There are Five Basic Principles to Stott Pilates that will get you started on your way to a balanced mind and body. The Five Basic Principles are key to performing Stott Pilates safely and effectively. The Principles will enhance your awareness of your core and help you to breathe properly and position your body correctly. It is important to remember that Pilates is a coordination of the mind, body, and spirit, thus all five principles are incorporated in each other. Every principle affects the others.
The first principle of Stott Pilates is breathing. Proper breathing helps to distribute adequate amounts of oxygen to the muscles you are using and helps to prevent any unwanted tension. A relaxed and full breath pattern will help you to focus and concentrate. The Stott Pilates breathing pattern encourages a full expansion of the rib cage along the sides and back without lifting the shoulders. By engaging the lower part of your lungs there will be a more efficient gas exchange. Stott Pilates breathing is deep, coordinated, and initiates movement throughout your entire body.
BREATHING PRINCIPLE EXERCISES
1. Notice Natural Breath Pattern
Lying on back, breathe smoothly, noticing natural breath pattern.
Is breath going into abdominal cavity, upper chest, sides of rib cage, back of rib cage?
2. Breathing Flexed Forward
This encourages breathing into the sides and back of the rib cage.
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Following breathing in the five basic principles of Stott Pilates is Pelvic Placement. Stott Pilates was designed to stabilize the pelvis and lumbar spine. Stott Pilates has developed two positions for proper pelvic placement, Natural Placement and Imprinted Position.
Natural placement teaches the student to situate your hip bones and pubic bone in a parallel position to the mat when lying on your back. Your lower back should not be pressed into the Mat. The reason for this placement is to make this position stable and shock absorbing for your spine. This position is most ideal when one or two feet are placed on the mat or other equipment.
When using the Imprinted Position, the lower back is moving toward the mat. To do this position safely, make certain to avoid pressing your lower back to the mat or tilting your pelvis too far towards the mat. Also important to keep in mind is that the space between the body and the mat is different for every person and may fluctuate. The Imprinted Position is used to ensure stability on the lower spine when both feet are lifted off the mat.
PELVIC PLACEMENT EXERCISE
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| 1. INHALE… stay. |
2. EXHALE Contract abs
and
imprint spine. |
3. INHALE Maintain imprinted
position while inhaling. |
4.EXHALE Return to neutral. |
Rib Cage Placement is the third principle in Stott Pilates. Your rib cage position affects the alignment of the upper spine. To maintain the normal curve of the upper back, maintain the sense of the rib’s weight resting on the mat. Don’t lift off or push off of your rib cage on the mat. As all of the principles are correlated maintaining proper breathing will help to stabilize your rib cage. Inhale through your nose expanding the sides and back of your rib cage. When exhaling, exhale through pursed lips, allowing the rib cage to close.
RIB CAGE PLACEMENT PRINCIPLE EXERCISE
Arm Raises
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1. STARTING POSITION
Lying on back, pelvis and spine neutral.
Knees bent, feet hip-distance apart on mat.
Arms long by sides, palms down. |
2. INHALE Reach arms to ceiling. |
3. EXHALE Reach arms overhead only
as far as abdominal connection can be
maintained and rib cage can remain in
contact with mat. |
4. INHALE Reach arms to ceiling. |
5. EXHALE Lower arms down by sides. |
The fourth principle of Stott Pilates is stabilizing your shoulder blades. Stabilizing your shoulder blades will help you to avoid strain through your neck and shoulders.
To maintain proper placement, make certain to maintain width across your shoulders. This means to make certain that you neither round your shoulders nor squeeze them. Make certain to not lift them or to depress them too much. Find the happy medium for your body throughout all of these positions. Shoulder blades have large range of motion, so makes sure to keep them stable at all times.
SHOULDER STABILITY PRINCIPLE EXERCISES
Scapula Isolations (Protraction & Retraction) lying down.
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1. STARTING POSITION
Lying on back, pelvis and spine neutral.
Knees bent, feet hip-distance apart on mat.
Arms long, reaching to ceiling, palms facing in. |
2. INHALE Reach fingers towards ceiling allowing shoulder blades to lift off mat. A widening between shoulder blades will occur - this is protraction. |
3. EXHALE Bring shoulder blades back to starting position, widening across front of collarbone. Try to keep space between the hands constant.
Repeat 3–5 times. |
The final principle of the five principles of Stott Pilates is Head and Neck Placement. Your neck should maintain the natural curve of your spine, with your head balanced directly about your shoulder when sitting, lying, and standing. Whenever you lift your head or upper body from the mat make certain to lengthen the back of your neck. Nod your head forward, but avoid pulling the chin in too far to the chest. A good rule of thumb is to keep a fist full of space between your neck and chest. The proper placement of your head and neck will ensure proper shoulder blade placement. All principles are correlated and should be thought of in respect to each other.
HEAD & CERVICAL PLACEMENT PRINCIPLE EXERCISES
Head Nods
Practice doing Head Nods properly before lifting head and shoulders off the mat.
Avoid jamming chin into chest, which results in too much compression of the neck.
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1. STARTING POSITION
Lying on back, pelvis and spine neutral. Knees bent, feet hip-distance apart on mat. Arms long by sides, palms down. |
2. INHALE Lengthen back of neck, leaving head on mat. |
3. EXHALE Bring head back to neutral position. |
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