Hello, I'm Marjolein Brugman with MBS Fitness, really excited to bring you another piece of equipment from Joseph Pilates, the Spine Corrector, which was designed by him really as a way to open the chest and correct the curvature of the spine. I have Romana Kryzanowska with me today, and we're going to talk a little bit about why we would use the Spine Corrector and what benefits the body will get from it.

Well, it benefits you from head to toe opening the chest for breathing and for people who are close chested and want to be more wide, people who have a humped back to get rid of it, people who have heavy thighs and doughy inner thighs. [crosstalk 00:00:49].

What do you call those saddlebags? What's your little name for the-

[Polkies 00:00:52].

Polkies. Yes, get rid of your polkies.

Yes, and if you have weak knees and you can't use other equipment such as springs on your knees, then you could do the Spine Corrector because there's no pressure on them whatsoever. The bending is easy there.

You also use it to build some of the exercises, for example, the Teaser.

The Teaser.

It's a way of really getting strong through the powerhouse.

Yes, it's a good exercise, not only for breathing but for the powerhouse. And as Joe Pilates would say, if anyone asked him, "What is this good for Joe?" He would answer, "It's good for the body."

Welcome to the Spine Corrector. I will teach you the exercises, after which you may join Romana Kryzanowska with her students in the studio doing a Spine Corrector workout.
Sit down on the edge of the Spine Corrector, lean back, relax the head over the arch. With a stick in your hand, stretch out in front, breathe in and lift your arms. Breathe out as you stretch back and over. Lift and exhale. Lift, inhale, exhale. Stretch as you exhale. Lift, and come back down. Now, straighten the legs and repeat the exercise. Lift the arms up over the head. Feel the stretch. Open the chest and exhale.
Sit in the chair of the Spine Corrector facing the back. Ready for Teaser one, two, and three. Legs straight up 45 degrees, arms out in front of you. Lower the arms and come up. Keep the legs still. Don't move the legs. And up, lower the arms back, and come up. Now, hold that position, lower the legs, and lift. Lower the legs and lift. And one more time, lift. And now all down and up. Everything out and up and out and reach for the toes, three, good.
Now turn around and sit in the chair facing the front, and we'll repeat the same exercise Teaser one, two, and three. Legs out, arms out, lower the legs, and lift. Lower the legs and lift. Lower the legs and lift. Now, keep the legs still, arms back, and reach. Arms back and reach. Arms back and reach. Now Teaser three, everything down and up. Everything back and now reach for the toes.
Roll back over the Spine Corrector until the shoulders are on the mat. Place the feet on the chair hip-width apart, right leg up, pointed toe flex, and lower. Lift, flex, and lower. Lift, flex, and lower. Lift, flex, and lower. Repeat on the other side. Lift, flex, and lower. Lift, flex, and lower. Push the Spine Corrector away and lie in the relaxation position. You've now completed learning the Spine Corrector exercises. You can now follow along with Romana and her students in the studio.

I'm Romana Kryzanowska, teacher of the Pilates Method in New York City, and with me are some of my pupils and teachers, Trish [Titsiana 00:04:51] and Peter. We're going to show you the Spine Corrector. When you say Spine Corrector, you immediately think of your back.