by Andrea Maida
Joe Pilates said that if you could do only one exercise in a day it should be the Double Leg Pull, also more recently called the Double Leg Stretch. This exercise is all of Pilates jam-packed into one smart exercise: the strong center, the 2-way stretch out of it, and the breath, a full toxin-clearing exhale.
Last year I learned the true value of the Double Leg Pull. Apply this 2-way stretch universally to your Pilates exercises and really take your workout and therefore your teaching to the next level. Often described as dynamic opposition or reaching away from your center, simply finding the Double Leg Pull inherent in any given exercise creates a consistent over-arching goal across the entire Method.
So let’s look at a few examples. Some exercises are straightforward and the Double Leg Pull readily reveals itself: the Roll Up, Spine Stretch Forward, the Hundred, Swan Dive, Pulling Straps on the Reformer, etc...easy peasy...
In other, perhaps more intricate exercises, the Double Leg Pull proves to be more elusive: Backward Arms on the Cadillac, Semi-Circle on the Reformer, the Saw, Single Leg Kicks, Table on the Wunda Chair, Side Kicks. These challenging exercises may offer the Double Leg Pull easily in theory but not so quickly in execution, I agree. I feel you on that one. But take time in your next workout to view these exercises through the filter of the Double Leg Pull and your experience of the exercise may change dramatically. My favorite is to channel the Double Leg Pull in the Snake on the Reformer to help the uber-gnarly become possible.
In just a couple months I will be in the studio to gaze upon all the beautiful Double Leg Pulls!
Join me on Saturday May 18 for Reach from your Strong(er) Center, Double Leg Pull and an examination of the Mat, and on Sunday May 19 for Joe’s Original Reformer, a look at how the 2-way stretch is served up to you within the order of exercises. Find out how to use your oppositional forces to eliminate tensions in the extremities and focus all your sweaty work in the stomach and back.
The Double Leg Pull: Welcome to the 2-way Stretch
Joe Pilates said that if you could do only one exercise in a day it should be the Double Leg Pull, also more recently called the Double Leg Stretch. This exercise is all of Pilates jam-packed into one smart exercise: the strong center, the 2-way stretch out of it, and the breath, a full toxin-clearing exhale.
My Pilates Mantra
Last year I learned the true value of the Double Leg Pull. Apply this 2-way stretch universally to your Pilates exercises and really take your workout and therefore your teaching to the next level. Often described as dynamic opposition or reaching away from your center, simply finding the Double Leg Pull inherent in any given exercise creates a consistent over-arching goal across the entire Method.
Double Leg Pull 101
So let’s look at a few examples. Some exercises are straightforward and the Double Leg Pull readily reveals itself: the Roll Up, Spine Stretch Forward, the Hundred, Swan Dive, Pulling Straps on the Reformer, etc...easy peasy...
Whahhhhhht?
In other, perhaps more intricate exercises, the Double Leg Pull proves to be more elusive: Backward Arms on the Cadillac, Semi-Circle on the Reformer, the Saw, Single Leg Kicks, Table on the Wunda Chair, Side Kicks. These challenging exercises may offer the Double Leg Pull easily in theory but not so quickly in execution, I agree. I feel you on that one. But take time in your next workout to view these exercises through the filter of the Double Leg Pull and your experience of the exercise may change dramatically. My favorite is to channel the Double Leg Pull in the Snake on the Reformer to help the uber-gnarly become possible.
May Workshops at Excel Pilates Annapolis
In just a couple months I will be in the studio to gaze upon all the beautiful Double Leg Pulls!
Join me on Saturday May 18 for Reach from your Strong(er) Center, Double Leg Pull and an examination of the Mat, and on Sunday May 19 for Joe’s Original Reformer, a look at how the 2-way stretch is served up to you within the order of exercises. Find out how to use your oppositional forces to eliminate tensions in the extremities and focus all your sweaty work in the stomach and back.
Another Mantra:
This is Pilates: perhaps this is a stomach exercise...
Further Reading...
1 Year of Study that Changed my Pilates POV
1 Pilates Exercise that will make all the other ones BETTER
The Short Box: How I love thee let me count the ways
The Teaser: The Truth Will Prevail
1 Pilates Exercise that will make all the other ones BETTER
The Short Box: How I love thee let me count the ways
The Teaser: The Truth Will Prevail
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