Alignment

Pilates encourages you to recognise good alignment in your own body when you’re still and when you’re moving.

When we are ‘still’ we are constantly moving; although you may feel that you are motionless, tiny adjustments are being made by your muscles to cope with the effects of your surroundings and gravity on your body.

Why is it so important?

Being aware of your body in good alignment feeds into everyday life;

learning how your body is when you’re in good alignment, helps aid and correct your posture and greatly assists functional movement.

Good movement is, on the whole, something that we’re born with; babies and children have good movement.

Losing good movement isn’t difficult when you take into account how we live;

sedentary lifestyles
workplace conditions – doing a job that requires you to sit, or stand, for most of the day
injury
stress

It’s not all doom and gloom though.

Because Pilates!

Pilates encourages learning of good alignment:

Before each movement, in your start position
Throughout each movement
After each movement
Learning good alignment in all of the start positions helps to lead to good movement.

Good alignment as you move means:

you use the correct muscles for the job – energy efficient
less wear and tear on your joints – safer

The aim is to allow these good movements patterns to enter into our daily life, restoring correct movement.

You could begin by learning the relaxation position.

In direct contrast to the “If it’s easy, it’s probably not Pilates” ethos , we begin many movements from the relaxation position!

This position helps release tension and it can be used as an exercise in and of itself.

Begin by lying on a mat or rug
Bend your knees and bring your feet and knees so that they’re parallel
Bending the knees takes the stress from your lower back

Allow your neck to feel relaxed, neither tipping your chin down or your head back
You could place a small cushion or folded towel under the back of your head

Place your hands on your belly and allow your elbows to rest on the mat
Allow yourself to be aware of the parts of your body that are in contact with the mat
Allow them to feel heavy

Release any tension from your jaw, shoulders and buttocks
You could practice this position for a few minutes or up to half an hour each day to

release tension
create body awareness
allow the spine to release – creating a feeling of space between each vertebrae

I love the relaxation position – it gives a sense of being effortlessly in good alignment.

Try it and see.

Pilates really is Perfect