March MATness Day 7: The Double Leg Stretch

[ChannelRunner2]

Today, March 7, we continue our celebration of the Pilates Mat exercises with the abdominal series. Fortunately, I must say, we're doing Joe’s shorter original 🤣 We're doing almost the same as we did yesterday except with both legs at the same time. It’s also called Double Leg Pull.

Andrea Maida explains: “Single Leg Pull and Double Leg Pull are in my opinion ‘wind-relieving’ exercises to help to stimulate digestion and ultimately rid the body of toxins. They are a great strengthener of the entire trunk and the deep breaths of the Double Leg Pull again lead to a stretch and a wringing out of the entire system: stretch out and lengthen, and then fold up completely. Just what we need to be doing.” (via pilatesandrea.com/on-the-or... ).

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If you need to warm-up, do at least The Hundred. Of course, you could do the first six exercises as a warm-up (maybe using the playlist... youtube.com/playlist?list=P... )

Then repeat this exercise 6 times. At some point, you might be able to do 12...

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Follow Joe’s instructions from the excerpt from Return to Life. As we probably know by now, though it's worth reminding, according to John Steele, Joe encouraged his students to modify. Find out what works for your body today: Do you need to keep you legs higher as you stretch them out? Do you want to reach your arms back, as Lesley from OPC does or do you prefer arms by your side as Joe does?

Instructions from Online Pilates Classes – with suggestions for modifications are starting at 02:06: youtu.be/SbAzXngP480(Not working as expected?)

You can read more about the exercise and written instructions at the OPC page for it: onlinepilatesclasses.com/pi...

Another set of instructions from the Pilates Lesson Plan, including a video, are here: georgewatts.org/lesson-plan... (via pilateslessonplans.co.uk/fr... )

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Follow me down the rabbit hole with Andrea Maida to see this exercise across the Pilates system with other apparatus - there's also a quick run-down of modifications of the Double Leg Pull starting at about 01:30: youtu.be/rXZTRA0-XBo(Not working as expected?)

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And more rabbit hole finds! As Andrea reminds us: "Joe Pilates said if you can do only one exercise a day, it should be the Double Leg Pull." (more on that here: pilatesandrea.com/pilates-w... ). He also developed a Business man lunch routine he called Around the Clock and Back. Christina Gadar recreated it - it's essentially a series of Double Leg Stretches! Check it out: youtu.be/GwfRdCDHdrQ(Not working as expected?)

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Standing variations for exercises 6-10: instagram.com/reel/CYUfi6Nh...

Another standing variation is in Andrea Maida's video above starting around 03:54.

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Photo from Return to Life as published by Presentation Dynamics. Photos are far better reproduced in the paperback published by the Pilates Method Alliance in 2010, which isn’t available electronically. (See this post for the title page: healthunlocked.com/strength... )

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★ Our March MATness summary page: healthunlocked.com/strength... ★

[ChannelRunner2]

And if you want to try the series of 5, check out this video: youtu.be/AC3YADtBQYM(Not working as expected?)

[dijep 30D Graduate in reply to ChannelRunner2]

I really like watching clips like this where the exercises flow from one to the next, but also seeing how her body stays in the same position virtually all the time while moving legs and arms (unlike mine😊)

I'm catching up as I've missed a few days. Struggled with roll back, I think I have a very unrolling back 😂 Fine with one leg stretch, (this was one I did last year regularly while away for 8weeks in my campervan) And ended up in laughter at the double leg stretch as for some reason coordinating movements of legs and arms was beyond me this morning. I may try it again later.

[ChannelRunner2 in reply to dijep]

I am very slowly getting some Rolling Backs without the flat tire sound! It's only been 3 years that I've worked on that - and I still have to concentrate hard to avoid it... 🤣

[dijep 30D Graduate in reply to ChannelRunner2]

That makes me feel better 😊

[ChannelRunner2 in reply to dijep]

I thought there was a video on this... Already the title gives some relief: The struggle is real! (The Rolling Back is now mostly called Rolling Like a Ball...)

