Class #2292

Detailed Mat Breakdown

55 min - Class
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Go through the details of each exercise in this Mat workout with MeJo Wiggin. She makes sue you understand the purpose and the function for each movement so you get the full benefit of the Mat work. She also breaks down certain exercises for different body types so you know the best way to work for your body.
What You'll Need: Mat, Pilates Pole

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Hi, I'm me, Joe with Palladio's anytime and today we're going to go through some of the details on the mat work. So when you're at home I would just want to make sure you're getting all the details in so you're really getting the full benefit of each exercise. So fortunately I have two instructors with me today, Deandra and Rachel and we're going to start with some that work. Yeah, let's stand and walk to the front of the Mat. Okay, nice. Pilati stance. Draw your abdominals in and up and just hold. So when we start with this [inaudible] stance, we want to make sure these arches are up off the floor right there, but the ankle remains in the inner sizer zipped secure. Now, if I were to do a I, most people when they take their Pilati stance, they take it very wide and then it pushes the ankles forward.

We don't want that pull it in narrower, so it's only about four fingers wide. That's all you need. And what's really going on is in the Ajer is starting to wrap from the top here, which we'll rep through her thigh and carried all the way down through her foot. So if you were to stand and just take one leg off the floor and use your seat and engage that automatically, you will slightly externally rotate. That's where that's coming from because our glutes are part of our powerhouse. So when you engage your glutes, that will slightly wrap and that leads to our Pilati stance, which is only that narrow [inaudible] and the toes are long.

Cross your arms, lift through the crown of the head, draw your abdominals in and come up on your toes. But squeeze your inner thighs, squeeze your legs, squeeze your heels, come on up, come on up and now resist going back down. Let's get those feet activated and again, squeeze up. Rise, nice and tall. That's it. And easy to come down. Now notice when you're up to your feet on a roll, do you want to roll your pinky goes or roll in? Perhaps try again. Squeeze and lift up up. Type guys feel how you really have to use your seat.

And then easy to come down across your right foot over the left. Draw your inner thighs together. Come up onto those toes again and you resist coming down. So there's a string at the top of your head pulling you tall as you control your body down into your mat and roll down and lie flat. So when you're at home, I want you to take your hands at your side and make sure you're in the middle of your mat. Okay? From here we're going to go into the hundreds.

You're going to draw your knees into your chest and feel your back anchor in the mat. As you do that, lift the head and shoulders. Look at your powerhouses as you extend your arms and legs and we hundred breathing in. Good. You guys are going to continue. Now what is the proper leg position on the a hundred it varies for everybody. You want to make sure you can anchor your body into the mat. So on this exercise, your low back is fully supported in the mat.

You are long and you're wide. And there's never an arch in the low back. What happens is if I start taking these legs too low, you are not working your abdominals as much. You're going to start stranding your hips and your hip flexors. We don't want that. So as a rule of thumb, you guys can rest.

As a rule of thumb, when you take the hundred again, we never have your feet below eye level that changes the whole dynamics of this exercise to get most work out of your powerhouse. Your legs are going to have to be up maybe higher, maybe higher. Who knows? Maybe she had a big pizza for dinner last night. You can draw her abdominals and we may have to take them high. We may have to even soften them, but the bottom line is your back must be down and your belly in.

So wherever those legs are today, that's your level. Go back to that a hundred again. Here we go. Bring in the knees, find your working level. Lift your head and shoulders and reach and you pump. Good. Now, next thing, where are your hands? If your hands are low to the mat, you're not going to get the full benefit. Take your hands above your hip bones at all times.

You will feel that much more in your powerhouse. That's where those arms should be and they're going to pump vigorously. And I know you're not wiggling on the mat because your back is fully anchored and your stomach is in. And then rest, you got it. Length in your arms, length in your legs, and stretch long and skinny. And we're back in this little Palladio stance here. We're going to take a roll up, curl one vertebrae at a time forward. And when you're here, grab your strap and take it around your feet. So we use the strap, not because somebody is weak, but more importantly, the strap helps you to get deeper into your powerhouse.

So pull on that strap, reach forward and roll back one vertebrae at a time while you're pulling on it. Keep the powerhouse and as you reach long and skinny and roll back up, peel trying not to skip any vertebras one vertebrae at a time. Stretch and roll back. So now it's fluid. Keep the tension, keep reaching or right back up, up. And as you stretch forward, your belly stays back, you stretch and you roll. Now, these guys are pretty flexible, but if I have a really stiff person, you might want to add a stretch here.

Here's what we're going to do around forward. Send your belly back and we would stretch. One more, two more, three, then roll back. But I don't think these guys really need that. So let's flow one more right back up. Stretch me and your toes dry your naval back and release.

Good. Take the right leg up. We're going to take a leg circle, reach the right leg up and hold. Okay, so again, I know these guys are flexible by taking the leg up if you have tight hamstrings or a weak abdominal area. When we started this, Rachel's box was square in taking up a tight hamstring. Sometimes people throw the hip out and she's no longer square. That's going to throw off the entire exercise. So instead, if you're one of those people at home that are a little tight in your legs, don't lift your leg up. Especially if you've got tight hip flexors. Instead bend your knee into your chest. Now your box didn't change.

