The most common problems pertaining to shoulders I see walk into my studio are hypermobility of the shoulder girdle, or barely any discernible movement whatsoever. Perhaps one of these “shoulder profiles” pertains to you. Are you one of those noodly folks that can barely keep your arm in its socket? Or perhaps you’re one of those people whose shoulders are on a continual state of lock-down.
This http://www.pilates-pro.com/pilates-pro/2008/4/15/freeing-the-shoulders-to-connect-to-the-core.html is a wonderful article pertaining to the natural movement or rhythm of this complex joint (a collection of joints, really). Lesley Powell’s description of the relationship of the humerus to the scapula has inspired many of my workshops on the subject. Check it out!
Awareness during Pilates is about having mindfulness towards our body, our mind and our ‘self’. We aim to develop sensitivity towards the body and how it feels.
Awareness means being fully present in our body and fully conscious of how the body feels during the postures. We can attune ourselves to the bodies’ language and notice very subtle (or obvious) things about the body and mind during static and dynamic postures.
THE BODY
Things you may notice or become aware of during a Pilates session:
1. Weight distribution on your feet when you are standing
2. Weight distribution of the body when in lying postures or postures on the hands and knees
3. Changes in posture when you move the body e.g. when doing balancing on one leg, does the body sway back to counter balance?
4. Changes in tension in the muscles
5. The position of the shoulders, particularly in relation to the ears
6. The position of the ribcage and pelvis in relation to each other
7. The engagement of the pelvic floor and the core muscles
8. Your breathing (is it fast or slow? Are your breaths long or short? How is the ribcage moving?)
9. The flow and pace of your movements
10. Noticing if the body changes posture due to tightness in the muscles e.g. When doing a forward reach do the shoulders round to help you reach forwards instead of the movement hinging from the hip?
11. Weakness or instability
The practice of body awareness should not just be left at the Pilates class, you could try using your awareness in everyday activities like standing in a queue, sitting correctly and thinking about how the body is aligned when you are vacuuming!
THE MIND
Then maybe apply your awareness to the mind, ask yourself “What am I thinking?” Notice your thought patterns, we don’t have to think anything we don’t want to, we have a choice what we think and we have to realise that and practice using that choice. There is no use arguing or fighting with your thoughts, just realise that you can think what you choose. Just becoming aware of your thoughts in the first place is one step on the road to having a calm and clear mind and this will also purify the body.
THE ‘SELF’
Awareness is also related to the self, which I like to call the soul. Our busy minds and lifestyles pull us away from connection to our soul. The route back is through awareness, starting with awareness of the body to awareness of the mind and through meditation or stillness we gain awareness of the soul or our inner self. Pilates helps with our awareness through stillness and relaxation and by using breathing techniques with body and mind awareness during the postures.
The development of awareness is multi layered, it is a life long practice, and we can never have too much awareness!
https://www91.ssldomain.com/geriatricspt/str/Details.cfm?ProdID=47&category=
Encouraging News to Reduce Kyphosis
Dr. Wendy Katzman, PT, DPTSc, OCS and her colleagues at the University of California San Francisco created a 12-week group activity program for women with an average age of 72 who had kyphosis or a stooped posture. The 2008 study was funded by a grant from the National Institutes of Health. The aim was to determine if women could experience improvements in posture, body strength, range of motion, and physical performance through a 12-week group activity program. In all of the women who participated, their kyphosis improved, meaning they stood taller with less of a stooped posture, they improved their strength and range of motion or joint flexibility, along with all of the other variables studied.
Dr. Katzman incorporated some of the movements from the study (many similar to what you might find in a yoga or Pilates program) into an evidence-based program called STAND TALL. You can see Dr. Katzman describe the STAND TALL exercise program on video or you can purchase the program from the American Physical Therapy Association for $15. The program helps reinforce good posture and body alignment as well as proper body mechanics while strengthening core and back muscles, improving posture and bone health with targeted strength training and weight bearing exercise.
Encouragement for movement activities was echoed by the American Journal of Public Health in an article titled Yoga for Women with Hyperkyphosis: Results of a Pilot Study. The authors report that women with kyphosis increased their height and decreased their degree of forward spinal curvature through three, one-hour long Yoga sessions that focused on breathing and movement. The bonus of these sessions was increased relaxation and peacefulness as well as the ability to become aware of their posture.
