sly. This synchronized dance controls the pressure in the abdominal cavity and creates stability with the TA wrapped around it from the diaphragm to the Pelvic floor like a corset.
Diaphragm and Pelvic floor
The importance of alignment in the body is particularly relevant for the Diaphragm and the Pelvic floor to work in unison. When the bones are aligned the two should be parallel to one another. Our modern day posture inhibits this function as our sitting position compresses the lungs and tightens our hips. As a result many struggle to get this mechanism working in the beginning. Patience, persistence and perseverance at Pilates well help you to align the body and in time work these two important muscles as they are designed to work.
As mentioned in the previous article your TA acts like a corset that wraps around your torso from your pubic bone to your breastbone and all around the torso. Your TA is like the walls of the cylinder with the diaphragm at the top as the lid and your pelvic floor at the bottom as your base. The efficient contracting and releasing of these muscles helps to stabilize and protect the spine and all of the organs in the abdominal cavity.
This is a small but significant group of muscles that run along your back from your sacrum to your neck along your spine. Much like your TA it acts as a trunk stabilizer and also facilitates extension, side bending and rotation of the spine. We are ultimately aiming to get a co-contraction of the Pelvic floor, TA and Multifidus muscles for deep trunk stability before initiating all movement. Always beginning with concentration before movement, one of the Pilates principles.
In conclusion to our Core series the role of your deeper core muscles explained above is primarily for stability and support of the spine, pelvis and internal organs. Like a building, if the steel beams and foundation are not strong it doesn’t matter how sturdy the bricks or the plaster on the walls is it will be unstable. Our bodies are much the same. Strength in a muscle means it has the ability to move efficiently, contract and relax when needed. Just like a building, none of the “core” muscles operate in isolation. Full integration of the deeper muscles to your more superficial ones is what creates healthy and efficient movement. This is what we aim for and work towards in Pilates. Every exercise has been designed to create a dance that aims to create beautiful, balanced movement from the inside out.