You’ll need to keep these 4 things in mind whenever you are practicing Pilates:
1. Routine
Regular practice is essential to ensure your brain and muscles remember the movements and to ensure you are building strength and flexibility.
2. Spinal Positions
Neutral Spine
A neutral spine means that the normal curve of the lumbar spine in present. If you draw an imaginary triangle between your pubic bone and hip bones, that triangle should be parallel to the floor.
Imprinted Spine
An imprinted spine means that you use your abdominal muscles to draw your lower back downward towards the floor. Using the imaginary triangle we talked about above, your pubic bone will be slightly higher than your hip bones.
3. T-Zone
Your T-Zone is your Transverse abdominal muscles and your pelvic floor. While lying on your back with your knees bent and your feet hip distance apart, draw an imaginary line horizontally from one hip bone to the other, then a vertical line from your pubic bone to meet the horizontal line. This is your T-Zone. Throughout your entire workout you need to imagine that you are drawing up through your pelvic floor along that vertical line and also draw the hipbones together across the horizontal line.
4. Tabletop Position
Throughout your Pilates workouts you will often be told to go into a tabletop position. This refers to a position where you are lying on your back with your hips and knees bent at 90 degrees. Your knees are directly above your hips and your shins will be parallel to the roof.
