The Power of Opposition: Finding Length and Alignment in Pilates

The Power of Opposition: Finding Length and Alignment in Pilates

It’s been a little while since my last blog, and a lot has changed — we’ve moved from Galway to beautiful Westport here in Mayo! My little family of three is absolutely loving it, and the experience has reminded me of something I often talk about in Pilates: opposition.

Just like in Pilates, where one part of the body reaches while another grounds, moving to a new place has been about finding balance while stretching into new possibilities. We’re settling into our new home, exploring the town, and embracing all the new energy around us — and it’s reminded me how much life, like movement, is about finding that perfect interplay between stability and growth.

If you’ve taken a Pilates class with me, you’ve probably heard me cue “find opposition.” It’s one of those phrases that rolls off the tongue naturally in movement — yet it carries layers of meaning far beyond a simple instruction.

I haven’t always taught opposition. Over 18 years of teaching, I’ve come to see how profoundly it changes the way clients move and embody the principles of Pilates. Over time, I’ve evolved into a passionate advocate for this concept — because I’ve witnessed again and again how it can be a true game changer in movement.

And if you’ve been to my classes before, you’ve likely heard me explain not just what opposition is, but why and how we look for it throughout our Pilates repertoire.

Opposition is one of the most beautiful concepts in Pilates because it’s both a feeling and a biomechanical truth. It’s the moment when your body discovers balance between grounding and reaching, stability and expansion — the tension that creates effortless length.

What Does “Finding Opposition” Really Mean?

In the body, opposition is about creating energy in two directions at once.

When you press your feet away on the Reformer carriage, imagine the crown of your head reaching in the opposite direction.

When your arms float up — whether you’re in tabletop on the mat or lying on the Reformer for Arm Pulls — feel your shoulder blades gently anchoring down into the mat or carriage.

These aren’t just poetic cues — they’re strategies to help the body organize itself efficiently.
Opposition teaches you to lengthen rather than collapse, stabilize without gripping, and move from integration instead of strain.

The idea of finding opposition isn’t just a teaching gimmick — it’s rooted in how our bodies are built to move. When one part of the body reaches or presses, and the opposite part lengthens or stabilizes, it engages muscles, fascia, and the spine in a way that distributes tension evenly, improves coordination, and creates effortless length. In exercises like Single Leg Stretch, Mermaid, or Bridge, this dynamic balance helps your body move efficiently, strengthens deep stabilizers, and reinforces alignment — all while keeping movement smooth, safe, and sustainable.

The Science Behind the Feeling

The concept of opposition aligns beautifully with modern research in movement mechanics and fascia:

• Fascial tensegrity: Our connective tissue network functions like a tensioned web — when one area lengthens, another grounds or resists to maintain balance. By consciously finding opposition, we optimize that web, distributing load evenly and reducing localized tension.

• Axial elongation and spinal health: Studies on Pilates-based rehabilitation show that cueing elongation and opposing vectors engages deep spinal stabilizers (like the multifidus and transversus abdominis), promoting spinal decompression and better postural alignment.

• Neuromuscular awareness: Opposition heightens proprioception — our internal sense of position — which is key for graceful, efficient, and controlled movement.

In essence, when you find opposition, you’re helping your body tap into its own natural intelligence — the way it’s designed to find balance and length from within.

I often remind my clients that movement isn’t about giving a 10-out-of-10 effort or muscling through every exercise. True Pilates is about balanced effort — finding just enough tension to create support and control, without unnecessary strain. When we push too hard, we override the body’s natural coordination; when we work with awareness, we discover that strength and ease can coexist.

This is also why breath — our very first Pilates principle — matters so deeply. Breath connects the mind and body, regulates effort, and helps release excess tension so movement becomes fluid instead of forced. When we breathe with intention, we give the body permission to find that balance point where oppositional energy, alignment, and control all meet.

How It Feels on the Reformer

Let’s explore how opposition shows up in a few familiar movements.

