Lately, in my own Pilates lessons, I’ve been working on something that isn’t new – but still very much a work in progress: finding more lift and length in my torso and entire body.
And I don’t mean just standing or sitting up taller.
I mean everywhere – from the very start of footwork to the final exercise. Every transition. Every breath. Every movement.
I’ll be honest: I’m naturally a sloucher. Sound familiar?
Maybe it’s because I’m tall. Maybe it’s because I had three kids and spent years leaning over – helping, lifting, carrying, constantly looking down. When you’re taller than most people, you often meet the world by collapsing toward it instead of rising up to it. Over time, that posture becomes normal. Comfortable, even.
But comfortable doesn’t mean optimal.
The Difference Between “In” and “Up”
Most people learn fairly quickly how to draw the abdominals in. We talk about it a lot in Pilates – engaging the powerhouse, supporting the spine, working the “in.” And that part is important.
But the “up”?
That takes time.
What we’re really talking about here is internal lift.
This isn’t about forcing yourself to sit taller or holding a “good posture” pose. It’s about putting your mind to work – finding microscopic amounts of lift from the inside out. The kind of lift that requires intentional thought, awareness, and control. Small adjustments that don’t look dramatic but completely change how an exercise feels and how your body organizes itself.
Finding lift and length through the entire body – especially through the spine – is one of the hardest and most subtle aspects of Pilates. It’s not about tension or rigidity. It’s about creating space.
The spine begins at the base of the skull and travels all the way down through the torso to the tailbone. When we talk about lift, we’re talking about lengthening that entire column while staying supported. We use opposition – energy reaching in two directions at once – to create lift without gripping or strain.
Lift Isn’t a Position – It’s a Practice
This work doesn’t only happen when we’re standing tall.
We work on lift and length:
- In standing
- In sitting
- While rounding
- While extending
- In twisting
- In side bending
- Side-lying
- On the stomach
- On the Reformer, Chair, and Mat
Lift has to live inside all of it.
And this is where posture comes in.
Pilates is about posture – but not in the way most people think. Posture isn’t something you “fix” by pulling your shoulders back or standing at attention. True posture is a result of how well your body supports itself from the inside.
When you practice internal lift – over and over, in every position – you’re teaching your body a new default. You’re retraining it to organize itself with length, support, and ease. Over time, better posture stops being something you try to do and starts being something you are.
That’s why this work takes time. Years, even. And why even teachers are still practicing it.
Pilates isn’t about achieving perfect posture and checking it off the list. It’s about building the awareness, strength, and internal lift that allow good posture to show up naturally – in the studio and in life.
Because Pilates is simple – but it’s not easy.
