Your Inscrutable Abs

Yes, the "abs", that part of yourself that is hard to ignore and is used, rightly or wrongly as a measure of how "fit" you are. I currently work and live in the Narcissistic Capital of the World.  Here you will find an abundance of good information on what makes one really "fit" and some really bad misinformation. on the same. Simply put and without becoming an esoteric woo-woo "source/center" freak, your abs are your physical center.  This is very crucial to understand.  No matter how spiritual you think you may be, currently it is this structure that you get to deal with, your vehilce of liberation and your abs are a very critical area for you to understand as you walk this dusty road called Life. For most of us this elusive but ever present center is somewhere around our belly button. It is the center of gravity of our bodies.  This center does differ in specific location from body to body.  Suffice it to say, the belly button is a good indicator of your physical center but also that you are indeed a member of this restless species known as homo sapiens sapiens.

Comprised of four layers (I am being brief for you in the medical/anatomy profession), in my experience as a Pilates Instructor of almost 18 years (actually December 2nd will be 18 full years), your abs and awareness of them is very important to your life on all levels of your existence. I cannot be any more clear or emphatic on that single point. They are crucial to your well being on several points (and I will try and remember all of them as I go).

On a primary level they hold your guts in place.  If the abs are firm then the organs can remain in their optimal position for full functioning.  That includes digestion and taking a shit.  No bullshit! If you don't have the requisite ab strength to move the Big Mac or Raw Food Special through it just sits there and rots.  Not a pretty picture, but there it is.  As for the holding in part, if you have a congenital weakness as I have, hernias will occur, but all my years prior to that eruption (my own damn fault) were significant in my recovery.  Those I have trained over the years who have had babies have all reported an ease in pregnancy and for those on more than the first birthing experience have said that the subsequent births, due to consistent practice made the birth easier if not quicker.  Yes, that is word of mouth and not a full on scientific test so if your results were different, well then, your results were different.  Ask then, what else was going on?

That goes across the board.  My Mentor, Julian Littleford was fond of saying, "We are going to make your body lean and catlike.  Just remember, there are many different types of cat in the world." That last gets missed quite often.  People waddle in all of the time broken, overweight, anorexic, recovering from injury or illness, tall, short, in between and suffering from an overdose of health magazines and late night fix it work outs demanding the One Session Fix (known as the OSF Disorder Syndrome or OSFDS).  Upon not receiving the insta-change that is required for a successful physical fitness regimen, they stalk out glaring daggers at the trainer muttering foul imprecations against them and their lineage with an attitude most MacBeth.

Pilates will not fix you or your perceived abdominal issue!  Ha, let alone will it fix you at all! Pilates is designed to strengthen your core, lengthen the body structure and be but a portion of your overall regimen for well being (even that term is becoming tired as of late).  If you come in with any other expectation you will be disappointed.  I suspect, as a side note, that much of the tomfoolery that is abounding around Pilates is due in part to the quickening pace provided by electronic contraptions that give us the illusion that all can be achieved with a push of a button.  Coupled with the native angst of our species, bolstered by the Judeo-Christian End of the Worldism and the New Age "You can have it all Nowism", the misinformation about developing the body-mind has gotten quite out of hand.  So lets keep it simple:  Pilates can teach you to engage your abs to stabilize the body-mind in movement anywhere, anytime.

Was that simple enough?  Concise perhaps?  Maybe a trifle inconceivable? Is that culturally important area still opaque?  Fear not!  My own explorations and expectations have demonstrated that firm abs can be had if a few minor items are remembered.  Most of us don't like rules or do well with direction, after all, we presume that since we have been in this body for several years and as Americans we should know what is happening, yet Dunlaps Disease (wherein the belly dun lap over the belt) continues to be pervasive no matter how many situp we do, or how much we sweat in Spin Cycle classes or Cardio-asana sessions. In my classes there are just five guidelines (currently) that I recommend (I am speaking of Mat classes in particular, although it follows through into Reformer/Cadillac routines).

1)  Engage your abs before the movement, during the movement and do not disengage until the set is done.

2)  If it hurts, don't do it!  I don't care how good look'n the teacher is, ignore the smile, the hair, the you-know-whats and the naughty bits that are begging for your attention.  I am not sure how cleavage (above and below) or accentuation of rounded parts or bulges makes for a good Pilates instructor (or a Yoga teacher for that matter).  If you don't want me to look, don't show it.

3)  The system that I learned is an ab-based system not breath-based.  I don't know who started that nonsense, but jeeez, if Pilates is about the abs why shift the focus?  No need to huff and puff and blow the house down, sound like a leaky steam valve or flap your arms up and down like a Gooney bird trying to take flight. Breath normally and save the Pranayam for the Yoga classes.  Ab development aids Pranayam quite nicely.

4)  I demonstrate the position, complete with anatomical description laced with humor so you can see the basic template.  Every body is different but the template is universal.  If you are attempting to watch me work out whilst you work out chances are you are now out of position and the abs cease to work as the pain sets in.  So don't.  Just watch, then I move around the room to adjust and guide. Everybody engaging together sets a nice tone to the practice.

5)  Enjoy yourself in class.  There is no way you can get it in one session (remember OSFDS?).  So lighten up, be kind to yourself and have some fun.  It's only your abs after all.

This is your journey.  One that you can custom design. Cross the Bridge and see. 

It is your body, do with it as you will.

Pilates can help, that's all it can do.  The rest is up to you.