Discover helpful tips and strategies for getting the most from your Pilates exercises to improve your ability to bend and articulate every segment of the back smoothly and easily.

I’ve been on a rant the last couple of weeks with my Pilates clients with the goal of helping them to improve their 100’s curl, as well as getting better articulation through the upper back on exercises like the Roll Up, Teaser, and Neck Pull – Three challenging exercises for most beginner Pilates clients..

If you observe participants executing any of the above Pilates exercises, you’ll either notice smooth, sequential articulation of the spine – in which case the exercises are easy!  Or the head leads, then the next place the body bends is almost at the waist!  When this happens, the upper body is moving as a “chunk.�  Instead of the back muscles releasing and breastbone softening to help the front of the body bend forward more effectively.

When the whole upper body is held stiff, it completely restricts smooth movement, and makes it difficult to properly  engage the abdominals for effective core support.

Here are my Ah-Ha revelations, a couple of preparatory exercises , and helpful tips that I’ve found useful  to help my Pilates clients free up their upper body and improve their ability to bend forward with ease for all of their Pilates Exercises.