If you haven't already, first read Core Strength and Me and Introduction to Isolating Movement.
Figure eights are probably the most complicated and difficult movements in the sequence, so make sure you have a good handle on Lower Body Linear Movements before you get yourself frustrated with this. Do not attempt to learn this without a mirror. Remember to start with ten movements on each side, or twenty total.
VIDEO LINK!
Basic Figure Eights
Remember the Pendulum? This movement comes from that. The difference is that you will not drop your hip on your way back to zero position. You will keep your hip up until you get to zero position. So essentially, you will be making a big upward circle on one side, then another on the other side. Start in the same position as you would for the Pendulum, do not forget your good posture. Bring your hip up as you let it slide out to the side as usual. Now slide your hips back to your centerline without dropping your hip. This should remind you of Up and Down. Now that you are here, come back to neutral position and repeat the movement exactly on the opposite side. When you put both sides together into one movement, you should see your hips making a sideways figure eight (or infinity symbol) in the mirror in front of you.
Inverted Figure Eights
This is to the Inverted Pendulum as the previous movement is to the regular Pendulum. You will start the movement exactly as you would the Inverted Pendulum only maintain your hip down as you return it to your center line (also like the Up and Down). You will pass through neutral position on your centerline as you repeat the movement on the other side.
Stationary Twist
This is not a figure eight, but has the same relation to the Twisting Figure Eight as the Up and Down has to the Figure Eight. Stand at neutral position in good posture. Without moving from your center line (neither side to side, nor forward or backward) facing the mirror, twist your hips such that one hip comes forward and the other goes backward. Now repeat on the other side. It can be difficult to do this in good posture if you're not used to it, so really fight for it. It will be impossible to keep your whole rib cage still with this particular movement, so just try to keep your chest and shoulders in the same place.
Twisting Figure Eight
The figure eight in this movement will be parallel to the floor, with each hip making one of the circles and the center being at neutral position. Start from neutral position. Do one side of your Stationary Twist. Now, bring your rear hip in a circle, parallel to the floor, toward the front as you twist. Now that hip should be in front, your other hip to the rear, and you should be back at your centerline. Repeat the movement on the opposite side, bringing that hip in a circle from the rear to the front as you twist and return to your centerline. Again, try and keep your chest and shoulders still.
Reverse Twisting Figure Eight
This is exactly like the previous movement only you will bring your hips in circles that travel from the front to the rear as you twist. Do not move your chest or shoulders.
Bicycle Hips
This is a tough one. There is no figure eight in this movement. Your hips will make alternating circles in a forward, downward motion just as your feet would if you were pedaling a bike. You will be using a combination of Up and Downs and Stationary Twists. This is a smaller movement, so you should be able to keep still from the diaphragm down. Start with the first half of your Up and Down motion so that one hip is high and the other low. Now, twist your high hip forward and your low hip backward while your bring both hips level with eachother (parallel to the ground). At this point, you should be half way into a Stationary Twist and your Up and Down will be neutral. Continue the downward, forward circular motion with the hip that was up, and the backward, upward circular motion with the hip that was down until the low hip is up and the high hip is down. That is one half of the movement. Repeat on the other side. Your hips should be circling forward and down to mimic two feet pedaling a bicycle. Your body should not be moving up and down or side to side. All the work will be in your legs for movement and your lower torso for keeping your upper torso still throughout the movement. It is easy to lose posture during this movement, so once you get a feel for it, really fight for that good posture.
Awesome Tip of the Day: This really is a lot of leg work. Stretch those legs, especially your quadriceps, before you do your Core Sequence. It is a good idea to also stretch out your hips and torso in any direction you can think of. Take a break and shake out your legs if they're starting to burn. As you become comfortable with the movements, you will make be able to do a greater range of motion, which should slowly increase your flexibility. Stretch.
Reverse Bicycle Hips
No explanation required. This is exactly the same as the previous movement only your hips will be pedaling backward.
Snake Hips
I know, snakes don't have hips. What you're looking for is a rolling movement that, from the side, resembles a figure eight combined with a pendulum. It definitely rolls more than a pendulum, but it is not as clear as a figure eight. It is snake-like movement. Remember the Front to Back Slide. Start with that. Bring your hips forward. As you reach the end of your motion, tilt your pelvis upward. Now, when you go backward, try to do it in a rolling motion starting from the middle of your back and ending at your sacrum. As you bring your body forward again, start by pushing out your stomach just below your diaphragm and rolling all the way out to your hips. When your put the whole thing together, you should have a nice rolling motion that is equal on the front and back sides.
