Hi, and welcome to the Balanced Body podcast series.
I'm Kerri Ries-Stemler from Paragon Pilates and Physical Therapy in Minneapolis.
And we are working on a series, working specifically with dancers.
And one of the things we want to look at today when working with Kai and the pedipole is that
we want to see proper turnout coming from the top of the femur and the deep external
rotators of the hip.
And then what we're also watching for is the tracking of the knee over the second toe
and watching for any pronation or supination in the feet as she goes through a plie series.
The pedipole is a really nice place to do plies because you can watch the positioning of the
pelvis.
A lot of times when dancers are taking class or going through a bar class, you'll see a
big posterior tilt in their pelvis.
And what that does is it kind of jams the head of the femur forward, and it actually
compresses the back of the sacrum.
So that can actually restrict movement.
And then they're not gliding through their plies, but they're getting restriction and
maybe getting movement from the low back instead of the actual hip joint.
So today we're going to be watching for a neutral pelvis position, neutral spinal alignment,
and then kind of gliding from the top of the femurs instead of the pelvis going posterior
or anterior.
So Kai is going to grab the straps there, and we're working the arms independently with
the different springs.
So first we're going to start with a demi plie, and I'm having her go a little bit less than
her natural first position because I want the knees really tracking over the second
toes as she goes through her plie, so she's a little shy of her own first position.
So go ahead and take a demi plie.
The arms are going to come down into a low first position, and then opening the arms
out to the side as you come up, and again demi plie, and then lifting up through the
pelvic floor and those abdominals as she stands up.
Do two more like that, and you really want to see the inner thighs and the adductors
squeezing as she stands, shoulders are looking good, and she's keeping that nice neutral
spinal alignment.
So now we can go into a grand plie, she's going to take it all the way down, arms can
follow the movement, and as she comes up she really wants to lift up through the pelvic
floor and going down, and I'm just going to watch her alignment.
I want to see the tailbone, the T8 point, and the back of the head against the bar,
and she's in a nice neutral spinal position, neutral pelvic position, and she's really
working from the back of the leg and those deep six rotator muscles.
So after you've worked a demi plie and a grand plie, we can start in a releve and go into
a grand plie.
So Kai's going to grab the straps again, and I'm going to have her come all the way up
onto her toes, so her full releve, and I'm going to have her bring her heels to touch.
So she's really zipped up through the inner thighs, feeding up through the pelvic floor
and into her deep core musculature.
She's doing a great job of keeping the ribs in, and she's having that sensation of pulling
in and up through her low belly, and now she's going to take a grand plie, staying in that
forced arch, heels are going to stay touching this time, and as she stands, she's really
going to squeeze the heels even closer together as she lifts, and again, all the way down
grand plie, and from the back of the leg, she's lifting up through her center one more
time, and you see she's really nicely gliding through the femurs and really working the
external rotators of the hip.
Go ahead and come down onto flat feet, and she's going to go into an attitude front,
and when she does that, so that she can keep her balance, she can go ahead and slide in
just a little bit, kind of like how she would do in class.
I'm going to bring one leg up into an attitude position, and here, I'm really watching for
the levelness of the hips, the rib cage, the shoulders, and also the pressure into the arms.
So here, Kai, go ahead and take a just gentle demi plie, and back up tall.
She's making this look very easy.
It's very difficult to stay in the center, and she's doing a beautiful job of that.
Do one more time, and she's really working the upper back.
So that upper back musculature is pressing into the straps.
Go ahead and rest to help her keep her balance.
So you really want to work the upper back muscles, pressing down into the straps, and
that does help you lift up through your core.
So this is a very challenging exercise and series of exercises.
Kai made that look very easy.
She's very strong.
She's very centered in her body.
A lot of times, you'll see shifting of the rib cage or the pelvis, especially when they
go up into a single leg.
So that was beautiful.
And the pedipal is a great piece of equipment to use in standing work.
So it's very functional for the dancer.
A lot of times, we are working in standing positions and are not always working in a
supine.
So after doing like a jump board series or some core strengthening on the reformer,
you'll want to take it up into a more functional position, and the pedipal is a great way to
do that because it's supportive.
You can really check their alignment because the bar is actually on their back.
You can see if there are any deviations in the spine, and it's just very functional for
the dancer.
So thanks again for joining us, and we'll see you next time.
