Thanks Marissa, glad you got something from it.

This is a great and informative tutorial! What is your opinion and approach to the question I hear a lot from my clients;
"Should I engage my abs all day? Or only during certain times throughout the day?"
I encourage them to definitely support their spine with their abs during certain activities (bending down, picking things up, etc...) but as far as all other times, to keep a light engagement of the navel to the spine.
Thanks!

Hi Lori Manship,
Thanks for your feedback, glad the tutorial was helpful.

I usually say 1) don't contract your abs when you eat because one of their purposes is to put pressure on the organs for peeing/pooping and throwing up, so the chicken in your sandwich will try to get back to the ranch! It's also why you shouldn't exercise for an hour after a meal... 2) don't pull in your abs when you're trying to sleep 3) become aware of your abs, so you are conscious and can feel when you work them and when you don't 4) rather than engage all the time, which just creates another tension pattern, make it more playful - pull them in and let them out whenever you get bored (waiting in line, red lights, etc). 5) absolutely engage them when lifting, bending, etc as you said....

continued....
I try to make it funny and light, and encourage people to be flexible in their thinking and use of their bodies. Anything held all the time is merely tension and not strength. Awareness is 90% of the battle, so I would say to clients notice when they are not engaged, how does it feel, do they like the feeling, what other choice could they make, etc. Make it an exploration, not a command!

Hi Ruth, I am a longtime fan of yours here at Pilatesanytime, and when I looked for an answer to a situation with a client , whom I had on the reformer, I found this. It already helped a bit but maybe you have an additional answer to the problem. I had my client lying on the reformer, the head towards the footbar in clasped hands, the thighs in straps, 90degrees, doing a curl up while pulling the knees slightly towards the head. Then with a rotation pulling only one knee. One blue/ one yellow spring on BB. She had trouble doing this, saying that she always feels it in her back when she is supposed to work her abs. She is skinny I could´t see any pouching.. What can I do to make her find it in her abs and not in the back?

Hi Silke, thanks for your kind words! Yes, I can relate to this issue - I currently have a client who's had abdominal surgery and has no feeling in her abs and it's really hard to get them to fire, and has so many other problems that much care is needed..... The good piece here is that your client can tell you when it hurts her back so you don't have to second guess it. And definitely stop when she gives that feedback!

Have you tried the spine corrector? That's usually where I go when in doubt. If she does small curl backs/curl ups, with her knees bent, feet on floor, the hump usually supports the back enough and the abs have no choice but to work.

Keep asking her if she feels it in her back, though, because sometimes even this doesn't work.

In general, my suggestion is to pare the movement down to basics, keep her legs out of it because if her abs aren't firing it will of course go right into her back. Sometimes it has worked to have my client lie belly-over a physioball, relaxed, and just breath. The pressure of the ball against their belly can help them feel their abs, and will also push the air into the back of their ribs. I use this mostly to help clients find the latter, but it may help with ab work too. But only if the ball is not fully inflated.

There's a wonderful interview in this new issue of Pilates Style magazine, with Mariska Breland about her recovery from abdominal surgeries. At one point she says "with every step, pulse, squat and leg lift, I felt my abs. If you're moving correctly, you use your core all day long".... which made me think that just doing footwork, just doing the movement of basic beginner pilates exercises, will make something happen in one's abs even if it isn't a full-out 10 on the richter scale. Perhaps you can find exercises that don't irritate her back and that allow her to move even without big abs, and just let her move till the consciousness can grow into her core?

Sorry for the sections - I'm only allowed a 1000 words per post.... Just wanted to end with: keep me posted, let me know what works... I might steal it from you, lol!!!

Thank you so much for all the input and the time you took to answer me! I also thought about the spine corrector and maybe first simply a squishy ball behind the sacrum for curl backs. And maybe the Washer Woman exercise on the chair..? But they all work with a rounded spine and tilted pelvis.. and I was wondering if that is the right path..But I see your point in "finding" the abs first and then move on... I will take all this and try it on my client and tell you about the results! All the best to you, Love,
Silke