Inverted Snake Hips
This is the same idea as the previous motion. Starting from neutral position, tilt your hips upward and push them forward. When you reach the extent of your range, tilt your hips downward and push them out toward the back. Tilt them forward again as you bring them forward. This should help you achieve the upward rolling motion with your body that should move from your pelvis to your middle back. Try to keep your chest and shoulders still, more if you can. Make sure that you count these like the figure eights, one count for the front and one for the back. That helps you mentally emphasize both sides of the movement instead of focusing more on one half or the other.
NEXT IN THIS SERIES...
My Core Sequence, Part 4: Upper Body Linear Movements
Showing posts with label hip circles. Show all posts
Showing posts with label hip circles. Show all posts
Friday, December 10, 2010
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
My Core Sequence, Part 2: Lower Body Linear Movements
If you haven't already, first read Core Strength and Me and Introduction to Isolating Movement.
Linear movements are fairly simple and easy to do and a good way to get yourself ready for more complicated movements like figure eights and snake-like rolling movements (called "camels" in belly dancing). Lower body linear movements work exactly how they sound. They involve moving your hips back and forth or front to back in specific trajectories and articulating from varying points. The articulation point determines what area is not involved in movement, meaning from which point your body will be staying still.
Don't forget that all of these movements should be initiated with your legs. The core work will come from keeping your articulation points still. And keep your eyes on that mirror! It really makes all the difference.
VIDEO LINK!
Back and Forth Slide
The first movement is a simple back and forth. Starting from good posture (lifted chest, tucked hips), give your knees a little bend and get low in your center. You will articulate from the ribcage (at about the diaphragm) down. Slide your hips to one side as far as you can without moving the ribcage. This movement will be done with your legs. You should feel a little stretch in your side. Once this is achieved, push the other hip out to the other side. Again, nothing from your ribcage to your head should be moving. Keep a close watch in the mirror to make sure this is the case. You will notice that the muscles in the ribcage are working not to move your hips but to counter the movement in your hips. This is a result of having an articulation point above which nothing moves. This is where the core work comes from.
Up and Down
Starting from good posture and low in your center, you will be lifting one hip while lowering the other simultaneously. The articulation point in this will be a single point located in the center of your pelvis. The movement will occur by bending one knee, and then bringing it to neutral while bending the other knee. This is an important motion to get as it will be the basis of many other related movements, so give it some attention and make sure it feels comfortable. Your torso should not be moving.
Pendulum
This motion will combine the previous two. Slide your hip out to one side. As you reach your full extension, incorporate your up and down motion so that your hip lifts on the side of the extension. Because of the extension, you may need to come up on the ball of your foot a little on that side, but the other foot should be firmly grounded. Let your hip come down and you return to the neutral position and repeat on the other side. With your ribcage still, your hips should appear to swing as a pendulum would in the mirror. Check to see if your movement looks like this.
Inverted Pendulum
This movement is a little trickier than the pendulum because it feels less natural and involves a bit more of a stretch. You will do this exactly the same way as the pendulum only your hip will drop down instead of lift at the extension of the hip. Again, make your best efforts to maintain posture and not allow your ribcage to move from around the diaphragm up. At the very least, your head and chest should be still and he ribcage will follow with practice. If you were not moving side to side, your articulation point would be at your pubic bone.
Front to Back Slide
The concept here is exactly like like the back and forth slide only it is front to back. Try not to roll over your heels or toes. Do your best to keep your ribcage from moving.
Pelvic Thrust
Men love this one. Try to articulate from about your belly button down. If you were to do this sideways in front of the mirror, it would bare resemblance to the pendulum motion you were doing a moment ago. Start from the neutral position. Bring your pelvis forward and slightly up as far as you can go without moving anything just above the belly button. Now bring it back to neutral and mirror the motion for the same distance in the opposite direction. You should feel a squeeze in the lower abs when you move forward and probably a little butt squeeze as well. You should feel the same thing on the lowest part of your back as you move backward. That's it. You've got it. You're a rock star...
