Down Stretch
I highlighted the most important aspects of how to perform this exercise to achieve the benefit that it can bring to us.
When you understand why you are supposed to perform the movement one specific way, you will begin figuring out how to move your body through the exercises to align with the "why" behind it.
I often tell my clients when they are performing this or other difficult to remember exercises that it is time for them to start remembering the nuances that exist in every movement they perform.
Oppositional energy is one of the aspects of the Pilates method that is well illustrated here in Down Stretch.
Grounding the heels against the shoulder blocks, while lengthening the spine through the crown of the head, allows us to experience a feeling of lengthening the spine away from its base—regardless of the direction of the movement.
For some of my clients who have tight ankles and bending them doesn't come easy, it is not available at all. I use small pillows to fill in the gap between heels and the shoulder blocks. 😊
Before moving the carriage, finding and maintaining the posterior tilt of the pelvis is a learned skill. Keeping the pelvis in that position during Down Stretch is putting the skill into practice.
In What Pilates Is: The Essential Skills, I teach foundational movement skills like pelvic positioning and stability before applying them to Pilates exercises. The course covers this and other essential skills for organizing the body during movement.
Pelvis Stability During Down Stretch Is More Than "Good Technique."
I try to break down exercises that are commonly misunderstood or performed incorrectly.
Down Stretch made the list not only because of the risk of lower back compression, but also because the focus on breathing—rather than movement—often gets lost.
As I teach many different personalities, they all have one thing in common—they appreciate details.
They appreciate the patience with which the teacher takes time to make them understand and do better.
How to perform Down Stretch is a good reminder that more movement is not always better movement.
It’s easy to get caught up in how far the carriage goes.
But going bigger usually means adding pressure to the shoulders and the lower back.
This is one of those exercises where moving less actually yields better results.
I find that it is challenging for many to accept that smaller movements can have big benefits.
Down Stretch shouldn’t pinch your lower back.
That sensation shows up when the setup isn’t precise.
Begin by placing your pelvis in a posterior tilt to align it with your lower spine. Maintain the stability of the pelvis by keeping your abdominals and glute/hamstrings activated. Now, extend your upper back and feel the upper and middle back muscles contracting. As if you were performing Swan.
Keep your neck elongated and the curves of your spine stable.
Now focus on breathing. Start inhaling and continue, while moving the carriage away from the footbar. Start exhaling while returning the carriage in and continue expelling all the air from your lungs even after the carriage closes completely. Only after you push all the air out of your lungs, begin the next repetition.
Not easy to teach. Oftentimes people assume that there must be more movement involved and they get confused when I say: move the carriage not your joints.
Maintaining that stability during an exercise like Down Stretch is putting that skill into practice.
In What Pilates Is: The Essential Skills, I teach foundational movement skills like shoulder-girdle stability before applying them to Pilates exercises. The course covers this and other essential skills for organizing the body during movement.