When I arrived in New York in 1975 I found the person that I would call my mentor in the Pilates world. Her name was Carola Trier. I realized when I met her that I had found the teacher, which would make me understand the essence of Pilates. Her mentoring instilled in me a sense of appreciation for good movement, an encouragement of opening my observations skills and the use of guiding hands to direct the quality of movement.
Carola had her studio in midtown Manhattan. She was one of the first protégés of Joseph
Pilates. She was given permission to open her own studio while he was alive around 1958. You have to remember that this was a time before certifications and that the elders or first generation teachers where still in contact with Joseph as an ongoing apprentice association. This association lasted years not weeks or some months. This type of apprentice association I also had with Carola. From the time that I began studying with her, to assisting and then to teaching took 5years. I was one of the last teachers trained by her before she closed her studio.
My association with Carola began as a client. Carola always gave the first session and I have to say I remember it vividly. Carola was this very petite woman with long bones in black leotard and tights, beautiful coiffure hair with a voice that carried a strong German accent. She was a very dynamic woman. She placed you in front of a tall mirror surrounded with a white wooden frame on rollers. This was her introduction to your body posture/assessment. When that was done, then the session moved onto the reformer and finished with some mat. The session was one hour long. Carola would stay with a new client for at still the first 10-20 sessions. When the student/client became more confident then they were introduced to the other teachers. Everyone was on the same page with the teaching of the material and Carola had her eye everywhere.
Carola had a very good eye in terms of body alignment and sensing a flow of movement though the exercise. An exercise that was accomplished meant there was a good balance of breath, concentration and flow. Concentration was exampled as being able to do an exercise correctly 3-10 times, depending on the exercise. The concept was that the third repetition should be as important as the first or fifth repetition. As one got better with the exercise the idea was that the last one might be even be the best one. So concentrations of the mind as well as the body were then connected as one. When one accomplished this balance of concentration, breathe and flow over a certain amount of time then you processed to the next harder exercise. She did not tolerant doing things sloppily. The best way that I can explain is this: first, you do A, when A has a good foundation then you move onto B. So as the years went by I got to experience all of the Pilates material, beginner to advanced with all of the equipment: Reformer, Cadillac, Wunda Chair, Ped-a Pul, big barrel and mat. It took about 3 years.
When you were given a new exercise, Carola always knew that, first you needed to a get a sense of the movement. Once you knew the exercise then corrections were given. When the corrections were well applied then more detail of the exercise was specified. You always felt challenged mentally or physically. By the time you finished learning an exercise, all parts of the body had been given a connection to the whole body. The exercise slowly formed itself into something dynamic.
Thru the years, I would stay and hang around to observe what was being taught. When there was time, questions could be answered. Then one day you where asked to change a spring. Time spent in the studio infused a sense of trust, stimulated the observation skills and understanding of the Pilates material. At least that is the way I took it. When I did begin to teach I was given the more beginner exercises to teach and with time evolved to the more complex. As a client/student or teaching, there was always a sense of building blocks. That was the common ground between being a client and being a teacher.
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.
Balanced Body is now creating their own podcasts. They are amazing and will give you new ideas about teaching. My favorites are by Elizabeth Larkam. Elizabeth is a wealth of information and has created some new exercises. This exercise below looks simple. It truly reflects if clients are stabilizing correctly. I have been teaching this to all of my clients from beginners to advanced. Even my dancers are challenged by this exercise.
I want to talk about how to work with clients with low back pain. These clients have already ruled out by the medical professional where exercise is contraindicated.
To start a client with low back pain, my first goal is to observe their form as I teach the movement principles/fundamentals.
I am working first on teaching stabilization.
I am conservative about stretching until I know how they will react. Some clients with too much stretching, their muscles go into spasm. Sometimes the tight muscles are the ones trying to stabilize them. Without educating them about proper stabilization, the body does not know what to do.
Teaching the fundamentals, you can see how poor patterns will be reflective throughout the entire workout and their gait. Fundamental education will create better awareness, control and injury prevention skills.
