Class #2507

Efficient Mat

25 min - Class
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Get ready for an efficient and refreshing Mat workout with Elizabeth Larkam. This class is a companion to her Mat workout where she used the Foam Roller and the Magic Circle. She includes novel approaches to Bridging, the Roll-Up, and practices that improve posture.
What You'll Need: Mat

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Welcome to is any time. I'm Elizabeth Larkam. So happy to be back with you with this mat class. This mat class is intended to be the companion that goes with my pilates mat, roller and ring. You'll start in sideline, come to lie on your side, supporting your head on your arm or perhaps putting a cushion or a towel between your head and your arm and start to circle your shoulder and your pelvis in the same direction. At the same time, reverse forward up, back and down. Your knee will slide forward. Your knee will slide back forward and up, back and down.

Now Circle your shoulder and your pelvis in opposite directions, shoulder, back, pelvis, forward, shoulder up, sitting bone downs, shoulder forward, pelvis, back. Hike your hip up and bring your shoulder down. Inhaling shoulder up, exhaling down rivers, pelvis, down, shoulder, up and back. Inhaling up and circle back. Last one of these and for that Vignette we're most grateful to Moshay Feldon Christ for that and much more including this in sideline.

Everything forward and everything rolls back as you might have noticed or might see in the future. When you have a roller underneath your leg and your forearm, then the roller gives support. Now you move your pelvis forward and your shoulder girdle in opposite directions as if you could unscrew your pelvis from your thorax and your thorax from your pelvis. The new side awaits. Change now to the new side. Come to lie on your side and shoulder and hip up. Forward, down and back. Up and forward, down and back. Up and forward, down and back. Reverse down and forward.

Up and back, down and forward. Up and back, sitting your hip down and hiking your shoulder up, shoulder in pelvis, moving in opposite directions, shoulder, back, hip, forward, shoulder, forward, hip, back. Inhale to circle in opposite directions. Reverse this oppositional rotation of your shoulder girdle and your pelvis prepares you for Peloton Mat work and does a wonderful job of preparing you proximally for walking. Oh, I forgot everything forward at the same time and everything back. Keeping your limbs, your ceiling limbs parallel to the ground, keeping them parallel to the ground, pelvis forward, shoulder, back, and vice versa.

An oppositional rotation of your pelvis and your thorax changed now to come to lie on your back. Here you are lying on your back with knees bent. The souls of your feet on the ground. Interlace your fingers, palms together. Fingers, interlaced, heels just a little wider than your sitting bones. Inhale, filling up the back of your lungs, the back of your ribs. As you exhale, plant the souls of your feet. Let your pubic bone be heavy and lift your pelvis.

Opening the front of your hip joints to see the ceiling and then land your pelvis again. Inhale to lift the neutral bridge. Exhale to come down. Come up to the ceiling while you are up. Lift one heel and the opposite toes.

Keeping Your Asi bias level with respect to the ceiling. Collect your lowest front ribs. Land your pelvis. Inhale to prepare. As you exhale, collect your lower ribs, pubic bone heavy and lift your sacrum. Lift one heel and the opposite toes, keeping your pelvis level.

Then turn your pelvis to the right and towards the left. Send your left knee away. Send your right knee away. Knees are our thighs. Stay in parallel as your pelvis turns around the head of your femur. When you press the heels of your hands against each other, that will activate your intercostals and your upper obliques.

Land on the Mat. Inhale to lift while you're up. Translate your pelvis to the right and then translate your pelvis to the left. So the rider, greater trope, the right greater trocanter goes to the right and the left greater trow canter goes to the left. Or You could make up words like writer who left her shift to the right.

Press your right hand to the left. Lift up your left foot and put it down. Shift more to the right. Stand on your left foot and lift your right foot up and put it down. Translate to the left. Stand left.

Lift your right leg up and put it down. Shift more to the left. Stand left. Push your left hand to the right and lift your left leg up again. Shift to the right. Stand on the right. Lift your left foot up and come down.

Shift more to the right, but stand on the left. Press your right hand to the left. Lift your right leg up. Inhale, shift the left greater choke canter to the left. Stand your ground on the left side. Lift up your right leg. Shift more to the left.

Press your left hand to the right and bring your leg up. So that's a neutral bridge. And come down from here. Now make your way onto your front. Here you are on your front. Palms together, fingers interlaced, and it's a version of the single leg kick. Drive a post. Steer your pelvic tilt and spine fluxion aiming your gaze towards your cross.

Thumbs. Bend your knee. Draw your heel to your sitting bone once, twice. Flex your foot and drive the sole of your foot towards the ceiling. Pressing your elbows into the mat and drawing your lowest front ribs in. Change to the new side.

Draw your heel towards your sitting bone once, twice. Drive your shoulders down. Draw all the abdominal layers in as if you could tighten the abdominal seatbelt across the head of the drum change. Inhale once, twice. Flex your foot and lift. Inhale once, twice and flex the reason for flex your foot. The reason for keeping my foot pointed here is to activate the hamstrings for knee flection and then when you press the sole of your foot towards the ceiling, that will intensify your abdominal action. Once more.

