We are now on the fourth exercise of the Pilates Stomach Series, Double Leg Lower and Lift. Double Leg Lower and Lift will continue to work the abs, hips, booty, legs, shoulders, arms, and low back while building flexibility especially in the hips, back of the legs, and low back. Pilates tends to be referred as mainly a core strengthener, but as we have learned Pilates is about a full body workout balancing strength with flexibility. More importantly, it is about incorporating the body, mind, and spirit. Double Leg Lower and Lift is the perfect exercise to look at how the mind-body connection is created to find your own natural rhythm.

Mindfulness is extremely important to Pilates; however, too many times we become over analytical. Soon you are thinking about every cue your teacher has told you, and your Pilates becomes more technical than natural movement. Then discouragement happens because you don’t believe you are performing the exercise correctly. You may even see your neighbor perform in differently. Now you start to compare yourself feeling more discouraged. You ask the teacher for more cues to help you understand the anatomical components or a visual to create a shape.

Yet, have you really experienced the exercise? Just because your neighbor can perform an exercise does not mean you will perform it the same way. Competitiveness can not exist in Pilates because the playing field is not level. You have a different body than those around you, which means your exercise will only look as your body can perform it. Trying to go big and bad only leads to more pain and lackluster results. As well, repeating all the cues or over analyzing the anatomical connections do not lead to a mind-body connection. Truly feeling the sensations and playing with the exercises will create a connection between the mind and body. The dots will start to connect to create a picture of freedom leading to your own natural rhythm.

If you look at a piece a paper with a bunch of dots, it just looks like a bunch of dots. Each is individual of one another not creating a cohesive picture. The picture won’t reveal itself until you start to connect the dots together. You start at step one connecting each of the dots rather than haphazardly drawing lines. Even if you start haphazardly drawing lines, all the lines will need to be connected to create the picture. The integration of all the dots is what creates the picture. If one of the dots isn’t connected, the picture will be incomplete. This is the same with Pilates. If you only focus on the physical aspect, you will miss the ability for the mind to calm and control the body inherent in Pilates. If you become too mental about the work, you will miss the natural movement inherent in Pilates. Many times we make the work more difficult than it is. When the mind starts to feel the sensations of the body, the dots will start to create the picture of freedom in the body, mind, and spirit.

Many students will use momentum or move in a larger range of motion than their body is prepared to handle when performing Double Leg Lower and Lift. Control is created by building strength and flexibility in increments as the body is ready. Let’s say you have low back pain. Double Leg Lower and Lift may cause more pain when trying to perform the advanced version especially if the back starts to arch or the pelvis rocks. Many times this will occur because the hips are tight and/or do not work properly to perform the exercise. If you continue to work in that motion, you will continue your current muscle pattern. This will continue to aggravate the low back and possibly cause more pain. If you start to work in smaller range of motion with a focus on controlling the movement to ease the low back, you will start to change the muscle pattern. You will need to play with a variety of range of motions until you find the one that maintains the integrity of the exercise while challenging your body in a healthy way. This will start to lead to increase strength and flexibility and ultimately allowing you to challenge the motion to a larger range. You will start to make a mind-body connection outside of all the cues and schematics you have created in your mind when you truly feel the movements. The dots will start to connect when you feel the range of motion that is right for your body.

Once you feel and find the range of motion right for your body, it is important to control the motion. Control does not only mean the movement but also the mind’s ability to control the body. Many times we start a new exercise, the body becomes fatigued, and/or an exercise is a challenge and all the rules go right out the window. For example, there is a challenge with Double Leg Lower and Lift as you get tired. You have performed Single Leg Stretch, Double Leg Stretch, and Scissors. Now you have to perform the Double Leg Lower and Lift. Soon your anxiety grows because you are fatiguing and wonder if you can make it through the exercise knowing you have one more after it. The mind-body connection is now null and void as your anxiety grows, breath gets quicker or worse held, and you use momentum to swing the legs up. At this point, all the lines have been erased returning to a page of dots.

Start connecting the dots again by noticing whether you can maintain proper form or if the exercise is no good. If it is no good, then it is time to take a break for a few breaths and then pick up where you left off. If you can maintain the integrity and it is just a new challenge, then you need to take control of your mind to release the anxiety to find control of the body. You control your mind by experiencing the exercise rather than over thinking the motion. You control the mind by calming your breath to settle the anxiety. You control the mind by letting go of negative thoughts about an exercise. As your mind calms, you will find the body responds and makes the exercise more accessible. As you learn to find control, freedom will follow leading to the complete coordination of the body, mind, and spirit. When the body starts to obey the mind, the dots will be connected once again to build the picture of your natural rhythm.

Master Double Leg Lower and Lift to strengthening with flexibility the abs, hips, booty, legs, shoulders, arms, and low back. But more importantly, start to connect the dots to build a picture of your natural rhythm.

Tags: ab toner, double leg lower and lift, how to do Pilates, low belly exercise, Pilates, stomach exercises

This entry was posted on Wednesday, December 2nd, 2009 at 4:34 pm and is filed under My Inner Rockstar, Pilates Exercises. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.