Draw your abdominals in and then try to take your leg up. And if you still can't do that, we may have to bend your bottom leg. That's it. But at least you're square. Now let's take those legs circles. So you cross your body, take it around and then up and you cross to come around enough. Cross your body and its up going more.

Reach over and then hold. So what does this exercise really about? Are we just circling our leg around? No, I want you to imagine your belly is drawn in and up. And this is the working leg pulling up, pulling up all the way through her. So as up into her powerhouse and that's got to hold her stable. This leg is now free to move. Yeah.

So her abdominals draw deep. Now really cross up over here and get a stretch. Now control that around without moving and cross. Get that good stretch. And then around. Yes, so I'm asking your left side to pull in deep. So the right leg can move freely, go cross and back up, and you make as big of a circle as you can control and it's up one more, and then go for the reverse. So out a little bit, but a good crossover. Think of yourself.

You're trying to cross and reach your knee over to the opposite shoulder. Really work the diagonal over. Get into that outer thigh and hip and that last one. Come up and give it a stretch. Lengthen. Draw your abdominals in and check your hips in case you have to square them off here to switch your legs. So left leg up, however you got into the first one. Hold your powerhouse in.

Take that leg and cross up over the shoulder and up. Now it's very common to cross him. Drop. No drop. Here we go. You Ready? Rachel, I need you to think of, you're going up for knee. Agers head off there. Now come around her head. Yeah, look at that.

That the lengthen right out of that outer thigh. Good for you. Over and around and up. Ramani used to call these your pokies. That's rid of your pokies. Lengthen them out and it's up. Going more up over, and then go reverse it. Go get rid of those pokies and cross reach for her head. Beautiful.

Big Cross over, but we're still powerhouses in one more. I'll give it a good [inaudible] stretch. Reach. Check yourself. Make sure you're square and to feed. Come down. Peel to come up one vertebrae at a time. Draw those ribs. We keep coming back to this. Roll Up. Yeah. Okay. Now from here, take your hands on the mat.

Lift your hips up off the Mat and hold your body to your heels. That's it. Now grab those ankles and get nice and small. The smaller, the better. Tiny. Draw those abdominals in. Bring your knees a little narrower on the edge. You're looking at flexible. She is. We've got to challenge her a little more. Fit your head down. Just the Ted.

Now pull your belly and your ribs away from your quads. Gorgeous. Now go rural back and roll back up and roll it back and swoop back up. And when you're doing this second exercise, you shouldn't hear any thuds. Don't slam your back in the Mat. So maybe we have a little tight spot in the low back. Come up and hold.

Grab behind your knees. Hold your belly in, away from your legs. Hold the belly. You're gonna rock just through your flat spot. Down and up. Just rock that flat spot. Open it up like a little rocking chair. Nothing in the chair changes it. Just rock. Smooth down and up. And one more. Down and up. You say, but you guys are flexible.

I can challenge you. Grab your ankles this time. Now fit your head inside. Really pull yourself in. Pull those heels to your seat. Now go hips in the air, lift them up, and then back up and use the breath. Breathe. But the exhale helps you back up. Nice and small. Breathe. Pick it up. Go One more rural your body and lie back.

Take your hands on the mat right next to your hips. You lift and scoot back, and then you lie down for our stomach series. So again, think of that hundred. We need your back down in the mat. We don't want to hurt you during this series. So draw one knee in [inaudible] just other like long fill your abdominals, pulling it up. And the same principle. This should never be too low. Okay? Cause we're not working her power house as much. We're going to work this hip flexor. I don't want that. Draw those abdominals.

Instead, look at that gorgeous scope change and you've got to play with that because everybody's going to have a different level and you change. Pull, pull. And if you're tighten those hips, Greeley, work that pole in, in and in, in and in. Scoop in deep belly is that leg comes in. Draw your ribs, draw your abdominals in a way from your quad. Pull, pull, pull, pull and bend the knees. We're going to take the devils. Here we go in with the air stretch and your body long and skinny.

Now exhale, come in. Now when you do this, you shouldn't go lie down. Reach your arms and legs, any changes, exhale the air and how stretch without lying down and exhale, bring it in. Now stretch and make your legs longer and longer and longer. And then come back in one more. Show me the reach two way. Stretch, reach, reach, reach. Bring it in. In scissor, one leg change and change and change. Pull in and in and in and scoop and in and in and rest. Good. Let's take your hands behind your head. Give your neck a little support. Let's take the double so your chest lifts.

Draw your abdominals in. Your legs. Come up long in this beautiful Palladia stance and you inhale you a whole powerhouse and exhale up. So again, how low do you go? Only as low as you can control. All right, back up in the air hole. [inaudible] rules, but XL right back up. You couldn't keep it small and back up. One more breath. Make it reach and Chris, Cross one.

Nian and you stay. Now I want you to try to get this elbow all way around to the other side of your knee and then change. Really twist your waistline. Go touch it. Me, I joy. You're almost there and change. There you go. Really touch it. Beautiful and change and really touching. You're almost there.