Pelvic Rock
This one is also really good for your lower back and is excellent for training yourself to keep your pelvis centered (not tilted backward, which is the tendency). Like the Inverted Hip Circle and Inverted Pendulum, the articulation point will be at about the pubic bone. Rock your pelvis forward from that point so that your belly button pushes forward as far as you can without losing technique. Now reverse the motion pushing your lower back out while pulling the belly button area in. Your pubic bone should not be moving forward and backward in space and the ribs up should not be moving either. This is a tricky one so give it some time and practice.
Awesome Tip of the Day: Since linear movements are done on both sides of the body, all linear movements must be done twice as many times receive equal attention as neutral movements like circles. Left and right or front and back each count as one. So, if I were doing ten each of my circles, I must do ten per side or twenty total of each linear movement (and figure eight, as you will see in the next installment of this series).
NEXT IN THIS SERIES...
My Core Sequence, Part 3: Lower Body Figure Eights
Linear movements are fairly simple and easy to do and a good way to get yourself ready for more complicated movements like figure eights and snake-like rolling movements (called "camels" in belly dancing). Lower body linear movements work exactly how they sound. They involve moving your hips back and forth or front to back in specific trajectories and articulating from varying points. The articulation point determines what area is not involved in movement, meaning from which point your body will be staying still.
Don't forget that all of these movements should be initiated with your legs. The core work will come from keeping your articulation points still. And keep your eyes on that mirror! It really makes all the difference.
VIDEO LINK!
Back and Forth Slide
The first movement is a simple back and forth. Starting from good posture (lifted chest, tucked hips), give your knees a little bend and get low in your center. You will articulate from the ribcage (at about the diaphragm) down. Slide your hips to one side as far as you can without moving the ribcage. This movement will be done with your legs. You should feel a little stretch in your side. Once this is achieved, push the other hip out to the other side. Again, nothing from your ribcage to your head should be moving. Keep a close watch in the mirror to make sure this is the case. You will notice that the muscles in the ribcage are working not to move your hips but to counter the movement in your hips. This is a result of having an articulation point above which nothing moves. This is where the core work comes from.
Up and Down
Starting from good posture and low in your center, you will be lifting one hip while lowering the other simultaneously. The articulation point in this will be a single point located in the center of your pelvis. The movement will occur by bending one knee, and then bringing it to neutral while bending the other knee. This is an important motion to get as it will be the basis of many other related movements, so give it some attention and make sure it feels comfortable. Your torso should not be moving.
Pendulum
This motion will combine the previous two. Slide your hip out to one side. As you reach your full extension, incorporate your up and down motion so that your hip lifts on the side of the extension. Because of the extension, you may need to come up on the ball of your foot a little on that side, but the other foot should be firmly grounded. Let your hip come down and you return to the neutral position and repeat on the other side. With your ribcage still, your hips should appear to swing as a pendulum would in the mirror. Check to see if your movement looks like this.
Inverted Pendulum
This movement is a little trickier than the pendulum because it feels less natural and involves a bit more of a stretch. You will do this exactly the same way as the pendulum only your hip will drop down instead of lift at the extension of the hip. Again, make your best efforts to maintain posture and not allow your ribcage to move from around the diaphragm up. At the very least, your head and chest should be still and he ribcage will follow with practice. If you were not moving side to side, your articulation point would be at your pubic bone.
Front to Back Slide
The concept here is exactly like like the back and forth slide only it is front to back. Try not to roll over your heels or toes. Do your best to keep your ribcage from moving.
Pelvic Thrust
Men love this one. Try to articulate from about your belly button down. If you were to do this sideways in front of the mirror, it would bare resemblance to the pendulum motion you were doing a moment ago. Start from the neutral position. Bring your pelvis forward and slightly up as far as you can go without moving anything just above the belly button. Now bring it back to neutral and mirror the motion for the same distance in the opposite direction. You should feel a squeeze in the lower abs when you move forward and probably a little butt squeeze as well. You should feel the same thing on the lowest part of your back as you move backward. That's it. You've got it. You're a rock star...
Pelvic Rock
This one is also really good for your lower back and is excellent for training yourself to keep your pelvis centered (not tilted backward, which is the tendency). Like the Inverted Hip Circle and Inverted Pendulum, the articulation point will be at about the pubic bone. Rock your pelvis forward from that point so that your belly button pushes forward as far as you can without losing technique. Now reverse the motion pushing your lower back out while pulling the belly button area in. Your pubic bone should not be moving forward and backward in space and the ribs up should not be moving either. This is a tricky one so give it some time and practice.
