This exercise is called ‘running’ on the reformer. Flipping the camera around you can see how this exercise reflects running, jogging, and/or walking off the reformer. I loved flipping the camera to highlight this exercise as it shows me standing tall in my body. It’s not always easy to stand tall especially if you are dealing with and or recovering from an injury. Believe me, I’ve been there! Regardless of your story, to practice Pilates, we need to include and honor all of our pieces even if things are not as they used to be, and not leave one piece behind.
Understanding how to connect and strengthen our pieces as a whole takes time and changes as we change. Listening, adapting, and continuing to love ourselves through all of our changes will be the best medicine to feel whole, time and time again. If you are stubborn like me, you may need to experience the ‘dark side’(read back in my blog to understand) for a while, until you decide to wake up and be more present!
Pilates is in the details and acknowledging all our pieces in the present moment so we can experience the whole and feel our power!!
Therefore, if you are interested in strengthening your ‘core muscles,’ understand that this involves your whole body. I have found that sometimes in ‘our’ efforts (myself included) to strengthen the ‘core muscles’ we sometimes neglect other parts of our body. Remember, Pilates is whole body integration. We need to include all of ‘our pieces’ in our practice and not forget or neglect any part! Pilates teaches us to initiate our movements from a stable, balanced center, and to never leave any part behind, meaning every piece of us is involved in the movement.
Take ‘running’ on the reformer for example, there is really so much to pay attention to! From the transition from one heel reaching under the foot bar to the next.
Here are some other things you need to consider…
1 – Are you connecting all of your toes on the foot bar or are your pinky toes missing?
2 – Are you pressing down into the foot bar with strength to feel and activate your hamstrings as you run?
3 – How is your pelvic alignment? are you tucking, arching? Hopefully you are in neutral!
4 – Are you able to connect the back of your rib cage, shoulder blades, back of skull in and up on the carriage?
5 – How is your neck alignment? hopefully neutral!
6 – Can you tone the back of your triceps to help you open the collar bone/chest more?
7 – Are you able to sustain your stability in your spine and pelvis as you lower and lift your heels with strength?
8 – Are you able to maintain your push/your strength as you resist the springs and actively under the foot bar one heel at a time?
9 – How are your knees? can you tone and lift your knee caps and quadriceps up with out hyperextending and locking your knees as you run?
10 – How about your breathing? How is your rhythm? can you expand your body on your inhales with out loosing your connections and deepen your powerhouse muscles on your exhales?
When you are learning, please be forgiving as it does take time! With steady practice and attention to your body and ALL your pieces its does start coming together, and you will start to step more and more into your POWER.
check out the song “step into you power” by Ray LaMontagne
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