10 Pilates Exercises to Keep You Moving - Joanna Koleth 

Pilates is a series of exercises designed by Joseph Pilates in the 1920s. It was started to help people address their overall health, posture, inefficient breathing patterns, and other stressors of modern society. Today, Pilates is used in various ways. For some, it’s a workout and way to keep fit, and for others, it’s a tool to rehabilitate an injury, surgery or aid postpartum moms. 


I started my Pilates journey while in high school, as an extracurricular activity. However, it wasn’t until college that I realized the benefits it had on my body and the correlation to my performance as a dancer. It made me aware of what my body was doing outside the dance class: hiking my hip while standing in line for groceries, or sitting in the car driving and leaning more to the right side. For some, that might sound a little over-the-top to be analyzing your everyday movement, but we should remember that we were created to be movers. It’s in our everyday functional movements where it matters the most to be moving efficiently. 


The more we’re aware of how our body best moves and what postures contribute beneficially, the more we can move freely. I’ve personally enjoyed Pilates because of the calm concentration it demands and the way each movement flows from one to another. By the end of every session, I feel more awake, lengthened out in my body and blood-pumped ready to start my day. 


Below, you’ll find some posture tips, along with 10 classical Pilates exercises that you can choose to do as a 10-15 minute standalone workout or as a supplement to your movement practice, in your warm-up or to build core-strength. 


Posture Tips for Pilates 

It’s important to note that alignment and posture are what make these exercises effective. Try your best to move with deep breaths and avoid powering your way through them with momentum. 


Pelvis

Most Pilates exercises below require you to be in a neutral pelvis or begin the movement in one. Neutral pelvis refers to the alignment of your hip points (the protruding bones on either side of your hips) with your pubic bone. 


To find this position, lie with your back on the floor, knees bent and feet on the floor. Place the heels of your palms on your hip bones and touch your thumbs together. Place your fingers down to form a triangle, with your pointer fingers resting on your pubic bone.  Regardless of your body shape, if you’re in a neutral pelvis, your palms should be flat and parallel to the floor. If your finger tips are pointing diagonally upward to the ceiling, that’s a posterior tilt. If your fingertips are pointing diagonally downward to the floor, you’re in an anterior tilt.  


It’s important to be in a neutral pelvis for these exercises as it’s the most efficient and natural alignment for the pelvis, whether you are standing, sitting, or lying down. It’s the way your body best moves functionally. When you’re standing, imagine that your pelvis was a bowl of water and that the water sits evenly and does not slosh out to the front or the back.


Ribs

Once your pelvis is in neutral, it’s much easier to align the rest of your body. Think of your rib cage as an accordian: as you breathe in, your rib cage expands laterally, and as you breathe out, your rib cage comes back in, knitting your abdominal muscles closer together. 


Shoulders

Keep your shoulders stable but allow room for your shoulder blades to glide when arms are moving. If you feel tense or rigid in your neck and shoulders, take a deep breath and reset. 


Head

Keep the natural curve in your neck , finding a place where the tip of your nose is pointed forward, and you’re imagining the crown of your head lengthening upwards. 



Let’s Get Moving!

1. Roll Up (Knees Bent) 

Muscle Focus: Abdominals 

Purpose: abdominal strength, mobility and stability of the spine 

  • Lie faceup with your arms overhead, palms facing each other

  • Bend your legs to a comfortable angle where you’re sitting directly over your sitz bones in a neutral pelvis, move your feet further forward or backward as you see fit. 

  • Inhale and lift your arms up and forward, followed by your head and chest

  • Exhale as you continue to roll up, keeping your spine in a C-shape 

  • Inhale pause and straighten your spine

  • Exhale to roll your spine down towards the mat, returning to your starting position

Tips: 

  • Maintain a C-curve throughout the movement to roll up and roll down

  • Pause when your shoulders are aligned above your hip joints 

  • Keep length in the back your neck, with a slight chin nod (imagine a small lemon placed between your chin and chest)

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2. Spine Twist Supine 

Muscle Focus: Abdominals (obliques) 

Purpose: spinal rotation, stabilising pelvis-lower back, and abdominal control with emphasis on obliques. 

  • Lie faceup with your arms extended out to your sides in a T-position and palms up. Bend your knees and lift one leg at a time off the mat and into a tabletop position (hips and knees bent at 90°) 

  • Inhale: lower legs to the left

  • Exhale: draw abdominals in and return to starting position

Tips: Relax your shoulders and keep shoulder blades on floor 

Keep your lower back in contact with the mat to avoid arching in the lumbar spine. 