Especially, the part after around 04:12 is for us flat backers!

youtu.be/swxf3oR72Xg(Not working as expected?)

[ChannelRunner2]

Andrea Maida just published a love letter to the first 7 Mat exercises here: pilatesandrea.com/the-magni...

Or go directly to the video: youtu.be/FeRDBdYusic(Not working as expected?)

[dijep 30D Graduate in reply to ChannelRunner2]

Seriously impressive!

[ChannelRunner2]

I am really geeking out today 🤣 I didn't realize this until I read a blog post by Andrea Maida: Joe's Around the Clock exercise is essentially a bunch of Double Leg Stretches!

You can check it out in the video done by Christina Gadar, the initiator of Open Access Pilates Archives, which she started because someone got her post that included the original pamphlet taken down... She now shares videos of her doing exercises Joe documented with video and/or photographs. It's quite amazing! Check out her Instagram for her amazing work: instagram.com/open_access_p...

Now, here's the video:

youtu.be/GwfRdCDHdrQ(Not working as expected?)

[dijep 30D Graduate]

I haven't watched them all .. yet but I'm finding it fascinating even though I can't do much. I can totally understand why Pilates is such a great all round exercise. It's also interesting to see where some of the exercises I've been doing via a zoom class come from.I did have another go at rolling like a ball, after watching the two videos. I still mainly am rolling like a brick but I did manage a couple of almost balls 🤣😂I did manage a couple of roll ups, seeing how people use the strap to anchor their feet I found a bit of furniture that helped do the same. Perhaps I need to get a sandbag 😊

[ChannelRunner2 in reply to dijep]

That's terrific, dijep ! You could also try using a yoga strap around your feet. That might also help with the roll up...

[CBDB Administrator Graduate Gold]

I like this one. I’m surprised that my head/upper body stays up. I like lifting the arms though, but find the whole discussion of where the arms should be and similarities to other exercises fascinating.

There is also the very different approaches to the origin story that I have to get my head around, still. Following yoga for a few years meant I’ve become used to this notion that the Yoga practice is so ancient that it essentially belongs to the whole of humanity. Of course there are various teachings, but I never followed a specific one.

Pilates here, specifically these 30-something poses, is wound up with one man only, and that creates different approaches to origin stories around poses. It is so different in culture, essentially. Fascinating. One can approach ot historically as well, which is more difficult with ancient yoga.

Very fascinating.

[ChannelRunner2 in reply to CBDB]

Legally, a U.S. Court decided in 2000 that "the PILATES service mark and the PILATES equipment mark are generic." ( h2o.law.harvard.edu/cases/4808 ) That decision was a major win for the Pilates community, imo, because it underscores that there isn't one (copyrighted) way to do it. After all, Joe encouraged modifications!

The story is made more difficult because some claim to have the "right" approach to Pilates and thus others are just not doing Pilates. It's sad because Joe Pilates wanted everybody to do his exercises! That's why he published the book, after all!

While Romana Kryzanowska took over Joe (and Clara!) Pilates' studio, she was by no means the only student of Joe's. Most importantly, there were Kathy Grant, Eve Gentry, and Ron Fletcher who both opened studios while Joe was still alive (Flechter even on the West coast, though I think it might've been after Joe's death... definitely with Clara's blessing, though...). There were a couple of others, if I recall correctly. Jonathan Grubb is doing a lot of work to dig them out... (see facebook.com/groups/1506287... )

And as an aside, Clara Pilates in a way symbolizes all the mystery shrouded around Pilates! Joe and Clara met on his voyage across the Ocean and lived together in New York, however, as far as Eva Rincke and other historians could ascertain, they never actually married. Rincke suspects that this might've been because Joe was still married in Germany... Clara still acted as his wife - and was viewed by most as such...