Brilliant class showing how to make pre-pilates moves more accessible to complete beginners, with fab focus on neck form (which is one of the greatest challenges for beginners!)
Really enjoyed this, and all of your classes. Great cues Karen. I was wondering if you could share some insight as to why bridging could cause low back pain in clients? Only when doing mat work, not on the equipment.
ahhhh.. Bridging. A bridge is for suspension. The body needs to experience an articulating bridge and a neutral bridge. The bridge itself is not responsible for causing the back pain. The back may start to feel pain/discomfort because as the bridge lifts, the spine may not feel the support from the rest of the core or from the glutei posteriorly. If someone has a back dysfunction (like a disc issue or spinal stenosis) a neutral bridge is preferred. When performing an articulatory bridge, I feel it's important to not initiate with a glutei squeeze or a harsh "tuck" but rather a gentle rolling upward. Let me know if that helps, you can message me, too.
Loved this! I have particularly weak glutes and have always had extreme difficulty lifting either leg while in a bridge, and I really appreciated the "karate chop" cue for getting a bit more support from the arms--I've always found it hard to get my triceps to engage with my hands palm down, and now I'm wondering if that's not because of some tightness I have in my shoulders. In any case, the karate chop angle helped out a lot! Looking forward to more of your insights as I watch the rest of the series.
I had been doing lots of sanding and panting of baseboards and laying on my side for sidekicks felt so painful for my left shoulder... I had no idea how much I was straining my neck. Resting it into the pillow felt amazing! Thank you so much, Karen Sanzo!