Neutral Spine vs. Hollow Pelvic Tilt: Choosing the Right Position for Core Work

Question
Hi, Helene.  In your website, you always stress how important it is to do exercises in neutral spine position.  How come in your book, you indicate that we should get into the hollow pelvic tilt position for the crunches and other back-lying exercises?  Do I maintain the hollow pelvic tilt position throughout the exercise with tailbone toward the ceiling and the lower back flattened to the floor?  Am I mistaken that the hollow pelvic tilt position can be performed with neutral spine?  Does flattening my lower back to the floor compress the spine?  Please clarify.  Thank you so much for your help.

Answer
Wow, best questions ever!

Neutral spine and Hollow Pelvic Tilt are completely different and have different uses after pregnancy.

Hollow Pelvic Tilt (called Belly Scooping on the DVD) is a special postpartum abdominal reconditioning technique that accomplishes several important goals. It strengthens and shortens all four layers of the abdominal wall, trains the abdomen to pull inward upon exertion (re-flattening the abs as well as training the Transverse Abdominis (TvA) to function as a stabilizer), helps to close the mid line, and realigns the pelvis. Hollow Pelvic Tilt is a specific form of lower spine flexion.

Neutral spine maintains the natural "S" curves of the spine, and has neither flexion or extension. You want to use neutral spine for all lifting and carrying, and exercises like squats, and some floor work.

Because the abdominal wall is both too long and weak after pregnancy, the body does not function well enough to stabilize a neutral spine during most types of exercises. After your body has regained a significant amount of core control, then most of the supine exercises can be performed in the neutral position. But these certainly are not postpartum techniques.

In exercises that call for Hollow Pelvic Tilt, maintain the position and the most amount of contraction that you can get out of your abs. It's easy to let the abs go, and have the large muscles of the legs and hips take over. Many times pelvic tilt is in fact taught this way (totally wrong from my view). Maintain the neutral spine on exercises that call for it, and as you do, keep the strongest possible contraction of your TvA.

When performed correctly Hollow Pelvic Tilt does not compress the vertebrae. Your lower back will stretch as a result of the work from your abs.