If you Google “Pilates Stance,” you will see a myriad of definitions and commentary about this basic, foundational and often misunderstood concept. Let’s unravel the mystery.
In this edition of the Master Training Team article, we will accurately define Pilates Stance, examine the anatomical position, and discuss healthy alignment and movement patterns for all bodies.
What is Pilates Stance? Historically, Pilates Stance referred to entire body alignment while the leg and foot position were referred to as “Pilates First.” Accurately defined, Pilates Stance is an active preparation and set up position maintained during dynamic movement to correct compensatory tightness and weakness that develops in a person’s body. When standing or performing supine exercises such as the Hundred, Frog and Leg Circles, One Leg Circles, the Ab Series, or the first footwork exercise, the legs are supported by all of the muscles around the hips (adductors, abductors, flexors and extensors). Pilates Stance is an exercise ready position and not the way a person stands in normal, everyday life.
We use the term “working in the joint” to describe this correct way to position the leg in the hip joint. The objective is to stabilize the lower body and align the body’s posture. It is important to master this position during the entire movement whether the legs are together as in the Hundred or Corkscrew or apart as in One Leg Circles. In the beginning, this might be difficult, and as with all Pilates exercises, working in the correct position builds a stronger body from the inside out.
How do we find the Pilates Stance? If you were to hang from your hands on a bar, your legs would naturally open outward from your hips. This is the optimal and natural position to stand and bear weight. Let’s look at the Pilates Stance from the feet up:
- The feet are in a small 'V' position with the heels glued together from the sitz bones.
- The weight is distributed evenly from the big toe to the little toe side of the foot.
- The peritoneum or pelvic dome is stacked up directly over the arch of the foot so the weight is not in the heels, but slightly forward with the line of gravity coming just in front of the lateral malleolus.
- The back of the upper inner thighs is drawn tightly together and expresses a slight turn out of the legs initiating from the hip joint. This slight movement helps students from over recruiting the quadriceps and engages the target areas of the hips, buttocks, inner and outer thighs. It also engages the deepest of the lateral rotators and allows for deeper activation of the pelvic floor.
- The knees are straight, but not locked, remaining 'soft,' with the center of the knee aligned with the second toe and the entire leg position emanating from the hips.
- The two legs are like one leg, emphasizing the centerline, offering strong support to the body like a Greek column.
- Moving up the body, the abdominals are drawn in and up, lifting the waist away from the pelvis.
- The ribcage is stacked directly over the pelvic dome and the arches.
- The chest is open and the sternum is reaching upward, with the shoulder blades down the back and the back of the neck stretched long.
- The head is high off the shoulders with the roof of the mouth stacked over the diaphragm, which is stacked over the pelvic floor, which is stacked over the arches.
- The entire body is pulled up like you are leaning slightly into the wind.
How does the Pilates Stance translate into healthy alignment and movement patterns? As with all Pilates positions, it is important to understand that no two bodies are alike and the goal over time is to restore healthy alignment and movement patterns.
With all students, note the alignment from the hips, the knees and the second toe. Pay close attention to where the weight is on the feet, observe if they favor the inside or the outside of the foot or if the ankle rotates or the arches drop when bearing weight. All instructors should develop a keen eye for misalignment.
When working with different leg misalignments, it is important to understand the adjustments needed to accommodate the individual. The goal is to restore their alignment, session by session, to a more healthy state, working from the Powerhouse downward. For example, if a person has genu varus (bowed legs) and the knees cannot come together, we can accommodate them by turning the legs out more from the hips so the feet are in a wider 'V,' still keeping the heels together. On the contrary, if a person has genu valgus (knock knees), and their knees bump into one another, we can adjust the legs slightly apart and less turned out, again working from the hips. If a person has knee pain, we can accommodate by working in a parallel leg position with the legs together for support.
What goes wrong with incorrect execution of the Pilates Stance? If executing the Pilates Stance incorrectly, one may aggravate their hip joints and suffer from inflammation. Probably the most common incorrect execution is a Pilates Stance with too wide a 'V.' This can aggravate the Sacroiliac (SI) joint and lead to recurring inflammation and pain.
The body is an amazingly clever device. When something goes ‘wrong’ it does not stop, it thinks of a way around the problem, it finds a ‘solution.' The solution is often a compensation that is unhealthy and will lead to further degradation of function over time.
Research shows that when one muscle is weak, other muscles compensate in an attempt to maintain functional movement. A frequent example of this is in simple standing, when the weight falls into the heels and the hips are shifted back. In this common situation, the gluteus maximus is not firing due to weakness and the erector spinae and hamstrings are forced to work harder to maintain an upright position. This creates increased compressive forces in the lumbar spine secondary to increased synergistic muscle activity without adequate stabilization. This concept, known as synergistic dominance, occurs when one or more synergists take over the function for a prime mover. In the example described, this synergistic dominance will transfer to exercises and movement patterns until it is corrected.
Another common compensatory pattern known as reciprocal inhibition occurs when one muscle is tight (for example the psoas) and the functional antagonistic muscles (in this case, the gluteus maximus, transverse abdominus, internal obliques) become inhibited leading to increased compressive and translational forces. We often see this pattern emerge in new students when performing the Hundred. These students have difficulty drawing their abdominals in and up as they lengthen their spine into the mat. In these students you will often observe abdominals bulging out and the spine losing contact with the mat. Usually this is an indication of inactivity in the obliques and you will notice that the student cannot bring their head up fully over their chest and their ribcage will be pressed out.
Now that you have a clear definition of the Pilates Stance, understand the proper body alignment, and have been provided with some examples of misalignment and incorrect execution, think of how many Pilates positions utilize the same shape in space as the Hundred. Can you see why it is absolutely vital to ingrain and practice diligently the Pilates Stance?
Our goal as Pilates educators and instructors is to help clients develop strength in the centerline to ease compression and restore the body’s balance. The majority of clients have similar issues; weakness in the gluteals, abdominals, and deep spinal postural muscles; tightness in the hamstrings, hip flexors, quads, chest and shoulders.
Working with the individual student to help them find their way toward the ideal Pilates Stance will help to address the imbalances of the body and restore functional, healthy movement.
- Clare Dunphy, Peak Pilates Master Trainer