Wellness Matters Magazine May/June 2013 Issue www.wellnessmattersmagazine.com You've Got to Move It, Move It!Pilates for a Symbiotic Mind and Bodyby Monique Molino
Today life is crammed with demands on personal time, energy, and space. When you continuously care for others without taking care of yourself, you reach beyond your capacity to function. Like a hard drive with too much information, you essentially crash and burn due to these physical and mental imbalances. At a Pilates class it’s your time to recharge your batteries so you can rediscover your mind-body equilibrium. The Pilates breathing technique will help you to capitalize on your strengths without wearing yourself down.
Lay down supine (on your back) with your feet placed near your tailbone. Place hands under the arch of your back, about 4 fingers should fit. Remove fingers and feel the neutral spinal position. Then, press the lower back down and round or tuck the tailbone while squeezing abdominals. Next, arch the back and lift the tailbone while squeezing the back muscles. Repeat, you can also do this movement standing.
Before getting out of bed 1.) while laying on your back (supine) 2.) do a few pelvic tilts and 3.) pelvic circles 4.) bring your knees towards your chest and hug underneath 5.)open your arms out to the sides and take your knees to one side and then the other - use pillows underneath the knees for support and comfort if needed 6.) roll out of bed and 7.) stand in mountain (tadasana) for a few breaths – grateful to begin a new day.
One truly amazing thing about the body is that it will allow you to compensate for bad posture with more bad posture. At first it could just be a forward head, a locked out knee or a rib cage popping forward. Next,your body must adapt by repositioning another part of your body. One muscle lengthens another part shortens to create imbalances in our bodies. Eventually you get an achy back, a tight feeling in your neck or a full blown injury.
One truly amazing thing about the body is that it will allow you to compensate for bad posture with more bad posture. At first it could just be a forward head, a locked out knee or a rib cage popping forward. Next,your body must adapt by repositioning another part of your body. One muscle lengthens another part shortens to create imbalances in our bodies. Eventually you get an achey feeling, a tight feeling or a full blown injury.
