We are generally all born with a body structure that develops and becomes a fixed silhouette. Bones are bones, after all. But when it comes to carving out a lean, athletic, toned look, we do have a little bit of agency when it comes to our shape, specifically our waist and core.
We reached out to Shelley Kamil, founder of Rhythmic Pilates for the real download, since much of her practice is constructed around this very theory.
“The simple answer is yes,” Shelley answers. “But let’s just say it took years of requesting moves to cinch the waist and smooth out the hips in countless reformer classes before I became certified eight times over and developed my own method on the mat to do just that.”
That being said, Shelley knows it’s much more than just exercises that make our bodies malleable and, dare we say, open to suggestion and encouragement.
“As they say, ‘the hips don’t lie,’ and they’re the place we tend to store emotions and stress,” Shelley explains.
“Considering the demands of modern life, hunched posture, and, perhaps, years of child-rearing, the tendency to lose our waist over time is completely understandable, if not to be expected. Rhythmic Pilates blends Pilates, barre, and fascia fitness to activate the deep core, redefine the waist, and tighten and tone the muscles. It blends dynamic, low-impact, intentional techniques with targeted moves to activate the deep transverse abdominals.
These important muscles have a “wrapping” effect around the waist, just like a corset, that has the power to literally zip everything up. We also focus on the internal and external obliques to redefine the side body and cinch the waist, along with movements to sculpt the hips for that beautiful hourglass effect.”
OK, so that’s the recipe, but don’t worry. Shelley shows us in detail how to properly perform these moves below. She uses the Pilates ball to engage deep stabilization muscles and tighten up from the inner thighs to the pelvic floor and core, but you can also practice all the moves without any props at all. She guides us on how to do the exercises effectively with what we have on hand.
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