Differentiation of thigh bone
I always start with the thigh lift and the pelvic shift forward, a neutral bridge.
A lot of clients are not using the hip socket correctly. The pelvis is unleveling to lift the leg.
Is the pelvis stable when the leg is lifted?
How is the ease in the femoral folds?
If the pelvis is unstable, is it rotating and/or unleveling?
Bridging: Having a leg to Stand on. (upcoming a new podcast on proper bridging)
I always look at the neutral bridge with back clients. Many clients are very weak in the legs and using the backs to compensate for leg weakness.
In the neutral bridge, the pelvis should shift forward over the feet. The Bartenieff Fundamental, the pelvic shift forward is a perfect name for this action.
The highest place in the bridge should be the pelvis.
When the legs are weak, the back usually arches to push the body higher.
Back care clients are very weak in the deep muscles of the back. Many are compensating with the superficial muscles of the back. This can cause compression/pain in the back. Simple extensions exercises of the upper spine and legs are essential skills to learn. Can your client lift their upper spine and/or legs and then entire body pain free? Are they shortening their backs to do any of these exercises.
By teaching your clients, the basics, you are also giving them tools to take home to practice. Once they accomplished the basics, don’t forget about the Pilates mat exercises:
Single leg circles
Single leg kick
Double leg kick
Shoulder bridge
Stretching
Once I hurt my back seriously carrying a computer. My back was in spasm for over a week. I stay away from stretching the back. I did a lot of stretching of my legs on the floor with a yoga strap. Roll downs were too painful at that time. Then my next goal was using downward dog to lengthen my back. Even a client putting their hands on the barrel or a wall and doing a modified downward dog can be helpful.
It is essential to teach stabilization exercises. Then intertwine these concepts with your workout using the machines. For example, before doing pulling straps on the long box, here is a routine on the long box.
3 upper spine extensions. The Spine raises in line with the box.
3 right leg lifts, 3 left. Leg lift is in line with box.
3 modified swans. The spine and legs are in line with the box.
then, pullling the straps.
Below is a link to great exercises for back care. Please feel free to share this link with your clients for their home practice.
Six teachers and myself gathered for our first Pilates Forum for teachers. It was a wonderful event with discussion about how to teach and motivate clients. We talked a lot how to motivate clients and how to change their concentration to do real Pilates. Real Pilates is having a full mindbody connection. We all have had clients who just come in to have a hard workout without concentrating.
Please come to our next Pilates Forum for Teachers and bring your ideas, questions, journeys to the discussion.
with Lesley Powell
Dates: Fri 6/5 $20 5:15 PM – 7:15 PM
Pilates Forum Come together. Pilates teachers. Share. Workout. Problem solve. Laugh. This meeting will be moderated by Lesley Powell. Come with ideas, questions about the body, problem solving about professional issues (i.e. Difficult clients, non-payment by clients, burn-out, etc.)
At a staff meeting, there was a request for a time that teachers could get together, share ideas, questions, working out and problem solving. Especially with this recession, I would like to offer a monthly meeting time at a very reasonable price of $20 for a two hour session.
Isn’t this video amazing? Standing work brings into all your connections, core, arms and legs.
Watch how Joe does front rowing. You can see the anterior serratus kick in when he reaches the arms forward. Doing full body work like this and the plank are amazing full body exercises.
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.
Here’s my client question: 43 year old former dancer (ballet) and gymnast Runner in her late 20’s until recently when she has been sidetracked by hip bursitis. She spoke with her Doctor and Physical Therapist before starting with me. They said that she can do any type of movement provided it doesn’t cause her pain.They would prefer we don’t do extreme hip rotation.