Come on. We don't pull it in yet, doesn't make a difference and go early. Squeeze the juice out of this and go really twist around. Look behind you. If you can. One more. Draw your powerhouse and give me a good twist and then you rest. Yeah, take your leg straight down. We do another roll-up. So Peel your body up, draw those abdominals. Scoop up for your spine.

Stretch forward. Here we go. Open the feet. Sit Tall and lift. Okay. Now this is a hard one at home cause a lot of people don't know where straight is. When they sit up, they throw an arch in their back. So it really helps to see this in a mirror. A mirror. The mirror doesn't lie. Draw the shoulders, lift through the crown of your head.

Know where to just squeeze, get up off that seat, hold and release. And again, use your powerhouse in and up. Stay there. Now both of you guys take your low dominoes and draw them out the back window little deeper and then let it go. Yes, one more. So it's up, but it's also in, in and up. Take a big breath. Drop your head and flex, explore, reach forward. Exhale all the air, nice straight feet, nice straight angles, empty the lungs, and then roll everything up. So this is a breathing exercise. You want to push the air out of your body in with the air.

Drop Your Chin now round forward and really exhale. Exhale, keep exhaling, keep exhaling, keep exhaling, and then roll the come up. Good. Now look at your feet. I know you're probably not even thinking of them. Look at these feet here. Okay, she's pushing through the ball of the foot and pulling her toes back instead. Can you hold that straight and don't move it? Now go lift and control forward.

Is that different in your legs? Get all the air out of your body and then smooth to come up really tall for an open leg rocker. So don't just grab your ankles. Can you lift up out of your hips, roll to the back of your cock CIC bone, and draw those legs up. That's it. Hold your powerhouse in and let's go round back and right back up and scoop back and come up and hold. So it's very tempting on this exercise to round and push into your upper back.

Let's see what that looks like in the Hydra there. That's what a lot of people do at home. Okay, you're up there, but you're not correct. Keep your body lifted the arms long. Now that you've got this long lift to your spine, now draw your belly into that. So it's the lower spine that's curled under, but the rest of you is tall and lifted. Hold that position. Now let's go draw your powerhouse and then come up and find that balance.

Yes, we never push into it and rural back and all the way up. Hold that scoop. Bring your legs together. The clothes like rocker, keep your Pilati stands. Continue round and up in balance. Good. Play with that and round. And as you get better at this, try to reach higher for your ankle.

Yes, if you have the flexibilities, hang on those angles and don't move. Now Go, oh, that just kicked it up a notch. Yes. Beautiful. And roll down and you feel that and pull it up. So that's our work in progress here. Go for those angles one day and roll back and up. You stay there. Good. Now that you're here in the, during the teaser position, which for the ceiling, hold it there.

There's your teaser position that just your feet have been coming down an inch and then up and down, an inch and up. Beautiful. One more and up. Now roll everything down into the mat. That's it. We're going to corkscrew. Okay, here we go. Take your hands at your side. Your legs are going to come up, but let's keep your hips down at first. Both legs up to the ceiling.

Draw your abdominals in and we don't want to see any wiggling in those shoulders. Beautiful. Palladia stance. Scoop in, cross over, around and up. Okay, so what's going on here? Those legs just moving. No, it's your whole pelvis pulling your powerhouse. That'll draw the legs towards you. Now Scoop, deepen those left obliques. Hang on to them as you come around and Xcel getting deeper into, come back up the other side in the air. You go over and come around in the middle and Xcel around.

Good. And as you pass through the middle, that's the hard place. You can't arch your back again. Draw the cup powerhouse in, over and down and over to the right and you hold. Once you've mastered that, here we go. Take your hips up off the mat a little further right there. Now your corkscrew starts here, so rolled down the right side of your body over to the left and then right back up off that mat [inaudible] and go down on your left side over and right back up off that mat and down on your right, right hip and come up off that left one more.

Go down on that left, open around, and now we're going to go all the way up if you can, but once you're up here, you don't roll down again and do what you just did. Okay, come back up. Now. Knee agers corkscrew starts all the way up here, so she rolls down on the right side of her body. The left side doesn't touch over and then pick it back up to me. Now this time rolled down on your left side of your body. That right side doesn't touch and over and pick it back up and lift.

Good. Rachel, go down on the right, pulling those obliques. Good. Now around in a right, back up for me. That's it. Finished. Just get even on the left. Ruled your left side and over and energy back up and control your body down. Beautiful Roll. We got another roll up to do with length in the arms.

Length in your legs. And Peel to get up here. Deep abdominals. We're gonna take the Saul. So open the feet. Flex your feet and reach outside to side. Really Tall. So again, that pole would you straight up a pole running through your spine. Lift through the crown of her head and the shoulders are down.

We're going to twist to the right big twists in your waist. Go and go and go and go. You know, drop your head and round forward and that left hip stays way back. Really sit on it. But when you're here, if you're flexible, it's tempting to collapse on that leg. That's not the exercise. I want you to work in two directions. So we have a belt pulling these hips to me as the weight of her upper body pulls her forward and then come back up and again, twist your waist.

This hit back and stretch and reach and reach with a deep center. Good. Now what's the back arm doing? Lifted to the ceiling. Yes. Get that choice of going a straight arm that goes in and up at the same time. Can you hold it there? Yeah. You feel that tricep and then come back up nice and tall and again, twist right and go reach. Go.

