Where’s my ab zipper?
Being a Pilates, dance and fitness teacher for over 20, I mean 25, well actually 30 years (yikes!) I say a lot of phrases over and over. Draw your shoulders down, lengthen the back of your neck, pull your navel to your spine – I say these things many times a day. Voicing these cues is automatic, just like I hope the action of engaging the core muscles to stabilize the torso when exercising or lifting has become automatic for my clients.
But when my father jokingly told me, after doing one of my recorded mat classes, that he was having trouble finding the zipper in his abs it made me think. Well, it made me laugh, too. It is funny but it also brought to my attention how many things I must say over and over without really thinking about it. Reminding clients to “zip up their abs” is one of those cues I use often without even realizing it.
So let me explain that mysterious ab zipper. I used to joke with my clients about life back in the 1980’s when we wore jeans with no stretch. (How did we do that?!) Think for a minute about that pair of Jordache jeans you saved up for that were so tight after being washed you had to lie down on the bed and pull your stomach in to zip them up. That’s why I say the cue “zip up your abs” during class. Consciously drawing your belly button up and in toward your spine engages your transverse abdominus. Activating this deep layer of muscles stabilizes the spine. The image of zipping up the abs can be helpful and even though he never had the experience of trying to zip up designer jeans, my Dad knew what I meant. In this case my automatic phrase is useful and helps clients build core strength.
But what about all of those things we say over and over, out loud or to ourselves, without realizing it? Some of those things might be useful but some of them might not be. My inner critic automatically rattles off negative phrases in response to something that isn’t going my way. If I make a mistake my go to thought is typically of the four letter word variety followed by a line of automatic negative thoughts that aren’t the least bit useful. But what if I can change that initial thought to “oops.” The difference between “$*@^” and “oops” is enormous in terms of how it makes you feel.
When we think about healthy living we tend to focus on diet and exercise. But to really live healthier we have to examine all of our habits. My Dad’s joke about the ab zipper motivated me to listen to what I say, particularly when I’m on auto pilot. It’s challenging and constant work to keep the thought train on a positive track. I find it much easier to train my abs than my thoughts. Both will benefit if we are using those automatic thoughts for our own good, so I will keep trying to notice and make adjustments when necessary. Are your automatic thoughts in need of a tune up?
