An Won-kyung's Natural Awareness Pilates: Building a Healthy Lower Body

*This content was translated by AI.

Modern people often experience deformities in lower body alignment due to prolonged sitting and repetitive movement habits. Therefore, chair exercises aimed at strengthening foot support are effective.

Foot instability affects the alignment of the ankles, knees, and pelvis, and over time can extend to the lower back, shoulders, and neck, leading to various discomforts and pains.

This chair exercise focuses on awakening the foot's support and sensation, which bear the body's weight from the very bottom. Healthy movement begins with the feet. When the feet are stable, lower body alignment changes, and the balance of the entire body can naturally shift.

Natural Awareness Pilates emphasizes the process of recognizing and connecting with one's body through movement rather than forcibly correcting it.

This exercise involves standing on a chair and lifting the leg to the side.

1. Balance on one foot on the chair and maintain stable three-point foot support (big toe ball, little toe ball, and heel).

Feel the stabilization of the torso and find the center of the spine and pelvis. At this stage, stability of the feet and core begins.

2. Lift the leg without tilting the pelvis significantly. (Hip abduction at 40 degrees)

The gluteus medius of the supporting leg and the arch-adjusting ability of the foot are used together, and it is important to control the pelvis so it does not tilt.

3. Bring the legs together

Move the lifted leg forward toward the standing leg. Maintain the center of the pelvis and torso.

Even while lowering the leg, maintain stability so that the big toe and sole of the supporting foot do not move, and be careful not to let the knee collapse inward or hyperextend.

4. Extend the leg forward and lift it. Feel the connection between the hip and core. This movement, similar to the pattern of moving the leg forward during walking, improves pelvic stability and weight-shifting ability.

5. Perform a side lift again, moving the leg to the side to improve the range of motion of the hip and the control ability of the buttocks. Stability of the supporting leg is more important than that of the moving leg.

6. Backward movement, moving the leg backward to create hip extension.

It is important not to hyperextend the lower back and to move the leg using the strength of the back of the buttocks. This process connects to the propulsion force used when pushing backward during walking.

7. Knee flexion + external rotation, bend the knee and externally rotate the hip.

Be careful not to over-rotate the pelvis. The gluteus medius and deep hip stabilizers are activated.

8. Maintain internal rotation, bend the knee inward to maintain hip internal rotation and pelvic stability.

Adjust so that the hip can move independently while the torso remains steady. If the area around the hip feels tight, it means you are doing it correctly.

9. Final alignment, return the leg to the center and restore the initial alignment. This is a process of checking whether the foot arch and pelvic center are maintained after movement and feeling the connection of the entire body again.

※ Perform all movements at least four times.

Teacher An Won-kyung explained, "The movement of this exercise is not simply moving the legs, but a full-body coordination exercise that connects from foot stability → pelvic control → weight shifting → walking patterns."

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*This content was translated by AI.