“Aaaaaaaaaaah” and “woooooooow” are the words uttered most often during the first-time execution of our exercise of the month—the Shoulder Roll Down on the Cadillac.
“Aaaaaaaaaaah” because it feels fantastic. “Woooooooow” because it seems like it shouldn’t be possible to arrive in the places this movement takes you to.
We like to dub this exercise “the friendliest Roll Over in the Pilates system”, and while it’s several steps away from taking us into autonomous upside-downness, it shows us what’s possible—and what it’ll take.
The exercise has many names—Shoulder Roll Down, Parakeet, Sari, Scissors, and others (by the way, did you know our video catalog search can find the exercise you’re looking for even if you use a different name for it than us?)—but we particularly like the chosen name in our title.
The “shoulder” part links it to the “Shoulder Bridge” and hints at the fact that we are bound to learn to stand on our shoulders for a minute—a skill not to be underestimated when it comes to the art of Pilates.
The “roll down” part emphasizes the spinal articulation over the fancy leg work at the top. We articulate the spine often in this work but rarely do we get to do it mid-air with this much support.
So what’s the exercise?
Drive your feet into the Push Through Bar.
Lift the bar with control and the lightest grasp of your feet.
Roll your spine into the air (“woooooooow”).
A moment to scissor the legs at the top (if you’re up for it).
Control the journey down (“aaaaaaaaaaah”).
Fair warning: on that second step… you may… experience some serious lower-leg cramping. Take it with a grain of salt, but we found that no amount of pre-session potassium, coconut water, or bananas will help. What may help is to untighten the grasp of your feet against the Push Through Bar! Consider that for the longest part of the journey (knees bending to bring the bar in and up) the bar is actually pushing itself into you – no need to hold it there. And after that, you simply stand on it (read: use your legs and hips). There is a moment in there where you may feel like your feet need to hold the bar, but even if that’s true see whether you can relax your feet in all the surrounding moments (and relax your forehead, we see everything!).
Let’s take this month and dedicate ourselves to this movement from the why to the how. Members, you can review the Shoulder Roll Down in our video catalog and share your ideas with us in the community area! Post a picture of your practice, ask a question, contribute answers, and share your top cues and tips.
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