Chicken or Egg, Part 1: Stability or Mobility?

Chicken or Egg, Part 1: Stability or Mobility?

Pilates is gaining the mastery of your mind over the complete control over your body. ~ Joseph Pilates

If I had to translate how Joseph Pilates defines Pilates into my own words, it would be:

It is a mind-body connection that engages a full body workout.  It’s stability and mobility.  It’s strength and stretch/flexibility with control.  It strengthens what’s weak, stretches what’s tight, tightens what’s loose (hypermobility), loosens what’s rigid (hypomobility), and balances what’s strong.

So, in this blog, I want to dive into the stability and mobility aspect of Pilates, which shows up in every exercise in the Pilates system, regardless of apparatus, practitioner level, and variation of exercise.  First, let’s discuss the chicken/egg analogy we have here.  Which comes first – Stability then Mobility, OR Mobility then Stability?  Which should you focus on in each exercise? 

Though you’re always focused on both in Pilates, in my opinion, it’s Stability then Mobility.  However, it’s important to distinguish in the body where we need stability, and where we need mobility.  When we talk about anatomy, we talk about position and direction, and so we use 2 words:  proximal and distal.  Let’s define those:

Proximal = towards the trunk, near the origin.  Proximal = proximity.

Distal = away from the trunk, far from the origin.  Distal = distant.

Why is this important?  Because you want proximal stability before distal mobility.  In other words, we want strength along our trunk (proximal stability) before we can maximize the extremity function of our limbs (distal mobility).  If you look at this in terms of keeping your body safe, healthy, and balanced, you want stability in your body so that everything that connects to your mid-line structures along the spine and pelvis is strong.  I call this “the glue”.  Once you have “the glue” in ALL the places, then you can work on the mobility (or range of motion) of your limbs.

Now, let’s talk about joint movement:  wrists, elbows, shoulders, hips, knees, and ankles.  Let’s not forget about the facet joints in your spine.  In my opinion, it’s still Stability then Mobility.  In this instance, stability is the ability to control joint position and movement, while mobility is the coordination and lack of restriction of the joint position and movement.  

I know Pilates cues are about movement, so sometimes the last movement cue given is the shiny thing that we all get obsessed about, but we must not forget about the setup, the start position, what’s holding us in place.  An anchor, if you will.  The movement of limbs is a distraction to holding on to your center of gravity.  

I know I’ve mentioned this before, but it bears repeating.  Whatever body parts are on the mat at the setup of the exercise is what should be stable.  The movement cue is what’s mobile.  If you’re moving a body part so much that it’s disturbing what’s on the mat, then the movement is too big, too fast, or too big AND too fast for your center to stabilize against that action.  It would be best for you to make the movement smaller and/or slow down the movement in a way that you can control it, and keep what’s on the mat stable and even.  Remember “the glue”!

Let’s use a mat exercise to demonstrate my point:  single leg circles.  The setup for this exercise is that you’re lying on your back with your head and both arms pressing into the mat, one leg is straight along the mat (also pressing into the mat) while the other leg is up towards the sky drawing 5 circles in one direction and then another 5 circles in the other direction.  Then, switch legs.  First, bring your attention to what’s pressing into the mat and keep that stable before you get distracted by the shiny thing of your circling leg.  Stabilize the body which allows for smoother, freer movement of the circling leg.  Mobilize the joints through their full range of motion to keep them flexible and lubricated.  

Now we all know that Pilates has rolling and rocking exercises, which is a massage for your spine. What are the stability and mobility aspects here?  Sidenote:  These are probably my most favorite exercises as they’re also very playful.      

The stability is through your center, while the mobility is rolling/rocking the length of your spine in a smooth motion if you’re seated on your mat.  When you’re on your belly on the mat, the stability is the same, it’s just the mobility is rolling/rocking the length of the front of your trunk.  

Here are some stability questions to think about the next time you’re on your mat, and “rolling like a ball”, “open leg rocker”, “swan dive”, “boomerang”, “seal”, “crab”, or “rocking”.  

QUESTION:  Where is your head placement relative to your spine?  TIP:  When you’re laying on your back, you don’t want forward head syndrome here.  When you’re laying on your belly, you don’t want creases in the back of your neck. 

QUESTION:  Are you slouching your upper back or hunching your shoulders forward?  TIP:  You don’t want to collapse into yourself to create the Pilates longest round spine shape.  

QUESTION:  Are you sinking your low back into the mat to generate the rolling/rocking movement?  TIP:  You don’t want to pull yourself down to the mat; you want to pull yourself back to the mat.  Yep, there’s a difference!

Next time you hit your mat, get curious about what’s stable and mobile, and give yourself what you need to get “the glue”!