What is Neutral Pelvis and why do we use it in pilates?
Neutral pelvis is the positioning of your pelvis that is most natural and normal for proper body mechanics to take place. This position preserves the slight, natural curves of the spine, especially the low back, and allow your abdominals to engage properly.
How to Find Neutral Pelvis
Laying on your back with knees bent, feet flat and about hip width apart, place your hands on your low abdominals. Inhale, then exhale and draw your belly button into your low back- so much that you gently press your low back down into the mat.
Inhale there, then as you exhale, release your belly button so you low back lifts out of the floor and slightly arches off the mat. Go back and forth between these two positions so you can get a feel for them.
Neither of these positions is neutral pelvis. With the first position, you are using your abdominals to press your low back down, eliminating the natural curve of your low back. The second position, an arch off the mat, is too much of a release and gives your low back no support.
This is neutral pelvis. Now, allow the pelvis to come to a place right between the two positions- you are not rounding your back down or arching it off the mat. It is resting in a neutral, natural position, horizontal with the mat, as shown in the
photo to the right.
In the exercise above, you are using Pelvis Tilting to find neutral pelvis.
Abdominals While in Neutral Pelvis
In the exercise above, we found how you could possibly draw into your abs too much, causing your low back to press into the mat. In order to keep a neutral pelvis, you have to think of a more internal abdominal connection.
Think of drawing your belly button into your spine then slightly UP along your spine, rather than downwards, towards the mat. You should be drawing your belly button in and up, away from your neutral pelvis.
At first, it might feel like you're working your abdominals less, because the connection is less forceful.
In actuality, this positioning is more challenging to the abdominals. They have to connect in to support the natural position of your spine. Once you add leg and arm movements to that... let's just say, it ain't easy!
In the drawing above, you can see that the arms and legs can move freely while the pelvis remains in its neutral, natural position in relation to the whole skeleton. In most schools of thought about pilates, netural pelvis is used during most every exercise. There are obvious movements, such as Rolling Like a Ball and other exercises with a rounded back, when we don't use it. Otherwise, you should always use neutral pelvis, whether you're laying on your back or stomach, standing, kneeling, or laying on your side.
If you're confused about neutral pelvis, its worth talking to your instructor about it. Doing it the wrong way can hurt your back, ruin your posture, or tighten your hip flexors. Worst of all, doing it the wrong way will not properly work or strengthen your abdominals, and if that's your goal with pilates, you need to be sure you are on the right path to get there!
Read more!
In the exercise above, we found how you could possibly draw into your abs too much, causing your low back to press into the mat. In order to keep a neutral pelvis, you have to think of a more internal abdominal connection.
In the drawing above, you can see that the arms and legs can move freely while the pelvis remains in its neutral, natural position in relation to the whole skeleton.
Read more!