The Side Way Sitting Stretch

Issue #325 – Wednesday, February 17, 2021

by Reiner Grootenhuis

”The Side Way Sitting Stretch” is the original name used by Carola Trier

I first discovered this exercise in the archive pictures of Joseph Pilates‘s student Carola Trier. Shortly afterwards I was taught the exercise by Deborah Lessen herself, a student of Carola Trier.

In preparing the Reformer manual, I examined old archive pictures of Joseph Pilates and came across images of him demonstrating this exercise on his portable Reformer. In the order of Reformer exercises Carola Trier documented in photos the “Side Way Sitting Stretch” was done after the “Splits” and before “The Russian Stretch”, a squat with round back and one leg lifted.

Setup: 1 – 2,5 Springs, Footbar up

● As in the pictures, the footbar is to the left and the shoulder rests to the right.
● Sit sideways on the carriage of the Reformer with the feet against the front shoulder rest. The legs are pulled up and bent, with the knees stacked on top one another
● The right hand grabs the edge of the carriage from above. The left hand rests on the footbar and is in line with the body. The heel of the hand rests on the footbar, with the fingers and thumb lying relaxed over it.
● The left arm is extended and the upper body is bent as far as possible in lateral flexion towards the shoulder rests.
● The carriage may already be moved out slightly.
● Turn the head to the right as far as possible, with the eyes looking down over the right shoulder and hip to the feet.

Purpose of the Exercise:

● Stretching of the serratus anterior and the intercostals.
● Strengthening of the pectoralis (major and minor), the latissimus dorsi and trapezius.
● Stabilization of the rotator cuff.

Execution: 3x – 5x per side

Push the carriage out as far as possible. It should feel as if the movement is initiated by the feet.However, the position of the pulled-up legs does not change: the impulse is drawn mainly from the left shoulder depressors, which makes the upper body sink into the carriage. When returning the carriage, allow the shoulder to ”ride upwards”. Here, the shoulder approaches the ears in a way that is untypical for Pilates. The upper body is bent laterally as far as possible towards the shoulder rests. While the right hand pulls on the edge of the carriage, the left hand ‘1pushes’1 to bend even more laterally. This push-pull action creates more stretch and length.

Repeat 3x – 5x, then switch sides.

Common Mistakes:

● The rotation of the head towards the rear of the Reformer is lost during the movement.

Modifications or Variations:

● Place the feet against the rear shoulder rest (on the inside) if having the feet at the front shoulder rest feels too constricted.
Contraindications or Risks:
● Avoid if suffering from osteoporosis.

Besides obtaining a diploma in psychology and an MBA, Reiner Grootenhuis has studied the healing and martial arts of the Southern Shaolin Monastery Weng Chun.
He completed the training as a Pilates instructor for Pilates mat and equipment at the Pilates educational academy Body Arts & Science International. Reiner is the founder and operator of the largest Pilates forum worldwide, the pilates-contrology-forum on Facebook, which includes 12,000 Pilates instructors. Moreover, he also offers a free-of-charge immensely successful pilates-contrology-marketplace for selling and buying Pilates equipment on Facebook, which has almost 13,000 members.
At the beginning of 2012, he opened the pilates-powers studio in Tönisvorst, only 25 km away from Joseph Pilate’s hometown.
2014 Kathy Corey appointed him a member of the Board of Directors of the Pilates Heritage Congress, which takes place every two years in the hometown of Joseph Pilates.
In 2017, Reiner completed the Kathy Corey Mentor program, in which he studied the methods and exercises of teachers trained directly by Joseph Pilates such as Kathy Grant, Ron Fletcher, Eve Gentry, Bruce King, and Romana Kryzanowska.
Since November 2017, Reiner has been a Pilates Intel Expert for the online magazine Pilates Intel for which he writes regularly.
Since September 2018, he has been nominated a member of the Certification Committee of the German Pilates Association.
In 2019, Kathy Corey awarded him as Kathy Corey Pilates Master Teacher.
Reiner has published some very positively received manuals: Wunda Chair (2015), Arm Chair (2016) Cadillac part 1 (2018) and 2 (2019), Reformer part 1 and 2 (2020).
He also published in April 2020, the biography ”Carola Trier: The first woman ever to open a Pilates studio – Portrait of an extraordinary journey – Plus: Photos of her Mat and Reformer Exercises.”
BTW, just now his Cadillac Part 1 manual has been published in Korean, with part 2 and the Reformer manuals to follow soon.