Joseph Pilates wrote in "Return to Life Through Contrology": "Ideally, our muscles should obey our will. Reasonably, our will should not be dominated by the reflex action of our muscles." You can train your body to move with efficiency, strength and flexibility using the Pilates method while engaging your mind, too. These exercises from the Pilates mat series require no extra equipment other than the mat itself.
Preparation, Warm-Up and Core Work
Step 1
Lie on your back on the mat. Press your shoulders away from your ears and let your chest relax. Contract your deepest abdominal muscles. Imagine you have a round boulder sitting on your lower stomach. From the top of your pubic bone to your navel, feel the boulder press your abdominals in toward your spine. Keep your pelvis in a neutral position with a slight curve to your lower spine.
Step 2
Keep your lower abdominals drawn in, and point your straight legs to the ceiling. Turn your toes out with your heels touching. Lower your feet enough to challenge your lower abdominals, and do not let your lower back arch. Raise your head and shoulders as you stretch your arms long along the mat. Pump your hands about 2 inches up and down five times as you inhale, then pump five times as you exhale. Continue until you have counted to 100.
Step 3
Engage your lower abdominals as you raise your arms to chest level. Flex your feet. Turn out your toes and press your heels and thighs together to engage your hamstrings and buttocks. Relax your quadriceps. Roll up to sitting, one vertebra at a time. End with your arms reaching over your toes, back round as though you were reaching over a ball sitting in your lap. Roll back down in reverse, finishing with your arms above your head. Do five repetitions.
Step 4
Hold your torso stable. Raise one straight leg to the ceiling with your toe turned out. Your other leg remains extended on the mat. Imagine you are drawing a circle on the ceiling with your toe. Start by crossing your raised leg over your body, then bring it down toward your other foot and back up to its starting point. Keep your circle even. If your torso wobbles, make your circle smaller. Do five repetitions in each direction, and then switch legs.
Step 5
Roll up to sitting. Bend your knees and bring them toward your chest, hips-width apart. Hold your shins, tuck your chin, round your spine and rock back onto your sitz bones. Hollow out your lower abdominals. With control, rock back onto our shoulders then roll up to your starting position. Keep your round position throughout without kicking your heels. Each time you come up, balance on your sitz bones, but do not let your feet touch the mat. Do five repetitions.
Tips and Warnings
- Consider taking a class or a lesson from a certified Pilates instructor.
- If you have back injuries, check with a doctor before starting any exercise program.
References
- "The Pilates Body"; Brooke Siler; 2000
- "Pilates' Return to Life Through Contrology"; Joseph H. Pilates and William Miller; 1998
- "The Complete Idiot's Guide to Pilates Method"; Karon Karter; 2001
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