Posture Series: Head and Neck Placement

Next time you are in your car at a stop light or sign, look at the driver next to you. Notice the position of their head. Observe how their body reclines back and their head juts forward, led by their chin. Think, this forward head mimics that of a chicken pecking for food on th ground. Recognize that you likely hold your head in the same forward position. Reflect on your neck ,Does your chin push forward the same way? Do you feel as though you carry tension in neck and shoulders? Imagine the back of your neck is being pulled back as though a mommy cat were picking you up at the scruff of your neck. Pull your head between your shoulders so it sits gently on top of your spine. Now feel your neck lengthen to the ceiling as though your head was a balloon being pulled to the sky. Make sure you brig your chin with you and avoid having it jut out further. Relax your neck and your shoulders. Practice this head placement daily. At first it will feel awkward. Over time you will improve your posture, decrease your neck pain, and avoid the chicken head! Don't be a chicken!

Tuesday Technique Tip: It's About Control

Pilates is about control. Control is about using muscles to counterbalance the natural force of movement or gravity in the same direction as the force. In other words, purposely using your muscles to resist what wants to happen when you move. Simply put, the machines use springs, springs like to pull you in, you let them pull you, but consciously control the movement by resisting that pull.  OR in simpler terms:  We spend most of our time trying to PUSH against a force in order to move.  We push a door to go inside, we try to lift a heavy object, we even walk into wind in order to get where we want to go.  We do this without thought, and don't realize that the harder we try, the harder we push, the harder it is to move.  So try turning it around.  Walk with the wind, just remember the wind is strong, so control yourself so it does't knock you down.  You'll have more power, more strength, and more speed if you go with the wind than against it.