For this reason, point point and flax. Now come to high kneeling side, leg kick or high kneeling side leg circles. As you inhale side bend. It's as if your ear could listen towards your hand that's sliding down your outer thigh and then reach your arm away from you and your pelvis will do a very contained cartwheel over the head of your femur. Circle your leg forward, up and around.

Forward, up and around. Once sick, game forward, up and around. Reverse. Back up and around, back up and around. Back Up. Sweep your arm over the top of your head as if your hand could be on the top of your head or as if it could cover your floor ear. Circle your knee turning towards the floor and turning towards the ceiling towards the floor, towards the ceiling. Reverse towards the ceiling towards the floor, towards the ceiling and the floor.

Push off and come to the new side. As you inhale, your ear listens towards the side of your knee. Exhale to slide your palm down your outer thigh. Reach your arm out and cartwheel over the femur. Head circle forward and around, forward and around.

Ear listens towards the floor, towards your hand back you using the weight of your legs. Circling to lengthen the connections between your ribs and your pelvis. Take your arm over the top of your head, forward, up and around to the back. Turn your chest bone towards your hand and turn your chest bone towards the ceiling. Forward and around. Reverse. Back and up and down and back in, up and down. Back into [inaudible].

Push off the floor. Push off the mat. Come onto all fours. Now. Here you are on all fours knees about greater trocanter with the part and hands, shoulder with inhale to fill up the back of your nostrils, filling up the back of your lungs. As you exhale, drive one foot back as your abdominals lift, you reach that leg long while you're up. Lift long and hover. Touch the tip of your tongue to the roof of your mouth behind your upper teeth.

Move your gaze up to see up underneath your eyebrows and draw your lowest ribs in. Inhale to prepare. As you exhale, drive one heel back. Inhaling tongue up. Gaze up, eyes up. Create a diagonal to stand on by pressing your right hand and your left knee. Create a diagonal to move from by drawing your left shoulder blade to the opposite pelvis. Bend your knee.

Reach around and take a hold of something that belongs to you. Press the palm of your hand into the ground. Then your lowest strips come in. Lift your chest bone. Lift your gaze. The light from your chest bone shines forward, and because you did the high kneeling side leg circles, you'll be able to lift your thighs a little higher. Come down from here. Inhale to prepare. As you exhale, create a diagonal to stand on with your left hand. Your right knee.

Create a diagonal to move from with your left pelvis. Then your right shoulder reach around and take a hold of your ankle, Shin, or foot. Inhale to lift. Exhale to lift. A little higher. Inhale to lift, aiming your left Asi bias toward your inner left, right knee. Come down from here. Now latterly, translate. Shift over your right hand, the light from your chest bone over your right hand, the light from the center of your pubic bone over your right knee and shift over to the left side. Shift to the right. Hover your left knee off. Shift to the left.

Hover your right knee off. Shift to the right of her, your left arm handoff. Shift to the left. Hover your right hand off. Shift to the right. Drive back with your left leg. Drive forward with your left arm. Hovered there, illuminating your right hand and your left knee. Reach around. So here you are standing on your right side.

Come down now and prepare to laterally translate to the new side. Reach Long Hover. So standing on your left side with the light from your navel aiming towards your inner left knee. Reach around and stay level as you lift a little bit higher. Come down from this. Now come to lie on your back.

Lying on your back. Aim your right heel in line with your sitting bone and your left Achilles between your first two toes. Take your arms so your palms are standing on the mat high standing on the mat next to your head. Now press down with your right hand and turn your pelvis and your feet to the left. Press Down with your left hand and turn your pelvis and your feet to the right and oppositional rotation. Change to the midline, right heel in line with your tailbone.

Change your right heel in line with your left sitting bone pressing your palm right palm when your toes turn left, pressing your left palm when your toes turn right other side left heel in line with your left sitting bone. Push with your left hand and rotate. Push with your right hand and rotate. Come to the center. Push and turn. Collecting your lowest front ribs to your pelvis, standing your elbows up to the ceiling and change to the other side. Left heel in line with right sitting bone. You are well prepared now for versions of the roll up right heel in line with your right sitting bone. Inhale, take your palms high above your head.

As you exhale, nod your nose downward. Press your tongue out to strengthen your abdominal action and roll. I forgot to stick my tongue out. I was too busy talking so I roll up the cheekbones of your face towards the sitting bones of your pelvis. Reach out in, up. Turn your palms towards each other. Exhale and roll down.

Gaze towards your abdominals. Change now so your left heel is in line with your left sitting bone. Inhale, take your palms high above the top of your head. As you exhale, start now to bring your gaze down behind the cheekbones of your face. As you roll up, stick your tongue out to intensify flection.

Inhale, puts your tongue in, palms away from the top of your head and make your way to vertical. Pressing the heels of your hands against each other, drawing the little fingers strongly, and that will strengthen the ability to bring your shoulder blades down. Now put your right heel in line with your left sitting bone. Nessel your left tendon a roll up with this asymmetrical leg action. Inhale to shrug your shoulders up.

