Optimal body alignment
Awareness ~ Alignment ~ Integration
Optimal body alignment
Awareness ~ Alignment ~ Integration
Breath, Diaphragm & Pelvic Floor Integration
Inner and Outer Unit Coordination for Optimal Alignment
At OBA Pilates, breath is the starting point for how the body organizes support and movement. Rather than being treated as a separate technique, breath informs alignment, stability, and efficiency throughout the body.
How you breathe influences posture, spinal support, and how forces are managed during movement. When breath is restricted or disconnected, the body often compensates through bracing, excess tension, or inefficient movement patterns. Over time, this can reduce movement quality and increase strain.
Restoring awareness to breath allows the body to organize from the inside out, creating a stable foundation for intelligent movement.
The Inner Unit: Deep Stabilization & Pressure Regulation
Integrated Stabilization for Optimal Alignment
In Pilates, the diaphragm is part of what is often referred to as the Inner Unit — the body’s deep stabilizing system. This system includes the diaphragm, transverse abdominis, pelvic floor, and multifidi, which work together to support the spine and organize movement.
Rather than functioning in isolation, these muscles coordinate continuously to regulate intra-abdominal pressure, providing internal support and stability. When the Inner Unit is responsive and well-coordinated, the body feels supported from within and movement becomes fluid, efficient, and controlled.
When this system is disrupted — often due to stress, injury, habitual bracing, prolonged sitting, or altered breathing patterns — the body may compensate with rigidity, tension, or inefficient movement strategies. Over time, this can contribute to discomfort, fatigue, or a sense of instability, even in otherwise strong or active bodies.
By restoring awareness to the breath and its relationship to the Inner Unit, the body can reestablish internal support without force. The diaphragm regains natural mobility, the deep abdominal system responds more effectively, the pelvic floor participates organically, and the spine is stabilized through coordination rather than effort.
The Outer Unit: Movement, Strength & Load Transfer
The Outer Unit consists of the larger, global muscles responsible for movement and power—such as the gluteals, hip musculature, abdominals, back muscles, and shoulder girdle.
These muscles are designed to generate force and manage external load. When the Inner Unit lacks coordination or timing, the Outer Unit often compensates by working harder than necessary. This can increase strain, reduce efficiency, and place added demand on the pelvic floor and spine.
Optimal movement depends on the Outer Unit working with the Inner Unit—not overriding it.
Pelvic Floor Integration
The pelvic floor is a key component of the Inner Unit and plays a vital role in how the body manages pressure, support, and movement. Rather than functioning as a muscle to be isolated or constantly contracted, the pelvic floor is meant to respond dynamically—lengthening, supporting, and recoiling as part of an integrated system.
When coordinated with the diaphragm and deep abdominal muscles, the pelvic floor helps regulate internal pressure, supports spinal stability, and adapts to changes in load and movement. When this coordination is disrupted, symptoms such as tension, weakness, or instability may arise—not as isolated pelvic floor issues, but as part of a broader movement pattern.
This work emphasizes awareness, timing, and responsiveness, allowing the pelvic floor to participate naturally within the whole system rather than through force or over-effort.
A Foundational Approach
Before layering strength or complex movement, it is essential to restore internal coordination. This work is subtle, progressive, and foundational, creating support from the inside out.
It is not about doing more.
It is about moving with awareness, efficiency, and long-term resilience.
This foundational work is further explored through ALIGN, an awareness-based practice designed to support internal coordination and nervous system regulation.
Pilates as a Practice of Awareness
Pilates at Optimal Body Alignment is approached as more than exercise—it is a practice of awareness, presence, and intelligent movement. By slowing the pace and bringing attention to how the body moves, we create the conditions for true connection and lasting change.
When the nervous system is supported and allowed to settle, the body becomes more receptive. Movement feels clearer, sensations become more noticeable, and awareness deepens. This shift allows you to move with intention rather than habit—laying the foundation for healthier patterns and improved coordination.