Awesome Tip of the Day: Since linear movements are done on both sides of the body, all linear movements must be done twice as many times receive equal attention as neutral movements like circles. Left and right or front and back each count as one. So, if I were doing ten each of my circles, I must do ten per side or twenty total of each linear movement (and figure eight, as you will see in the next installment of this series).
NEXT IN THIS SERIES...
My Core Sequence, Part 3: Lower Body Figure Eights
My Core Sequence, Part 1: Lower Body Circles
If you haven't already, first read Core Strength and Me and My Core Sequence, Introduction to Isolating Movement. If you're having a hard time with circles, start with Lower Body Linear Movements. It may help you get a feel for it.
There are many ways to make lower body circles. You can articulate your circles from different points on your body, but they are all circles. That means that whatever part of your body becomes the widest part of the circle, it should stay an equal distance from the center line you would have if you were standing up straight. This is important for the circle to stay fluid and also important to ensure that you are working and stretching the muscles on all sides evenly. For example, if you push your circles more out to the front than to the back, you will be doing more work on the front than on the back and, therefore, develop unevenly.
Awesome Tip of the Day: Remember to keep good posture throughout the movements. Lift your ribs and tuck your hips. Letting your back or shoulders sag or curve unnaturally can put undo strain on specific vertebrae, which can cause you pain or exacerbate pre-existing injuries. None of these movements should hurt.
VIDEO LINK!
Big Circles
Big circles articulate all the way from your head. Your stand from good posture and lean to one side while sticking your hip out to the other side. Try to keep your head in the same place. It will be impossible to keep it in exactly the same place, but do your best. Now try it on the other side. Once you see how this feels and looks, try it to the front and to the back, making sure that when you stick your hip out in any direction, the end of your movement places your hip at the same distance from your center line as it would in any other direction. Once you have a feel for that, try taking your hip in a big circle connecting all the dots from side to front to side to back. Do maybe ten and then try it in the other direction, making sure that your head is staying in the same place as much as possible. Big circles should resemble the big hip circles one does to stretch before working out.
Upper Hip Circles
The idea of these is exactly the same as the Big Circles only instead of articulating from below the head, you will articulate below the ribs as viewed from the front (so right around your diaphragm). That means that from the ribs up, you should not be moving. Your hips will still be the outside of the circle. You may just jump into this if you feel up to it. Otherwise, try the same approach of feeling each side individually before connecting the dot. Do the movement slowly in front of the mirror. As you move in a circle, you will notice that the muscles surrounding your given articulation point will engage in attempt to keep that area still. Those muscles are countering the movement that you are doing. Keep your movements even and controlled and those muscles will build strength and control all the way around your body. Do ten in each direction.
Middle Hip Circles
When you first start, it is difficult to drive distinction between upper, middle, and lower circles. When you get used to it, you will see that they engage very different muscles. Middle Hip Circles are exactly like Upper Hip Circles only the articulate from a lower point. This point should be around where the lowest ribs are (located on the back side). On a woman, this will be around your natural waist (smallest part of the waist). On a man, this will vary. Same as before, feel it out carefully and then do your circles, ten in each direction.
Lower Hip Circles
Same thing. Your articulation point should be around where your belly button is. You will notice that the circles are getting progressively smaller. Try to keep your good posture. Do your ten in each direction.
Sexy Hip Circles
These circles are a little bit different. Some people find them easier and some people find them confusing. Imagine your pelvis is a plate, parallel to the floor. You want roll around the edge of the plate. To illustrate, drop a coin on the table. Once it falls to once face up, it will roll around its edges (staying in one place) before finally laying to rest. This is what you will be doing with your hips. If the center of that coin or plate was in the middle of your pelvis, facing up, you will be making that same motion. Everything above that area should be still. The movement will be coming from your legs, as usual. You should feel the muscles working very low on your abdomen and back. Do your ten in each direction.
