Do you Know Your Pilates?

Things you should know for Levels 3 and 4
The 4 deepest core stabilizers we use in Pilates are the Multifidus, Transverses, Pelvic floor, Diaphragm
The pelvic floor muscles are part of your core.
The Multifidus is the group of inner core muscles that relax when you imprint or flex your spine
The obliques are additional core muscles that engage during imprint
The oblique muscles are activated to sustain an imprinted spinal position
The spine is capable of 4 directions of movement: flexion, extension, lateral flexion/side bend, twist
The Breast Stroke is a spinal extension exercise.
Breast stroke, plow, swimming, swan are examples of exercise that strengthens your spinal muscles.
Pilates exercise to activate your gluteus maximus (butt muscles) include grasshopper and swimming.
You need to prepare the reformer before a short spine by lowering the headrest
A few examples of exercises that can be performed on both the chair and the reformer are footwork, mermaid, hip lift, tendon stretch, push up, etc
The 5 basic principles of Stott Pilates are breathing, pelvic placement, ribcage placement, shoulder stability, neck and head placement.
The principles that Joseph Pilates taught include Centering, Concentration, Control, Precision, Breath, and Flow