Thank you for your comments. The positioning of the the upper body is so important when you consider the body is naturally falling into a forward curve. We must be diligent in how we teach this position to clients. Good luck in your teaching.
Thanks for your tutorial, Maria, and to Gia for being such a model student! Great cues, especially for correct head alignment. So many clients have forward head positions from work so it's challenging for them to achieve this, but so important to have that elongation.
There is a lot of controversy in some pilates circles these days about the flexion in the upper trunk throughout the pilates repertoire. I have no problem with it as long as it is taught well, without compression and is included in sessions that have equal parts extension, rotation, lateral flexion and stabilization.