Practice, Practice, Practice
The Core: Pilates Part Six
Now that we have covered the four parts of the core; transversus abdominis, multifidi, pelvic floor and diaphragm, it is time to get practicing. Although it would be great to be able to imagine the whole core simultaneously, that takes quite a lot of coordination. So what I recommend is that you break the core down in order to practice the connections. If you have trouble feeling these connections, imagery can be a helpful tool.
First, is to play with the connection between the transversus abdominis and multifidi. Notice how they give you a hugging sense around the center of your body. As you inhale they will move slightly apart, and during your exhale they will engage around your spine. My instructor used to tell us to imagine that we were an exquisite wine glass being held by our stems. Remember, it is not a clenching, but a connecting. On a scale of 1-10, 10 being the most muscular contraction, you want to work at about a 5-7.
Second, take time to relate the diaphragm and the pelvic floor. During your inhale, they both descend, and when you exhale they ascend. The two working together often gives me the sensation of being in the ocean. There is a back and forth motion that massages your organs and feels very meditative. You could also use the image of a jellyfish moving through the water like the picture above.
Lastly, try to image all four parts of the core working as one. This may take a little practice, but it is possible. The four parts work together to create intra abdominal pressure to stabilize and support the low back and pelvis. It will feel like having a jellyfish or lava lamp in your abdomen. Something that is strong, connected and yet quite movable. Remember, at any time you can go back through the blog and re-read parts of the core that are not making sense to you. You can always go back to using them as described above in duets rather than all four together. The point is to keep practicing and investigating the parts of the core that may be confusing to you. You get better at what you practice.
Whenever learning a new movement, you must have an idea in your mind of what you want to have happen before you can accomplish the physical task. Imagery can be a helpful tool in helping you learn a new movement because it is what helps to create the idea of the task in your mind. The two types of imagery that happen during motor learning are internal and external imagery. According to sport psychologists, internal imagery is a first person process involving mostly a kinesthetic representation of the action, whereas external imagery is a third person process involving a visual representation of that action or the environment where it takes place(Jeannerod, p.5). So, when learning a movement there is a process of watching someone doing the movement while you have a sense of what is happening(third person), then you attempt to imitate the movement yourself(first person).
For example, when learning to throw a baseball, the pupil watches the coach demonstrate the action without moving himself. It is important though while watching that the student attempts to image the coach’s action. Imaging an action means to create an idea of how the mechanics work, and then to create an idea of what it must feel like doing the action. Using imagery for the latter will give the student a higher degree of maintaining the motor skill because it creates a more vivid idea of what the action is and can induce changes in the student’s heart and respiration rates. Imagery like that is closest to the physical practicing of the movement skill without moving. The speculation then is that the image or kinesthetic representation turns on similar neurons in the brain as those which are active during the actual action(Jeannerod, p.5).
Taking this into your core practice can be helpful. Unlike watching someone throw a baseball, which is a pretty obvious action, connecting to your core involves movement that isn’t easy to see. Although when someone connects to their core, they do have postural changes, the movement is not as dramatic as throwing a baseball. So, imagery is going to be a key ingredient to learning how to connect to your core. The third person imagery or watching someone do the action will need to be replaced by an image that relates to what connecting to the core must feel like. You are by default going directly to the more vivid kinesthetic imagery. It is important to use an image that you are familiar with. For example, I live next to the Monterey Bay Aquarium. In the aquarium there is a huge kelp tank that includes the ocean current. For me that is what the core must look like. It is cylinder like, and is constantly moving up, down and side to side. So, I use the kelp tank as my third person image. That image then turns on the same neurons I need to connect to those muscles in my core, and I then have the first person kinesthetic awareness of that image. I took an external image and turned it into an internal image. That is what needs to happen when learning a movement.
The last five blogs on the core, plus this blog on practicing is enough information to keep you busy for some time. Even though we will be going forward in class with more movement, keep going back and practicing your core, and bring ideas about the core into every movement. I would suggest the following exercises:
1. Connect the multifidi and transversus abdominis.
2. Image the relationship between the diaphragm and pelvic floor.
3. Image putting it all together
4. Try to maintain this connection in a daily task. For example, doing dishes or sitting at your desk.
Keep working on these ideas. Do not get discouraged, it takes time to create the awareness and maintain the connection to the core. Make it fun so you will continue to explore and find new ways to connect to your center.
Sources
Jeannerod, M. (1994). The representing brain: Nerual correlates of motor intention and imagery. Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 17 (2): 187-245.