Pilates Stretch – Tennis Ball Raises

Tennis Ball Raises for ankle, knee and hip alignment

This simple to do standing Pilates exercise is perfect for those who are looking to improve their lower body awareness and balance. The key to this exercise is to achieve alignment between your feet, ankles, knees and hip. Creating balance between these key landmarks of your leg can help with all manner of issues from calf and hamstring strain, ACL and MCL injury, to shin splint and Achilles issues.

This Pilates exercise will strengthen the muscles around your ankles for better stability, key for running and sports that involve running like tennis, football and rugby. It also helps improve your static balance which is important for everyone no matter whether you play sport or not.

To perform this exercise you will need a tennis ball or similar sized ball, a massage spikey ball can also work really well and then after you can roll it under your foot for a super release stretch and massage.

How to:

1. Place a tennis ball / massage ball between your ankles, just below the ankle bone
2. Stand tall, engage your core muscles and draw up your pelvic floor
3. Bend your knees directly over your feet, keeping your heels firmly on the ground
4. Repeat 10 times 3 times a day

Below are a few things to watch out for as you perform this Pilates exercise:

• Don’t let your bum travel backwards keeping standing tall and bend from the knee
• Keep you heels firmly on the ground
• Try to keep the weight even through your foot and not shift it to the sides of your feet as you bend your knees forward.