Women's Health Magazine
As a feature, Woman's Health Magazine asked me to answer these questions:
What are the benefits of pilates rings?
The Benefit of pilates rings, Most commonly known as the "magic circle', pictured here
are plentiful. In Pilates world all the apparatus' are made with right angles so we can use them for proprioceptive awareness, understanding where your body is in space and alignment is a fundamental principle of pilates as intended by the creator of contrology, the original name of the conditioning method of pilates, coined by Mr. Joseph Pilates, himself. The study or knowledge of control as it applies to the very specific classical breathing technique and other fundamental founding principles of pilates as it was intended. I will dive deeper into this as we talk about
the exercises themselves. Mr Pilates wrote about the foundational elements of contrology / pilates in his book, Return To Life.
Another huge piece of the foundational reasons why we use what is referred to as a prop or miscellaneous tool, such as the magic circle, is the necessity for symmetry and uniform development in the musculoskeletal system in order to be functioning efficiently and in good health. Whether in gravity, with Mat pilates or with spring loaded machines like the reformer. I like to combine the magic circle with movement on the mat or while on the equipment, I always say - round surfaces are truth tellers!! - Meaning, you must use equal pressure on both sides of a round object it in order to keep it from rolling away or tilting indicating A-symmetry in musculature or movement skill being used to execute the movement. This is something you simply cant find in large format classes. That is why I focus on private, duo and trio pilates at my boutique pilates studio at Mizner Park, Pilates Centered by, Summer Hall in Boca Raton, FL. This means myself and my team of highly trained instructors are watching every movement of every individual so closely that the slightest.
A-symmetry in the depression of the circle or the movement of the body part being supported by the circle or spring creates a correctible or teachable moment. Why does that matter? Because one of the main purposes of Pilates as it was originally intended and spoken of by Joseph Pilates in his book, Return to Life, is to create uniform (symmetrical) development in the musculoskeletal system. A-symmetry in movement and where it is coming from and ask of a client / student to put more or less emphasis on a specific muscle group body part or breathing technique change the quality of the movement allowing for a round surface to stay stable when pressure is applied evenly from both sides or from one side into a flat surface. So we use tools like this one to help us do that and more! I mention breathing here because that is another of the founding principles around pilates or contrology, is proper breathing and breath control in movement for a healthier better life with better circulation and lung capacity contributing to health and longevity. Pilates is literally the fountain of youth and vitality I see it everyday in the varying demographics at my studio, Pilates Centered.
Contrology is a powerful and note worthy endeavour that conditions clients for sport /dance
endeavors as well as life which consists, for most, in a state of movement. The spring loaded
equipment is used as support for those that are rehabbing or in a state of maintaining chronic
conditions such as osteoporosis or pre and post operation, offering better alignment and ultimately better breathing which equals better circulation and over all a healthier skin and other visceral organs such as the heart and lungs to name just a couple. Certain exercises are easier with more spring tension and certain ones are harder, and inversely certain exercises are harder with more spring tension and easier with less. This concept is also true with the use of the magic circle.
On the right, we see an example of the magic circle being used as a place holder or a a supportive “truth-teller” while this model executes a push up with the cycle under her ribcage this supports the amount of arm strength it requires to press back up. It also provides a tactile cue, how heavily you feel the pressure of your body into the circle may indicate the need for more engagement in any number of other places, depending on the client, but usually in breathing correctly to alleviate some pressure into the tool.
The musculoskeletal system at large is being affected by this little circle for better is the idea but for worse is all too real a possibility too like with so many other tools for exercise routines, how many injuries due to imbalance in musculoskeletal system do I see coming out of the gym or fast parsec hit classes or cross training - the count is too high to say! If not already completely symmetrical in musculature, which most people are not, and if not in small format or individual classes being watched and taught how, people can really be worse off as they are just continuing to over use one small group of superficial muscles (their go-to) and stay in their compensatory patterns they already live with rather than learning their compensatory patterns and how to adjust them to get more uniform development and deeper better breathing and quality of life. A big one I see a lot of success around for both male and female clients is pelvic floor health. This is one of the many reasons for learning the correct breathing patterns to execute pilates exercises as intended will help return clients to the quality of life they deserve. Classical Breath work known commonly as “ribcage breathing” is a big enough piece for a whole other article but as it pertains to the work with the magic circle it is a primary detail that sadly, most of the fast pilates certifications and many contemporary pilates training programs for teachers to be glosses over. More on ribcage breathing as we move into the exercises done with the magic circle.
What moves are done with them?
The Magic circle is known as a miscellaneous tool in the classical pilates method. It is designed to
help people develop strength, stamina and control for symmetrical development and ultimately
movement patterns. To that point, you can use the magic circle in almost every exercise to get
something different or more from an exercise, a highly trained pilates instructor, in a small format
lesson such as we are at Pilates Centered specialize in will be able to ascertain within a few minutes with most clients (some are more complicated and require entire movement evaluations to assess what is needed and when in their program to introduce that level (this is referred to as layering information as pilates is a complicated exercise method built around precision and control.
