Traditional and Pilates Personal Trainer Kim Richardson provides these basic steps to this classical Pilates mat exercise.
The movement:
Begin lying down, arms along your sides.
1. Extend your legs to a 45 degree angle (In this picture, Kim is outstretching her legs for a more advanced version)
2. Inhale
3. Exhale: Lengthen your spine to nod your head slightly and begin scooping your abdominal muscles in and up so that your upper body begins to roll off the mat. At the same time your arms are coming up to parallel your legs. Fingertips reach past the toes without the shoulders rising.
4. Inhale as you come to the top and open your chest, lifting your head slightly to fully lengthen your spine
5. Exhale to roll down. Start from the low abs and use control, rolling down sequentially along the spine, one stop at a time. Work to press the legs together.
Kim's expert trainer tip: Just doing three or four repetitions during your workout is plenty. Do not add reps until you are sure you can maintain form the entire time
