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I love a bit of Diana Ross, if you don't know the song go directly to the below link now to enjoy some music history, but don't forget to come back and read the rest of the blog.
We in class this week have been doing the upside down section of the classical matwork. I love this section, cause its light hearted and childlike, and fun. The more technical way to call the upside down movements is an inversion.
What is an inversion? An inversion is when you have your heart higher than your head. My favourite inversion we do in Pilates is the gentle roll down and it's how I finish almost every class. A roll down feels freeing!
A simple spine curl or bridge is also an inversion at the top of the movement, because your heart is above your head. If you have done a spine curl you know how wonderful they feel.
Some of the inversions we do in Pilates are called shoulder stands....
but because Joseph Pilates created them. They are not static movements where we stay still, nope! They are dynamic movements with our legs moving while we are upside down in a shoulder stand. lol it makes it more fun and challenging.
What inversions can be good for....
stimulate the lymphatic system, which is responsible for removing waste and toxins from the body.
regulating blood pressure
activate your parasympathetic nervous system
aids digestions (not suggesting you do it straight after eating though)
strength and balance
focuses the mind and clears it (it's hard to think of anything else when you are concentrating on fighting gravity lol)
Now inversions, they may not be for everybody and there are many reasons why they might not be your cuppa tea for example.
You just don't like it, and fair enough, if it makes you pull a face before even trying it do not do it
Hypertension
Cardiovascular issues
Neck and shoulder issues
Recent surgery or inflammation in your head region
Arthritis or osteoporosis
Brain injuries
Lower-back or spinal issues like sciatica
Acute migraine or headache
After just having a baby always check with your doctor before going back to exercise
What is most important is knowing that I always show variations in my classes and so if a particular inversion is not for you, that's ok. A few weeks back, I couldn't do inversions myself as I had vertigo, and so I didn't. My class did though happily while I talked them through the exercises. Now I am totally fine and back to happily being upside down.
I digress, I show variations of an exercise so you can stop at the version that is best for you. For example we did an exercise called The Scissors, and classically this is an exercise done in a shoulder stand and you move one leg to the floor and the other towards your head in a scissor like action.
Variations that we did were scissors with our hands under our bottom, to protect and lowering one leg to the floor and then the other in a slow and controlled manner. The second variation that we tried was Roamana's scissors (Romana was the lady who took over the mantle from Joseph Pilates when he died and added some exercises of her own). This version is doing the same scissor legs but a little faster and in a curl up on the upper body.
I always say do you, do the version that makes you the happiest. Always do the version that is right for your body. I am always proud when I see a student make the choice to honour where there body is in that moment.
Inversions are lots of fun if they are right for you, but there is always an exercise for you if they are not.
If you would like to try inversions or any other variation of Pilates, do drop me a line
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