The C-Shaper is a tool that I’ve been introduced to through one of my mentorships in 2022. I intentionally use the word tool (not prop) because it teaches spine support in a round shape/flexion without slouching, slumping, sinking, or collapsing. When used correctly, this helps to build the abdominals to find and deepen the C curve you hear about in class. The C-Shaper gives feedback and support for all of the flexion exercises in Pilates, as well as the rolling/rocking exercises. It’s wonderful in that you don’t have to adjust the client, or modify the exercises once you have a basic understanding of the longest flexion you want to create in your spine.
All right, I have 2 points I want to make here, and break down so we’re on the same page. It’s what I’ve highlighted in italics above: basic understanding and longest flexion.
The first point – Let’s be clear what I mean by “basic understanding”.
By basic I don’t mean easy. I mean basic in terms of the fundamentals and foundations for which the rest of your Pilates practice is based on. So, the beginning, the start, the introduction.
And that’s how I came up with the name, Eve. Anybody would benefit from this tool at the very beginning of learning Pilates. There’s so many “round” exercises, “rolling” exercises, “rocking” exercises in Pilates. To do these exercises well, it requires a lot of abdominal strength to open the back, to find length in the spine, to move the spine in a less chunky feeling. I think it would decrease most of the “bad habits” or “cheats” our bodies do. Our bodies are naturally going to find the easy way out. Mine included! It’s our mind that makes our body put in the work.
If you are the type of person who feels a lot of work/tension in your neck anytime you lift your head, chest, and shoulders off the mat in Pilates, then you need Eve. If you think you’re making the longest round shape/flexion, BUT if you’re being perfectly honest with yourself, you’re just rounding your shoulders, then you need Eve. If you have no idea, or not really certain, or maybe body awareness is not your thing, then you need Eve. If you’ve been practicing Pilates for years, and need more precision and technique, then you need Eve.
The second point – the longest flexion. What does this mean?
Scroll up and take a look at the C-Shaper. Does it look like a “C” or “c” to you? It really doesn’t. The name of this tool is misleading. What does your body do when you hear the teaching cue: deepen your C curve? How about this teaching cue: hollow out your low abdominals? Or this cue: scoop your low belly? Is your body slouching? Sinking back? Slumping? Are you collapsing within yourself? Are you lifting your shoulders up to your ears?
What you’re looking for is the longest flexion in your spine. The idea is that each of the bones of your spine should be touching the C-Shaper. Scroll up and take a look at the C-Shaper again. Notice the slope of this apparatus. It goes up, and it goes out. Therefore, your head should be stacked on top of your spine, which means no forward head syndrome. Your tailbone should be reaching out long in front of you, not tucked and pointed up.
So, when you get set up on Eve, take some time to find the right position for your body at that moment of that day. It can be different day to day. It can be different depending on the time of day. I’m tighter in the mornings than the evenings. I’m tighter after a stressful work day. I’m tighter at the beginning of my Pilates practice than at the end. How about you?
There are straps that come with the C-Shaper. Slide your hands into these straps, and work on isometric connections of the hands reaching/lifting into the straps as you pull the abdominals up and in/back to the C-Shaper.
Once you’re in the right position, feel the contact points between your spine and the C-Shaper. Close your eyes if that helps. Scan what’s touching and not touching – up/down your spine, left/right sides of your spine. Now focus on moving each vertebra back into the C-Shaper to find a deeper connection through the abdominals to help open up the spine. The more you work the front body, the more the back body opens. The reverse is true as well – the more you work the back body, the more the front body opens. There’s actually a term for this. It’s called reciprocal inhibition.
By focusing on each vertebra, we’re looking for equal distribution of load, so that the entire spine rounds, not just a handful of vertebrae. We have 33 individual bones that interlock to form the spine. However, only the top 24 bones are moveable. The vertebrae for the sacrum and the coccyx (tail bone) are fused. So, think about those 24 bones when you’re using the C-Shaper. That’s quite a bit to focus on to move 24 bones back while lifting the abdominals up and in without crunching or bracing. Strength and length in the abdominals to find the same strength and length in your spine. You may find that with each rep or set of exercises, you’ll need to adjust your position to find the work.
Joseph Pilates didn’t invent the C-Shaper. It’s the one apparatus I have in my studio that is not a reproduction of Joe’s. It was designed by Marie-Jose Blom of Long Beach Dance Conditioning and Quentin Josephy of Kinetic Fitness Studios, and first made by Balanced Body in 1988.
However, after working out on it for several months now, and using it with my clients, it’s clear this teaches more than my words can. There’s quite a number of Pilates mat exercises you can do on the C-Shaper, such as:
- Hundred
- Elbow slide
- Half Roll Back
- Roll Up
- Rolling Like A Ball (even Open Leg Rocker!)
- Single Leg Circles
- Abdominal Series of 5 (IYKYK!)
- You can even try a Teaser or Hip Circles!
No purple upholstery available for Eve; trust me I looked! But I love her anyway.
With Eve here to teach the longest flexion to make with a spine, my next apparatus teaches the tallest a spine can be, as well as spinal articulation and the longest flexion. This might be the only one to teach better posture in a very straight-forward way. I can’t wait for you to meet her!