Do you know where your triangle is?
Or maybe your lumbar spine?
Low back?
Back extensors?
Let’s start with your sacrum. That triangular bony part of the spine.
When I started practicing pilates I thought my low back was around my lower ribcage. I don’t know why I just did. Maybe because I bent over in this area rather than hinging at my hips when trying to touch my toes.
Quick, try and touch your toes and tell me where you are moving from.
Oh, actually, can you touch your toes?
If not, when was the last time?
In Rael Iscaowitz book, Pilates Anatomy, he states that the centre of gravity for a human body is the second sacral vertebrae,
This is a key point to make.
Not only does it change the way we think about how our body moves in relation to gravity but knowing where this point is, also allows you to change your body mechanics.
For instance, when my daughter would ride her bike, she would round over and pedal in a hunched position.
I would walk up behind, push the top of her triangle forward and it would make her sit up.
After her feeling this adjustment, all I would have to say to her when slouched is, push your triangle forward.
Immediately she sits up straight with good posture.
This engages the spinal erectors to help with extension.
I also use this cue when stretching the hamstrings. This creates more of a hinge and allows you to lift your sit bones. This will also help to anterior tilt the pelvis.
So why all this information when writing about activating the powerhouse?
The triangle is crucial to creating the corset wrap.
If you only engage the muscles at the front of the pelvis and abdomen then how do you create a wrap?
You need to conciously fire the muscles around the back to create the wrap.
The 1st cue, lifts the pelvic floor from the bottom, the second draws the pelvic floor inward from the front, the third which is what this blog is about brings it all together.
For myself I think of the two dimples at the bottom of my lumbar spine. Right where the SI joints are.
I imagine bringing them together.
They don’t actually move closer together but I can feel them engage when I try to.
It feels almost like I am squeezing the triangle.
This one takes a lot more time and subtle feeling to get.
It’s not about pushing the triangle forward but feeling like the dimples are coming closer together
Try it out.
See if this was the missing piece to the puzzle.
Get to know your triangle and sacrum.
They are key to your movement going forward.
Literally….
Everyone’s body is different. Sometimes all anyone can really do is push the top of their triangle forward and what happens is that they miss the movement.
In a hamstring stretch the key is to knowing where your triangle is. If you push it forward, the tailbone will lift, helping to keep you in extension so that your sit bones can move in the same direction as the tailbone focusing the stretch in the upper hamstrings.
In a hip flexor stretch you are looking to do the opposite. Tuck the tail bone, push the pubic bone forward and allow the top of the triangle to tip back. If you push the triangle forward you will miss the stretch.
Engaging the powerhouse includes feeling your back extensors which start at your sacrum.
See if you can gain feeling there and if you can lace up your corset.
This will pay dividends for years to come.