In my visual assessment, I caught right away that she is bow-legged with hyper-extended knees and her parallel stance is not strong as she prefers turn out. Today, was our first session and we spent a lot of time on the Tower with Roll Down, Push Thru Seated Front and Circle Saw as I wanted to see core strength, rotation ability/mobility and articulation. When I got to Footwork (Bend & Stretch) I found a pattern that surprised me. I expected her to pattern her movement like I used to since I began with bow legs and hyper extended knees. But, instead of her knees splaying out, they come in and almost knock when she corrects her feet to parallel. So, we moved to Reformer Footwork and it was the same, when she pushes the carriage away, if I apply gentle pressure to her heels to “swing” them parallel, her knees “knock” inward. I put the Franklin ball between her knees to keep them apart (when, in my case, I use the ball to keep my knees more together). We then moved to bridging where I discovered the lack of hamstring strength. I focused on the hamstring connection for a while, did some pulling straps/swan and finished with mermaid. Can you offer me any suggestions? Am I on the right path? I do feel that we need to get her hamstrings stronger but will this help with the knock knee/footwork issue? Should I use something bigger than a ball, like maybe a yoga block between her knees?
Or between her ankles? H-E-L-P!! As always, thanks for you insight! Cheri
by Lesley Powell
How a client organizes in a static position can be different when moving. Watch how she organizes her body to stand on one leg. As she stands on one leg, look at the bone rhythms of the legs.
Does the foot remain stable, supinated or pronated?
Does the shins rotate inward or outward?
Does the femur rotate inward or outward?
What happens to the pelvis and spine?
She might have been doing some compensation patterns in standing to appear not knocked knee. Your working with her on creating balance in the legs is great. Be careful about pushing parallel if she can not maintain it on her own. She has been working on this pattern for awhile.
Sometimes with knocked knees, putting a block/ball between the femurs can be a poor cue. They should not be squeezing the block hard. It might be better to use a theraband tied around their thighs. The tightness of the theraband should be enough to get them to parallel not beyond.
Strengthening the abductors/rotators is important. Since her PT’s do not want her to do extreme range, keep the movements small.
Rotators – lie on the side with knees bent. Only lift knee a inch off the other leg. Or with theraband tied around thighs tightly lying on the back. Move one knee again in tiny range of motion.
Abductors – range of motion on side should not be higher than her hip
Standing – Can she stand on one leg without letting the knee knocking in?
Working on balance of all the leg muscles is important. Since she is not allowed to do range of motion, I would also teach some release techniques for lateral rotators, abductors and adductors, and feet as well.
We sometimes get calls of clients wanting only a certain kind of class, mat, reformer, tower, etc. They are not open to anything else. I find this hard to understand. Being an owner of a Pilates studio is like having an adult romper room. Different equipment and play keep me interested and exploring Pilates.
The beauty of all the Pilates equipment invites different physical experiences. Most of the exercises can be done on both pieces of equipment. The reformer with its moving bed can challenge balance, mobility and strength. The tower has many possibilities of spring tensions. With the placement of the springs at many heights on the tower, can invite different fuller movements than the reformer.
Balanced Body's Pilates Arc
The Spine Corrector can teach you how to move your spine better. With Balanced Body’s new Pilates Arc, they have come up with some exciting ways to challenge balance that can’t be done on the original Spine corrector. Challenging balance makes you use your core deeper. The new Pilates arc can also be put on the reformer. Footwork with a rollup!
I am teaching a workshop this May 15 4-8 PM.
It is a great deal: EQUIPMENT & EDUCATION PRICING FOR STUDENTS
Pilates Arc Training (4 hours) $159.00 – Regular Price
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Side Leg Springs
One of my favorite exercises is side leg springs on the Tower.
Here you can work on your adductors, hamstrings, mobility and core strength.
You can do side leg exercises on the reformer, but it is more complicated. One has to be in the right position so the ropes clear your body. Because the ropes are close to the rails, there are limitations of certain movements.
Tower
Tower – Full Bridge
Because the tower bar and springs are a higher height, there are wonderful full body exercises to be done. The ropes on the reformer can offered more range of motion such as legs in straps while the springs on the tower have more resistance. The tower leg springs have the most resistance when moving legs away from your center. They lose resistance with the leg coming closer to you. Especially with clients with tight hamstrings, there is an advantage of the springs. Here you can work on strengthening and core support. When a client is too tight in the hamstrings, bringing their legs up beyond their capacity affects their core form.
