Almost two decades ago, Yana BlinovaDoctors recommended invasive spine surgery to repair her back injuries. Instead, Blinova used her knowledge of body mechanics – from her career as an Olympic gymnastics coach – to support back health with stretching and strength exercises.
Finally, she invented the Pelvic Clock Exercise Device to help others achieve flexibility, strength, and symmetry in the lower back, pelvic floor, and core – to prevent pain. Whether you’re exposing your lower back too much to sitting, biking, golf, or you’re simply pregnant, Blinova has exercises created for you. And for the goop editors – who are very grateful to her. The pelvic clock is simply great.
For narrow hips and back
“Back and hip pain are mechanical in most cases,” says Blinova. “It’s not happening out of the blue. Inflammation comes from a mechanical imbalance. People may not even realize that they are standing unevenly. If you are constantly moving with an imbalance, you will eventually develop pain. There are four main imbalances that are very common – where the hips may not be even. People lean to one side or lean their pelvis forward – as in pregnancy – or backward. And the pelvis can be distorted, for example in golfers. “
Where to start with the device?
“A pelvic clock can help you stretch the muscles that are contracted and correct these imbalances to help you regain symmetry,” explains Blinova. “You don’t have to feel too tense. With a pelvic clock, you have about two centimeters above sea level from the floor and you are at ten to twenty degrees of spinal and hip extension – and this is as much as you need. “
How to use the pelvic clock: starting position
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Lie on your back with your knees bent and your feet flat on the floor.
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Place the pelvic clock under the sacrum, with the rounded side on the floor, the surface flat upwards and 12 hours towards the head.
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The sacrum is a large triangular bone at the base of the spine, just above the tailbone.
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Blinova says: “Find a neutral position of the pelvis and spine, without protruding from the abdomen. Finding this and registering it is already significant. “
For you
Hip flexors
“Most people who sit at a computer a lot have narrow hip flexors,” says Blinova. (We know, we say.) What to do: “Swing your hips slightly to the side to release the hip flexor.” Blinov recommends this move especially to cyclists.
How to use the pelvic clock: Moving the hips
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Lie with your feet flat on the floor.
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To restore symmetry in the hips, gently swing your hips to the side, back and forth, for 3 to 9 hours.
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Try to keep your knees in the middle.
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Spend more time on a hook that doesn’t come down so easily.
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To release the hip flexors, stretch both legs straight on the floor and repeat the hip movements until 3 and 9 o’clock, lowering the left and right hips and returning to the center.
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Repeat ten to twenty times.
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This simultaneously develops strength and flexibility in the back and hips.
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Spend more time on the weaker side.
For pelvic tilts and pregnancy
“Approximately 70 percent of pregnant women occasionally have back pain,” Blinova says. “The sources of pain are mechanical: the joints become preflexible, and the baby pulls the body forward and tilts the pelvis forward.” To counteract this, Blinova recommends leaning in the opposite direction.
If you find it hard to imagine, the front (forward) slope looks like this:
How to use the pelvic clock: Tilt the pelvis
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When the pelvis is tilted forward (front tilt), for example in pregnancy, counteract by pulling the pelvis for up to 12 hours.
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On the exhale, pull the pelvis toward 12 o’clock and feel a slight stretch in the lower back.
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Inhale and return to a neutral state or, if you feel well, go towards 6 p.m.
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On the exhale, return to 12 o’clock and hold it briefly. You stretch your back muscles and tighten your abdominal muscles.
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Repeat ten to twenty times.
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If you want more – and depending on the stage of the pregnancy – put your knees to your chest and stay there for a while. (As with anything else in this area, consult your doctor first.)
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When the pelvis is tilted backwards (rear tilt) – for example, in someone with a rounded lower back or holding the back – oppose rocking the pelvis for 6 hours.
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When you swing forward for up to 6 hours, you stretch your abdomen and if you put your hand on your back, you will feel an isometric strengthening.
Due to occasional sciatic problems
“The sacroiliac joints are at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m., bony nodules on either side of the sacrum,” she says. “Usually the sacroiliac joint on one side creates problems for women. Due to the hypermobility of the sacroiliac joint, it regularly shuts down. That’s why I invented the device – so you can deal with it right away. This is for pregnant women and for anyone with occasional sciatica that radiates from your buttocks and can go down your legs. The exercise works similarly as a chiropractor would do: it raises one side of the pelvis up and the other down. “
For reference, this is what Blin means:
How to use the pelvic clock: Sciatica
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Lie on your back with your feet flat on the floor and your knees raised.
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Go for 1 hour on the exhale, then return to the neutral position or continue on until 6 o’clock.
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Go until 11 o’clock for another exhalation, and then return to the neutral position.
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Next time, hold each position for a few breaths.
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Repeat ten times.
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Spend extra time on the narrow side.
If you like 11 and 1 o’clock, you will want more in that sense. Pancakes provide detailed information on how to care for sacroiliac joints here. When these joints do not align, the resulting pressure on the sciatic nerve can be painful. She included helpful videos and wonderful detailed set of exercises to stretch, strengthen and stabilize the lower back and core.
For basic work
“You don’t need a lot of repetition to work with the core of the pelvic clock,” says Blinova. “This exercise is good for women after childbirth, even long after they have children.”
How to use a pelvic clock: Basic exercise
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Raise your legs with your knees bent and your lower legs parallel to the floor.
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Raise your arms straight up.
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Take five deep breaths in this position.
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The abdominal muscles need to work to be balanced.
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Straighten one leg and lower it almost to the end, taking a deep breath five times in this position.
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Go back and repeat on the other side.
“The concept of pelvic clock exercises is that there is always an opposing muscle group to each muscle,” says Blinova. “Your back muscles are opposed by the abdominal muscles, and if we stretch the back, we strengthen the front ones.”
For the strength of the bottom of the pelvis
“To strengthen the bottom of the pelvis, use the pelvic clock along with Kegel exercises,” Blinova teaches. “You can increase the benefits by working on the pelvic floor and abdomen at the same time.”
How to use a watch with a bowl: Kegels Combo
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Take a deep breath through your nose and expand your chest.
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Exhale with force as you lean in for 12 hours and hold.
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Next time, while doing a full exhale and tilting the pelvis for up to 12 hours, add a simultaneous Kegel contraction.
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Hold for five seconds.
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Inhale, relaxing the pelvis and pelvic floor muscles.
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Repeat ten times.
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(Kegel exercise refers to tightening the pelvic floor muscles. You should feel a contraction around the finger inserted into the vagina and not feel a contraction in the abdomen or buttocks.)
Yana Blinova is a former Olympic trainer and currently an advisor for lower back exercises in New York City. She holds a master’s degree in exercise science from the Perm State Pedagogical University in Russia and has coached the Soviet Army Rhythmic Gymnastics Team and the Italian National Rhythmic Gymnastics Team. She is the inventor of the watch pelvic exercise machine and the founder and CEO of Flect, LLC.
This article is for informational purposes only. It is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment and should never be relied upon for specific medical advice. To the extent that this article contains the advice of a physician or physicians, the views expressed are those of the cited expert and do not necessarily represent the views of the goop.
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