I gave up on this exercise, although Elizabeth Larkam showed a great way to get there - with her "snake and twist" - class. But it never felt save for my spine. I will look into the pre- exercises you did on the chair and try again, and I apreciate how you two talk about the holy grail - repertoire exercises with an open mind. I love the idea of the remote-contol!

Thanks!! We can still learn from one of Joe's exercises without putting our bodies through it. The remote-control concept of being able to change the springs during execution can be applied to other exercises and give the teacher more info on where to be physically.

In the Reformer, Twist is a very complex kind of four (three) - legged movement and offers a great instability since it occurs when both arms move the apparatus up to a plank position before twisting the spine. It teaches the body some walking patterns as the opposition between legs and arms movements as well as the dissociation between the pelvis and the thorax. It is great to think about how to get there more efficiently.

Brilliant explanation Joan of progressing a more advanced exercise by breaking it down to its most simple components . By understanding and practicing the basic components - like a simple plank on the mat - and then using different apparatus for progression, one can build the inner intelligence to move safely in more advanced moves. This applies to pilates but equally to any movement modality ... I love the adaptation to the body type most ... looking at the individual and make adjustments ... like in the foot position and the footbar ... thinking outside the box... we are not changing the exercise we are adapting it to the individual so the individual can practice with fluidity and safely. The manuals we learn from in courses are only a starting point ... a beginning ... a base for the teacher to become an artist ... Joan I love your 'art work' ... very similar to mine xxx

This is a fantastic exploration of the Twist from start to finish. The timing on the release of this video is perfect as I will be leading my first teacher training series in March. I love the “magic remote.” If I had one, I would use it for everything!

The twist was actually my exam exercise 20 years ago.. oops.. How could I forget? I even had Elizabeth Larkham's poster doing the twist at my studio to remind me of it :) I absolutely love love love the video and the way Joan dissects the exercise using a progressive approach in regards of the individual she has in front of her and doing so by using different pieces of equipment... the way we used to learn, the same exercise on different Pilates equipment! I never understood how a Pilates instructor could not transfer the same exercise somewhere else, just because it is not in their manual? Thank you Joan for intensifying the role of our feet during each exercise (our feet are the foundation of our body) and looking at each individual body as we are all very different and need different correction. Hopefully it will now make instructors think outside the box. I was also very amused by your honesty and funny side! I need that remote control to actually control my clients :)

In all my years of teaching and training, this is the most brilliant learning moment. I never teach the twist on the reformer (usually just on the mat). I will now teach this exercise more on the chair for sure. Absolutely brilliant. Game changer. Thank you so much for giving us permission to skip something on the reformer we don't teach anyway because it never really quite works.

I like seeing how there is a cost, a benefit and a trade off and our role as Pilates instructors is to decipher what exercises are the most appropriate for the body that is physically in front of us. There is nothing wrong with choosing to do an exercise if it works or choosing not to. Likewise we may have to move the exercise to another apparatus or to the floor and the true beauty in Pilates is that the same exercise can be revisited and who knows with more practice and refining that twist on the reformer may just naturally flow one day after everything has been visited and applied. Thank you for this Joan!

I appreciated the breaking down of an exercise that is difficult especially for the space efficient. My 5'2" body basically has no place to go, I love Twist on the Mat but the reformer is a challenge. Doing twist on the Wunda Chair is amazing. Thanks Joan for your wisdom, your sharing of the history and always your humor.

Great tutorial, it's giving me a push to try and teach this or the preps leading to it. Great explanation and analysis. Thank you Joan