Trouble with your Teaser? When our Pilates mind says Yes, but your body says No.

Learn the Unexpected Key to Mastering Advanced Pilates with Patricia Medros

Struggling with Star? Blocked in the Roll Over? That annoying hip click in Neck Pull?

The secret to mastering advanced Pilates isn't endless stretching, more reps, or simply trying harder – it's something far more fundamental: the breath.

Read below to learn more and join the workshop on March 8th and 9th at VA Pilates in Alexandria, Virginia hosted by Patricia Medros and Victoria Azor.

The Architecture of Advanced Movement

Every advanced Pilates exercise is built from multiple foundational movements. Teaser, for instance, synthesizes the Roll Up, Roll Over, Overhead, Coordination, and many more – each demanding precise spinal articulation and full hip mobility.

The Hidden Mechanics of Hip Flexion

Hip flexion drives Pilates, but here's the crucial detail many practitioners miss: it requires specific and sequential rotational micro-movements in the hip socket. Standing Arm Springs Squats off the Cadillac perfectly demonstrate how this sequence unfolds:

• As you flex your hip from standing, the joint first externally rotates to 60°, then internally rotates to 120° – ideally without any movement in the spine or pelvis.

• Beyond 120°, everything changes. The spine naturally flexes, the pelvis posteriorly tilts, and the hip externally rotates in the socket once again. This is the position of the hips in Rolling Like a Ball, Stomach Massage Round, and at the end range of the Squat.
  
  

How the Body Says No

Without proper hip rotation, the body compensates. It might hike the hip or rotate the entire pelvis, creating those familiar "square the pelvis" challenges in our practice. This is when we feel blocked, experience a twist or pull in the hip or spine, or hear the telling click. This is when the body won't do what our Pilates mind wants it to do.

For the naturally mobile practitioner, a different challenge emerges: achieving positions without truly owning them. Without proper control and awareness, those on the more mobile end of the spectrum may be able to create the shape of Teaser, for example, yet never experience the depth of its integrated strength or enjoy a sense of embodiment of the exercise.

Finding the Stack: Your Foundation for Movement

The path to mastering any Pilates exercise begins with the Stack – the precise alignment of rib cage over pelvis that allows the entire skeletal system to find optimal posture. Think of the axial skeleton (skull, rib cage, spine, sacrum, coccyx) as your core architecture, and the appendicular skeleton (shoulder complex, pelvis, femurs, feet) as all the other joints that naturally align when the core is properly stacked.

360° Breathing: The Key to Alignment

Joe Pilates, always ahead of his time, said, "Above all, breathe correctly." Research (1) confirms that proper breathing engages three key zones: side ribs (bucket handles), sternum (pump handle), and low back ribs (calipers). This 360° circumferential breathing expands the rib cage from within, mobilizing it and changing its shape to improve posture. Think of 360° breathing as un-denting a Coke can from the inside out.

The Gratz Advantage

When approaching any Pilates exercise, take Joe's advice to heart and start with the breath. Gratz equipment makes this process more achievable. Its perfectly upholstered surfaces allow practitioners to distinctly feel the breath reaching into the low back ribs on each inhale, making the Stack more attainable.

The Breath-Movement Connection

As movements become more advanced – through increased complexity, load, or balance challenges – the breath foundation becomes critical. Advanced exercises aren't about doing more; they're about executing each building-block component with greater precision and control.

The Unexpected Pelvic Floor Connection

360° breathing in proper alignment has two powerful knock-on effects for the pelvic floor:

1. On the inhale, the vertical alignment of the Stack allows pressure from the thoracic diaphragm to be received by the pelvic floor, enabling it to expand, release, and relax. As the thoracic diaphragm recoils on the exhale, the pelvic floor contracts and rebounds. This keeps the pelvic floor responsive, buoyant, healthy, and functional.

2. It optimizes the connection between the pelvic floor and the hips: The piriformis and obturator internus form part of the posterior pelvic floor while also being hip external rotators. This is a direct hip/pelvic floor connection. The levator ani, or anterior pelvic floor, originates on the obturator internus fascia (2). This indirectly connects the anterior pelvic floor with the hip. Improving hip function through better alignment in Pilates enhances pelvic floor strength and responsiveness.

   
   
   

Bringing It All Together with Pilates

By mastering 360° breathing and finding the Stack, practitioners create optimal conditions for advanced movement. The troublesome Roll Up becomes accessible, hip clicks disappear, and even Russian Splits feel achievable – all while strengthening the pelvic floor.

Victoria Azor, founder of VA Pilates – Northern Virginia’s premier Gratz equipped studio – embodies the transformative power of these protocols. Her own journey to mastering advanced Pilates through proper breathing mechanics and optimal alignment showcases what's possible when you understand these fundamental connections.

Join the Workshop

Pelvic Floor: The Hidden Key to Mastering Pilates
VA Pilates | March 8-9, 2025
10:30 am - 5:30 pm | Includes workout, lecture, Q&A
Workshop will be recorded with 6-month access to recordings

Sign-up today