The scoop refers to a contraction involving the tranversus
abdominus. This is the portion of the abdominal muscle that runs horizontally,
below the
waist,
wraps around the body, and inserts in the low back area. A contraction
in the transversus abdominus results in the abdomen pulling downward
towards
the spine
in an upward fashion. Picture a canoe, with its mid section hollowed-out,
a hammock, or the utensil we use for making ice cream cones - hence
the term
scoop.
While lying down on your back, knees bent with feet flat on
the floor, draw your navel back toward your spine and slightly upward, as
if your belly button had a string on it, pulling it down with a huge, heavy
anchor.
While sitting up, draw your navel back toward your spine and
slightly upward as if your belly button had a string attached to it and
this time the string was pulling right through your body and
anchoring to the wall
behind you.
Remember to start the move with inhaling to prepare and then
exhale to draw the navel towards the spine.
SHOULDER GIRDLE
The shoulders are always depressed or pulled
down from the ears. They are also retracted or gently squeezed
together. You will always
be reminded
in Pilates
to pull your shoulders back and down. You will need to stabilize
or continue to hold your shoulders in this position and the latissimus
dorsi or “lats” will
be involved in assisting in the stabilization. The lats are part
of your back muscles running along the sides of your ribcage.
They are key in pulling
the ribcage into the waist as well as the shoulders down and
back.
RIBCAGE PLACEMENT
The ribs are pulled down and into the waist in Pilates. They do
not pop up to the ceiling. This involves the oblique muscles that
criss-cross
in the front two and back two corners to connect the ribs to
the hips. Correct breathing is essential to ribcage placement and
will
assist the ribcage in staying connected to the hips.
BREATHING
In Pilates we breathe in through our nose and out through our mouth.
Breathing in through the nose warms the air and filters it through
the small hairs in our nose. The diaphragm contracts and expands
as we breathe. The ribcage expands as we inhale and contracts,
sliding into the waist as we exhale. The breath never enters the
abdominal area and the abs never rise or fall in Pilates. We breathe
into the back of the ribcage, where the lungs are located. We never
breathe into the front of the ribcage, chest or abdominals. It
is important to breathe without lifting the ribcage, keeping the
ribs at all times connected to the hips. The general rule of thumb
is inhaling during most movements of spinal extension (arching
the back) and exhaling during most movements of spinal flexion
(rounding the base of the spine and bringing the chest toward the
thighs or visa-versa). Exhale as you move the arms and legs away
from the body.
The most important thing is to breathe and not hold your breath.
As a general rule of thumb, when in doubt, start the move by
inhaling to prepare, follow it by exhaling. You must breathe
in before you
can breathe out!
Even if you follow no other instructions, learn to
breathe correctly.
Breathing is the first act of life, and the last. Our
very life depends on it.
To breathe correctly you must completely exhale and
inhale, always trying very hard to squeeze every atom of
impure are from your lungs in much the same manner that
you would wring every drop of water from a wet cloth.
-Joseph H. Pilates
LENGTHENING THE NECK
In Pilates the head
is always nodded forward to the chest. “Chin
to chest” is an often heard command. Remember that
the spine starts at the nape of the neck and ends at the
tip of
the tailbone. Keeping this in mind, we never want our chin
to lift
up, as this will hurt your neck, squeezing the vertebrae
of the neck together. In Pilates we always want lots of
space between
ALL the vertebrae of the spine, from the base of the spine,
which starts at the tip of the tailbone and runs up, ending
at the
nape of the neck.
IMPRINT
Picture your body lying
down and pressing into a hot bed of sand. When you get up,
each and every bone of your spine would leave and mark – hence
the term imprint. This comes from tightening the abdominal muscles
and not the buttocks or legs. The abdominal muscles
contract bringing the pelvis and ribcage closer together as
opposed to just jamming the back into the floor. For example, if
you
were sitting up and you wanted to lie down on the mat, you would
do the
following: “Sit tall and lengthen your spine. Pull the
shoulders back and down. Nod your chin toward your chest. Scoop
in your abs,
pulling the navel back and up toward the spine. Curve the base
of the spine to look like the letter “C” by contracting
your abdominal muscles. Take an inhale to prepare, with your
chin toward your chest and abs scooping, exhale roll through
the spine
with the low back leading, chin to chest. Staying rounded put
your spine down sequentially as if it were a strand of pearls,
one after
one and your head down last. Lift your head, chin towards the
chest, pull your shoulders back and down, draw your navel to
your spine
and inhale to prepare. Exhale and peel yourself up one bone
at a time and return to sit tall, the ribs on top of the hips,
your original
seated position. If you were lying on a hot bed of sand, each
vertebra would have left an “imprint.”
NEUTRAL PELVIS
The pelvis is in
neutral position, which means the ribs neither pops up to the
ceiling nor down to the floor. To find neutral pelvis,
lie down on your back. With knees bent, feet flat on the
floor, put your pinky fingers on your hipbones and your thumbs
on your
bottom ribs. Rock back and forth until your ribcage neither
lifts up nor down and your spine stays imprinted. Make sure the
imprinting
comes from tightening the abdominal muscles, not your
buttocks and legs. As the abdominals contract, think of bringing
the pelvis
and ribcage closer together rather than jamming the back
into the floor.
