Stretches & Cool Down: Teaching Notes

Overview

A deliberate cool-down is what separates a good session from a complete one. This family uses the carriage springs as an active partner: the springs assist the lengthening, so the client can ease into a stretch without forcing it. These four exercises cover the main areas a reformer session leaves tight — hip flexors, hamstrings, the side body, and the spine as a whole.

• Eve's Lunge — deep hip flexor and iliopsoas stretch in a kneeling lunge.
• Carriage Hamstring Stretch — active posterior-leg lengthening with a foot in the strap.
• Lat & Side Stretch — side-body length with the ribs supported.
• Spinal Release — the child's position to settle the breath and decompress the spine.

Setup

• Keep the springs light (1 Yellow to 1 Green) so the carriage assists rather than resists.
• For Eve's Lunge, lower the footbar and have the client kneel on the carriage with one foot on the bar.
• The hamstring stretch is done supine with one foot in a long strap and the other leg bent.
• Spinal Release is a kneeling fold with the hips back toward the heels.

Key Teaching Cues

• Breathe into the stretch: inhale to lengthen, exhale to ease deeper.
• No bouncing — the carriage moves smoothly with the breath.
• Keep the spine long in Eve's Lunge; the stretch belongs in the front of the hip, not the low back.
• For the hamstring stretch, keep the hips level and the working leg long.

Common Faults

• Forcing the stretch and bouncing the carriage instead of easing into the length.
• Collapsing into the low back in Eve's Lunge — the stretch belongs in the front of the hip.
• Hiking the hip in the hamstring stretch to gain range.
• Holding the breath through the lengthening.
• Rushing Spinal Release and never settling into the position.

Programming

1. Stretches belong after the working portion of the session, not instead of it.
2. Use Eve's Lunge after any lunge or glute work (Standing Lunge, Front Splits, Sprinter Lunge).
3. Use the hamstring stretch after footwork and leg press work.
4. Finish with Spinal Release in every session that has room — it settles the nervous system as well as the spine.

Contraindication Awareness

• Eve's Lunge loads the front knee — shorten the stride and limit depth for knee issues.
• The hamstring stretch requires hip flexion; keep it pain-free for hip impingement.
• Spinal Release involves kneeling — pad the knees for sensitive clients.

Variations

• Regression: lower the spring to 1 Yellow for a more passive, supported stretch; pad the knees for Eve's Lunge and Spinal Release.
• Progression: slow the tempo and hold the lengthened position for two full breaths.
• Safety: for hip impingement, keep the hamstring stretch shallow and pain-free; for knee issues, shorten the Eve's Lunge stride and limit the depth.