The Pilates roll down

Any massage treatments, cardio activity or weight bearing exercises will always benefit from a body conditioning routine such as Pilates or Yoga. Pilates helps to improve the stabilisation of smaller muscles within the body, improving our proprioceptive awareness. A great exercise to relax the shoulders and improve core and spinal strength is the Pilates roll down. This is great beginners exercise, which introduces the concept of the abdominal muscles and spinal muscles working together in action to improve mobility. It’s also a great way to relieve muscle tension in the upper body, lower back, and hamstrings, between massage sessions with us!

1, Place your pelvis on a wall, place feet hip width apart, with your heels ten inches away from the wall. Push your spine to the wall in this position.

2, Take a nice deep inhale; on your exhale pull your belly button gently to your spine and drop your chin to your chest.

3, Very slowly, peel your spine off of the wall, taking as many breaths as you need as you travel, but keeping your abdominals engaged. Only move on your exhale. Imagine each vertebra of your spine peeling off of the wall.

4, Keep your hips fixed on the wall for as long as you can to get a lower back stretch. Allow hips to slide upwards; keep your knees soft. (but not bent).

5, Inhale when you reach your toes, or get as far as you can, and slowly exhale, engaging your abdominals as you roll back up to standing one vertebrae at a time to standing

Click here to watch a helpful video

Disclaimer: slipped disc relates issues, Osteoporosis or sciatica, can be aggravated by a Pilates rolldown. Please ask your doctor or seek further advice.