Great special.....i think if you have your clients focus more on their alignment, then move carefully,they should be able to become aware of what should NATURALLY be felt in the pf region.

in addition to compare
Classes Class 892: Carolyne Sidhu Anthony - Mat Workout - Level 1/2 - 12/01/2012 is helpful?

What do teachers feel when pushing down vs up? and how can we que our clients more successfully?

Erasing works Ginger! I would like more in depth tutorials on breathing and connection with pfm...

I learned the hard way that I wasn't activating my pelvic floor and have since been taught by a Physical Therapist how to activate these muscles. I would respectfully argue that Brent's advice might be a bit off: one should focus on contracting the PF when using the abdominal muscles in Pilates or another intense muscular work.

I learned to gently contract the PF by touching the hip flexor muscles (psoas). If I felt tension in the psoas, I wasn't doing it right. I had to engage the PF without engaging the psoas. It took concentrated work to figure this out. Also, I had to intentionally relax the PF. Of course, for more detailed information I would recommend talking to a Physical Therapist, they are the experts.

Hi Lisa,
Dr. Brent Anderson is a Physical Therapist. At Pilates Anytime "Brent" is perhaps more well known as just a great Pilates teacher, but in fact he earned his PhD. in Physical Therapy at the University of Miami in 2005. His doctoral thesis explored the impact of Pilates rehabilitation on chronic low back pain using psycho-emotional wellness and quality of life measures.

I also would like to add, from what I have learned in training and "hands on" , the hip flexor is not the Psoais ...correct me if I am wrong...

More info/detail on this subject please!!!

Good stuff- Blandine always cautioned against "pressure down".

One cue that I think is helpful is in describing contracting/lifting the muscles of the pelvic floor--that these are the muscles we use to stop the flow of urine.
In a Bradley Method of Natural Childbirth, the instructor emphasized both lifting like an elevator (as Ginger mentioned) as well as letting the elevator go past the ground floor and all the way to the basement (as Dr. Anderson was mentioning).