Pilates in Practice – Correct Alignment
As you transform what you think the body can do, you will start to refine your awareness of how to move with more purpose and stability, with greater ease, and how to be more efficient in each exercise.
Pilates instructor, Fanny Kuhn, shows you how to set up key pilates poses correctly and common corrections for joint alignment and core activation.
Ab Curl
Correct
- Head resting in hands
- Elbows out wide
- Tennis ball can fit between chin + chest
- Lift through chest onto shoulder blades
- Toes face forward
- Lower back pressing to earth
Incorrect
- Elbows drawing chin in
- Lifting neck up rather than chest
- Toes turned in
- Arching through lower back
Kneeling Table Top
Correct
- Hands under shoulders, knees under hips
- Spine is long, stretch from tailbone to crown of head
- Press up through shoulder blades
- Engage core by drawing frontal hip bones up and in
- Look in font of finger tips to lengthen neck
- Ground feet and hands into the earth
Incorrect
- Dropping into shoulders puts extra pressure on neck
- Disengaged core curves the spine and reduces stability
- Elbows locked out putting pressure on joints
Bird Dog
Correct
- Arm & opposite leg extend out
- Lift through midsection, to protect lower back
- Look in front of finger tips, to keep neck long
- Press down into the earth, lift up through shoulder blades
- Keep hips balanced from side to side
Incorrect
- Floppy arm or leg puts pressure on joints
- Dropping head switches off neck muscles
- Dipping into lower back
- Leg lifted too high beyond hip height unbalanced in hips
Also Incorrect
- Gaze too far forward puts pressure on neck
- No core activation
- Overloading lower back flexibility
- Locked out elbow in supporting arm puts pressure on joint
Plank
Correct
- Shoulders over hands, press into fingertips
- Legs straight, kick through heels
- Look in front of finger tips, keep neck long
- Tuck tale bone, and gentle lift naval to spine to support lower back
- Press into the earth and engage the whole body
Incorrect
- Shoulders forward of wrists
- Gazing up puts pressure on neck
- Legs and hips dropping down puts pressure on lower back
- Core not engaged here which makes it hard to hold
- Whole body is floppy which puts excess load on joints and has no muscle activation
Bridge
Correct
- Feet hip width apart, press firmly into earth
- Knees stay parallel and toes stay down
- Lift through glutes, rather than lower back
- Lengthen tail bone towards knees
- Upper back presses into earth and palms down
Incorrect
- Toes turned out and lifted
- Arms relaxed puts can put pressure on upper back
- Lifting through lower back creates curve rather than stability
- Hips dropping down
Table Top Legs
Correct
- Place knees at a 90 degree angle
- Press back firmly on the mat
- Hands down by your side
- Draw thighs together
- Chin draws slightly in so neck is long
Incorrect
- Knees forward of hips
- Legs split a part
- Arms turned out
- Arching through lower back
Also Incorrect
- Knees drawing in
- Too much pressure on abdomen
- Feet split a part
- Bum lifting slightly
Well done! Explore alignment in every class to get familiar with your unique anatomy for a better feeling practice.
“Concentrate on the correct movement each time you exercise, lest you do them improperly and thus lose all vital benefits.”
– Joseph Pilates