One more, two more, three. No. Keep your twist as you collect your body back up. And again, go twist. Pull that hip back and go and reach. Think of this right arm pit coming over to your left knee. No, that's how much I want. Yes. And come back up. Two more big twist and go send that. Lift it back.

Lift that back arm and reach. Work your body and it's up. One more. Give it a twist and go and stretch. Reach and lengthen that arm and reach and everything up. Good. Let's turn on your stomach. Let's turn for a swan dive. So let's work on the preparation of this. Let's lie your head on this end.

Okay. So chances are you don't have a mat like this at home. And before we do a swan dive, we want to try to warm up your upper back so it helps if we have a regular mat. You're going to take your hands under your shoulders and lie flat. [inaudible] Zip your inner thighs together from the crown of the head. You length in the neck. Think of a turtle coming out of his shell. Lengthen that head out. Out to come up.

The turtle reaches out the head and start to look up and look up at the light. Yes. Press your hands into the mat to help you arch your upper back. When you're here, your bottom ribs should still remain on the mat and then come back down. [inaudible] so I want just that upper back, the hard part to get through. Anchor the shoulders, push the heel of the hand lengths on the neck to come up and up and no more.

But try to push your chest forward. Beautiful. Hold that. And then easy down. It's warming it up for what's to come again. The shoulders go back, the head reaches out and you push up, open those collarbones and your ribs. Never leave the mat. Just give me the upper back and then come out of it. Now from here, let's go into a full swan die. That'll be a lot smoother for you. So your hands again, bring them forward.

You're going to push into the palm of your hand. Draw those abdominals in and let's lift out up through your powerhouse, your move, dominoes, lift. Lift your gaze energy up. Now give you a big breath in and go fall out. Yes. Zip those inner thighs and up and sit on those heels. Yeah, round your back. Stretch your arms in front of you.

Drawing your belly in. Okay, so this can be a very intimidating exercise. Let's go over this. We're going to take it again. So for somebody who feels like you're a little stiff in the back, I'm going to change your arm position. So what? What Rachel did was perfectly fine. Come up and do her swan. Let's do that again. She came up, she came down in a swan, lifted the lights, and then came back up and goes and then back up. Okay.

The next step would be why want you to try to take your hands to the side the whole time. Okay. It's a little easier than she was going to do it next. Then taking your hands forward the whole time, so lift your gaze, lift your chest, and here we go. Which side? Keep going. Yes. That's it. Zip those legs for me. Beautiful. Now sit on those heels. Yeah, that was nice. Good. Now our next progression, here we go. A dra. She's going to take those arms all the way in front of her because she's got this beautiful thoracic extension.

Shoulders back and push yourself up. Lift that powerhouse. Now give me a good breath to start. Zip those legs and go reach forward. Yes. Imagine there's a ball in your hand. You throw that ball, go right up to that ceiling and then sit on those heels. Yeah. This is one of those exercises. You just have to kind of go for it. You can't go into this thinking.

Maybe I'll try today and give it 10% you have to give it your all. And even if you can only do two, well then do two single leg kicks. Here we go. But everybody wakes up after that one. So right on your stomach. Draw those inner thighs. Lift your powerhouse up. And here we go. Kick, kick, kick, kick. Now if you do not feel a stretch, perhaps in your quads, in your hips, in your, so as chances are you're not in the right position. So you really want to make sure your low abdominals are lifting and your tail is down under [inaudible].

Now you must continue to keep that as you kick those legs. Kick, kick, kick, kick, stretch, stretch. Each time each kick is a stretch. Stretch in, in, in a sharp pick and release it. Good. Take your hands behind your back. High up on the back. For our double leg kicks here we go together. And one, two, three, smooth. Now plant your feet, lift the best you can and let it go. And together kick one, kick to kick three and come up lift, lift and let it go. Okay, let's look at this.

So some people have a hard time coming up because they're so tight in their shoulders, in their chest. So for them they almost have to let their hands go to get up there. Instead of letting your hands go, you can take a little strap, you can take a poll. Here we go. Now the hands are wider. For somebody who is tightened shoulders, you'll get more out of it doing it this way. Kick, kick, kick. Now pull up and really open that chest and lift and lift and lift and let it go.

Show us one more and your kick and kick and kick. Now pull up and stretch up there and let it go. So you could sit on your heels. Good. No, some other people may be very flexible in their lower back. Okay, they may be coming up too high. So here we go. Three kicks go. One go to go three. Now stretch.

Your feet must stay down. Lift your chest. And I don't want you to come way up. Lift your head and instead think of your chest pushing forwards. So we're going to go for length for that person and then come down and again, give it a kick. One and two and three. Now don't come and lift your whole belly up off the floor.

Push the chest forward and up. Open your chest, and that's enough for that person. Sit on your heels around the back, strips those arms in front of you, and let's take our neck full. Okay, let's use our strap again. So feed under the loop. If you have one, really flex your feet and keep them hip with Aha. Now Watch what your feet do with that strap. Do they start to turn into your feet? Sickle chances are if you have very flexible ankles like Neidra does, they're going to want to start to do this.