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3. Hundred Prep 

Muscle Focus: Abdominals (obliques) 

Purpose: Abdominal strength and trunk stabilization 

  • Lie faceup with your arms overhead, palms facing the ceiling, legs in a tabletop position 

  • Inhale to prepare

  • Exhale as you lift the arms, head and chest in one unit, bringing your arms to your sides and palms next to hips 

  • Inhale as you lower the body and return to starting position

Tips

  • Imagine your collar bones extending to the side to avoid the shoulders rounding forward 

  • Move your arms intentionally through space, as if the air molecules were filled with honey and you’re pressing down and lengthening fingers forward 

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4. Hundred

Muscle Focus: Abdominals

Purpose: Abdominal strength and trunk stabilization 

  • Lie faceup with your arms overhead, palms facing the ceiling, legs in a tabletop position 

  • Inhale to prepare

  • Exhale as you lift the arms, head and chest in one unit, bringing your arms to your sides and palms next to hips 

  • Pump arms up and down 

  • Exhale through the mouth for five pumps

  • Inhale through nose for five pumps

* The hundred can also be done with straight legs, with the height of legs dependant on maintenance of neutral pelvis and hamstring flexibility


Tips

  • Use deep, long breaths

  • Keep arm pumps small and lengthen arms through triceps and forearms

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5. Single Leg Stretch

Muscle Focus: Abdominals

Purpose: Abdominal strength and trunk stabilization 

  • Lie face up, with your hands on your knees, shins parallel to the floor. 

  • Exhale as you lift your head and chest 

  • Inhale prepare

  • Exhale straighten one leg, while hands stay on bent knee

  • Inhale switch legs

  • Exhale straighten other leg

  • Inhale switch legs 

Tips

  • Maintain stable position of the body 

  • Keep feet at the same height throughout

  • Keep shin of bent leg parallel to the mat 

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6. Double Leg Stretch 

Muscle Focus: Abdominals 

Purpose: Abdominals and trunk stabilization 

  • Lie face up, with your hands on your knees, shins parallel to the floor. 

  • Exhale as you lift your head and chest 

  • Inhale, reach your arms overhead while straightening the legs forward on a diagonal 

  • Exhale, circle the arms around and back toward knees as you simultaneously draw legs in

  • Keep head and chest lifted throughout 

Tips

  • Reach your arms as far back as possible while maintaining length and alignment through neck 

  • Maintain stability in pelvis, trunk, and head 

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7. Hip Extension Pulses 

Muscle Focus: Glutes and hamstrings

Purpose: Pelvic stability 

  • Move onto all 4’s (shoulders directly over wrists, and hips over knees) 

  • Lengthen back of your neck 

  • Lift one leg in parallel (shin toward floor), and bend at a 90 degree angle

  • Pulse the ankle upwards, alternating between a flexed foot and pointed foot, alternating your breaths every 2 pulses 

  • Keep your low back stable while maintaining a neutral pelvis 

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8. Straight Leg Toe Taps 

Muscle Focus: Glutes and hamstrings 

Purpose: pelvic stability 

  • Kneeling in a quadruped position/on all 4’s, hands under shoulders, knees under hips, Lengthen back of your neck 

  • Exhale, Lift right leg in parallel to hip height (shin toward floor), while the other leg supports on the mat

  • Inhale, lowering the leg, touching the right corner of your mat lightly with the top of the foot  

  • Exhale, lift up 

  • Inhale, cross the leg, lightly tapping the left corner of your mat with the top of the foot  


Tips

  • As you lift leg, Lengthen back of your knee and reach long through the toes 

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9. Leg Pull Front 

Muscle Focus: Hip extensors 

Purpose: Control of muscles that extend the hip, upper body strength, stabilisation of shoulder blades 

  • Start in a front support/push-up position

  • Exhale, lift one leg slightly off the mat, maintaining a neutral pelvis, and pointing the foot

  • Inhale, lowering the leg, touching the mat lightly with the top of the foot 

  • Exhale, lift up 

  • Repeat for 5 rounds before changing to the other leg

Tips 

  • Keep height of hips the same throughout

  • Visualize length from opposing ends of body; reaching forward through crown of the head and lengthening further through the heels of feet

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10. Side Bend 

Muscle Focus: Abdominal obliques

Purpose: Strengthening and stretch of Abdominal obliques, and shoulder strength and stabilization

  • Sit sideways on one hip, with palm on mat 

  • Bend legs slightly with foot of top leg in front of the  bottom leg

  • Rest the top arm at your side

  • Inhale, lift the pelvis up off the mat as you straighten the legs, keeping shoulder in line with bottom wrist 

  • Float the top arm to shoulder height as body goes into a diagonal line

  • Exhale, lift pelvis higher toward the ceiling, while curving the top arm overhead, feeling the stretch at the side of your body 

  • Inhale, return to sideways “T-position” 

  • Exhale, lower body to starting position


Tips

  • Keep inner thighs together 

  • Avoid opening ribs forward 

  • Movement comes from your side muscles (lateral flexors), avoid overpowering with your legs in the beginning phases 

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Rest Position

Purpose: Relaxation of your lower back and stretch of the lower spine 

  • Come to a kneeling position with your pelvis resting on your heels

  • Walk your hands forward on the mat, lowering your ribcage and chest towards your thighs

  • Continue to reach your arms forward, relaxing your neck and letting your forehead rest on the mat

  • Take a deep inhale through your nose, and slowly exhale out through your mouth

  • Breathe as you relax your back and entire body, expanding the rib cage with each breath 

Tips

  • Let your pelvis sinking towards your heels, letting go of any muscular tension with every exhale 

  • Imagine each vertebrae opening out and being filled with air bubbles



Written by Joanna Koleth 

Joanna is a certified pilates instructor and is married to Glenn, they attend Kingdomcity in Kuala Lumpur.

Kingdomcity Team