I love this photo because it shows the pelvis as a bucket and how it looks when you are tipping forward and back!
I have an easy trick to find your pelvis’ neutral position and its best position to support the spine, pelvic floor and diaphragm. I know it can be difficult to find your ‘neutral spine’ while doing certain exercises especially while trying to heal core and pelvic dysfunction when you have been “stuck” in a certain posture for a long time. So I wanted to show you this little trick that might help you decipher whether your pelvis is actually in the neutral position.
If you have trouble getting in and out of arching your low back and tucking your pelvis under, you probably need to work on stretching and strengthening your posture muscles and getting your breathing mechanics in order! You can work through my Conscious Core Program to get a better handle on these concepts. Great for anyone pre/postnatal or even if you’ve never been pregnant.
This also has to do a lot with body awareness and where your body is in space, so if you can check in on your pelvic positioning a few times a day this is going to drastically change the rate at which your #diastasisrecti is healing and how your pelvic dysfunction heals and have a tremendous effect on your #lowbackpain. Notice how when you are finding the pelvic neutral or even switching your pelvis from an anterior pelvic tilt to a posterior pelvic tilt how your back pain is changing while you are switching in and out of that pelvic position. For instance if you are usually in an anterior pelvic tilt, you have a big low back arch (spinal compression) and you switch into a posterior pelvic tilt what effect does that have on your low back pain. Does it disappear? That’s because your low back and your spine is being compressed when you are in that big low back arch. This also puts a tremendous amount of pressure out onto your belly and your linea alba adding a lot of pressure to an already weak area, if you do have diastases recti and even if you don’t. If you normally do the opposite and you have your butt clenched and tucked under, this is going to squash your abdominal canister, your diaphragm, core/abs, and pelvic floor. You might notice that your belly is bulging out and have slumped/rounded shoulders and your head sticks out forward.
How to find your Pelvic Neutral //
- Stand up, arms straight down infant of you, open your hands and palms facing your body, finger tips pointing down
- Place the palms of your hands on your ASIS bones, the front part of your hip bones that stick out in front of you
- Now, find your pubic bone with your fingertips, you should have created somewhat of a triangle figure with your hands
- Notice if your finger tips are pushed back further (your pelvis is sitting at a Anterior Pelvic Tilt, APT) than where your palms are sitting or maybe they are sticking out further in front (pelvis is sitting at a Posterior Pelvic Tilt, PPT) than your palms are sitting.
- To find neutral, I want you to play around with dropping your tailbone and lifting your pubic bone to find the place where your palms are flush with your finger tips. The place where your ASIS Hip Bones are vertical with your pubic bone. You can try this technique sitting, standing and laying on your back during core exercises!
Try My Follow Along Video Here
Along with finding that pelvic neutral, your feet and head positions are going to play a huge role in your overall posture and pressure management in your system.
Tips// 1. Make sure you have an arch in your foot and you aren’t collapsed flat. Having flat feet will draw the knees inward and the femurs inward, tilting the pelvis forward and cause low back pain & spinal compression. 2. Make sure you head is right over your body, chin is tucked and ears are right above shoulders. Act as though you are listening to a conversation going on behind you…perk up, stand tall, tuck your chin.
THINGS TO BE AWARE OF!
Everyone’s neutral is going to be a little bit different, there is no such thing as perfect posture. There is the best posture for your body and your structure, so keep that in mind. Your neutral spine may be flat on the ground or may have a slight curve because of the lumbar spine. Really pay attention to getting your hands vertical when checking to make sure the hip bones and the pubic bone are in line.
If you have questions about pelvic neutral or posture please send a message on instagram or leave a comment below.