The Contrology Cadillac is a beast in the most beautiful way possible. This apparatus is truly the full spectrum in terms of getting the most support (look at that big, long mat with springs attached from the top, bottom, AND sides, AND they can be hooked at different heights, and things at one end of the Cadillac, BUT WAIT – there’s more at the other end, AND is that a swing that I spy with my little eye!), and yet, it can provide the biggest challenges as well (think advanced exercises like gymnastics maneuvers on top of the Cadillac, at the end of the Cadillac, and yes, you guessed it, even off the sides of the Cadillac). It’s the adult-sized playground you didn’t know you needed!
Silly me – I thought naming my Cadillac would be one of the easier names. Nope, it was the last apparatus I named, and it took me several weeks to come up with her name. Drum roll please………Sol-Luna.
Sol = Spanish for sun
Luna = Latin for moon
When I think about the full spectrum of bodies the Cadillac can accommodate, I can see it’s the full gamut. It’s for everybody from a client’s healing injury to an Olympic athlete, from young to old, from I-barely-move to I-can’t-sit-still, from I’ve-never-heard-of-Pilates (is that stretching?) to I’ve-been-practicing-Pilates-for-years – so that means everybody in-between. Clearly, this was going to need 2 names, and that was perplexing. What 2 names were going to really speak to its range??? I tried to think of names that meant support and challenge. No luck there. I tried to think of names that meant polar opposites. A single name wasn’t going to cut it. Once I dropped the idea of having one name, then my mind started thinking of yin-yang, day-night, black-white, yes-no, north-south, east-west, female-male, hot-cold, old-new. And that’s how I landed with the sun and moon. Sol-Luna has got it all, including all the symbolism you can think of for the sun and the moon. By combining those names together, I found my name for the Cadillac.
This Cadillac is an authentic reproduction of Joe’s original Cadillacs you would find at his Gym circa 1970.
- The Variety of Springs
- Though I want to point out that there are different springs than what we saw with Delta, my reformer. The springs on Sol-Luna have different lengths and different thicknesses at different heights that the springs attach to on the poles. And because the springs are different that means the tension is different, depending on what body part is “holding” on to the spring. You’ll also notice that sometimes there is only one spring without a match.
- Handles and Foot Loops
- There are handles (these are shaped differently than the ones on the reformer!) and foot loops to give you more feedback of where you are in space, and how you move through air.
- Roll Back Bar
- Assists you as you come up/down to the mat, whether you’re lying on your back, your belly, or on your side. Whether you’re seated, kneeling, or standing.
- Push Through Bar
- More assistance than the Roll Back Bar as it’s connected to the poles directly, so you add a spring from the top or the bottom, or as a challenge, no spring!
- Trapeze
- Depending on your mood, or the kind of day you’ve had, this can be used for support when lying on your back on the mat. Or if you’re feeling feisty, it can be used as a challenge when holding on to the canopy, and jumping up into the trapeze in a myriad of ways.
- The poles and the canopy
- Holding on to the poles, or placing your feet at the poles will give your body direct feedback. The canopy is for the days you would like a little extra to see how far your Pilates practice has come.
Do not forget all the ways Sol-Luna can accommodate your Pilates practice. There are exercises outside of the Cadillac at both ends. Some standing and some seated. There are exercises outside of the Cadillac on either side. Seated, standing, hanging by your arms, or hanging by your feet/inverted. There are inversion exercises while standing on top of the Cadillac where you can “raise the roof” on your practice!
As you can see, if there exercises on the mat or reformer that are difficult for you to access, it’s time to get better connected on the Cadillac, and then try those mat or reformer exercises again in your next session. Or if you’re slaying some mat and reformer exercises, then it’s time to step it up a notch on the Cadillac, and really show off some moves!
You can see my love for purple continues with Sol-Luna. I think you’ll really be surprised by my next choice of apparatus to cover next. She’s an unsung she-ro, and not well known by many. But gosh, she’ll have a lot of feedback for you.