The Corkscrew is a Mat Pilates exercise is a piece where I have always been fond of. Unfortunately I do not teach the full version very often, at least not on a daily affair. I personally feel one has to comfortable with the Roll Over before he/she is ready to do the full version. Otherwise the modified version does serve the purpose of this piece pretty well.

Doing Mat Pilates well is never easy

Mat Pilates is probably the most popular amongst the different equipments/non- equipment Pilates. It may be easy to copy the exercise but doing it well is never a piece of cake. When I first taught this many years ago, the most common approach by students is to throw their body overhead using the help of their hands and bodyweight and then ‘hope for the best’. This can be dangerous for Pilates beginners, which is why it took me a couple of months before introducing this on this website. If you have a back problem/issue, please seek help/assistance before even deciding to attempt it. I would assume you have practised the Roll up and Roll Over for a period of time before attempting this.

Mat Pilates Sequence

I have students who ever asked me: “Do I have to do the Mat Pilates sequence as introduced by Joseph Pilates?” or “Can I mix it up?” YES of course. I have also posted the Mat Pilates videos in a sequence that differs. I think the most important consideration when you practise Pilates at home is: “What is my intention/goal?” If you are someone with a healthy body, free from any sort of problems or issues, you may want to follow the sequence strictly if you want a good workout. However if you have difficulty with that, consider being progressive. Just like I mentioned earlier how Master Teacher Ron Fletcher emphasized strongly on our ABCs, learning in a way that supports progression is just that.

Progression in Mat Pilates

An example would be I start with Spine Stretch, then Roll Up and Saw, Roll Over and finally Corkscrew. This can be a good path to take and ensures you practise a more complex piece in simple parts before the combine the various parts to it. Just remember, not too long ago, we observe how others walk, then we learn how to walk ourselves before we learnt how to run. When you approach Mat Pilates in this manner you enjoy the journey of a free body!

Enjoy this Mat Pilates video and share your comments!