Pilates Exercise Dive: Single Leg Circle

SINGLE LEG CIRCLE

First, please enjoy the video above. Part One showcases Charlie (front and mostly centre) with a bit of hubby's chainsaw in the background :) Part Two is my attempt at the 'bird's eye view' of the exercises to show you the pathway of the legs a bit more clearly.

The exercise we're talking about is Single Leg Circle, or The One Leg Circle (#4 from Joseph Pilates' original sequence of Mat exercises) but before we dive in let's talk about hip disassociation.

Even though Single Leg Circle is a beginning exercise, and one you learn early on your Pilates journey, its importance can’t be denied. At the entry level one of the main skills it teaches us is hip disassociation. If you haven’t heard that term before in relation to your physical body here’s what it means:

- Please note, I'm not talking about "dissociation", which is a different term - that extra syllable makes a difference! -

Hip disassociation is the ability to have the top of the thigh bone move freely inside the hip socket as well as the hip socket move smoothly over and around the top of the thigh bone.

You’ll know what I’m talking about if you’ve ever been in a class with me and heard the image of comparing your leg to the drumstick of a perfectly cooked roast chicken. 🐔 You know when the thigh joint moves easily in the socket and the juices run clear? That's what you're looking for.

(if you're vegan or a vegomatic please accept my apologies for that mental picture)

Just to drive the point home I was going to insert a photo of a roast chicken but just couldn't... enjoy this beautiful, fully alive chook instead:

photo by Jason Holland 

The importance of Hip Disassociation

You should be able to disassociate the two body parts, pelvis and thigh bone, moving them independently from each other.

This skill is vital for healthy hips, low backs, and knees as well as ease in walking, running, and generally getting around in your life.

How does this look in Single Leg Circle? At the beginning level the hip joint, aka the acetabulum, aka the socket, stays still and the head of the thigh bone, aka the femoral head, aka the ball, moves around.

If you’d like another kitchen analogy, it’s like a mortar and pestle - sans the actual grinding.

photo by Octavian Dan

Develop the skill of hip disassociation

We actually begin hip disassociation awareness not with Single Leg Circle but with the pre-Pilates exercise that I call Knee Floats. (you might have heard them called knee folds, bent knee leg lifts, or something else) 

We learn the skill of a still, quiet pelvis and an easily moving, free leg when we lie on our back, knees bent, feet on the mat, and simply pick up one leg at a time into table top position.

In Single Leg Circles we take that skill and amp it up because:

• We have a longer lever to move around once the leg is straight (or as straight as our body will allow while keeping the thigh bone directly over the hip socket).
• The range of motion is more complicated. Knee floats is in one plane of motion (flexion) but once we add the circular action of the leg (circumduction) it’s much more complex.

Circumduction involves the coordinated and sequential connected flow of adduction, extension, abduction, and flexion. We need strength and stability from the rest of the body as the lifted leg moves across the midline, down around and then back up over the joint. (I’m talking about the first direction but this all applies on the reverse as well)

Here’s a series of photos that illustrate the pathway of the leg in Single Leg Circle, imagine them in a flip chart:

Every Pilates exercise is a full bodied exercise!

Okee Dokee, so we have disassociation covered but what other skills do we explore in Single Leg Circle?

 Here’s a small sample:

• How to find the two way stretch (the leg on the floor reaching away from the crown of the head)
• How to use the exhale to anchor the pelvis as well as power the limbs (when the leg comes across the body)
• An awareness of the shoulder girdle and the support of the arms which leads to a connection into the upper abdominals.
• How to find access to and engage the inner thighs.
• Awareness of unnecessary tension in the neck and jaw.

Single Leg Circle is considered a beginning Matwork exercise but like so many exercises in the Pilates Method, the more you perform it and the more you master it, the more it asks of you.

So what's the more advanced version of Single Leg Circle? (it's demonstrated in the video so make sure to watch it, especially the bird's eye view)

One of my teachers once said to me,

"consider Single Leg Circle to be the first twist in the Mat sequence"

I remember at the time having to really chew on that thought because I'd performed and taught the beginning version for so long.

Yes, the more advanced version of Single Leg Circle is a Twist!

It becomes a twist of the lower spine because instead of only working on hip disassociation, the exercise begins with you maintaining the neutral relationship of the femur (thigh) bone into the acetabulum (hip socket).

On the first direction, when the lifted leg crosses the midline, that side of the pelvis picks up as well and only as the leg starts to circle down and away from you do you move the thigh bone independently from the hip socket. 

As the leg comes back towards you, slightly open to the side, your pelvis comes back flat onto your mat. (and things reverse on the second direction). 

Talk about sophisticated movement - thanks Joe!

Once again the genius of the Pilates Method is revealed: the choreography is simple but the exercise itself, and what you can glean from it, grows with your knowledge and awareness.

Right On! 

More, more, more:

There are (fun) versions of Single Leg Circle performed elsewhere in the Pilates Method.

• It’s part of the advanced Tree series on the Short Box sequence on the Reformer.
• It can be done (slowly) with your foot in a Leg Spring on the Tower/Cadillac/Springboard.
• There are versions that can be done with the Foam Roller, the FitBall, and other Small Equipment.

No matter where you do it, the skills required remain the same.

Thanks for reading, I hope you gained some insights and details that you hadn’t thought of before.

Take the time to explore and see what you can learn from your Single Leg Circle and as always have fun moving in and through life.

Be well,

xBec

The information contained above is provided for informational purposes only. The contents of this blog are not intended to amount to advice and Rebecca Forde disclaims all liability and responsibility arising from any reliance place on any of the contents of this post