Feel your pelvis
Your job today is to take your fingertips to your pubic symphysis (see pic above) and the heels of your hands to your ASIS, which I usually call your sticky-outy-pelvic-bones in class. If you’re standing or sitting on a chair, you’re going to try to line up your pubic symphysis and ASIS vertically. Is your lower back arched, flat or rounded? It’s arched, isn’t it?
Move your pelvis
Good job! Now you’re going to slightly bring your pubic symphysis forward of your ASIS. Does your lower back flatten or get more arched? It gets flatter, doesn’t it? We call this imprinting the lower back. You’re slightly flattening out it’s neutral arch.
Imprint can be a small movement and there’s no need to round the lower back into your chair. Or, if you’re lying on a mat, there’s no need to press it into the mat so much that your bum starts to lift up.
Practice
Now that you’ve found the neutral, arched position of the lower back, and the imprinted or flattened position, it’s time to practice imprinting with each breath out. Practice this for a minute or two. With every exhale, just flatten your lower back, by rocking your pubic symphysis forward of your ASIS. And with every inhale, rock your pubic symphysis back down so it’s level with your ASIS.
If you’re on a mat, lying down, then your rock the pubic symphysis up to the ceiling on your exhales. The ASIS will dip down slightly. And rock it back in line with your ASIS on your inhales. Think of your pelvis as a bowl of soup. You’re spilling your soup toward your tummy as you exhale. Then levelling it out as you inhale.
Notice how your lower back moves in response to the movement of your pelvis.
TIPS
1 Use your abs not your glutes
When you’re imprinting, notice where you feel the work, minor as the work may be. Is it at your glutes or your abs? It might take a few minutes to drop in on the sensations due to how small the movement is. But you want to feel it at your abs, not your glutes!
I tried this once for half an hour while listening to a podcast, and the next day my glutes were on fire! That’s when I realized I might by overusing my glutes while imprinting instead of contracting my abs.
2 If you’re blessed with a big bum
If you have a lot of muscle or fat at your bum, try this standing up or siting instead of lying down. The bony references might not work for you if you’re lying on a mat. When you line up your pubic symphysis and your ASIS, you might end up over-arching your lower back. So we prioritize the shape of the lower back over lining up the pelvic landmarks.
Why bother with this practice?
Many Pilates instructors like to start classes by practising rocking the pelvis and lower back from neutral to imprint and back. This could be done as a ritual. To cut out all the noise of the day prior to class, and your duties after class. And to zone in on your body.
I recommend practising this whenever you want to give your mind a break from your day, and when you have an urge to attend to your body.
You might also be wondering how important your skeletal alignment is during Pilates Classes. Well, if you’re working with an Instructor trained in a contemporary school of Pilates, such as STOTT Pilates, then for each and every one of the movements that you practice, there’ll be a suggested starting alignment. And for each step in the movement, there’s be suggested bony positions too!
I personally love that aspect of Pilates. It feels good dropping in on the body’s alignment and soon awareness of your posture will become second nature in and out of the studio. This often awakens a sense of joy in you as you move through the world, and gratitude for the abilities that you have physically.