Trouble With Tamara's Tailbone

The first thing you notice about Tamara is her exquisite beauty, then she speaks and you're struck by the sultry, soulful resonance in her voice and then she moves and you see the result of years of perfection-driven athletic training.  Then you notice a slight twist in her spine.  Then you ask questions and learn that she's broken her tailbone once in a figure skating fall and that she broke it again giving birth to her son. 

After both breaks, her spine slowly and slightly turned and remains such in honor of the injury.

I first met Tamara in September 2007 in Geneva where she owns a beautiful Pilates studio.  In addition to taking my workshops - I've taught in Geneva 3 times in the past year - she's also taken privates from me and I've begun learning her body and how she works it.  

My first agenda item in working with her in privates was to get her working aggressively on straightening out her spine.  I suggested several daily exercises that address the curves in her spine, hoping at the least that they don't worsen and at the most that we can pull them back toward plumb.  She's diligent in doing those exercises and her progress is plainly visible.

The Problem

Earlier this summer, she wrote with a question about how to solve a painful problem on rolling exercises, especially Open Leg Rocker. 

Where her coccyx healed, a bump of bone formed and it's in her way when she rolls through her spine to her tailbone.  Rolling over it is just like hitting a speed bump going 50; it's destabilizing, it hurts and the bobble it creates is so great that good form is not possible.

I've taught Tamara, as I teach everyone, how to use Ron Fletcher's bolts (see below for full description) to stabilize the pelvis but Tamara is unable to keep her bolts tight during rolling because hitting the bump acts as a reset button, she momentarily loses her stability, and often can't get it back in time to turn the movement around and come back the other way. 

This is what I call a flame out and flame outs are bad whenever they occur but they're especially bad on the more dynamic Pilates exercises where stability and control are essential.