How do you differentiate between articulation and lengthening of the spine on the reformer?

How do you differentiate between articulation and lengthening of the spine on the reformer?

• A. Lengthening involves flexion exclusively.
• B. Both are the same; no difference.
• C. Articulation is sequential vertebral movement; lengthening is maintaining spinal length while moving.
• D. Articulation is about breath; lengthening is about range.

Answer: (C)

On the reformer, you tell the difference by how the spine moves during the exercise. Articulation is moving the spine in a sequence, vertebra by vertebra, so the motion travels along the spine like a wave from pelvis upward. Lengthening, on the other hand, means you move while keeping the spine long and stacked—from crown to tailbone—so you don’t shorten or compress the torso as you work. This matches the idea that articulation is sequential vertebral movement, while lengthening is maintaining spinal length while moving. The other options miss the point: lengthening isn’t just flexion, articulation isn’t defined by breath or range alone, and they aren’t the same movement.

On the reformer, you tell the difference by how the spine moves during the exercise. Articulation is moving the spine in a sequence, vertebra by vertebra, so the motion travels along the spine like a wave from pelvis upward. Lengthening, on the other hand, means you move while keeping the spine long and stacked—from crown to tailbone—so you don’t shorten or compress the torso as you work.

This matches the idea that articulation is sequential vertebral movement, while lengthening is maintaining spinal length while moving. The other options miss the point: lengthening isn’t just flexion, articulation isn’t defined by breath or range alone, and they aren’t the same movement.