A very interesting article was in the NY Times last week. Core training needs to be 3-dimensional. Just training the abdominals is not enough. Especially with our culture being in so much flexion due to computers, cars, tv and the lack of exercise, people are really weak in their backs.
I just taught a Balanced Body University’s Pilates course this weekend. All the students were active professionals. Most were having trouble with extension in getting to the deep extensors of the back. When the deep extensors do not initiated the movement, the back shortens and for some, cause discomfort.
Another problem with abdominal training, is finding qualities of tone. To get to the deeper transverse abdominals, breath is essential. Once found, it has tremendous lightness. In teaching all clients from beginners to teachers, many are firing and compressing the rectus too strongly for the required action. For instance, the rectus abdominus assists in flexion of the spine in crunches and rollups. Many are unneccessarily firing the rectus with a simple pelvic tilts of the lower spine.
“Abdominals come in many flavors” Doris Pasteleur Hall
Training of the spine in different positions is essential for dynamic stabilization. How you organize your spine lying down is very different from sitting, standing, plank pose. Getting aware of where your spine is in space is important.
This simple exercise can be difficult. Many are firing the rectus which will lower the head down. Some have trouble keeping a head-tail connection. You will see the spine rotate and/or unleveled.
What the NY Times article is not addressing is how the training of the limbs in coordination with the core is important. Awareness of how the body moves is lacking in most training. We have constant pressure by clients of having a stronger workout. Many of these clients lack internal awareness of their bodies and training of deeper stabilizing muscles. Many of the deep stabilizing muscles will never have the feel as a bicep firing to lift a weight.
Learning good form is essential for proper conditioning and balance.
We are going to talk about the important of bridging and how to do it correctly.
How we use our legs is very important for posture, moving and helpful in backcare. Bridging is very helpful as the building blocks for better understanding of how the legs need to be strengthen.
When someone comes in with back pain, I look at their bridging.
Many are weak in the legs.
They compensate with their backs to initiate the movements of the bridge.
Our lack of understanding of the correct use of our legs creates different kinds of POSTURE.
First of all, the legs are not under-standing the relationship to the pelvis. When there is a poor tailbone-heel connection, the legs and feet work unevenly to support our upper bodies. For many, one tucks to bring the pelvis over the feet and pulled the front ribs down to solve the problem of a poor head-tail-heel connection.
So we are going to look at types of bridging and how to use them in your warmup.My teacher, Irmgard Bartenieff, created a great concept about the neutral bridge. The Bartenieff Fundamental, the pelvic shift forward, is a bridge with the spine neutral. The legs lift the pelvis up. The pelvic shift forward relates how we use the legs to move and support the pelvis.
Pelvic shift forward is a concept of how the legs and the pelvis influence the weight shift. The best example of this is our gait, walking. The pelvic shift forward is our getting from sitting on a chair to standing. The pelvis and the legs influence our moving forward in space. Our hips have to go through hip flexion and extension to propel us through space.
Poor posture and gait diminishes proper shifting our weight forward for simple actions. This poor action forces our upper bodies to shift us forward to walk.
The pelvic shift forward is a different bridge than the articulating bridge with the pelvis begins in posterior tilt. The articulating bridge is about the sequencing of the spine. For some clients with certain back injuries or spinal osteoporosis, articulating bridge is not recommended. The articulating bridge for a healthy spine is a great exercise of opening the back.
To extend the hip through the legs, one uses the hamstrings and depending on the force needed, the gluteals. We only think of the gluteals as of squeezing the buttocks. This is primarily the gluteal maximus and the fibers closer to the gluteal cleft.
Tucking occurs when both sides of the gluteal maximus are fired at the same time. In gait, we are firing one side of the gluteals at a time depending on the gait cycle. Recent research has proven the gluteals are being used to assist us in standing and moving on our legs. There are other sections of the gluteals we want to put our attention to. These muscles are the attachments to the femur on the side of our hips. The gluteal medius, gluteal minimus and the lateral fibers of the gluteal maximus help us to stabilize on one leg. The gluteals help us extend our hips especially in larger forces needed as in walking up stairs, changing levels such as a deep lunge to standing and standing on one leg. The tone needed to extend the hip is very different than in tucking.
Pilates is wellness. Wellness is a deep connection of the body and mind.
True fitness is wellness.
