Pilates for Riders: Part IV - Thinking Laterally

This month, our Pilates-inspired exercises focus on two important movement patterns - sideways or lateral movements of the body and hip/leg control. Just as our horses sometimes find it difficult to move sideways freely, so do our bodies. A lot of the normal daily movements we perform don’t involve a sideways element, hence the muscles that control these movements can become weak and tight with lack of use. The Side Bend helps to mobilize and strengthen these very muscles.
When we are riding, having good control of our hips and legs makes us more able to influence our horses with effective leg aids. Side Kick is the perfect exercise to practice this control. Both of the exercises have you lying on your side, which will help you become more aware of how well your body moves in the sideways plane and will also help you see how stable you are (or aren’t!) when your body is challenged to move this way.

SIDE BEND
Focus: Spinal mobility and core stability while moving in the sideways plane
Set up:
• Lie on your side with your elbow directly under your shoulder.
• Bend your knees to a 900 angle and check that the soles of your feet are in line with your bottom.
• Place your hand under your waist.
• Look down the body and make sure your hips are stacked evenly on top of one another.
• Be aware of your shoulders being evenly stacked as well.
• Keep your knees and feet together.
• Check that your spine is in a neutral position.

Movement
• Take a deep breath in and as you breathe out, draw the pelvic floor muscles up into the body, and gently lift your waist towards the ceiling.
• Use the gentle pressure on your hand under your waist as a guide for the direction you are moving.
• Breathe in as the waist returns to the start position, breathe out as the waist lifts.
• Do 4-5 repetitions and then repeat to the other side.

Watch-out Points:
• Try to avoid leaning back or tilting forward to complete the movement.
• If your shoulder or neck is hurting, you can do the same movement with your head resting on an outstretched arm – just make sure your body stays stacked on its side.
• Keep your neck and shoulders relaxed throughout the movement.

Challenge:
• Once you’ve mastered the base movement, you can finish the Side Bend off by ‘painting a rainbow’ with your top arm. To execute this challenge correctly you must first bend through the waist, then once the waist is lifted, sweep the arm over your head. With the arm action, slightly more of your thigh lifts off the ground. Hold this position for one breath in, one breath out then relax and repeat 4-5 times before switching sides.

SIDE KICK
Focus: Core stability while doing controlled movements at the hip
Set up:
• Lie on your side with your arm stretched out fully and your ear resting on your arm. (Photo 4)
• Check that your body is stacked: one shoulder over the other, top hip over bottom hip, knees and feet together.
• Look down the body and check that you can just see your toes.
• Place the other hand gently on the floor in front of you for support.

Movement:
• Breathe in and as you breathe out, think about drawing your pelvic floor muscles up into the body.
• Breathe in again, and on the out breath, lengthen your legs away from the body as you lift your top leg about 10 cm.
• Breathe in and on the out breath, slowly ‘kick’ your top leg about 10 cm forward. (Photo 5)
• Return the leg to the start position on the in breath, then repeat the forward kicking action. Do 6-8 repetitions of the Side Kick before relaxing and repeating on the other side.

Watch-out Points:
• Try to make sure that you don’t tip forward or back as you move your leg.
• Keep the pressure on your supporting hand very gentle. Can you support with just one fingertip?
• Keep your shoulders and neck relaxed.
• Think of lengthening the body – try to avoid bending at the waist.
• Try not to rush the Side Kick action, time the motion with your slow and controlled breathing.

Challenge:
• The first challenge for the Side Kick is to perform the action without the supporting hand on the ground. Rest your top arm on your side and see if you can maintain stability.
• Next, lengthen both legs until they come off the ground, and perform the Side Kick with the bottom leg hovering just a few centimetres.
• Finally, challenge your stability even more by performing the kicking action both to the front and the back. Make sure to work in a small range of motion – no more than 10 cm in each direction at first. Make the movements very slow and controlled.

Visualisation Practice
When you are practicing your Pilates-inspired movements, visualize how your body would be moving on the horse. The action of the Side Kick requires controlled leg movement happening around a stable centre. This is EXACTLY what good riders require. As you visualize your leg lengthening in the Side Kick, think of how your leg can be long and effective in the saddle. As you breathe out, drawing up the pelvic floor muscles into the body, imagine your stable core supporting your whole body. Then, visualize yourself on the horse with a stable centre and independent arms and legs. Close your eyes and mentally rehearse subtle, yet effective aids. Believe in the power of your mind to influence how your body moves. Practicing this type of visualization, along with working on the specific exercises to stabilize your core, will help you break old movement habits both on and off the horse. You’ll become a more balanced and effective rider as a result!