March Matness 2016 – The Pilates Roll up

The Pilates Roll Up exercise is part of Joseph Pilates original mat sequence as found in his book Return to Life and this exercise teaches us some key concepts that we use in the Pilates method over and over again throughout a variety of exercises. Here’s a few things to think about when practicing your roll up variation.

1.  Spinal Articulation and Flexibility:  This exercise is designed to teach us how to move through our spine one vertebrae at a time.  This rolling or curling through our spine requires you to move with control and not jerk or muscle through the movement.  Always pick a version of the roll up that you can do with control so that you can continue to progress by gaining strength in your core and increasing spinal flexibility.

2. Your center is key!  The key to creating a controlled roll up or down is learning how to properly engage your deep abdominals.  By pulling your abdominal muscles in toward your spine you will start to figure out how to move with control and precision through your spine and you’ll continue to strengthen your core muscles!!

3. Don’t forget to breathe!  Joseph Pilates said,” It is the very action of “rolling” and “unrolling” that cleanses your lungs so effectively by driving out the impure air and forcing in the pure air as you roll and unroll”.  Breathing and rolling through your spine go hand in hand.  You’ll find that using your Pilates breath with the movement will help you move better and maintain you engagement from your center.