The Roll-Up - Pilates Exercise: General Exercise & Fitness Discussions

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Here are step by step instructions in order to do this exercise.

Stretch out to our body's full length while laying on the ground. (the way you might stretch your waking body as you get up in the morning)
Squeeze your buttocks tightly and press the backs of your upper inner thighs together.
Flex your feet into the Pilates stance and bring your straight arms forward over your head.
As your arms pass over your chest, lift your head and inhale as you begin to roll up and forward.
Imagine that your lower body is strapped down to the mat, stabilizing you just below the hip bones.
In order to feel the articulation of your spine it is helpful to imagine this rhythm: Lift your chin to your chest, lift your chest up over your ribs, lift your ribs up over your belly, lift your belly up over your hips, and try to lift up out of your hips and over your thighs.
Exhale as you stretch forward from your hips while keeping your navel pulled back into your spine.
Initiate rolling back down by squeezing your buttocks and slightly tucking your tailbone underneath you. Inhale as you begin pulling your navel to your spine.
Reversing the sequence of the exercise, exhale as you feel each vertebra pressing into the mat beneath you. Keep squeezing the backs of your upper inner thighs together for stability.
When the backs of your shoulders touch the mat, lower your head and bring your arms over into a full-body stretch before beginning the movement again.
Complete three to five repetitions and end by lying flat on the mat with your arms long by your sides for the Rollover.