Issue #484
Wednesday, April 1, 2026
Backbend on the Reformer
Part 4
FULL GLORY
by Brett Miller
In my opinion, Pilates – especially contemporary – is taught a bit too carefully. The athletic spirit that I think is part of the work has been bleached out. It is a bit sad to see it, and today I do my part to spark some athletic spirit into the work with this intense backbend.
Now Parts 1 – 3 gave a pretty deep instruction in how I teach and do the backbend, so I will skip the basics. Let’s now talk about going past our limits and making our back, and body, and being, as strong and robust as we can.
Prepare the Reformer by putting the foot bar in a low/middle position. I put on quite a heavy amount of springs (on my Stott Reformer, I use 2 red (full strength) springs + 1 blue – VERY HEAVY).
I shorten the distance between the footbar and the shoulder rests by placing a platform against the shoulder rests, like so:
This will put me into a deeper back bend.
Take yourself down to the Reformer in the manner that we’ve learned in parts 1,2 and 3, so go have a look there is you need to.
Now S – T – R – E – T – C – H – ! – ! -!
And now you’re going to relax in your body and push your hips up. And now the springs start pulling the carriage in. Relax even more until you feel like you might break in two.
Stay there, stretch your armes even more and now push your chest up over the bar.
Brett Miller is the founder of Pilates Intel, he started his professional life in the world of ballet, working with various companies in the US. Later on he moved to New York and branched out into modern along with the ballet. Since then, he has lived in Finland and now in Stockholm Sweden.
Brett became a Pilates instructor in 2005 and has been teaching ever since. The intelligent technique that Pilates is, and the chance to continue to be physical, attracted him to this field after being so long in the dance world.