Overview
Pelvic Curl is the foundation of all bridging and articulation work on the Reformer. It teaches the client to peel the spine off the carriage one vertebra at a time — the same segmental skill the Short Box and roll-over work build on — while firing the posterior chain. If the client cannot articulate here, they are not ready for loaded articulation anywhere else.
Setup
- A medium-strong setting (in our reference ladder: 1 Red or 1 Green); footbar medium.
- Lie supine with the feet flat on the footbar, hip-width apart, knees flexed at 90 degrees, arms long by the sides.
Key Teaching Cues
- Peel the spine off the carriage one bone at a time like a string of pearls.
- Press through the mid-foot and reach the knees forward over the footbar as the hips lift.
- Exhale to articulate up, inhale at the top, exhale to roll down — keep the ribs soft throughout.
- At the top, the body is one long diagonal from knees to shoulders — no over-arching.
Common Faults
- Lifting the hips as one block instead of articulating.
- Over-arching the low back at the top of the bridge.
- Rushing the roll-down and dumping the spine.
- Pressing through the toes instead of the mid-foot.
Variations
- Regression: neutral bridge — lift and lower the pelvis in a flat neutral back without articulation, for disc sensitivity.
- Progression: hold the bridge and extend one leg long (the entry to Single Leg Bridge); or pulse the hips a few inches at the top.
- Safety: keep the pelvis level and the ribs down for low-back comfort.