Combat stiffness in your hips, improve pelvic mobility, and develop a better seat with this simple exercise.

This lesson, commonly referred to as the “Pelvic Clock”, is an adaptation of a Feldenkrais Method® Awareness Through Movement® Lesson. It will give you more mobility in your pelvis. Greater mobility allows you to find a more accurate balanced central position on your horse.

1. Sit at the front of your chair with feet flat on the floor. Close your eyes. Feel your seat bones in contact with the chair. Are they making equal contact?
2. Imagine sitting on the face of a clock (Illustration 1). Slowly advance the top of your pelvis towards 12 o’clock (Illustration 2) and return to center. Repeat many times, noticing what is happening to your seat bone weight, your breathing, hip joints and spine.
3. Move the top of your pelvis towards 6 o’clock (Illustration 3). Your back will round slightly. Observe your weight and breathing.
4. Tip your pelvis towards 3 o’clock (to the right) either by lifting the left seat bone or pushing down slightly with the right seat bone. Repeat this movement several times. Do you tilt, lean or collapse into your ribcage as you move?
5. Tip your pelvis towards 9 o’clock (Illustration 5). Is this movement different than when you shifted your pelvis towards 3 o’clock? Which direction is easier?
6. Move your pelvis towards 12 o’clock, then continue around the outside of the clock towards 1 o’clock. Continue on to 2 then 3, back to 2, 1 and 12. Repeat this quarter of the clock several times. Notice which hours are easy and which are not so easy. What is the quality of the arc as you go from 12 to 3 and back? Is it jerky, smooth, flat or curved?
7. Repeat step 6, this time moving your pelvis from 12 to 9 and back.
8. Now move hour by hour in a clockwise direction. (Illustration 6). How smooth can you make the circle? What happens in your hip joints, ribcage and head? Next, move counterclockwise. How is this different?
9. Begin to move across the clock from 6 to 12. Next, move between 3 and 9. Then, beginning with 1o’clock, go through the hours diagonally (Illustration 7) – 1 to 7, 2 to 8, 3 to 9, 4 to 10, 5 to 11 and 6 to 12. Which movements were easy? Which were hard?
10. Start to explore the clock more freely with your pelvis. Circle around and then across the clock. As you do this, see if you can determine the exact middle of the clock, where the hands would attach at the center. This would be a balanced, central position on the saddle. Notice if this center position feels different than it did when you started the exercise.

To learn more about the Feldenkrais Method or to find a Feldenkrais Practitioner in your area visit Feldenkrais.com.