5. Finding your Center

Author: Andrea Cooper, Owner and Founder of PILATEA®

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Meaning of the Principle of Pilates, Center

We have all heard our teachers say, “Pull your belly button to your spine and float your legs to table top.” And voilà, you are embodying principle of Pilates, Center. 

I love teaching this principle. I feel like I’m helping people ground their energy. Connecting to your center before using your extremities generates an enormous amount stability and force because you now have your entire torso as leverage. 

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Do you sit right on top of your sits bones?

Have you ever noticed if you sit way back on your tail bone with your spine crumpled into a c-curve? Or does your pelvis rock forward, swaying your lower back? Maybe even a combo; tucked pelvis with ribs jutting forward. Any one of these can leave you with a sore back and an aching neck. Let’s see if we can get you up tall on your sits bones and realign your spine.

Sit in a nice firm chair.

Place your awareness in your hips and spine.

Rock forward on your sits bones.

Notice what happens to your spine.

Does your back sway? Does your ribcage jut forward?

Rock back on your sitting bones.

Do you collapse in your chest?

Do you kink your neck to keep your eye gaze forward?

Now sit up tall on your sitting bones again.

Pull your belly button to your spine.

Lengthen your waist and neck.

Get your ribcage right over your pelvis.

Take a few deep breaths and adapt to your new center.

Next time you are sitting in your car, at your favorite tea shop or in the lobby of your Pilates studio, find those sits bones, sit proudly on top of them and practice spinal alignment.

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Connect to your purpose

Step 3. Center: Connect to your purpose. Look inward to find your truth and define your goals.

Your goals are already inside of you waiting to be cultivated. They aren’t something outside of yourself, far away. Dream up who you want to become and sit with it until that image is crystal clear in your mind. It can be a little dream or a big dream.

Why do you want to become that person? To feel your best? Happiness? Self-confidence? Your reasons will keep you centered and help you from rolling off the path.

A helpful hint; watch out for goals being a form of self-punishment instead of self-love. Your mind, body, and spirit will fight you and you will lose your balance if your objective is to fix or erase something about yourself. If you are unsure, your inner dialogue is your clue. Can you feel the difference between a goal as self-punishment and a goal of self-love in your mind, body, and spirit? 

An authentic purpose aligns with a spirit of open self-communication and encouragement. Keep your truth close to your heart and strong in your mind’s eye. They are like holding a seed and knowing the seed will turn into a tree. A seed doesn’t need to be fixed to become a tree. It needs space and nourishment to evolve.

Write down your goals and the reasons for your goals.

“Every moment in our lives can be the beginning of great things.” -Joseph Pilates-_________________________________________________________________________

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* The information included in this website is not to be construed as or substituted for medical or nutritional advice, diagnosis, or treatment.