consequences to both our lower and upper body, where as if we have an imbalance in our shoulder girdle or secondary powerhouse it is less likely that it will affect our lower body too.
consider Pilates movements with a functional movement framework!
If you are familiar with the Pilates method, you can probably agree that Pilates it is no joke! The practice of Pilates is hard work and requires the practitioner to be attentive in body and mind, start to finish! Body awareness, including better understanding and appreciation of the 7 functional movements, coordination, balance, steady breathing, strength, mobility, and patience are just some of the many benefits one can achieve with steady practice.
I have practiced and taught Pilates for close to 20 years and I have learned a lot about my body and other bodies that I have been fortunate to work with. Reflecting back, I realize that many of my issues and my clients difficulties are a result of pushing too hard and/or trying to perform a posture without considering or understanding the functional movement within that posture. Moreover, bodies change and sometimes we, including myself, forget to listen and connect to our changes big or small and want to do what we did yesterday, but forget to consider how we are in the present. I am grateful that I now have more awareness of the 7 functional movements, from my latest training, that will remind me to balance my ‘situations’ – pushes with my pulls, my spacious shoulders, and my blossom with my squeeze etc etc.
If you have read my blog in the past, you know some of my past ‘situations.’ I have been through a lot and have much more to share, but that is for another post:). My ‘problems’ did not happen overnight or from a few practices, they were poor habits and unconscious tendencies that I neglected in my life for years and those same habits were showing up in my Pilates practice! As my teacher Annie Carpenter likes to say, “How you do one thing is how you do everything.”
I was content to practice in ‘auto – pilot,’ for several years not just in Pilates but in life too. I caution when people associate Pilates only to a set of exercises or ‘systems’ in classical Pilates, for example. Pilates is much more than just exercises. Pilates is ‘whole’ mind-body exercise! The important thing is ‘HOW’ you do it. More importantly than the ‘how,’ is your ability to change your how when your body and life circumstances change. Like everything the only constant in life is change and so it is a constant practice to stay present to your whole body so that you can adapt your practice to your changing body.
Ruthless = Pilates (especially practiced on the mat)
Mat Pilates, especially is not an easy practice. Many individuals think that practicing Pilates on the mat would be easier than the reformer. In contrast, mat Pilates, is a whole lot harder to practice as you are without an apparatus that gives you boundaries, support and leverage. The mat offers no support except the floor and sometimes a wall and some minimal props such as a ball or magic circle. It takes a lot of awareness to understand how to connect our many pieces!! Mat Pilates is demanding and dare I say ruthless!
If you have taken my Pilates mat classes in the past you may already know that I start my classes with variations on functional movements to warm up the body before just starting down on the mat with the 100! I like to start with standing warmups. That said, there is nothing wrong with starting a mat Pilates class on the mat, in fact its a great way to connect to your body and feel your back and how it connects or doesn’t connect and sense how your arms and legs connect to your center. However, starting on the mat can also be deceiving, especially for the beginner, as you may forget to maintain your posture and alignment when you are on the ground and gravity is not weighing you down (as it is when you are standing). Often, I find myself saying – “try not to fall asleep!” I obverse especially legs and arms “falling asleep.” Remember in Pilates, the arms and legs are just extensions from our core/powerhouse, so there should be some effort in keeping those limbs “awake.” The ground offers support, but you still need to be aware and maintain your alignment as if you are still standing with your two feet on the ground!
Everyone needs to tweak their own body differently to find their best alignment but, generally speaking you want to encourage yourself to be alert in your body feeling the center of head, over center of throat, over center of heart, over center of pelvic floor, over center of knees, over center of ankles, with your 2 feet simultaneously grounded and arches lifted.
Pilates is an incredible method that can enhance your function in daily life!Change is inevitable, and you may have to adjust and adapt your practice with age, but having more awareness of the functional movements, will help us accept and be okay with changing our habits, to find more balance and ease.
I am grateful to my personal journey. All my challenges and hardships have only made me stronger. My practice of Pilates feels better and better the more I listen, accept and adapt my practice to my changing body.
Curious to try a Pilates mat class with me? Here is the general outline to how I structure my Mat Pilates classes –
5 minutes – “arrive in body” general body awareness and simple stretches to get us in our bodies
10 minutes – “functional warmup” some simple functional movements and mobility exercises for spine, shoulders and hips. Think squats, lunges, planks, cat/cows, shoulder circles, hip circles etc..
40 minutes – Pilates mat flow encouraging ideas from our functional movement warmup! I regularly apply the idea of a ‘squat’ to the various exercises in Pilates…this way we can remind ourselves that we are practicing this method to feel better and move better in life…not just perform in mat class!!
End standing in our ‘optimal posture’ to feel the efforts of our practice:)
* Starting in August 2024, I am excited to offer my Thursday mat classes at my new home/Le Bureau location. I will have a bigger space as well as more ‘wall room’
lebureau.live 