Inverted Hip Circles
This is the most confusing one and the one my ladies will probably find very useful. This one articulates from below the pelvis (around the pubic bone) up. Everything until this point has been from a given point down. The widest part of your circle will not be your hips, it will be probably around the height of your belly button. At first, this is all you need to worry about as it is difficult enough to figure out what you're actually doing in this movement. Once you figure it out, try to do it keeping still from at least the chest up. For a visual, imagine that your pelvis is a bowl. Do the same rolling motion with the bottom of the bowl that you did with the plate. Do your ten in each direction.
NEXT IN THIS SERIES...
My Core Sequence, Part 2: Lower Body Linear Movements
There are many ways to make lower body circles. You can articulate your circles from different points on your body, but they are all circles. That means that whatever part of your body becomes the widest part of the circle, it should stay an equal distance from the center line you would have if you were standing up straight. This is important for the circle to stay fluid and also important to ensure that you are working and stretching the muscles on all sides evenly. For example, if you push your circles more out to the front than to the back, you will be doing more work on the front than on the back and, therefore, develop unevenly.
Awesome Tip of the Day: Remember to keep good posture throughout the movements. Lift your ribs and tuck your hips. Letting your back or shoulders sag or curve unnaturally can put undo strain on specific vertebrae, which can cause you pain or exacerbate pre-existing injuries. None of these movements should hurt.
VIDEO LINK!
Big Circles
Big circles articulate all the way from your head. Your stand from good posture and lean to one side while sticking your hip out to the other side. Try to keep your head in the same place. It will be impossible to keep it in exactly the same place, but do your best. Now try it on the other side. Once you see how this feels and looks, try it to the front and to the back, making sure that when you stick your hip out in any direction, the end of your movement places your hip at the same distance from your center line as it would in any other direction. Once you have a feel for that, try taking your hip in a big circle connecting all the dots from side to front to side to back. Do maybe ten and then try it in the other direction, making sure that your head is staying in the same place as much as possible. Big circles should resemble the big hip circles one does to stretch before working out.
Upper Hip Circles
The idea of these is exactly the same as the Big Circles only instead of articulating from below the head, you will articulate below the ribs as viewed from the front (so right around your diaphragm). That means that from the ribs up, you should not be moving. Your hips will still be the outside of the circle. You may just jump into this if you feel up to it. Otherwise, try the same approach of feeling each side individually before connecting the dot. Do the movement slowly in front of the mirror. As you move in a circle, you will notice that the muscles surrounding your given articulation point will engage in attempt to keep that area still. Those muscles are countering the movement that you are doing. Keep your movements even and controlled and those muscles will build strength and control all the way around your body. Do ten in each direction.
Middle Hip Circles
When you first start, it is difficult to drive distinction between upper, middle, and lower circles. When you get used to it, you will see that they engage very different muscles. Middle Hip Circles are exactly like Upper Hip Circles only the articulate from a lower point. This point should be around where the lowest ribs are (located on the back side). On a woman, this will be around your natural waist (smallest part of the waist). On a man, this will vary. Same as before, feel it out carefully and then do your circles, ten in each direction.
Lower Hip Circles
Same thing. Your articulation point should be around where your belly button is. You will notice that the circles are getting progressively smaller. Try to keep your good posture. Do your ten in each direction.
Sexy Hip Circles
These circles are a little bit different. Some people find them easier and some people find them confusing. Imagine your pelvis is a plate, parallel to the floor. You want roll around the edge of the plate. To illustrate, drop a coin on the table. Once it falls to once face up, it will roll around its edges (staying in one place) before finally laying to rest. This is what you will be doing with your hips. If the center of that coin or plate was in the middle of your pelvis, facing up, you will be making that same motion. Everything above that area should be still. The movement will be coming from your legs, as usual. You should feel the muscles working very low on your abdomen and back. Do your ten in each direction.
Inverted Hip Circles
This is the most confusing one and the one my ladies will probably find very useful. This one articulates from below the pelvis (around the pubic bone) up. Everything until this point has been from a given point down. The widest part of your circle will not be your hips, it will be probably around the height of your belly button. At first, this is all you need to worry about as it is difficult enough to figure out what you're actually doing in this movement. Once you figure it out, try to do it keeping still from at least the chest up. For a visual, imagine that your pelvis is a bowl. Do the same rolling motion with the bottom of the bowl that you did with the plate. Do your ten in each direction.
NEXT IN THIS SERIES...
My Core Sequence, Part 2: Lower Body Linear Movements
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