to twist our pelvis we're doing it with
one leg right now what a beautiful idea why eventually it turns into two and then it turns
into 2 because as soon as you're doing can can like where else do you get to learn that
the pelvis is responsible [Music] Today Matilda and I are going to look at
and break down single leg circle it is a level one or a beginner exercise but personally I think
it's like a level 10 for the brain there's so many components to this exercise hopefully we'll get
through as much as we can I'm going to teach the exercise full out on Matilda and then talk about
some of the components that are very important to this exercise fundamental skills in it that we
need moving forward into more advanced skills (exercises) so Matilda's going to lay herself down
I'm going to give her a little pad for her head especially for those that have tight shoulders
and their chin lifts up we really want their head to be in good alignment because you're not
going to breathe very effectively, not to mention that's very uncomfortable in the back of the neck
she's going to have her arms nice and planted down shoulders nice and broad but no over squeezing of
her arms onto the ground pick up whatever leg you choose Matilda and this bottom leg you might not
be able to see it is underneath her hip joint so if she were to lift her head up and look she be
on a pretend platform she'd be standing on that leg so this leg is what we call a Pilates V and
A lot of times you'll hear people say you know turn the leg out it's only a cue we give them
to stop getting them to turn in so it's not truly a turnout a Pilates V is very slightly
a very slight turnout pretty much almost parallel and that is the way the leg naturally sits in the
acetabulum or the hip socket so she she's going to try to maintain her leg in her Pilates V position
and I'll take my hand away and I'm just going to let you go for it okay so you're going to inhale
the first half of the circle bring the leg down and she's going to exhale keep her pelvis stable
and bring her leg back to center inhale the first half of the circle the leg comes down and exhale
make sure all that air is out and she's going to return it let's show the reverse and then I'll
break it down inhale to take it out exhale twist and come back down exactly one more time and
exhale, sorry Matilda, okay so she did a fantastic job of not moving her upper body so this is one of the
first places we teach stability of the shoulder on the and the arm bone now she's this is the
first place we teach rotation so she is moving her spine to move her pelvis to move her leg to
take her over as opposed to I'm just going to drop my leg out of my hip over stretch my outer
hip mainly glutes then we're not really getting our deep six muscles organized either so she's
going to rotate as much of her spine and pelvis as she can without hanging her leg off of her ,
out of her hip, so to speak, so wherever her spine takes her as much as her shoulders can stay on the
mat and then at that point she's going to open up the hip the hip stays stable and then this leg
rotates the rest of the way if you take the leg out too far and you know everybody's hip joints
are different so if her hip socket does not allow this kind of range we're going to see a rotation
or a a twisting and now she has destabilized the hip yeah so I'm just going to I'm going to
take you through it with my own hands. okay so you're going to give me your leg, again she
got this nice platform she's going to inhale the first half of the circle the leg comes down she's
going to exhale keep her pelvis and leg stable and swing it around, one more time inhale and so
she's really you know ringing out her rib cage her organs, inhale/exhale ring out those
organs Matilda make sure sure all that air is out before you arrive to center last one and then
exhale twist it all the way around and then you're going to be finished okay so normally you would do
five in one direction five in the other direction there's a lot to it. do you want to add some more ...
like I don't want to get too too have I missed anything I don't think so I think I think it's
an important piece to know that this is the level one exercise where we first introduced rotation I
think that's a really important part I'm going to now use you and just give them a breakdown in
that just to show you why we do it the way we do it sure okay so Veronica is going to lay down
and so we would have already, you know, I'm not going to say mastered single leg circle because
that takes a really long time but to break it down actually before we advance it really I
think there's one of two things and unless you want to add that we can do right the one is to
just the knee bent right? right! and so what you can start to do here is just practice hip rolling
yep right so this is really really great place to just your pelvic half so say Veronica is twisting
to the left you can talk to the right pelvic half rolling over onto the left pelvic half and then
the spine bringing her back to center right this is pretty simple. she could even if she wanted to
she could roll and then just open the hip around and back up all shortening the lever right? just
shorten the lever the other thing you can do is put a Theraband right ? grab a Theraband put
it under your foot, yep, and then this way you can help support your leg and you're just going to,
cuz a lot of people, they clunk, they do they clunk and clunk in a lot of the clunking and
the clicking I believe comes from typically bone on ligament improper placement let's say of the
femur bone typically the leg bone isn't kind of housed in the back of the hip joint or in the
hip joint properly but that's a whole other thing so just be aware of that or a lot of times it's
because people go into too much of an external rotation like you were talking about earlier
they turn way out they turn way too far out or in and so the bone doesn't sit properly in
the hip joint and then so there's a little bit of noise that happens yeah a little clunking
and then just to add to that you know you have to remember that when this leg is coming down these
muscles here are lengthening and so all people are holding that it's like no you don't hold it this
actually gets to somewhat contract to support the lowering you have to let this go so see the Theraband
see what the Theraband is doing that's what her leg muscles are doing so that's the beauty of
the Theraband is that it is now it is your muscles exactly so that you don't have to do that work
you can release the front of the hip joint right and and if you do this enough and believe that
you can actually be a little lazier with it then your nervous system goes oh that's not so bad
and then when I let go of it oh it's a little bit easier but it is this is a this is one that
I feel people for years are always going oh you know I don't understand this portion or I'm still
clicking or like and so then the rotation so lay yourself down just into your can can position on
your elbows like this yeah so right from here so we've done single leg circle is allowing
one lever to stay stabilized while the other one is becoming part of the movement of the pelvis now
you're kind of already teaching your pelvis how to rock so then when you come down to your can can
on your elbows you are you kind of already have that information now you're doing a double leg
hip rotation right spinal rotation through the pelvis moving right and so now and then
where does that come to it so then so that is a requirement now you're going to lay yourself down
and now you're going to do tick-tock just the what we teach just before corkscrew right so now
what is she doing here this is double leg single leg circle yeah right this is double leg circle
there you go right so we're just initiating the movement from the pelvis but that's what she's
going to do double leg circle is what you teach after tick-tock and just before corkscrew but
this skill I don't know how else you would build this skill unless you started building it with a
single leg first absolutely right yeah so that's our perspective and that's our opinion
and it just makes a lot of sense to me yeah and looking at bodies for over 25 years
you know, and that too, seeing that too so I actually could say more but I think we'll cut
it off there I think so if you guys have any questions or comments you can ask them in
the comment box and thanks everybody thank you