Pilates Principle: Precision
For the next few months, I want to do a deep dive into each of the Pilates principles. There are 6 guiding principles: breath, concentration, center, control, flow, and precision. I covered breath, concentration, and center at the beginning of the year. Last month, I wrote my thoughts on control, and what that means when you’re practicing Pilates.
This month, let’s discuss PRECISION, and its relationship to Pilates!
During my teacher training program, there was required reading, and they were 2 books written by Joseph Pilates. One book he wrote titled “Return to Life Through Contrology” was published
in 1945, and so much of it still applies today. I want to share with you excerpts I highlighted related to precision.
Concentrate on the correct movements EACH TIME YOU EXERCISE, lest you do them improperly and thus lose all the vital benefits of their value.
The benefits of Contrology depend upon you performing the exercises exactly according to the instructions and not otherwise.
A few well-designed movements, properly performed in a balanced sequence, are worth hours of sloppy calisthenics or forced contortion. (NOTE: This is a quote that Joseph has said, but I don’t believe it’s written in his books.)
In my mind, precision in the context of Pilates is practicing every movement with intention, where every exercise has a purpose, where you’re trying to achieve excellent form and technique to break previous harmful patterning in your body, or even prevent potentially harmful patterning to begin. To do this requires mental awareness and alertness so that you’re able to change and course correct if you do notice your mind wanders, or your form is off, or if your technique is less than. The placement of body parts is specific to bring proper alignment and support in the body parts, and to have the energy work from the center out.
I totally understand if you have no idea what I just said. Or if it makes no sense to you. Basically, because of the low reps we have per exercise, the focus is on quality (how you practice the exercise), not quantity. You have to concentrate, and you have to focus on alignment, muscles, and breathing (oh my!). You’re training your body on working smarter for you, not harder, so precision is everything.
Let’s move so you can feel it in your body! Observe, notice, without judgment.
Let’s start with the ankles and feet.
Setup: Sit with your legs in front of you. They’re probably relaxed, and in a slight turnout. Bring your legs parallel, and look at your feet. For the purpose of this foot exercise, distinguish the difference of the ankles, heels, arches, balls, and toes.
Movement:
Flex your ankles. What did your toes do? Did your toes flex too? Can your toes remain neutral?
Now point your ankles. What did your toes do? Did your toes point too? Can your toes remain neutral?
See if you can make the movement of the ankles one event, and the movement of the toes a separate event. So, 1 – flex the ankles, 2 – flex the toes, 3 – point the ankles, 4 – point the toes. Repeat 3-5x.
Ok, pay attention! How about this one? 1 – point the toes, 2 – point the ankles, 3 – flex the toes, 4 – flex the ankles. Repeat 3-5x. How did it go?
Can you separate the movement of the ankles from the toes?
How about this one? Point the right ankle, and flex the left ankle. Switch 3-6x. Can you move each foot separately with different movements? What do you feel?
If you’re having trouble separating the movements of the ankle and the foot, grab a theraband and place it around the ball of your foot. Sometimes, giving a body part some feedback makes the difference! Give it a try. See if it helps your body understand there are 2 separate events happening, or maybe it helps your mind build new neural pathways, or maybe it helps strengthen the muscles to control the separate events.
Let’s move on to the legs.
Setup: Lay on your back. Pull your knees into your chest shoulder-distance apart, and inner arches of the feet squeezing together. There’s some activation through the belly so that your thighs are not resting on your belly, and your lower legs are not resting on the backs of your upper legs. Check that your shins are parallel to the sky.
Movement:
Straighten your legs at 45 degrees, and pull them back into your chest. Repeat 3-5x.
Did your lower legs drop away from you, like did your calves and hamstrings touch each other? Maybe this happens as the legs move away from the body? Or did the back of the heels touch your seat, and then you pulled your legs back into the body? Maybe this happens as the legs return to the body?
See if you can keep the feet at the same height whether the leg is bent or straight, so it’s on the same trajectory. What do you notice working or not working? If you’re struggling to access this movement from your center, or you find yourself folding at the knees and just the lower leg is moving up and down, grab a theraband and place it around the balls of your feet. Press and reach into the theraband without your lower legs lowering down.
Working our way up the body, let’s check out our wrists, then our shoulders.
Setup and Movement:
Hold your arms out in front of you, notice that you can rotate your wrists with minimal movement of the shoulders.
Now, try to rotate your shoulders in different planes – with arms in front of you, out to the sides, down by your sides, or even slightly reaching back. Notice the difference. What do you feel?
Perhaps more engagement in your back muscles? Particularly your postural muscles in the mid to upper back?
Lastly, this head of ours.
Setup: Without making any changes now, where is your head relative to your back/spine? Is it on top of your spine? Do you have a tendency to tilt your head left or right? Is it slightly forward? If forward, how much forward? What does the curve in the back of your neck look like? What about your chin? Does it jut forward? Did you know that the lines on your neck give you information about the movements or positions of where your head moves or stays the most? I know you’re probably running to the mirror now, or taking a selfie. Instead of making any judgments on the lines of your neck because we all have them, let’s look at them with curiosity. Think of how many times during a day that you look down at your phone, look down to read anything, look down to do anything in front of you, maybe fall asleep while sitting. How about looking forward? How many times a day do you look closer at something like your laptop or monitor? How about driving? So many things in our life is in front of us, or even below that our head is forward of our spine, and those constant and frequent movements and positions can reverse the curve in the back of our necks, and/or show up as lines on our necks.
Movement:
Move your head back until it’s in line with your back/spine. Place interlaced hands behind your head. Push your head into your hands, while your hands resist. Where do you feel the muscular engagement? Repeat 3-5x. How do you feel?
Your Pilates practice is designed to reverse your current body patterning, and prevent future harmful body patterning, so you feel and look taller, longer, stronger without a lot of bulk. Pilates strengthens those smaller muscle groups with a focus on posture and alignment. Working those smaller muscle groups gives your body better balance, and improved joint stabilization.
Remember that Pilates is a mind-body exercise. Yet, I believe it can also be fun, possible, challenging, and rewarding. Work with me either at my home studio, or virtually in a mat class.
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