So you want to pull those feet back and can you do it without giving me that ball of, of hip forward? We don't want to hyper extend your toes here. I want you to imagine your feet are right between a book here. Yup, they're smushed in the book and can't move. Now take your hands behind your head. Lift. Hold your feet steady, enroll down, curl, curl without moving those feet. All that gets you into your abdominals more now to come up in the air, scoop your belly, pull the ribs. Exhale, stretch yourself forward, and then sit up nice and tall and lift. Good. Now steady feed as you roll down. Yep.

I'll get these drawers. Yes. Come on. Pull that pinky toe back. Yeah, and again around you. Come up and draw the ribs in and stretch and sit up nice and straight. Now pulling your powerhouse in. Roll down out of it. Yes. No. Maybe you're having a day where you feel like you've got a little stiff back.

Here we go. Come on up again around and you're going to take the stretch one, stretch to stretch three, but then come up and then roll out of it. So if you're having one of those days, stretch your back again. Rounding up, rounding forward. Your belly goes back. You stretch your stretching and sit up. Very tall, tiny way slots. [inaudible] draw the ribs and roll down one vertebrae at a time all the way flat. It feels good. Good. Let's take some sidekicks. Let's turn and face this way. Okay, so at home it's hard to tell when you're straight, it helps the line your body literally with the edge of your mat. So that includes this elbow, brewering it back there.

Your feet come front, hold your power house in and up. And again, it's very tempting to look down at your feet when she dropped her head and look down this whole upper back rounded. I want her to keep the lift. Okay, so try not to drop your head and on your back to see where your feet are. Get Long. Your top leg lifts up only hip height and no swing to the front end. Stop right there.

That leg when it swings front, this ankle should only be hip height. You can lower your as a tad, but now take your hip and plug it back. There is where it goes. So you're working in two directions. Now go back, reach back, reach back. And as you reach back, this hip stays forward right over the other one. Make your leg point long, pointed til, reach through it. And we go again. To the front hold. Now catch yourself. Is Your foot doing this? Cause if it flops to the floor, you're not going to get the benefit of bend your hip to Hearne it up off the floor. When you're here. Now go back and make it long and parallel. Reach it, reach it, reach it, and go swing to the front. Show me that foot. Oh, that makes a difference. Now pulled back long and to the front and go back.

Reach. Reach one more to the front. Watch the foot and then take it back and bring it together. Okay. Keep your leg long. Make it longer than the bottom leg and kick high. Now going down, can you make it longer to go down, reach and kick up and reach down? Good and kick up and hold. Now where does your leg go? Take a look at your foot.

Does your leg, when it comes up, come forward up. Can it come more side? Not for you. Not Enough of the hip and reach a, Huh? That's okay. Up. We have to be careful with knee. Andrew's hip. She has a little bit of a hip injury today, but ideally here you may feel a stretch in your inner thigh.

Lengthen that inner thigh on a normal, healthy hip. If you take it forward, you're not in your hip line, you don't feel that stretch. So go directly side up. Your legs are right on top of each other at all times and kick and kick and one more kick up. Stretch up and together you stay. Let's take those little circles. Long, tiny circle. One, two, three, circle long, tiny, tiny, reverse. Go back. Yes, these feel great. Make your leg longer.

Reach to come together. Now let's make a medium circle front up, back, and front up, back and long up, back one more and reverse. Reach back up, back up. Good. This is great for help. Lengthening out those legs, streamlining your thighs. Go One more. And who gather, let's take the bicycle. You swing the leg to the front. Yes, this is too high again. There you go.

Now Bend your knee in. Bring your whole thigh back. Now is straightened and try to bring your thigh further back so we go to the front. Uh Huh. Then the knee in. Now bring your whole thigh back and I'm going to really exaggerate here with Rachel. How far can that Nigo? Oh, now when you straighten, bring your knee off of me. Get it back off of there. Look at that swing front. So it's tempting when you come back here, you open the hip and then you bring it forward to straighten.

I want it back more. Way Back. Way Back. Reach your hamstring for me. Yeah. And then swing front and bend and back as far as you can. Now as you straighten, you continue to reach back and together. Reverse it. Swing it back, then did behind you stretch that quad.

Yes. And bring it forward and up and swing it back. Stay back as you swipe your toe to the back wall and bring it forward and reach up and everything comes together. Good. Both legs together. Nice. Pull out a stance, lift those size of off the mat and let him go and then lift them up and bring them down. One more. They stay up a little scissor back and forth to freak beach, reach, retreat, treat, treat, treat, treat, treat. To then you rest. So these guys did this.

Beautiful, but watch what happens if you don't do it correct. If you don't use your powerhouse first, then you go to lift those legs, they automatically fall back. Is that what happens to you? Okay, here we go. So instead, before you lift those legs, can you pull your power house in first and then go lift those legs? Look at them. They didn't budge back and let it go. That's what's happening. They're powerhouse first and then it's up. They float right up there and let it go. Good. Turn onto your stomach.

One Hand on top of the other lengths and those legs. Zip your thighs. We go up and let's do some peaks. Yes, make your legs long and skinny. Reach and reach and reach and BP and let it go. Good. Let's roll to your other side. Here we go. Feet to the front. Draw those abdominals in. Align your body with the back of your mat.

