Hip disassociation is the ability to move your leg in your hip joint freely without moving your pelvis or spine much.
If the hip doesn't have full range of motion, the body will look to other joints and muscles near by that might be able to take over and help with the required movement, for example the lower lumbar spine, which attaches to the pelvis.
Moving your lower lumbar spine to compensate for a lack of range of motion in the hip joint can lead to potentially over-worked lower back muscles becoming short/tight, while the opposite abdominal muscles may become long/weak. We need both those muscle groups to work well, in order to keep us upright.
The Pilates method aims to work the body holistically, ensuring full range of motion in all joints, to ensure the body can move more optimally and in better alignment.
Single Leg Circles is one of the great exercises in the Pilates repertoire to practice hip mobilisation and torso/pelvic stability (think abdominals).
Take a look at Barbie in the video above, she is a master of hip disassociation.
댓글