Sometimes I use one piece of equipment to get a client to understand another exercise on another equipment. Elephant (like downward dog) is a deceiving exercise. One can be moving the carriage from the legs only. Using the Wunda Chair, Hamstring III teaches the importance of the core. Many at first cannot do the exercise. They come to elephant with an entirely different perspective.
Breath is the key to connecting to the deep abdominal muscles. With breath, the connections of the diaphragm pumping in and out of air forces the transverse abdominal to be like a corset. Being like a corset, this muscle pulls the torso contents in. The pulling in of the abdominals like a corset, we are going to call, the hollow. This is when the transverse abdominus engages. This corset-like muscle is responsible for flattening the abdominal wall and stabilizing the torso.
Breath is one of the best ways to encourage this action. There are physical connections between the diaphragm and the transverse abdominus. The breath is like a hydraulic pump. Inhalation causes the diaphragm to move downward, open the lower ribs and relaxation of the back. Exhalation releases the diaphragm up like a parachute towards your head. The lift of the diaphragm helps the lower abs engage. Consciousness of breath and it’s being three-dimensional is a great way to open the spine and connect to our internal support.
To Start: Lie on the back with knees bent and feet on the floor.
Hollowing
Breath & the diaphragm
Inhale into the lower ribs. Visualize the diaphragm floating downward. This downward movement is widening the lower torso with depth in the back
Count the duration of the exhale as the belly deflates. (Start with 8 counts. Each count the belly should sink deeper towards the sacrum. This is the hollow.
Repeat two more sets
Breath & the Hollow
Place your hands near your navel
Inhale for 4 counts
Exhale (8 counts) and narrow your abdominals underneath your hands towards your navel
Inhale
Exhale (8 counts), narrow again underneath your hands
Adding on, inhale
Exhale (8 counts), narrow and sink your abs towards your sacrum
Inhale
Exhale and feel your abs narrow and sink towards your navel
Inhale and add on
Exhale (8 counts) narrow, sink and rise your abs up your torso.
Inhale
Exhale, feel your abs under your hands narrow, sink and lift towards your head.
Now practice this in different position, sitting, on all fours, standing and in your pilates practice. Hollowing is essential for making change in your core. It is better to do a few exercises with hollowing than lots of repetitions with the abs bulging out. Practicing poor habits does not make you stronger.
* I would like to thank all of my teachers especially Irene Dowd for deepening my knowlegde about the body.
View Lesley Powell's profile
In my visual assessment, I caught right away that she is bow-legged with hyper-extended knees and her parallel stance is not strong as she prefers turn out. Today, was our first session and we spent a lot of time on the Tower with Roll Down, Push Thru Seated Front and Circle Saw as I wanted to see core strength, rotation ability/mobility and articulation. When I got to Footwork (Bend & Stretch) I found a pattern that surprised me. I expected her to pattern her movement like I used to since I began with bow legs and hyper extended knees. But, instead of her knees splaying out, they come in and almost knock when she corrects her feet to parallel. So, we moved to Reformer Footwork and it was the same, when she pushes the carriage away, if I apply gentle pressure to her heels to “swing” them parallel, her knees “knock” inward. I put the Franklin ball between her knees to keep them apart (when, in my case, I use the ball to keep my knees more together). We then moved to bridging where I discovered the lack of hamstring strength. I focused on the hamstring connection for a while, did some pulling straps/swan and finished with mermaid. Can you offer me any suggestions? Am I on the right path? I do feel that we need to get her hamstrings stronger but will this help with the knock knee/footwork issue? Should I use something bigger than a ball, like maybe a yoga block between her knees?
Breath is the key to connecting to the deep abdominal muscles. With breath, the connections of the diaphragm pumping in and out of air forces the transverse abdominal to be like a corset. Being like a corset, this muscle pulls the torso contents in. The pulling in of the abdominals like a corset, we are going to call, the hollow. This is when the transverse abdominus engages. This corset-like muscle is responsible for flattening the abdominal wall and stabilizing the torso.
