For Tessa
Welcome to a special Teaser Tuesday Edition of the blog!
The Teaser is our most iconic Pilates exercise. Perhaps the Hundred is slightly more infamous but many a Pilates student wears a successful Teaser like a mark of valor.
The Hundred is tolerated, but you can talk smack if you’ve got a killer Teaser.
I love this exercise. It feels good to fully embody your oppositional forces, doesn’t it?
I’ll trade my fondness for writing ‘2-way stretch’ for a new favorite: global stretch of the back of the body.
Oh God, that’s good.
Even typing it made my back feel a weensy bit delish.
You too can be an apparatus!
First a bit of a tangent (not a tangent).
In a recent post I talked about how to be your own Spine Corrector.
The skills we learn on each piece of Pilates apparatus work their way into our bodies. Joe Pilates is training us, right?
We use the apparatus to get support and assistance to do our exercises. Whatever we get to touch and contact we must use to our advantage.
OMG it’s the premise of our beloved Pilates method!
I’ve been traveling for the last few months. Subsequently I do many, many Mat workouts.
Sometimes even on the Mat – essentially bereft of apparatus – we do get to touch something.
OURSELVES!
Well that came out wrong…
See? It’s reminiscent of an apparatus…
Sure I’ve found the hand touching the Mat to be helpful, but surely that one on my head can help out?
All those hands-behind-the-head moves just might help me sit up taller and figure out where my head sits on top of my body!
This hand position is particular. Let’s help it connect us to our center too.
Yes I’ve got all the skills and info I find on every apparatus in the studio built right into my body.
And then there’s the apparatus called the Reformer.
Reform:
verb
1 a plan to reform the system: improve, better, make better, ameliorate, refine, alter, make alterations to, change, adjust, make adjustments to, adapt, amend, revise, reshape, refashion, redesign, restyle, revamp, rebuild, reconstruct, remodel, reorganize.
2 after his marriage he reformed: mend one’s ways, change for the better, turn over a new leaf, improve.
Pilates: Things that make you go “Hmmm…”
9 Responses
THAT was a great SSF to OLR! Fabulous. And I’m not sure what it is about the t-shirt you’ve been wearing for the tutorials but I can really, really see your back so well in it…and how enviously long and reaching it is! My new favorite combo is RLAB to Teaser (but only cuz I don’t have to descend from Teaser 🙂 which leads to this question… Whenever I come “down” from the Teaser, I feel like my back always “arches”…or something not feeling good. This does not happen if I do one leg at a time…so something is happening with both legs airborne (=harder of course) but this does not happen on the Reformer (=arm straps connecting the mystery missing link) Hmmmm. Also…is the bum engaged via the heels pressing? Or is it more of an engagement via REACHING the legs out….I’ve tried it out 100 ways in the last 15 minutes 🙂 but hmmmm can’t quite figure this out. THANKS!!!!! (insert thumbs up emoji)
LOL – well it is one of shirts that says “Control” on it – so maybe that has been helping ha ha. Hmmm… let’s look at your Teaser question when I see you tomorrow – I think it may be that one end of your body is ahead of the other. You have hit it though when you say you need more reach through the lower body. That’s what’s going to hook into the low belly to keep it supported as the top of you goes down. I had a fun time with my particular focus in my own workout today, so maybe that could be helpful as well.
Thanks as always for being AWESOME! And I will see you soon! xo
BIGLY pelvic instability discovery I will show you today and you can guide me home 🙂 TWO UK visits in your lineup this year!? I might just have to get my bum over there for realz. Alessandra, tight low backs will unite! A Happy Reaching Lifting New Year to all 🙂 xo
You are an awesome teacher. Period. End of sentence. Wish I could follow you around. Someday maybe I will. ☺️
Wow, Steph. Thank you. What an amazing gift you gave me. Totally made my day 🙂 Thanks for all your support!
Thanks very much lovely Andrea! Getting there again; moving forward and getting great inspiration from your videos. I love the Teaser; great and simple way that you explained. Having my equipment with me now; so no excuses. What about teaser in the spine corrector? Hope to see you soon. Happy Hapoy 2017 ❤️️❤️️❤️️❤️️
Luz!!
Hello and so glad to find you here. I hope you are doing well. Thank you so much for your kind words on this post and video. And yes, I will add the Teaser on the Spine Corrector to my list – it is a favorite of mine – OMG I say that about all the exercises now LOL – well maybe not all of them… and yes I hope we can see each other soon! xox
Hey there! This is just what I need to whip me into shape after the Christmas festivities!! A fabulous workshop on the Teaser!! LOL???????????? great to see the exercise broken down – I’ve just been kind of heave-ho-ing myself up there, with limited and variable success !! I really like the mini version with legs stretching up and just rolling down to the tips of the shoulders. This is the bit that I find really challenging , as my low back is tight (think I’ve said this before!! ????) and I get a really good stretch just doing that bit!! .. Thanks for a greatly informative post yet again!! And yay!! You’re coming to England TWICE!! ????????????
#pilatesgeeksontour ????????????
Here’s to more geeking in 2017!! ????
Hi Alessandra 🙂
Yes I knew you would be pleased – as am I – that I will be in England twice in 2017!! Woo Hoo! #pilatesgeeksontour another fab hashtag, my friend. Yes, the strengthening Teaser you mention would be great for you. And you’ll get stronger and stronger with it as you get it in your body. Excellent. I am actually teaching my Teaser workshop when I am in Austria… I know that’s not England, but you might just want to have a nice Viennese holiday this fall ha ha 🙂 And I will have more details soon regarding what I am teaching in London. Stay tuned! Looking forward to seeing you next week. Happy New Year! xox