Check out the video!
The Pilates Saw is one of my favorite mat exercises. Not only was it extremely helpful in relieving my back pain years ago,it provides a stretch my body craves. Pilates twisting exercises are awesome for strengthening and stretching the body; however, too many times students attempt to move beyond where his or her body is. Unfortunately, students end up missing out on the ooey gooey goodness Saw provides. Saw is totally delicious for strengthening the arms, shoulders, spine, and sides of the body while stretching the shoulders, chest, spine, back of the legs, and front of the hips.
It is not uncommon to see students struggle with Saw if they have tightness in the low back, back of the legs, and/or hips. However, many times that is caused by the student progressing further than the body is ready. It is more important to tune into your body’s abilities and shed your notion of how you envision the exercise. Rather you need to understand the exercise, and use it as a tool to unlock your true movement abilities. When you push to keep up with the crowd, you miss out on the ooey gooey deliciousness your body needs.
The first common mistake students make is to force into a position that is stressful to the body. For those who have tight back of the legs and hips, sitting up straight can be difficult as well as strain the body. It is better to prop yourself up to ease the strain to get more out of the exercise. Yet, many will still try to perform the exercise without assistance to keep up with those who can sit up straight easily. If your body is in constant freak out mode, “Get me out of this freakin’ position,” it will put excess strain on the body including the nervous system. At that point, you have lost all control of the movement. Your body controls you instead of you controlling your body. When your body stays in a constant freak out mode, you are unable to release to find the truth of the exercise for YOUR body. Work the exercise with less stress and the body can respond in a calm way to find the ooey gooey.
The second common mistake is to twist further than his or her body can twist to reach farther. In Saw, you are twisting the entire spine, and students have various levels of flexibility in twisting. Some students have more mobility to twist in the upper spine with little twist in the low spine, vice versa, or some other various combinations of flexibility and inflexibility. Many students will lift up his or her opposite hip to twist farther, which will limit the benefits of stretching the low back and front of the hips specifically. It is perfectly fine if you can not reach your baby toe. When you attempt to twist farther rather than twist smarter, you end up forcing one spot creating hypermobility in one area and continuous tightness in the other areas. Try twisting smarter rather than farther to twist the entire spine to get the most out of the exercise. Twist as far as your spine allows with your hips grounded. Work the exercise smarter and the body can open up faster to find the ooey gooey to twist farther.
The last common problem is to let the arms and legs get lazy. As I have stated many times, all Pilates exercises are full body exercises. Although the focus is on twisting the spine, the arm and leg engagement are equally as important. If your arms are lazy in the motion, they will hang and pull on the spine affecting how the spine and neck twists. Many times it will cause excess strain on the shoulders and neck. An energized arm will help the spine twist with more freedom and ease. If your legs are not active, the hips will be lazy and make it difficult to ground. Active legs allow the spine to lift away from the grounded hips to find a more energetic deeper twist. When the arms and legs stay active in the exercise, the spine can find more ooey gooey deliciousness in the twist.
Master the Pilates Saw to strengthen the arms, shoulders, spine, and sides of the body while stretching the shoulders, chest, spine, back of the legs, and front of the hips. But more importantly, master Saw for the ooey gooey deliciousness your body craves.