Pilates will teach you how to center your mind and your body. It creates balance of dormant muscles to overused muscles. It creates an ease of motion of joints at the same time Pilates strengthens you.
Pilates will teach you about your whole body and its fascinating connections. As you enhance your learning of your body, your new knowledge will enhance your posture, your fitness, your movement loves and your energy.
If your body does not feel well, how can your mind and spirit?
Learn:
Breath: to relieve stress, open areas of tension
and teach you about getting to the deeper muscles for support, the transverse abdominals.
Breath connects you to your deepest abdominal muscles.
The transverse abdominal is like your very own corset.
Centering: coordination of the body radiating from your core in all movements.
The core muscles are your back and abdominal muscles
that stabilized your spine.
Inspire your core muscles to create better posture and tone
Learn how to dynamically train them for improved posture
and coordinate them with your entire body.
This is the best injury prevention skill to have.
Balanced Muscles:create efficient movement, tone and joint mechanics.
By creating better balance in your muscles,
relieve tension that causes discomfort.
Precision and Control: good form invites good function and better fitness.
Learn how improved function and control with a few repetitions
are more valuable
than many repetitions done poorly.
The Bartenieff Fundamental, the thigh lift, is in all Pilates exercises. Learn how to stabilize your pelvis through your deep core muscles and mobility of your thighbone.
“I have a training question for you. I have a client that has come to me with SI Joint problem. She is seeing a doctor who wants her to get an injection to diagnose it and at this point doesn’t know of any underlying cause for it.
I want to know what movements and exercises will be best for her. Should I work to strengthen the muscles around the SI joint? Also she is a fitness instructor who is pretty flexible & mobile in her joints. Is there anything I can do to bring some sort of stability to her ligaments/joints etc?” BBU Student
I have SI Dysfunction. I primarily got it from my dancing. Especially dancers and gymnasts are prone to this because of movements of extreme range such as splits, arabesques and attitudes can stretch the ligaments of the sacrum.
Lumbopelvic stability is essential and relieving for this condition. I have to work on this all the time. Pre-Pilates, BBU movement principles and/or Bartenieff Fundamentals(tm) are great to address this.
Pelvic clock. Observe in 6-12 how both sides of the pelvis/sacrum is sequencing evenly on the floor. Sometimes the pelvis is rotated. The pelvic clock can educate your preferences of movement of the pelvis. Put attention to the sides not grounding as well.
Pelvic floor, transverse abdominal & multifidus training Thigh lift/toe taps/marching Look how they lift their legs. Many people are not gliding the thigh bone in the hip socket well. This will give the appearance of hip hiking or tightening around the femoral fold.
Foam roll training is great for this.
It also addresses the stability of the legs. Other ideas on foam rolls
Bridging- getting the legs to do the work. Observe if the hips rise at the same time.
neutral bridging-pelvic shift forward
pelvic shift lateral-typewriter, figure 8’s, bridging with thigh lift
Sometimes mobility exercises such as full short spine are not great for my sacrum.
Observe how they do foot work and standing. Is their weight on the outside of the foot. Training of the medial lines of the legs are also helpful.
Lesley: When I was working at Dr. Bachrach’s Center of Sports Medicine, one of the client with a back injury came to work with me. He asked how long would it take to get back to playing tennis. I didn’t answer, I just started doing the Bartenieff Fundamentals with him, particularly the knee drop, diagonals and arm circles. This client had very little rotational ability in his body. When a person is unable to move well in one plane, they will often overuse the other planes. It was clear how he misused “his body in space” had led to his back injury. His rotation improved immensely as well as total body mobility.
The rotary factor is an important in all of our movement. To rotate is to be human. First look at the human body. There is not one bone without some kind of curve and/or spiral. The pull of the muscles on the bones must follow along the lines of the bones. Rotation is underlying in all of our movement. The movements of the bones are usually rolling, gliding and rotating. Rotation has enabled us our mobility and strength. It is rotation that enables us to make level changes and move through space. The simple action of getting out of bed requires internal and external rotation of the thighbones and the pelvis rotating on the femur heads. Observe a baby lying on the floor and its transitions from the floor to sit, crawl and eventually stand up. You will see gradated rotation of the thighbones and the pelvis to accomplish these tasks.
