How to Do the Pilates Pelvic Clock Move

The Pilates pelvic clock move may seem like a simple exercise, but it is about more than just the movement itself. It requires little skill and little movement, but it is designed to focus the practitioner inward and force them to concentrate on their abs.

Difficulty:

Moderate

Instructions

1. Lie on your back, bend your knees and place your feet flat on the floor in front of your sit bones. Make sure your toes are pointing away from you in a straight line with your knees and hips.

2. Form a triangle with your thumb and forefingers. The tips of your thumbs and forefingers should be touching. Place your hands, maintaining this shape, on your lower abdomen. Your fingers should be pointing downward from your ribs, and the tips of your fingers should rest on the center of your pubic bone.

3. Breathe deeply and listen to your body. With your eyes closed, take stock of where your body is, how it lines up on the floor and begin paying attention to your abs as your breathe in and out.

4. Picture a clock on your abdomen where your hands are. Your hips are at 9 and 10, the 12 is where your belly button is and the 6 is your pelvic bone. Begin a deep inhale.

5. Exhale and tilt your back so that your pelvis--and imaginary clock--are tilted toward the ceiling with the 6 position higher than the 12. Make sure that only your pelvis move when doing the pelvic clock move, and ensure that the rest of your body is still and relaxed.

6. Engage your ab muscles to rotate the pelvis. This portion of the pelvic clock move should create a different tilt so that your 3 o'clock hip is lower than the 9 o'clock hip. Continue to breathe, as you engage your abs again to arch your back tilting the 6 o'clock portion of your clock to the lowest point.

7. Finish the pelvic clock move with the 9 o'clock point on the clock tilted below the 3 o'clock point. After you have completed one full rotation, begin the same exercise the other way. Repeat each direction two to three times.