March Matness 2016: Pilates Spine Stretch

The Pilates Spine Stretch exercise is exactly what it sounds like…an exercise to stretch your spine!  If you are new to Pilates or haven’t tried this before you may find this concept of stretching your spine a little foreign.  By learning how to sequentially move and roll through our spine one vertebrae at a time we are able to decompress the spine while creating a feeling of stretching and lengthening our whole back body ( including your neck, back and backs of the legs).  Once you figure out how to create this Spine Stretch you will forever LOVE this exercise!

Find the feeling of spine stretch by curling forward with bent or straight legs and grabbing hold of your legs or even the toes or feet.  While holding on pull your abdominal muscles up and in toward you back to create a stretching sensation through your back body.  Try to recreate this feeling while doing your Pilates Spine Stretch Exercise.

• Start seated and bend your legs as needed to create a “tall” spine.  Try to be on your sitting bones and imagine you are sitting tall against a wall
• Use an exhale to curl your spine forward into the stretch and an inhale to stack back up to your tall spine one vertebrae at a time.
• Check in with your shoulders when curling your spine forward and make sure they are not scrunching up in attempts to help you curl your spine!