Martha: I am glad that you talked about babies Lesley. We all begin as babies and babies usually begin their movement workout on the floor. On the floor we can spread out, relax, and see the world. Judith Kestenberg – child psychiatrist and movement expert noted that children gain movement repetoire first on the floor and during this time they gain spinal flexibility and perceptual flexibility.
As we go grow older, the LMA systems believe, that this flexibility transfers to the ability to explore options. In our BodyMind Fitness approach we encourage clients who have lost their capacity to twist and spiral physically to find the horizontal plane again AND to re-engage in exploring options within their environment and attitudes. Our approach to rotation has nuances as well. We use phyiscal therapist Irmgard Bartenieff’s brilliant concept of gradated rotation to activate muscle chains in a sequential fashion. This awareness gives equal power to all of the joints along the pathway (from vertabra to vertebra or from finger tip to elbow). By equalizing forces we balance muscles and realign joints. Then we ask clients to note what feels different and how this new way of movement may bring out a new attitude or choice, or not. Options are always options. To quote Bartenieff – “there are always multiple possibilities.” In our fast paced forward moving world the pressures of life sometimes block out our sense of options.
At CKE our motto is “relax, feel, move, take action.” In our BodyMind Fitness work we often also take the somatic approach to finding rotation by getting down on the floor. On the floor we take time to breathe, widen, release, spread out – letting go of the intensity of gravity. Then we activate core and distal muscles with awareness of our movement through space. Instead of just crunches we provide movement options in many different directions. Rotation is just part of the picture but one that is often missing. Our3D Fitness series puts all the pieces of the puzzle together. Join us on April 12 or send a friend at Movements Afoot
Go to online scheduling and workshops to sign up!!
I have a possble client with a severe lumbar lordosis. Is there specific movements to try on her to correct/help/improve? Any certain ones to really avoid? I have a few ideas but I would love your input.
BBU Student
by Lesley Powell
When a client comes in with certain misalignments, I first observe throughout the lesson how the client organizes movements, what is tight and what is weak. Each client arrives in a certain posture for different reasons: some are structural, habitual, an injury, history of fitness and cultural.
I always go to the basics first, core support, observing what is mobilizing and stabilizing. Their patterns of posture will reflect in all the exercises even simple ones like cat & camel, bridging, basic abdominal training and back extensors training. Part of making change in a client is making them aware of their habits.
How do they lie on their backs? Is the tension of their backs hyperextending their ribs? If I have them stretch the back muscles, does that help? Sometimes just saying “let your back go” can make a change. We all have patterns how we all hold tension. Learning to relax is key. Breath is a great way to help relieve tension.
I always look how they use their legs. When the legs are weak, the back has to carry the load. When they are doing bridging, footwork, etc., what is initiating first; the legs or the back? For instance, observe how they do a neutral bridge. Are they arching their backs to get the pelvis up? Get them to initiate through the legs. Make the movement small until they understand to push from the legs.
Sometimes they are so used to lifting their legs from their backs, they feel pain. Work in small ranges of motion until they can move painfree. Lying prone and lifting their legs, they always feel pain. Take the exercise to a different position and see if they can initiate from the correct place. For example, bridging, Pilates footwork and leg straps or modified side leg kicks. How is their form? Can they differentiate the leg from a stabilized pelvis?
Remember to have patience. A posture is created from years of habits. Keep observing, problem solving and making sure the movement principles are within each exercise. If a client is always in pain, make sure that they see a medical professional to rule out serious problems like disk herniations.
This month I taught Balanced Body University’s Pilates Mat I-II. It was so wonderful to teach just the right amount of material for a weekend course and have the time for everyone to intellectually and physicality experience new materials. Sometimes courses are so jammed pack with information without enough time to experience the material on a physical level.
Students were really able to make changes in their own practice and practice new teaching techniques on their colleagues. They learned to problem solve teaching with the Pilates material on different bodies. When issues came up such as the spine was too tight to do a rollup, I was able to give information how to open the back and how the BBU’s movement principles can facilitate change.
We also talked about teaching. Teaching is a passion and a skill. To be a successful teacher, one has to understand how clients’ learn, how to cue well and lead different teaching situations from privates to group classes.
Dr. Martha Eddy once led a class on the nervous system and learning. We were to learn a simple hand phrase.