Exhaling palms towards each other. Roll up eyes and tongue. Inhaling the cheekbones of your face towards the sitting bones of your pelvis. Reach out, roll down, even though both heels are on the left lane, intend to keep your spine in the Middle Lane right down the middle of the highway. Now your left heel in line with your right sitting bone. Inhaling, shoulders shrug wide apart and up.

Exhale, settle the back of your lungs, the back of your ribs. Nod your nose downward. Okay. Inhale, exhale, come up. Exhale to come back.

Change now for bridging with rotation such you interlace your toes or place the souls of your feet against each other, the interlacing of your toes. We've done on a a couple of other class low of opportunities. This time we'll just assume that you're either entertained by it or are so over it. All you want to do is just press the soles of your feet against each other and be done with it. Press the palms of the hands into the ground as you inhale, slide your left foot on top.

Turn your pelvis to one side and your head, neck and eyes to the other, so it's a bridge with rotation and come down. Change the right heel on top. Press your elbow away. It's a bridge with rotation. One more each side. Inhale to rotate. Exhale to return.

Inhale to rotate. Exhale to return. Come now to lie on your front. Here you are on your front with your forehead on your hands. Nessa your Achilles tendon of the left foot with your right big toe and second toe with your left toe in left big toe in line with your left sitting bone. Rotate the powerless and the lumbar spine in each action.

Change your foot to the middle in line with your tailbone and rotate in each direction. Cross over the midline. Left big toe in line with your right sitting bone. Make your way to the new side, right foot in line with right sitting bone. Press with your left elbow and aim both heels to the right press with your right elbow and aim both heels to your left. Come to the center. Left elbow, makes the ground force and your heels turn with the turning of your heels.

Of course comes the rotation of your pelvis and your lumbar spine. Making a ground force with your left elbow and your right elbow. You're well prepared now for standing balance. So come to stand on the ground. Feed about pelvis with the part greater trow canter with the part and place your heels of your hands on the bones at the front of your pelvis.

The pads of your fingers midway between pubic bone and naval. It's as if the placement of your hands could remind you of abdominal seatbelt, low and tight across the bones of your pelvis or the skin on the head of the drum. That's being more taught, keeping this area present with your chest bone just above your pubic bone. Keep one hand now on your chest, on the other hand, at your pubic bone, realizing that sometimes on the inhalation or just sometimes in life, there's a tendency for the chest bone to go behind the pubic bone and that's more compression on the lumbar spine than is optimal and on the other way there could be a tendency to have excess kyphosis and the chest bone forward of the pubic bone. It would be preferable to climb up your own central axis drawing from pubic bone up underneath your chest bone and drawing the back of your neck long as if the back of your brain we're ascending now keeping this central axis without going backwards. Lift your toes up, lifting your toes up without going backwards. We'll tension tension, the deep front, mild fascia continuity and plant your toes down. Now bring your hip joints forward and up.

Planting the souls of your big toes, keeping your central axis in its current location, lower year heels without going backwards. Staying on this central axis, toes up, toes down, and bringing your hip joints and your whole central axis forward and up. Maintaining that central axis. Lower your heels, edit out the going backwards so it's not heels down and back, but inhale to rise. Exhale rising further as you lower your heels. Now we have more quickly, toes up and heels up, toes up, and heals up twice more toes up and heels up.

Ideally keeping your central axis central without rocking back. Thank you so much for being with us. [inaudible] anytime. I look forward to hearing from you. Bye for now.

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Comments

1 person likes this.
beautiful and functional stretching! Thank you Elizabeth!
Thank You for starting the comment trail Maria Rosa! I imagine this mat sequence as an effective bridge between your Yamuna Body Rolling and standing Core Align. My somatic approach to some mat exercises will be enriched following Body Rolling. The mat exercises that activate the myofascial continuities ('cover photo' for example) prepare for Core Align dynamic balances. Hope to see you in December for Pilates on Tour Venice
sandyjgrant
It's always nice to see bits of what you teach at POT. It is such an inexplicable experience to do these exercises with you in person; my notes always suffer as I'm too busy observing and doing. Thanks for offering us a second chance...where we can 'pause' and 'replay' as many times as we want! Looking forward to your classes in London this month.
you are the best, excellent...I love the way you make me feel.
Sandy and Laura, I'm so glad this mat class works for you. Thank you! I'm always working out mat and apparatus sequences on myself, preparing for clients, classes, conferences, Pilates on Tour and Pilates Anytime. It's an on-going process, incorporating new research and understandings. See you soon in London and perhaps in Spain in August!
Thank you for the different way of Bridging
Elizabeth top top top
Good morning Elizabeth, I've just finished both classes and found them both intriguing, just like you! Also I continue to love the leotards you wear on PA! I know they are made for you as you've shared with me before. Thank you and hope to see more!
Thank You Denee! Zoya, the unitard designer and I have already started on next year's collection
Really in Spain, Elizabeth please let us know.
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