Below Rebecca Dadoun a Pilates Instructor & Founder of Pilates Prescription. reveals her 4 favourite Pilates moves for building a stronger core.
Pilates does an amazing job of building core strength because it teaches us to stabilise parts of the body whilst mobilising other parts as well as harnessing the breath. The core can be thought of as a cylinder with the abdominal muscles, back muscles, diaphragm and pelvic floor to keep it nice and simple and Pilates allows us to access all of these muscles during a single class.
An example would be a side lying oyster. You might think you are working your hips and glutes but by maintaining your form you are working into your stabilising muscles to stop you from rolling around during the movement.
1. Side leans
FORM: Start by high kneeling and then take your left foot out so one side. Take both arms and interlace your hands behind your head. Think about being as tall as you can from the crown on the head. Breathe in to prepare and as you exhale think about flexing the spine away from your extended leg, keeping your pelvis facing forwards. Inhale to return. Keep grounding down through the extended leg.
WHY: Not quite a beginner move but the move is teaching you to keep the pelvis aligned during lateral flexion whilst challenging your balance.
2. Toe taps
FORM: Start by laying down on your back, knees bent and arms down by your side. Pelvis in neutral. float your legs up into tabletop position. Inhale to prepare and then exhale hingeing from the hip lower one foot down towards the floor without arching through your lower back. Inhale to return the leg to tabletop. repeat on the other side.
WHY: This is one of my favourites for beginners. It teaches them neutral pelvis, how to maintain neutral, adding in a load (the leg) and working the lower abdominals.
3. Bridge taps
FORM: Lying on your back, feet hip width apart, knees bent and arms by your side; slowly peel the spine up bone by bone into a bridge. Breathe in as you take one heel away and tap and then exhale to bring the leg in. repeat on the other side.
WHY: Not quite a beginner move but again the move is challenging your pelvic stability and glute strength as you take the legs in and out. You are aiming to maintain pelvic stability by engaging the back of the body.
4. Pilates Scoop
FORM: Find your four point kneeling position with your hands underneath your shoulders and knees underneath your hips. Inhale as you reach the opposite arm and leg away from each other. On your exhale round the spine into a cat/c-curve shape and draw the knee to elbow in together and inhale to lengthen out again.
WHY: This is combining two great beginner moves; the cat and tabletop 2. It is challenging your core muscles, shoulder stability and giving you spinal mobility as well as glute strength and shoulder mobility. A really nice full body integration.
ABOUT REBECCA DADOUN, FOUNDER OF PILATES PRESCRIPTION
Coming from a career in the finance industry, Rebecca discovered the magic of Pilates when she was recovering from the difficult delivery of her first child. After over a year of training, she began teaching in studios. She opened her boutique practice to create a Pilates space that welcomes all bodies and abilities. Rebecca’s refreshing approach to Pilates learning and teaching practices is at the heart of Pilates Prescription. Rebecca’s qualifications extend through the Body Control Method of Pilates, further enriched with specialist training and certifications in pre and postnatal Pilates. She is also a qualified BACK 4 GOOD® practitioner for addressing lower back pain.
