You know how you want those flatter abs and then you go to the gym and you wind up leaving with a strained neck instead? I have heard this complaint from many, many Pilates students. The student knows her/his abs need to be stronger so the neck won't hurt but they don't know how to make that happen. So how do you get that flatter stomach without jeopardizing something else? On the mat a very basic exercise that needs lots of practice will help to change the muscle pattern in the core so that the neck won't work more than it has to. There is a series of abdominal movements in the mat repertoire that require the head and shoulders to be off the floor while lying on the back. The very basic exercise I call the ab fold will train the muscles the correct way. Lie on your back with knees bent, feet flat on the floor aligned with the front hip bones. The bent knees should look like an equilateral triangle from the side. Lace the fingers and place hands behind the head (not the neck). Sometimes closing the eyes help, lift the head and shoulders as one unit with out engaging the neck muscles at all. The only way to accomplish this is by keeping the entire weight of the head in the hands also supported by the arms, shoulders and of course all of the stomach muscles. If you pretend that someone else's hands are behind your head that help the intention of the exercise. If that doesn't help then have an actual friend put their hand underneath your hands to take the full weight of the head. The stomach muscles must engage to make up the difference of the weight distribution. This will teach your body how much the abs need to work to support the heavy head. Chances are it will take at least 20 times of practicing this to get the point where all of the neck muscles can be relaxed. I don't recommend doing all 20 at the same sitting. Several times a day would suffice. Please check with your physician before trying these exercises. There are many different exercises in Pilates that can accomplish building abdominal strength without working the neck. Exercises can be on the equipment or on the mat. Since a breathing method is part of every Pilates movement there is always a focus on engaging the core muscles. The exhale makes sure of that. So no matter what exercise one is moving through the ab muscles are supposed to be working always.