We copied her phrase
counted it
gave names/images to each movement
sounds to each movement
use tactile cues such as using the floor, wall or our bodies
Then we talked to each other which method helped us learn the phrase. Everyone had different answers! I am such a visual learner and assumed others were the same. This class really taught me to try to understand my client’s preferences for learning.
The students had to teach a 45 minute class to each other and then I was to evaluate them. How I wished someone helped me in my earlier years of teaching. How one talks, phrases their voices and organizes the class are essential ingredients to a successful class.
In the structure of Balanced Body University’s Mat courses, there is detailed information about teaching. How wonderful to go over these materials, talk about our own teaching experiences, dealing with different types of clients and how to improve teaching skills.
My training at the Laban Institute of Movement Studies changed how I saw movement, performed and how I taught others. In 1985, I enrolled in the yearlong program at the Laban Institute of Movement Studies. I was fascinated by Laban theories about space as a choreographer and dancer. Being a CMA, a certified Laban Movement Analysis, opened a new world about movement and my teaching career.
Irmgard Bartenieff, the founder of the Laban Institute of Movement Studies (LIMS), was like a Renaissance woman. All movement fascinated her: child development, cultural perspectives, non-verbal communication, psychology, Physical therapy, dance and more.
Bartenieff Fundamentals™ (BF) is a system created by Irmgard Bartenieff to teach people concepts to promote healthy function. The beauty of the system enhances strength, function and mobility. This is one of the few body modalities that address how the body organizes for different spatial demands. How the body moves in basketball is very different than playing tennis.The system is simple in breaking down to 6 basic movement actions. The complexity comes with the many combinations of the 6 actions with underlying concepts of breath, core support, alignment, rotation, phrasing and spatial intent. The applications to movement are endless with no conflict of style. Within the framework of any physical practice, BF is a modular system within any form of movement. By enhancing function, physicality improves. This is essential with problems of injury rehabilitation and sport/dance performance.
Teaching Bartenieff Fundamentals™ within any movement lesson are wonderful shorthand devices to improve the coaching of a session. Whether it is the dancer’s port de bra, the tennis swing or the injured arm of a client, interlacing BF within the movement lesson plans quickly enhances the lesson. For instance if the shoulders are up, putting the client’s attention of working from the scapula can improve form.
My first classes based on Bartenieff Fundamentals™ were at Dr. Backrach’s Center for Osteopathic Medicine in 1987for conditioning to injured clients. Teaching Bartenieff Fundamentals™ to an injured population taught me the power of this work. My colleagues in my certificate Laban/Bartenieff program were such great movers that I did not understand the importance of BF. Working with injured clients led me to a deeper understanding into the concepts of BF and their potential in assisting neurological repatterning. Working with clients with injuries, I saw dysfunction in their movement patterns. BF gave the clients information about their movement patterns and how to make positive change.
Because of my success with working with clients, I was invited and paid to learn how to teach Pilates at JRW Physical Therapy in 1990. The physical therapists at that time were having difficulties with traditional Pilates teachers working with an injured population.
A majority of the cases of the clientele of the physical therapy practice were suffering from repetitive stress disorder. Because their arms/hands were in trauma, a lot of the Pilates exercises were contraindicated. Bearing weight on their hands especially on the footbar was painful. Within my Pilates sessions, I would work with the clients on the Bartenieff Fundamental™: hand-scapula relationship before I trained more complex and weight bearing exercises. My first goal was to get ease of motion of the scapula to help lift the arm. When they could work pain-free, I added slowly more resistance.
The Bartenieff Fundamental™: thigh lift is an important action of all movement: gait and dance/sports activities. It is the dancer’s passé, the initiation of the kick in sports, yoga, fitness and most importantly our walking. The ability to move our legs and move us through space is essential for everyday activities. The freedom of the thighbone in the hip socket with the strength of the leg and torso muscles take us into standing, walking and more complex movement actions. A lot of problems of back, hip and knee pain can be a cause of poor patterning how the thighbone moves in the hip socket, pelvic stability and lifted to propel us in space.
A poor thigh lift disconnects to the deep use of the abdominals and the psoas will be lost. Other muscles will have to take over for the lack of this connection. The thigh lift is essential for all abdominal exercises and all movements that require level changes and propulsion.
This is the beginning towards a book primarily about Bartenieff Fundamentals™. This is a small part of an application of the Laban material.
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