That means your elbow too. And we come up hip height and we swing to the front, kick to the back, reach on back there and go to the front kick and reach on back there and front up to the back. Reach. Watch the foot, straighten it pointed. Yes. That's it. Front. Does that feel funny? Yes. That's straight. The edge or point your toes. Yes. And again, front and control back that foot connection. So all the way up into your power house, watch how it's moving. Control Front and long back.

One more up to the front and then control back. Control back. Beautiful. And come together. Kick up and lengthen down. Kick up and reach your thigh down. One more. Kick up. Make that leg [inaudible] longer, longer. So when you land, it's almost like your top heel is no further along the bottom.

This leg is longer than your bottom leg. Tiny circle. Two, three. You control your foot. Oh, it wants to flop. Yes. Yes. Beautiful. Control that. Can you feel that in your hip more when you do that? Yes. Tiny circle. Circle. Now reverse it back to three. No floppy feet.

Yes. And do together. Now a medium circle. Here we go. Front up, back, front, up, back, front up one more and reverse it back up. Back up, up and up. And together. Let's bicycle. Take it front. Watch the foot there. Now Bend it. Bring it back. No, don't just straighten it. Bring it further back. Further back.

Get that thigh behind you. Beautiful. And go front and then bend and bring it back. [inaudible] and go reach that thought by. That's yeah, that's parallel. And to the front and bend and reach back and stretch it. One more to the front. Bend the knee, bring it behind you.

Now bring it back, right. More, more and more. And more and more. Reading together. Reverse it. Bring it back. Stay back as you bend. Bring the knee all the way to your chest. Keep that hip in. Reach and sweep back and bend and bring up the knee.

[inaudible] and then reach. Hold. Can you turn out the head there? That's it. That had to continue working. Swing it back. And Ben. So here we go. Nature's flexible. Bring the knee up whole. Just she's going to work in two directions. Don't just right in the leg. Pull back as you straighten the leg.

This is reaching back as this continues to go to me. Beautiful. One more. Take it back. Bend it behind. Brush your knee forward. Keep the hip back as you continue it and then come together. Okay, here we go.

With those devils dry your abdominals first and then those legs come up next and let 'em go. A beautiful powerhouse in. And those legs float one more powerhouse in. They float up. You keep them up there and let it go. Good. Let's lie on your back for some teasers. Okay, so it's really hard to tell if you're doing these right when you're on your own. So let's just start with some variations that I give to mat classes to prepare them for a teaser. Bring your shoulders to the left, more in your feet to the right so your straight bring your knees into your chest so your back is down in the mat and your hands are at your side.

Can You keep your legs bent as you reach forward along the Mat? Come up and sit. Those legs never straightened. Good. Hold your balance there. There you go. Now your arms and legs just float straight up. Bend everything back down. Draw your powerhouse in and roll back down where you started. Fill with that.

Did you had to use your stomach to do that? The legs are out of the question. Here we go. Keep the legs bent. Reach forward and drop through your powerhouse to come up. Just that is a huge abdominal exercise. Now the arms and legs continue. They float up to the ceiling. Come back out of it.

Bend in and roll one vertebrae at a time. Yes, they make it look easy. Take one foot to the mat. Take your left leg long. Your right leg reach. Inner thighs are together. Okay, here we go. Another round to reach your arms back, but keep your ribs in the mat. Now can you peel forward into a teaser here?

Scoopin right there. Hold. Now lift your arms up and slowly roll down. Okay, let's go over this teaser. You can rest. Here we go. This stays here. Reach your arms back and just hold. Now I need you to squeeze your inner thighs tight together and when your arms are back, your back should be on the mat. So if your hands are back too far, notice what happens is your ribs start to flare.

You may have to take your hands higher so your ribs can stay down. That's part one from here, think of your roll up round one vertebrae at a time off the mat and these feet don't change. They don't even shit. They don't Shimmy, they don't move. They don't shake. I love it. Good, Rachel. Now when you come up, don't just raise your hands, lift your all chest. Reach up there and then you can roll down. Was that different? That was beautiful. Let's do one more. So you scoop into roundup.

This foot doesn't move. Peel right there and they don't just give you the hands. Give me your whole body up there and then draw your powerhouse in. Roll yourself down. Switch your feet, take your other leg long. Here we go. The foot on the mat is planted. Here we go. Round to come up, dry in your abdominals. Lift your whole torso. Draw the power house deeper and go for one more than even out.

Here we go scoop in and really lift for me a Honda. Draw your powerhouse deeper and you can relax. Good. Now some of you are very flexible. So when you do that exercise here we go round your body up and up and hold. Okay? You don't have any voice.

People who are stiff in their back are not going to be able to come up this high. But the problem is people who are flexible, we tend to come up too high because right now she's no longer in her power house. So what happens if I hate if I keep her here? The first thing that's gonna fatigue is this quad, right? So rolled back down again. So if she comes up to high, she doesn't get the benefit of his exercise. Take it again round and stop there. Right there. You still feel your stomach, don't you? Yes. Now lift those arms in your chest.