In Kneeling Chest Expansion, feel the grounding through your shins as you draw energy upward through the crown of your head. Your arms reach back, but your spine lifts tall in the opposite direction — a clear expression of opposition in the sagittal plane. This balance between grounding and lift creates length through the front of the body and stability through the trunk.

In Bridge feel your heels press into the footbar as you articulate your spine sequentially from pelvis to shoulders. As your hips lift, you create length through the front of the thighs, reaching the knees forward while your spine extends and articulates on the way down in opposition. This dynamic tension — lift, reach, and articulation working together — is a beautiful example of axial opposition through the sagittal plane, teaching the body to move with both control and fluidity.

In Mermaid on the Short Box, we move into the frontal and transverse planes. With one leg anchored under the footstrap reaching long .As you side bend, feel the space opening between the top rib and hip while the underside narrows in response. Adding a gentle rotation of the upper body toward the well brings the thoracic spine into play. The grounded leg and reaching arm create a dynamic opposition that lengthens and spirals the body at once.

Together, these three movements reveal how opposition exists across all planes of motion — sagittal, frontal, and transverse. When you embody that relationship of grounding and reach, your movement becomes more efficient, balanced, and deeply connected from the inside out.

Why Opposition Matters

Opposition isn’t about effort; it’s about awareness. It teaches us that strength and length coexist, that grounding and lifting happen simultaneously.

When clients grasp this, their posture improves, their movements feel more spacious, and they leave class feeling taller — not because they stretched, but because they found the dynamic relationship that supports true alignment.

A Simple Practice

Next time you move — on the Reformer, the mat, or just standing — try this:

• Ground and lift: As you press your feet into the floor or carriage, imagine energy traveling upward through your center and out the crown of your head.

• Reach and resist: Extend one arm forward (or up) while imagining the opposite side of your body grounding and reaching in the other direction — your ribs widen, your shoulder blade anchors, and your spine lengthens. Notice how this subtle opposition creates both support and space in your body.

Notice how those subtle oppositions bring both ease and integrity to your posture.

In the End

Finding opposition is the essence of Pilates — the dance between control and freedom, stability and mobility, effort and release. It’s what turns mechanical exercise into embodied movement — and why Pilates, when practiced with awareness, doesn’t just strengthen you; it reorganizes you.

I hope that when you hear me say “lift a little higher, reach a little further, scoop a little deeper”, you understand it’s not just for fun (though I do enjoy a good cue! ). I’m watching, noticing, and thinking about how your body can move more efficiently, find more space, and feel more effortless. Every little adjustment is meant to help you discover what your body is capable of — turning subtle shifts into big improvements in alignment, strength, and ease. Think of it as a gentle nudge from someone who’s spent 18 years figuring out exactly what makes Pilates work.

Just as our little family has found a new rhythm here in Westport — balancing the familiar with the new, grounding ourselves while reaching toward possibilities — Pilates reminds us that growth comes from the interplay of stability and expansion, effort and ease, control and freedom.

Meet your Author:

Alice is a seasoned Pilates instructor with 20 years of experience in the fitness and wellness industry in Ireland. Certified by Balanced Body as a Comprehensive Pilates Instructor, she also holds qualifications as an NTC Personal Trainer and Exercise and Health Coach. Based in Westport, Co Mayo, Alice teaches Reformer and Mat Pilates classes, and offers private equipment-based sessions using the Reformer, Cadillac, and other apparatus. She works with a wide range of clients, tailoring programs to individual needs — from office workers and recreational athletes. Before specializing in Pilates, Alice spent over a decade managing fitness facilities, giving her a broad understanding of both client care and the evolving fitness industry. Today, she brings that expertise to her teaching — offering a thoughtful, structured, and progressive approach to Pilates that meets clients exactly where they are.

Alice is passionate about helping people move well and move smart. Whether you're practicing at home or in the studio, her goal is to help you build a strong foundation, avoid compensation and overload, and experience how Pilates can truly support your everyday life.