| Keep a neutral pelvis |
Maintain the spine’s natural curvature. Don’t flatten out or over-arch the curve in the lower back by tilting the pelvis. “Everyone’s spine is different,” says Barbara Huttner, owner of The Barbara Huttner Studio in Avon, Colorado. |
| Drop the sitz bones |
The sitz bones are the knobs on the bottom of your pelvis?if you sit on a hard chair you’ll likely feel them poking down. Letting the sitz bones gently drop toward the mat when lying down encourages a neutral spine. |
| Lengthen your legs |
Stretch your muscles without tensing or pointing your feet. Keep your hips even. Imagine someone gently pulling your legs by the ankles, says Kelly Robinson, owner of Infusion Pilates Studio in San Francisco. |
| Put your feet in Pilates stance |
Make a V with your feet by placing your heels together and your toes a few inches apart. |
| Activate the muscles |
Keep your muscles working. When your legs are in the air, draw your abdominal muscles in toward your spine and press your arms into the ground. On the equipment, the straps or springs shouldn’t do the work, says Tracy Fitzpatrick, owner of Aline Studios in Costa Mesa, California. Use your muscles consciously instead, pulling and resisting the springs. |
| Chin to chest |
With a long neck, curl the head forward. The chin shouldn’t actually touch your chest; keep the width of an egg or tennis ball between the two. |
| Articulate the spine |
Roll forward or backward through the spine one vertebra at a time. Feel as though you are imprinting each bone into the mat as you roll down, Fitzpatrick says. |
| Work from the inside out |
Concentrate on using the supportive muscles near the skeletal frame. “We’re too hung up on using the large muscle groups,” Huttner says. The expression can also refer to using your abdominal muscles to start a movement. |
| Move with your belly |
Use the deep abdominal muscles to stabilize your body before you move, and to
initiate the movement. “That’s the beauty of Pilates,” says Liz Holden, owner of Pilates of Larchmont in Larchmont, New York. “Even when you’re working the legs, you’re using the abdominal muscles.” |
| Navel to spine (or Scoop) |
Pull your belly button toward your back to gently “scoop” your belly in and up. Picture working through the four layers of the abdominal muscles. |
| Zipper your thighs together |
Squeeze the inner thighs and sitz bones toward each other, actively pressing your legs together. |
| Tabletop legs |
Lie on your back and raise your legs to a 90-degree angle from your body. Then bend your knees so your calves are at a 90-degree angle to your thighs. |
| Make a C-curve |
Bring the navel toward your spine, creating a C-shape with your back. Keep your eyes on your pubic bones. To avoid collapsing into your ribs, pretend you’re curving over a beach ball, Holden says. |
| Work in opposition |
“In our studio, everything is the world of opposites,” Fitzpatrick says. When you sit on the floor, try to lengthen your spine upward. At the same time, push your legs into the floor. The effort of lengthening in both directions builds stabilization and makes each movement a whole-body exercise. |
