Callanetics is an exercise program that focuses on posture, by stretching and pulsing muscles. Which is also based on the study of other cultures as well. I broke out my dvds again. Many of the exercises tell you to tuck your pelvis. What is your opinion of callanetics? Could one still do this program, modifying the exercises by not tucking the pelvis? In any exercises that tell you to tuck your pelvis, would it be safe to modify it so you don't tuck?
Thanks for your input.
Thanks for your input.
5 years 10 months ago
09/16/2008 - 4:29pm
The advice I give my students who ask me about exercise routines is to choose something that they love doing, and just make sure to do it with good form.
12 years 1 month ago
02/16/2010 - 2:50pm
11 years 2 weeks ago
09/05/2011 - 7:11pm
Hi Esther,
I'm glad I found this topic, because I had recently a discussion with a couple of friends about tucking the pelvis. They were going to pregnancy yoga, where they were tought to tuck their pelvis. And even though my guidelines, based on the 8 steps how to stand and to walk, hepled immediately one of the girls to eliminate her sacroilliac pain, many of them said: But they tought is to tuck the pelvis, or I went to a gymnastics class and they tought me to tuck the pelvis using my ab muscles. (They gave this vidoe as an example: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MJbFRQHzFtg) And I was dismayed to be honnest.
I don't think that I've ever tucked my pelvis, but this time I tried to tuck it just slightly, and not surprisingly, as a result, I couldn't squat, walk properly, or run. I think I couldn't even breathe properly.
So I'm actually wondering what is the idea behind tucking the pelvis in general, isn't it pretty obvious that it immobilizes the whole body a great deal?
1 year 3 months ago
07/03/2015 - 4:12pm
I taught Callanetics, and the tucking or curling of the pelvis serves as a modified crunch. Everything is done in super slow motion to work the innermost muscles. With the floor exercises, the curled pelvis, neck, and back are maintained while pulsing the arms to the side, similar to Pilates. These exercises were developed by Callan Pinckney based on her classical ballet training. She was incapacitated due to trekking around the world for many years carrying a 60 pound rucksack on her back. This method of exercise prevented her from having to endure back surgery or the threat of being confined to a wheelchair for the rest of her life. She did suffer from problems later on in life, however, and was unable to teach classes. The long-term effects of this exercise may have been a factor in her back health down the line. She passed away the year after I certified to teach. I consulted with Esther about it and decided not to resume teaching the method.