Pilates Movement Monday: The Bicycle

Pilates Movement Monday: Bicycle on the Shoulders

The traditional Bicycle on the shoulders looks elegant until you try to keep everything lifted, steady, and calm. It challenges your strength through the centre and your control through the hips, and it becomes a lot more manageable when the breath leads the movement.

You begin on your back and lift into a supported shoulder stand. Your hands support the pelvis so you stay high through the centre without dumping weight into the neck. The load stays on the shoulders. The ribs stay in. The spine stays long.

Send one leg to the ceiling on an exhale. Let that breath set the pace. Lower the leg as you inhale, sweep it through, bend it in, then return it to the ceiling on the next exhale. Switch sides and keep the pelvis steady. The goal is clean hip movement without twisting or shifting through the trunk.

Most problems show up when people rush or try to power their way through it. They hold their breath. The pelvis drops. The ribs flare. The neck starts to complain. Slowing down the breath fixes half of this. When the breath leads, the lift stays supported and the movement feels smoother.

This Pilates movement builds confidence in inverted matwork and improves single leg control. It trains the hips without losing height and strengthens the trunk in a focused way. Beginners work with a smaller range. Experienced movers can hold the lowest point of the sweep to test stability once the alignment is strong.

Some clients should avoid this movement completely. Anyone with neck issues is better off skipping it because the risk outweighs the benefit. People with low bone density, high blood pressure, or glaucoma should avoid long inversions. Clients with limited shoulder mobility cannot hold the pelvis without collapsing, which turns the whole thing into a neck problem. Anyone recovering from abdominal or pelvic surgery needs time before trying anything lifted. Pregnancy after the first trimester is another clear stop. If someone cannot stay lifted without loading the neck, they are not ready.

When the body is prepared and the breath guides each phase, the Bicycle becomes a controlled, smooth pattern. It teaches clarity, patience, and strength in one lifted sequence, and yes, it even looks good when people stop fighting with it.