Take Pilates as a Daily Multi-Vitamin
Images from Adaptive Bodywork – Biotensegrity and Movement Optimization
When we practice Pilates, we are practicing tensegrity. This word is a portmanteau of “tension” and “integrity”. It is used most often in construction when describing a system of struts, bars, and beams that are held together by cables and wires. The struts, bars, and beams are referred to as isolated compression elements, and the cables and wires are referred to as continuous tension elements.
Here’s a great video to show a visual.
This system also exists in the human body where our bones and our skeletal system are the struts, bars, and beams of isolated compression elements, and our muscles, tendons, ligaments, and fascia are the cables and wires of continuous tension elements. Without our muscles, tendons, ligaments, and fascia in place, we would be simply a pile of bones. The muscles support/suspend our bones in place, function, and structure to hold us upright with good posture.
Sometimes when I’m practicing Pilates, I like to imagine myself as a jellyfish. It expands and contracts, but is always in control of its whole body. You never see one side move, then the other side, or just the top, but not the bottom, or vice versa. It expands equally up/down and side-to-side at the same time. And you never see it expand so much that it cannot return to its original shape.
Just like the video above discusses how the pressure gets distributed in a system like this, it’s evenly spread out, so that not one strut, bar, beam… or bone breaks. However, an ache, pain, strain, tweak, pinch, injury reflects the weakest link. What to do here? Restore balance to the body so that all the parts do its necessary function, and nothing beyond. Remember that jellyfish analogy? You want your body to expand and contract within your control.
How does this concept translate to Pilates exercises? You’re working the tension of your muscles and fascia to support your bone structure. For instance, in the Hundred exercise, as much as your legs are reaching away, you are supporting them with your deepest belly for abdominal support as well as engaging your seat and the back of the legs so it doesn’t feel all “hip-flexory”. I know – I made up that word. At the same time, from your tailbone through the crown of the head, you’re lengthening the spine away from the legs. You’re making the longest round shape you can in this exercise, so don’t bring your head too far forward because that’s just more forward head syndrome. Now the pump of the arms from your wide, upper back is the movement that’s challenging the strong foundation that you created with your spine, your seat and legs, and your center. Can you feel the strength in your muscles to hold your body in this position, the stretch in opposite directions from head to feet, and the control that’s needed so that the movement of the arms doesn’t move your body around on the mat? If that’s not the case, let’s talk about it.
Sometimes, the work in Pilates is to address the unilateral imbalances, so work weak-strong-weak sides to give the weaker side a chance to catch up. Sometimes, the work in Pilates is to work on the fundamental exercises because changing the orientation of the body in different planes can make an exercise feel advanced. Sometimes, you need to build strength through different apparatuses in the studio so you have the support and feedback of the springs to help you understand how you move, and how you need to connect to find the work. Sometimes, you need to work a different variation of an exercise before you up-level the exercise. Even with a different variation, you’re still trying to service the full expression of the exercise so that you can continue to build strength, stretch, and control to eventually practice the full expression of the exercise.
An example of this is I no longer teach the Hundred with tabletop legs. Why? Because if I were to flip your body so your feet are on the ground, your body is basically sitting, and we all do plenty of sitting, and none of us are getting our glutes stronger that way. If only that was the way to get stronger glutes?! Instead, are our hip flexors getting shorter and tighter? You betcha! There are plenty of variations I can give you to practice the Hundred that will strengthen the muscles to eventually lift the legs for the full expression of the Hundred.
With so many possibilities to restore balance in the body, it’s not a one size fits all. The body could also use a combination of the options mentioned above to restore balance in the body. Also, our bodies change day-to-day, so we need to address what’s happening TODAY. This is one of the many benefits of a private session to get a customized workout tailored for your body depending on how it’s moving that day.
Remember: A little bit of Pilates everyday is better than no Pilates everyday. Keep moving!