Classical Pilates for Modern Life
(A Harmonious Pilates, Inc. Original Publication)
by Joanna Telacka
Classical Pilates Teacher
Business Owner
Triathlete
June 22nd, 2024
Shining light on Pilates truths, honoring Joseph Pilates,
and supporting you in your Pilates journey.
Are Small Movements Worth Your Time?
What is a movement?
According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, it is “The act or process of moving; especially: change of place or position or posture.”
To be specific, in biology movement is “The process or the state of changing place or position of the body or a body part from one position to another”.
How big should the movement be in Pilates exercises?
For example, when you move your legs, like in Leg Circles on the Reformer, should these movements be big or small? What is the appropriate range of motion? Will you benefit more from bigger movements and not so much from smaller ones? These are questions I get asked all the time. It takes a lot of mental and physical practice for us to retrain our brain and body to NOT want to move BIG. Bigger seems to be regarded as better even when it comes to movement.
Yet, when practicing Pilates movements that involve moving legs, you should move within the range of motion that allows you to fulfill the objective, which is:
To stabilize the pelvis and spine while moving legs.
The rule is simple, but the execution may be more complex than expected.
Take a look:)
So if you learn how to keep the pelvis stable while moving the legs, it will not matter what equipment you are on, or even if you are on equipment at all. Once you understand and practice this skill it will help you perform all the exercises involving moving legs (whether simultaneously or one at a time) with absolute control, avoiding lower back muscle strain or pain associated with overusing the lower back joints.
Mini-exercises such as knee folds, toe taps, and straight leg raises will help you learn, understand, and master the pelvis stability skill.
In the video below I incorporate them in a short sequence.
If you need a copy of the previous newsletters to browse though or if you are new to our community and want to catch up here is a link to the Newsletter Library.
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Look inside my Facebook group: "Classical Pilates for Modern Life" and on the Instagram page "Pilates Knowhow" where I explain and demonstrate one Pilates exercise at a time.
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Please reach out if you need more guidance or encouragement!
Let's share our Pilates journey together 😊
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Sincerely,
Joanna 😊