Through mindful, breath-integrated Pilates movement, the body begins to recognize areas of imbalance, compensation, or restriction. As awareness increases, muscles learn to engage more efficiently, allowing strength to develop in a balanced, supportive way. Over time, this leads to improved alignment, greater stability, and movement that feels both lighter and stronger.
Rather than forcing effort, Pilates is used to refine how the body organizes itself. The result is not only increased strength, but a deeper understanding of your body—how it moves, how it responds, and how to support it with greater ease in everyday life.
This approach creates strength that is sustainable, balanced, and deeply connected—supporting both physical resilience and nervous system regulation.
Sound Healing & Vibrational Support
Sound healing is used as a gentle yet powerful tool to support grounding, relaxation, and nervous system regulation. Through soothing vibrational tones, the body is invited into a state of rest—allowing tension to soften and the mind to quiet.
Vibration works on a sensory level, helping the nervous system shift out of stress and into a more balanced, receptive state. As sound travels through the body, it can create a sense of spaciousness and ease, supporting both physical relaxation and emotional settling. This calming effect allows the body to release held tension and return to a more natural rhythm.
Within sessions, sound healing may be incorporated during restorative movement or as a dedicated period of stillness. The tones and frequencies are chosen intentionally to support grounding, integration, and a sense of safety—enhancing the benefits of both breathwork and Pilates.
Sound healing offers a space to slow down, reconnect, and restore balance, helping the body absorb the work of movement and breath more fully.
Reiki & Energetic Support
Reiki is offered as a subtle, supportive modality to encourage relaxation, balance, and nervous system regulation. This gentle, hands-on or hands-off energy practice helps create a sense of calm and ease, allowing the body to shift out of stress and into a more restorative state.
When the nervous system softens, the body becomes more receptive—to movement, to breath, and to healing. Reiki supports this process by promoting relaxation, grounding, and an overall sense of well-being. It may be incorporated at the beginning of a session to help settle the body, during restorative work, or at the end of a session to support integration.
Reiki does not force change; rather, it creates space for the body to respond in its own way. This gentle approach complements Pilates, breathwork, and sound healing by supporting emotional balance, mental clarity, and a deeper connection to the body.
Each session is guided by your needs that day, with Reiki offered intentionally and respectfully as part of a holistic, client-centered experience.
A PRIVATE BOUTIQUE STUDIO IN THE HEART OF LAGUNA BEACH
Private 75 minute Sessions
Your Initial Private Session at OBA Pilates
Each private Pilates session is designed to meet your body exactly where it is. We begin with intention, awareness, and breath—because how you breathe directly influences how you move.
During the first 10–15 minutes of your initial session, we focus on biological breathing. This foundational work supports healthy oxygen and carbon dioxide exchange, helps regulate blood pressure, and activates deep core stabilization. Through diaphragmatic breathing, we explore how the breath, pelvic floor, and diaphragm work together as an integrated pressure system to support the spine. This connection is essential for efficient movement, injury prevention, and long-term strength.
Once breath and awareness are established, we move into a functional movement assessment. We observe how your body pushes, pulls, squats, rotates, reaches, and stabilizes—while assessing posture, alignment, balance, and movement patterns. This allows me to understand your current fitness level, areas of strength, compensations, limitations, and personal goals.
From there, your session is fully customized. Each class is thoughtfully designed to improve stability, mobility, coordination, and overall body awareness, while seamlessly integrating breath with movement. The goal is not simply to exercise, but to help you move more efficiently, feel more connected to your body, and build strength that supports you in everyday life.
Pilates is a practice of precision, awareness, and intelligent movement. These private sessions offer a space to slow down, learn your body, and create meaningful, lasting change.
For clients seeking deeper nervous system regulation, I also incorporate sound healing into sessions when desired. This gentle addition supports relaxation, grounding, and a reset of the nervous system—allowing you to slow down, reconnect, and restore balance.