Jay Grimes is a brilliant teacher.
He speaks minimally and with simplicity.
Einstein had a lot to say on this subject evidently…
Jay speaks to us straight outta Al’s playbook:
“Learn. To do. The Roll Up.”
This line addresses students who may be preoccupied with an impossible complex exercise rather than the fundamental skills their body desperately needs (guilty).
It’s a favorite of mine – in Pilates exercises you’re always rolling up or down from somewhere, may as well learn to do it properly.
Who knows?
It could be helpful!
“You’ve got to give people a foundation.”
Nerd Alert! This hot tip can save you countless Pilates headaches in the future.
While foundational exercises are found all around the Pilates studio, the Cadillac is perhaps our most versatile and supportive apparatus.
Joe Pilates declared his invention to be “the best of its kind.”
(Right? If this sounds like your kind of nerd party, you can read more about his claim here.)
Building a Foundation on the Cadillac
One of the hallmarks of Joe Pilates’ system of body conditioning is that you begin without gravity.
Lying down.
The Cadillac offers full support of the entire length of your body lying down, the ultimate in assistance.
Only the Pilates Mat apparatus can make this same claim.
It’s identical to the Mat, but with springs and goodies to assist and instruct the body.
And there’s no pesky, moving platform like the Reformer.
The Cadillac truly has something for everyone.
From the most fragile of students and pre-Pilates exercises to the elite athlete and the iconic “circus trick” exercises, the Cadillac is a crowd-pleaser.
It’s a playground, that thing.
All of the back of your body is afforded support and feedback here.
Excellent.
Now we can begin.
Jay Grimes: The Master Prioritizer
So many tiny distractions pop up upon examination of your student.
“What’s up with that foot?”
“Why does [insert name of exercise here] make their body behave like that?”
Remember just because you notice something doesn’t mean you need to talk about it.
File it away for now and decide what’s going on in the trunk of the body.
Deal with the big chunks for now.
Save the eyelashes for later.
Enemies To Building A Strong Foundation
Creating a strong foundation requires patience, diligence, and time.
Many factors in the body and/or the mind of your student can assist or impede this process.
A few elements that may thwart you on your quest:
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Impatience
Impatience can be either on the part of the student or the teacher.
But remember there’s no Tendon Stretch without a swoon-worthy Elephant.
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A Talented Mover
It’s amazing to teach a gifted student.
However, a focused, coordinated student may tempt you to progress their exercises too quickly.
Resist.
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Inefficient problem-solving
What you notice in their workout is better refined on other apparatus around the studio.
You don’t need to solve all your Pilates problems on the Reformer…
Today…
In an hour.
The Exercises
In general, your workout will progress from lying down to standing up and to potentially upside-down, or what I like to call ‘standing in the air.’
And the Cadillac is one of the best places to experience the power of the standing body in the Pilates System.
You’ll refine your oppositional forces over time in each of the various exercises you visit in your workouts.
With foundational exercises, we’re looking at the big picture.
Basic exercises plus simple direction.
You can build your foundation with all your everyday, familiar exercises.
The Hundred
Leg Spring Series
These meat-and-potatoes exercises cultivate the lift that eventually keeps you up in the air in this exercise and beyond.
Remember you’re in training for the Mat exercises!
Roll Back
This exercise includes a few iterations. One of my favorites is the Short Box side-Side moment.
Pro Tip: This is an excellent place to refine side-bending exercises!
Teaser Part 1/Teaser
Swan
The Fruits of Frog: Airplane and Tower (and the Short Spine Massage!)
Chest Expansion Standing and Long Back Stretch
Zip Up Front/Back
Reverse Chest Expansion and the standing body…
Squats (and other Standing Arm Spring Exercises)
Watch the video.
Thanks for reading!
8 Responses
I started with a new teacher 3 years ago and the roll up was done every class. I was impatient to do different exercises. Finally I became stronger. Now in the middle of exercising on the Wunda chair I think to myself this move is like a roll up. I agree the roll up is a bread & butter exercise.
Melanie, you said this so brilliantly!! The Roll-Up was impossible for me to do when I started Pilates lessons. I have that same thought you mention now in the midst of numerous exercises – we use the Roll Up everywhere in the system – it is a skill worth cultivating for sure. thank you so much for reading and sharing your thoughts here. Have a great week! xo
Thank you-
Bringing clarity when the choices seem endless…building blocks make so much sense.
Hi Suzanne –
Thanks so much for sharing your thoughts here – yes, there are many choices I agree. It’s nice to have a simple plan to work on crazy things bit by bit. Thank you for reading and have a great week! xo
This was a great pilates read Andrea, thank you.
Hi there 🙂
Thank you so much – so glad you enjoyed this post. Thanks for reading and for your kind words. xox
Thanks Andrea, always something to pick from you.
Hi Karin – Thanks so much for reading and saying hi! Hope things are good with you and keep up the good work 🙂 xox