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Pilates Abs

I have been teaching for 26 years and have heard many people say that they were really not that happy with the results they were getting with their crunches, sit-ups or leg lifts! Most people don’t want their abs to get bigger, but, indeed, they want it to get smaller, more trim.  I can honestly say, that I would agree with these students that those exercises mentioned above are not as effective as others that we now are in tune with.  The best ones that I suggest are the Pilates Abs.  Pilates has, by far, developed the best abdominal and trunk exercises.   Pilates Abs works the deeper, more intrinsic abdominal muscles and the stabilizers that hold it all in. Pilates has also been shown to lengthen the muscles, giving the student a leaner, longer look.  Seriously speaking, if you want to look trimmer in the waistline, then definitely incorporate Pilates Abs into your workout regimen.

The following Pilates Abs exercises are just a few that are easy to follow, execute and to begin with so you can get a feel for it.

1) The Hundreds: Lying in a supine position, (on your back) with your knees either bent or legs elevated, extend your arms to the side.  Flex your spine (lift the upper body) and quickly pump them up and down for 5 times, exhaling and 5 times inhaling.  Repeat this process 10 times for the 100’s!     Not easy, let me tell you!

2)Crisscrosses:Lying in a supine position, and spine flexed up, hands behind neck with thumbs at the earlobes, (no interlacing of fingers)  Inhale and slowly twist t the right, bringing left elbow to your right knee while extending your left leg.  Hold this until you exhale and go back to your starting position.  Then repeat on left side!  Do 10 reps of crisscross.

3)Rolling like a ball: This is really a fun one and effective as well.  Sitting tall, draw you knees into your chest and pull your ankles towards your gluts and lift the feet off the floor, balancing on the gluts/tail bone.  Draw your navel to the spine and slowly roll backward leading with the lower back until you touch your shoulder blades, taking care not to roll on your neck.  Immediately roll back up.  Repeat about 5 times.

Try these three pilates abs exercises to get started and notice results fairly quickly!  But, let’s face it everyone, when you really notice the difference is when you stop doing it.  Pilates Abs are wonderful for all ages and fitness levels, so no excuses everyone!

The Beauty Of Chaturanga Dandasana!

Chaturanga Dandasana, the wonderful term in Sanskrit that means “four-limbed staff pose”. A pose in Yoga that is used consistently during the practice, but lends itself to being done improperly and causing damage to the shoulders.   So, let’s look at the benefits of Chaturanga and then look out the alignment of the body when executing this pose to help all of us do a better job at protecting the delicate muscles of the shoulder!

The benefits are wonderful if done correctly: It does build healthy shoulders, tones the abs, prepares the students for arm-balances, back bends, and inversions, and strengthens the arms and the legs.  Plus, it develops core stability!  But there are a few contraindications such as wrist injury or shoulder injury.    But the good news is that anybody can do it when they learn proper alignment!  So right here and now decide to set yourself up carefully and you will see that doing this pose is not just about the strength of the upper body, but is about learning to distribute throughout the entire body the power.  Particularly the core, the spine, the legs and feet.

I see many students practice this pose as if it were a pectoral push up with the arms splaying out, which will put a lot of pressure on the shoulders. Hence, a misalignment!  Ouch!   The elbows must hug into your ribcage (sides), making sure the head of the arm bone (humerus) is in line with the elbow, and the sternum is lifted or light.

Now let’s take a look at how you can begin to execute a well-aligned chaturanga:

I always ask my students to put their knees down on the floor and watch that their elbows glued to the ribs.  Then notice just how deep you are going as you descend towards the floor, always catching yourself before you do too deep and drop the shoulders below the elbows.

Next share all of the effort throughout the body, recruit the lower body and the upper body will thank you.  All have an active role.

Remember you will always start with weak upper body strength, unless you are a guy who comes by this naturally, and must protect the shoulders while developing that new strength.   See that your hands are directly below the shoulders and your heels directly over the toes when in plank.   Draw your navel in engaging the core muscles, lifting your sternum more forward and press back into your heels.  You will begin to feel length and strength throughout this position.   Notice your tailbone next, and grow it long towards your heels!   This is a real key to the core strength.  Keep looking forward so as not to pull the shoulders more forward and also lift the belly, no sagging anyone!!

When we imprint a pose, do it with the precise alignment!   Do not lift the buttocks up nor drop your shoulders toward the floor or let your elbows splay out, and worst of all allow your shoulders to hunch next to your ears.  Take time to align and realign until the imprint is there and the strength is there.

One thing I notice is when you bring your legs into the pose, your shoulders are much happier and you save them from terrible injury or overuse injury!

You gotta love Yoga, Namaste everyone!

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