If you've ever wanted perfect “6-pack abs” and wondered if all the pain was worth that goal, I have an alternative perspective that might change your mind.

Firstly, the 6-pack ab look is HIGHLY overrated. In fact, by focusing on the muscles that create the 6-pack look, you can actually cause trouble and make yourself MORE prone to injury. (Think: Throwing out your back while sneezing.)

Additionally, focusing on the 6-pack look can even make your your stomach look bulkier and your waist thicker!

The secret to having a strong, stable spine and injury-free back as well as beautiful, slim abs all hinges on a little-known muscle group called the TA, or transverse abdominus.

I'm very excited to share our next Pilates Basics video that will teach you one of the most important exercises you can learn.

This exercise will help you strengthen your core like never before and it's THE KEY to creating the gorgeous, flat abdominals you ACTUALLY want instead of the bulky, 6-pack abs the media is always telling us we want.

This is also a fundamental Pilates exercise and getting this one right will take you leaps and bounds ahead in your Pilates practice.

One of my favorite things about teaching is all of the creative imagery and cues that work for different people. In this video I'm using the SMILE cue and I'm curious to know how it works for you.