Why the pelvis you might ask? Oooooooh, I'm telling you!!! It is a very important bony structure! It does so much for your body and it is really important to have good alignment in your pelvis. Stop right now and thank your pelvis for all it continues to do for you. I'm serious.

The pelvis sits between the abdomen and the thighs connecting the trunk of the body to the legs. It can also be called the pelvic girdle, which is a basin-shaped complex of bones. The pelvis supports and balances the upper body while also supporting the internal organs. It is the attachment point for many of the muscles of the body, some of which are the body's strongest muscles. So not only does the pelvis support the contents of the abdomen it also helps transfer the weight from the spine to the lower limbs. While walking or running, the joints in the pelvis work together to decrease the amount of force transferred from the ground and lower limbs to the spine and upper limbs. There's the anatomy part for you!

The pelvic floor is an inferior muscle layer of the pelvic cavity. There's so much to talk about here. The pelvic floor is a part of the Pilates practice and I'll cover this topic in another blog post. Watch for it!!

So, let's move on to alignment! I'm going to walk you through how to see if your pelvis is in alignment. You are going to look at your body in a mirror by looking at the front and side of your body. It's going to be so infomational! Pilates nerd coming at ya!!

Let's start by looking at your whole body in a mirror. If you don't have a full length mirror then stand back far enough from your bathroom mirror to get as much as your body in it as possible. With your fingers or hands find the bony parts at the top-front of your pelvis. Most people think of these bony parts as their hip bones. Keep your hands on the top of these bony parts as you look in the mirror. You want them to land at the same height. Look to see if one is lower or one is higher than the other.

If it appears to you that one side is positioned higher than the other side, you possibly have an "upslip". That means that one side of your pelvis is elevated upward in relationship to your sacrum. It's also possible that you actually have one side of your pelvis shifted vertically downward, which is a "downslip". This shift can be a displacement of the joint where the pelvis and the sacrum meet. There's many different reasons why this can occur. Often it is because the muscles that are supposed to hold this area in place are not adequately doing their job. There are muscle imbalances in your body.

Now let's look at your bod from the side. Oooowww! You look good baby! You are going to find the top-front of the pelvis again (again, most people think it is their hip bone). Put the heel of your hand on that part of your pelvis. Form a triangle with your thumbs touching at the tips and your pointer fingers touching at the tips. The pointer fingers should touch your pubic bone (that bony part that is close to the surface at the bottom front of your pelvis. Now look down to see if your triangle is perpendicular to the floor - that your palms are on the same plane as your fingertips. You can also look in the mirror from the side to see if the triangle is pointing straight down. That all the corners of the triangle are level. If your triangle (top of the pelvis to pubic bone) is level from the side then your pelvis is in neutral. The core stabilizes and supports the pelvis and spine best when in a neutral position.

If your fingertips at your pubic bone are more forward (the triangle is tipped back), your have a posterior tip. This is common in men, but can be the case in any body. It often looks like someone is tucking their tailbone. It comes with variety of muscle imbalances: weak low back extensors, weak hip flexors (front of the hip), and tight abdominals.

If the heels of your hands are more forward than your fingertips (the triangle is tipped forward), you have an anterior tip. It often looks like someone's abs are dropping forward along with their low back. This is a common misalignment. It also comes with muscle imbalances: tight low back, tight hip flexors (front of the hip), and weak abdominals.

This is not to say that the pelvis always stays in this position. It moves as we move, so it will change slightly due to the movement being performed.

So what if you don't have a neutral pelvis or you have an upslip/downslip? You need to find someone to help you correct the muscle imbalances in your body. It will take some time and energy, but YOU GOT THIS! Your body will be so much happier and healthier.

Questions? Comments? Please put them below. Or email me: j.urbanpilates@gmail.com. I would LOVE to hear from you. Keep doing you and take really good care of yourself. You are worth it.

Joyfully,
Jenny