Pilates Saw: How to Do It and Muscles Worked

How to do The Saw

Sit tall on your mat with your legs extended slightly wider than your hips and your feet flexed. Reach your arms out to the sides at shoulder height.

1. Engage your transversus abdominis to sit as tall as possible.
2. Rotate your torso to the right while keeping your hips anchored to the mat.
3. Hinge forward and reach your left hand toward the outside of your right foot.
4. Stretch your right arm behind you, turning your palm to face the wall behind you.
5. Pulse gently forward for a reaching flexion, imagining you are sawing off your pinky toe.
6. Roll your spine back up to a tall, rotated seated position.
7. Return your torso to the center before repeating the movement on the left side.

• Breath. Teachers cue breathing differently, but you will often inhale as you sit tall and rotate, then exhale as you reach forward. You might also be instructed to take a deep inhale as you roll back up to the center.
• Where you feel it. You should feel your obliques working to twist your torso, along with a stretch down the backs of your legs and through your spinal extensors. You should not feel sharp pinching in your lower back or strain in your neck.
• How many. 3 to 5 alternating repetitions per side

Common mistakes

• Lifting the opposite hip. Keep both sitting bones firmly planted on the mat as you rotate and reach.
• Collapsing the chest. Maintain a lifted, tall spine during the rotation before you begin the forward flexion.
• Forcing the reach. Only reach as far as your hamstrings and spinal extensors comfortably allow without pulling.
• Tensing the shoulders. Keep your shoulders relaxed and away from your ears as your arms extend to the sides.
• Losing arm alignment. Keep your arms in a straight line as you twist, rather than letting your front arm cross your body early.

Make it easier or harder

Easier

• Bend your knees slightly or place a rolled towel under them to reduce the stretch on your hamstrings.
• Sit on a folded blanket or yoga block to help your spinal extensors stay upright.
• Reduce the range of motion by reaching for your knee or shin instead of your foot.

Harder

• Narrow your leg stance to challenge your balance and core control during the rotation.
• Perform the movement at a slower tempo to increase time under tension for your obliques.

Who should be careful

• Twisting under load is something people with osteoporosis are often advised to limit. Keep the rotation small and upright, or ask your clinician.
• If you have osteoporosis or low bone density, or a recent disc injury, ask your clinician whether repeated loaded forward bending of the spine suits you. Many bone health organizations recommend limiting it.
• Tight hamstrings make the straight-leg version hard to do well. Bending the knees keeps the focus on the spine instead of forcing a stretch.

Related exercises

• Corkscrew Intermediate to advanced
• Swan Dive Advanced (prep version beginner)
• Breaststroke Prep Beginner to intermediate
• Oblique Roll Back Beginner to intermediate
• Short Box Series Intermediate

This exercise is part of our pages on Pilates for Golfers, Pilates for Flexibility.

When to see a doctor or physical therapist

• Sharp or shooting pain down the back of your legs.
• Sudden pinching or localized pain in your lower back during spinal flexion.
• Numbness or tingling in your feet or toes.
• Pain in your shoulder joints when extending your arms backward.

This page is general education, not a diagnosis or treatment plan. If you have a health condition, are pregnant or are recovering from an injury or surgery, check with your own clinician before trying new exercises.

How we put this page together. Exercise data (type, level, equipment and muscles) was compiled by our editors from the classical mat order in Joseph Pilates’ 1945 book and from commonly taught mat repertoire. Muscle lists are a general anatomy guide; cueing differs between teachers. Text drafted with AI assistance and checked by the Editorial Team. See our editorial policy. Last checked October 2026.