Pilates Projects: Headstands on the Reformer

PMA Recap

A big thank you, dear readers, for all your warm hugs, kind words, and fun times at this year’s annual meeting of the Pilates Method Alliance. It was lovely to meet you and I’m so glad you came up to say hello.

I had a fantastic time sharing On the Order of the Pilates Mat Exercises – the LIVE! Edition with you.

Long live the reach of the Lower Body.

Double Leg Pull and prosper, my pretties!

Plus…

I had the perkiest, most hard-working, 7:30am-rocking Mat class students a gal could receive. I hope I helped you kick your own ass.

Let’s do it all again in Phoenix #PMA2016.

And now back to our regularly scheduled programming…

Approaching any new series of exercises in your Pilates workout is a challenge. Whenever we step out of our comfort zone our old habits often resurface to help us out.

How not-so-helpful…

You may do certain series of exercises for years just to be able to work effectively and from the right place. These things take time.

I first did the Headstands on the Reformer over a decade ago. Let’s say 2003.

Mostly I did the 2 exercises in this series (Headstands 1 and Headstands 2) because I could. I was not hurting myself and I was up to the challenge. I may have been bad, but at least I was moving and sweating.

Yay for me.

However, over the last year I have begun to understand the components that go into a successful Headstand series.

Use your Head

No.

Step 1: It’s not really about your head.

I repeat, your head and neck are not doing the exercise. They are strong and getting stronger, but your bottom should do more work than your neck.

Isn’t that one of the Pilates principles?

It should be.

Your bottom must work more than your neck.

I like the sound of that.

Bottoms up!

As with any worthwhile Pilates Project, there is nothing magical or mysterious here.

The Headstand series builds upon foundational exercises we have all been doing for years.

Sadly, no amount of fairy dust will help you.

Instead I suggest the Elephant (that old chestnut?), the Up Stretch (amazingly helpful!), Tendon Stretch (from Footwork and a glorious help from an unassuming place) and Snake/Twist (no comment).

If you have yet to experience the thrill of the Headstands, focus first on the foundational exercises for a while before incorporating them into their new incarnation as Headstand 1 and/or Headstand 2.

Given our list of helper exercises, please realize that if you don’t consider Snake/Twist to be helpful for anything right now, you should wait on the Headstands.

Jus’ Sayin.’

If you currently work on the Headstands, consider these 4 helper exercises in a new way and become even more proficient.

Elephant

Elephant and more importantly Up Stretch work in tandem for Headstand 1.

Use the entire lower body: the scoop of your ribs, all the way to your bottom and into the feet.

I like to look at my feet so I can will my lower body to push the footbar away.

Nerd Tip du Jour:

Rarely do we have a good vantage point in an exercise to examine/exert our willpower and determination on our own bodies. Another example of this is Frog/Circles and I cannot think of another so…

Seize the day!

However, there’s a bit of a wrinkle.

The lower body must initiate the exercise.

Unlike the Long Stretch Series, where your feet are on the moving carriage (helpful), for Headstand 1 your feet are on the stationary footbar (mostly not-so-helpful).

Just to make it all the easier to push out with your head.  Nooooooooooo!

Once you’ve moved the carriage out, push into the footbar again and use the scoop of Elephant to bring the carriage home again.

More than likely we learn the Elephant in the very first lesson. So useful….and so challenging to do correctly (and on your head).

Tendon Stretch (of Footwork fame)

This may be my new favorite exercise.

Use the Tendon Stretch to find the long line of the back of the body. For Headstands 2, this skill is essential.

• Anchor the back of the ribs into the mat.
• Imagine you are one long reaching line from nape of neck to the back of the ribs, to the tailbone, to the heels.

Work well in the Tendon Stretch and you’ll be ahead of the game (groan…) for Headstands 2. You’ll look for essentially the same feeling as you lower your heels in both exercises.

No big deal, right?

Joe Pilates has just upped the ante by putting us on our heads in a quasi-backbend.

Gotta love that guy.

Up Stretch

Coupled with the Elephant, you can really mine your Up Stretch for the strength in the lower body and buttocks to propel your Headstand 1.

Over the last year, thanks to the super-human and unwavering eye of Karen Frischmann, my Up Stretch has gotten much better.

I used to rather enjoy the Long Stretch Series. It is now my hardest series to do correctly.

Karen has opened up a whole new set of goals for my body in this entire series.

And this tough-love work on my Up Stretch has paid huge dividends. A strong Up Stretch is a beautiful thing and my Headstands and Snake/Twist are the better for it.

The length in the back the Up Stretch promotes will serve you well. Enjoy!

Snake/Twist

Right.

Far be it for me to suggest the Snake/Twist could be helpful in working on other exercises, but hey, at least you’re not on your head.

So how to find help here?

• You’ve got the same initiation and support from the lower body.
• You’re pushing from the same non-moving footbar as you have in Headstands 1.

Presumably if you are considering working on the Headstands, you have been doing Snake/Twist for a while.

Your Snake/Twist may not be stellar, but with practice, more Up Stretch and heady, swirling dreams of Headstands, it shall steadily improve.

Take note of these skills that surface again and again. Dare I say it?

Exercises like the Headstands put your hard-won skills to the test. They require dedicated, devoted practice of the Pilates method to even reach the point of incorporating them into your workout.

I wish you good luck on your Pilates journey.

Thoughts on the Headstands?

Share them in a comment below.