There it is. Now Roll one vertebrae at a time. Back Down again. Yes. Switch your feet. [inaudible]. So again, if you're very stiff, you won't be able to come that high. But if you're flexible, that's when we get to cheat. Here we go round and stop there. Now keep your powerhouse and then show me the lift up. Now control it down. One Vertebrae at a time. Your powerhouse doesn't get a rest. Does it? One more.

That's the exercise scoop. Reach forward for your toe. Hold that once you've got it, lift, grow three inches. Now draw your powerhouse and roll down your back and bring in those these pull them into your chest. Make sure your back is in the mat. We're going for a full teaser. So now that we've mastered those in length in those legs, reach your arms.

Your legs have to be up 45 degrees. Hold your powerhouse and that all. Move your feet round up to those legs and hold your balance. Now lift high up and control down one vertebrae at a time. Yes. Imagine there's somebody you're holding your toes and pulling on those toes and they don't move. Now Roll Up. Don't let those feet move and then lift up.

No scooping and roll down in your feet. Still don't move. And one more. Give a little inhale. Come on up and reach for me and then lift your body and control everything down and bring in the knees. Yeah, the details of that teaser. Beautiful. How about some swimming? Turn onto your stomach. Lengthen your arms. Lengthen your legs so we can swim. That's it.

Everything reaches. Now, think of that Swan we did earlier. Your bottom ribs. Stay on the mat. It's your upper back. Now let me see that turtle, the head coming out of a shell length in the neck to come up. Lift your head, lift your chest, everything up with it. Most legs, lift and swim. Breeze. Push out the air. Try to straighten your left arm. Yeah. Notice your arms is one. Straighten one bent. Good, and try to pull those legs a little narrow. Don't touch me. There you go.

Bigs with up. Breathe. Exhale the air and now you can sit back on those heels and get round again. Lift your stomach in and up. Stretch your arms. [inaudible]. Let's take [inaudible] the leg, pull facing downs, or take your pushup position. Again, come into a long line. We do this on the reformer when we do the long stretch. So lift your heels, lift your legs if your thighs and his, what also helps to see in a mirror, because a lot of times we think we're straight. We're swinging tight. Seat, shoulders, back, neck, a little higher. Hold the line, hold the line as you take your [inaudible] right leg up and you rock back and come forward and switch. Now when you do that, you shouldn't lose your back left leg up, bring it back, pull yourself forward and again, go back and forward and one more lift and go back and forward and come to your knees and rest. Okay, so what's this exercise all about?

It's not just for your feet. You guys have all then the long stretch on the reformer. Let's not worry about the back position. We can all flex the foot back. Let's focus on the front. When you come forward. It's not just your foot, it's your whole power. How spooling taller. So take that position again. You go back, but I want the scoop to get long.

I want you longer from your toes, all the way up your thighs, all the way through your powers, all the way through the crown of your head has to get longer, longer, and then flex back, switch feet get longer, longer and [inaudible] and then flex back. Let's see it again. It's a little different dynamic. Here we go. Zip those legs. Tighten your seat. Hold your line. Take your right leg up and we go front longer and flex back. Change and left leg. We got front.

Get long and flex back. Change. Keep that belly up and go longer and longer and back and change. One more front. Forward, forward and sit on the heels that look different. Does that feel different? Yes. Yeah. Roll your body up. Let's take the boomerang. Cross your feet off the front edge of your mat.

You're going to sit up nice and tall, nice and straight, and there's a lot of details to this exercise. First of all, when you go back, we never throw our body back. You don't throw your head. Don't lead with your head. Sit up as tall and as straight as you can hold your abdominals in. And I want you to scoop to the back of your Cox and gone and get those legs in the air for me. And hold. Yeah, no scoped back more. Go seeker of more, more, more, more, more there and then come back down. [inaudible] so don't just lift your legs cause that's all quad, hip flexor scoop to pull back their beautiful.

See Curve. Draw that belly deep and come down. Nax with the initiation comes from, we're tall and lifted and I want to see your powerhouse. Pull back. Hold it there. Go Scoop. Stay there. Now your legs are free to move. Open, closed. Fill out your power house. Open, close and come back down. One more. Get tall and your powerhouse pulls back and quiet.

Open. Close. That's the fuzz that the initiation of this exercise. And now let's go put it all together. We're going overhead. Here we go. Scoop all the way back there. Open, close. Now reach and land in a teaser. Hold your balance. [inaudible] now don't move those legs. Is your hands come down, clasp your hands and stretch for the back wall.

Try to lift your hands high up off the floor. No controllers, nobody in one piece down to the mat. Open the arms, reach for your toes and sit up nice and tall again. Here we go. The whole thing. Roll back. Scoop your body open. Close around and land that teaser. Okay, now go hands down. Clasp them, stretch them. Make them longer and lift them in the air. Now control your body down. Reach for those toes. Stretch and take it again. Listen to my room.

Go everything back, hip side, open, close, round and reach for the teaser and then down. Don't move with the feet. Drop Your Chin and lift your hands higher. How high can they go? We tried to get your arms parallel to the floor or they go so high back there and then control around for those toes. Did we need one more to get even right up, tall and straight again? Let's go. Hips, height of the ceiling, open, close, round and reach for the teaser down class reach. Drop your chin, lift those arms higher, controlled your whole unit to the Mat.