For instance the simplest explanation I can give is as it relates to weaker inner thighs v.
weaker outer thighs. A client with weaker inner thighs are going to need to do any number of the
exercises in the pilates repertoire with the circle in between the thighs, knees or ,a personal favorite, and a higher working-level, the feet or ankles. Utilizing the Magic Circle for a Teaser Variation: For the whole bodied classical exercise known as a teaser, being modified to be done with the magic circle, most health benefits and strength to the pelvic floor and deep core as well as inner thighs and glutes, one must inhale the pelvic floor and belly button in and up to roll up to the position while squeezing the magic circle with their feet… the balance component to hold the position on the deep long exhale is deep core and hip stability as well as upper back and side body stability (another whole article could be written on side body and upper back strength why it is undertrained and how it is more necessary to good health and posture than people realize.) But the drawing in and up of all the lower abdominal cavities into the ribcage and held in place with a strong upper back is proper classical breath work used when efforting is the important piece in how to use this prop correctly if someone exhales to come up into the position as trained by those who are coming from a contemporary or a fast weekend training lesson on magic circle will cue to exhale to come up which creates pressure in the entire abdominal cavity and particularly emulated baring down pushing the pelvic floor down rather than up and forcing pressure forward with the internal organs which can contribute to rectus diastases so good breathing and technique can be crucial as you begin to get stronger and find more stamina and progress into more advanced exercises. So we at Pilates Centered like to start training breath correctly from the beginning. A client with weaker outer thighs will work any number of the exercises in the repertoire with the ring around the outside of the thighs, knees or feet depending on what is called for to insure proper healthful full bodied and integrated work. I mention integrated work because I see a lot of body builders or personal trainers at my studio that have all these beautiful well toned bodies but they can barely move they are what we refer to as muscle bound and it causes all sorts of different orthopedic issues as well as more personal health issues especially when weight training using the old school style of breathing which creates pressure in the abdominal cavity and actually begins to push the internal organs forward through the rectus abdominis (upper abs) if they are not strengthened and conditioned properly with correct pilates method breathing technique. The same applies to pelvic floor health.
The next two images are examples of beginner exercises one with the magic circle inside the knees for a squat variation.
To strengthen the inner thighs and the pelvic floor and deep core utilizing the classical breath work (ribcage breathing to provide stability and lift: the cuing is to exhale as you squeeze the knees and to inhale drawing pelvic floor and belly button in and up to squeeze the magical circle as you rise to stand. A popular progression as clients develop more stamina will be to stay in the squat and pulse the magical circle to strengthen the inner thighs more for the client that needs this so they will inhale to squeeze and exhale deeply to slowly release so the core stays muscular whether drawing the low abdomen in and up on the inhale or exhaling by tightening the waste around the lumbar spine in a long muscular exhale giving what Joe Pilates referred to as a muscular corseting or girdle like affect to the entire transverse abdominis muscle group and oblique group to name a few.
The next exercise illustrates a beginner bridge with the magic circle outside the knees / thigh area to call to action the outer thighs and glute medius to become a focus in the leg and glute strength required for many higher level exercises. The magic circle and other miscellaneous tools and equipment are all originally designed to build strength, stamina, symmetry and alignment to progress or level-up clients to be able to perform higher level exercises on the mat or reformer in a safe, efficient or whole bodied, integrated way. Which makes for a happier healthier life full of graceful movement and injury prevention through conditioning from the inside out.
How do different sizes affect certain moves?
There is only one size of magic circle. If. Looking for a smaller or larger round surface to tell some truths, many instructors will default to the 8-10 inch ball or the larger balls or something as small as a tennis ball. It all depends on the health & fitness goals for the individual client in front of you and the exercises within the frame work of the repertoire that a trained eye will choose to build a very individual program around.
And Are smaller or bigger better? How are smaller curved Pilates rings better for core strength? I have never seen or worked with a small magic circle in any of the many studios I have worked and practiced at across the country in the past 10 years. I feel confident you find the same work with the standard size magic circle. If the smaller magic circles or rings of some kind exist out there, I would say smaller is nicer for the stretching component we did not discuss as much here, but more flexible clients will find a better stretch when doing supine leg or back stretches with it. Or hold a smaller space with it for a lower supported plank or tucked between the knees and chest and held for the classical and very fun exercise, rolling like a ball to keep the client honest and not use leg momentum rather than breath and core strength integrated to execute the exercise with integrity.
What materials are optimal?
At Pilates Centered we have all classical Peak equipment and use aero magic circle because of the more comfortable casing around the ring itself for more options of places it can be used. As the options like the benefits are plentiful in the pursuit of the Return To Life!
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