Last night, while teaching a reformer class a sentence spewed out of me that stopped the class mid exercise. I had the class side-lying on the box performing Side Kick Series, one client was curving into lateral flexion. It was a great progression, she looked strong doing so, but still I had her come back down into a neutral spine. As I mentioned, the sentence I spoke stopped us all and we had a short think about it.
I said, "people underestimate the power of a neutral spine."
I do not know where these words came from, however, thinking about it for the past twelve hours has brought me to these thoughts.
First off, anatomically speaking, the spine is neutral when the three natural curves (cervical, thoracic, and lumbar) are present. The reason behind this is that our spine is our body's natural shock absorption. When the spine is aligned correctly, the postural muscles of the body's trunk are working together in a co-contraction. This can be achieved sitting at your desk simply by reaching your ears up to the ceiling and your tail down to the floor. It may not feel like "work", you may not "feel the burn", however that isn't what, in my opinion, Pilates should be.
Thinking in a more mindful body connection, when the trunk of the body is strong and neutral, the limbs can move about freely. When a person is in a neutral state of mind, he or she is more open to accept changes in his or her environment.
As a dancer, I have had many challenges thrown in my direction, mentally, technically, and choreographically. The most important thing is to be able to come back to a strong foundation. That foundation must be built from the inside out, mind and body. Without that foundation, one cannot possibly be successful in any field.
If you have taken the time to read this, take some time to find your "neutral" zone. Just let your head float up to the clouds, the world may be a better place if we all spent more time there.