Reach for those toes. And let's take the seal. Here we go. Bend the knees, grab those ankles and just stay. All right, so on this position, your feet are quiet. They're floppy and loose. Down. [inaudible] your powerhouses in. But what's going on with the arms and legs? The knees. We want to actually push it inward. Against that. The elbows push outward. So create that resistance. Knees in elbows. Can they push it? Looks like you're hyperextending there.

Push the elbows into your thighs. That just opened up your low back. Now take your seal, keeping that active goal. Roll down, collect, clap and roll back up. Stay active and roll down and come up without hyperextending your elbows. There you go. Good. Rachel scoped down and rural. Back Up. [inaudible] and scoop down. Very active legs.

Deep powerhouse. And two more down. And then we're going to stand. Give me one more. Use that stomach around and reach forward to come and stand. And let's walk to the back of your mat. Yeah, walk your body back. Let's take some pushups. Okay, so heels together. Back to that Pilati stance again, reach for the ceiling, powerhouse in round your body down. Do the math and roll back up again. Alright, here we go. I'm giving you a whole new image.

Keep your arms right at your hears and don't let them drop. We have a fence right here. Lift and curl. Don't touch the fence. Look at that gorgeous scoop. Now keep going. The dra. Don't touch the fence. Don't be beautiful. Don't touch the fence. Keep going. Keep going. Oh my gosh.

That is a whole different exercise until you're finally down on the mat. Now walk it out. One, two, three, be there on four. Aha. Now come back in. Lift your hips, lift your ribs, and walk in and walk in and walk in. Okay, now up off that fence. Pull up. Pull up, pull up, pull up. Okay, let's take that again. So now you know how to roll down. How do you walk out when you walk out?

You can't show me your hips left and right. Left, right, get straight. Don't let this move. Walk out. One, two, three, four. That's all you get to be in a perfect position. That's an exercise to lift Zippo size. Let's get up over the fence. Draw the ribs in.

My arms are still at my ears. All the way down to the floor. Gorgeous. Here we go. Walk out. One, two, three. No shimmy. That was beautiful. Two down, up, one down, up to hold, and I don't stick your button. The air. Pull your ribs up in the air and let your head drop like the upstretched. Scoop your belly up round. Round. Now back up off that fence.

Lift your powerhouse and roll back up. [inaudible] we go again. Lift up up on those arches. Now peel down above the fence. Watch those arms are at your hears. Keeping it the years. That makes a huge difference. And here we go. Four go. One, two, three, there's four. And do pushups down, up one. Oh, Honda. These feet are too far forward. Stay here. There you go.

That's all you get for your feet tight. See down, up. One, lift up and one more down. Right back up. Okay. No coming in. Lift your ribs up. Scoop your belly up and up and up and up and up and ruled your body up really tall and release. Good. I'd like to show something on the Ajer with her flexible feet. If your feet are not in the right position, you'll have a very hard time controlling your pushup.

So walk out into that pushup position. Again, I need to see these feet of yours. Walk yourself out, and the heels should be over the ball of the foot. If you can take your heels way up over your toenails, that's too far. When you take your feet up as high as the age or a can, you start to buckle in your low back. So keep those feet backs as much foot as you're allowed. Now she'll have a much more stable position to hold her in. That push up.

Down, right back up. Yes. Stable feet. Tight seat. Yes. Now come up, lift and curl. Yeah, walk it in. Walk it in all the way in. Roll yourself up nice and tall. [inaudible] use your powerhouse. Keep those arms right at your ears.

Open them around and stand nice and tall. Beautiful. Thank you.

Comments

1 person likes this.
Loved see the two instructors working out on the mat. I will certainly be watching more of MeJo. As a Peak Classical Pilates trained instructor this class offered me many different ways of approaching and delivering the mat repetoire - thank you
Sharon O
As always, LOVE MeJo's attention to detail teaching. Thank you!
1 person likes this.
Crazy good, wow! I've watched and re-watched and will again. MeJo has a gift for detail and explanation. I learned so much and will share in my classes. Thank you!
I'm so glad you are enjoying this class. The Mat is the hardest of all apparatus to accomplish. These ladies did it beautifully!
Paola Maruca
1 person likes this.
I absolutely loved each second of this class. I am always beyond excitement when MeJo is on with a new class because I know it is like starting all over again. I feel like going back in time. And I really think that is the beauty of the Pilates method when you have awesome teachers like MeJo.. You never stop being 'a student". There is so much attention to details and cues that you wish the class would never end. Thank you!
This instructor inspires me!! I'm working on my certification and hope to be even half as energetic and motivating as she is :)
MeJo is fabulous! Loved this class and it will become part of my weekly repertoire until I've mastered it! It was great watching the two instructors, one less flexible and one ultra flexible, and to listen to MeJo's explanations to help them each get the most from their powerhouse. Look forward to incorporating these details when instructing my clients.
Terrific class, MeJo. Very informative, well organized, an executed with great percision! Thank you so much!
Amazing class. Love how much attention to detail and form she gives.
I'm so glad you are enjoying this. I used to love to take a duet session with Romana, I learned so much not only for MY body, but for the body next to me and what they needed to correct. That inspired me in teaching these two wonderfully different women.
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