Class #128

Insightful Mat

50 min - Class
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This creative and insightful class allows the students to think outside the usual Mat sequence and exercises. Special attention is paid to spinal rotation exercises. Amy offers a fresh perspective with her thoughts on where the rotation originates and what you are rotating towards.
What You'll Need: Mat

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Mar 24, 2010
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Good morning. So guys, I think what I'm going to work on with us today, some experiments with different ways of rotation and a little slightly different than some of the classical exercises that we know in the mat, but um, all leading to good mat work of course. But let's go ahead and start flat today. You might want to edit all of that Christie and just started here cause that was just, that was the lame. Okay. So guys, as we start all the way flat on our back, just relax your legs and I'm just going to have you just wiggle them a little bit and just allow your thigh bones to wiggle in, wiggle out, letting your feet relax just in a, in a way to get some disassociation here at the hips and the pelvis and you can make it fast or slow. [inaudible] yeah and then go ahead and just let that come to stillness. So we are going to do some regular warm up with the hundred and some of the yum Amy, the regular mat pieces, but slightly creative in design a little bit and some new new ways to warm up in some rotation. So, uh, let's just experiment with what that feels like and see if it might enhance some of the other classical pieces that we know, uh, later on in the, in the mat work list.

So I like us to start concentrating again deeply into the lower belly, the entire belly. But this lower section is we always refer our triangle and a nice full breath in through the nose. Just use that exhale to sink the abdominals to the back, the back to the mat. And again, not tensing up the glutes at this point. Sense the back of the body in contact with your surface and just noticing as you're taking your big inhale the ribcage widening and feeling the expansion. And then on the exhale, the narrowing and closing and feeling all of the musculature around the core contracting and tensing a little bit. It's a positive sense of tension. Uh, the, to noticing tension not coming up in the shoulders.

So tense meaning contract and again, full breath in through the nose, feeling the expansion and you exhale [inaudible]. So as we continue this breathing and it was warming up with the breath, let this be a, an abdominal warmup in a way. So I'm gonna just follow you for a second. As you're exhaling deep, deep, deep, press that to the mat and see in a minute. What I'm going to have this experiment with is that that strong contraction was going to allow us to lift a leg just slightly off of the mat one at a time, but it's going to the leg lift. We'll start from this good, that tummy contraction press. And that again, working that concept that we've been, you know, taking a look at is the imprinting, getting ourselves closer to the mat surface.

Okay, that'll make sense when you physically do it. So let's bring our links all the way together. That does change a little bit of the, the lower back sensations. So take care of yourself. But this is going to be rather intense. I think when we take double leg, single leg won't be too bad.

So let's take a breath. And so the exhale again starting here, so deep is going to allow, allow you to float your right leg just a couple inches off of the floor, nothing too intense of a lift. And then the inhale, the leg will come back down. Any exhale. Yeah, other side and inhaled, a lower down and the exhale right side again. And so at this point is we're just doing these basic leg lifts. Also start paying attention to when you lift a leg, is the triangle staying level? Are you feeling the same quality of imprinting of the sacrum on the back, the rib cage on the back? We're hoping that on the leg lift, we're not adding any extra rotation or weight shift.

Here we go. And if you are feeling some weight shift, oppose it, go back over there and correct that weight shift. Right leg. Inhale to lower. Exhale, left leg and lower. Let's do one more single leg. Keep tensing the back to the mat.

Down to the met. You'll see where the progression is going ahead. After the single left leg. We're going to try both legs at the same time. All right, so this is, this is where it can be really intense. So as soon as we start to do the the mindset of, oh my gosh, I'm about to lift both legs, be aware, the back might wanna lurch up or arch. And that's what we're definitely trying to oppose. Even if your legs don't lift, the thought pattern of lifting is actually going to do some work in the musculature. So let's breathe in together and here we go.

I get a couple inches off. Any inhale lower without losing that sense of stability and exhale, that contract, lift the thighs. And this is very, very difficult without the head lifting as a counterbalance or counterweight. I'm going to watch up. Exhale from the abdominals first back to the mat. The legs float. Inhale to lower. Yes, and exhale and press. Good Brittany.

Couple more and exhale and contract and lift the legs up. Up, up, up, up. Good, good. And inhale lower. Let's take one more guys. Exhale and contract. And all the way down and just hold right down there for just a second. Okay, so you get the idea. Yeah, we can focus that part of our abdomen and a lot more exercises. So much of you know the mat work when we're head and chest is up, the upper abs are so active and it's I think, easy to let go of the strengthen and usage of the lower part down there.

So let's try, we're going to do the hundred and two changes with the a hundred I'm going to have this breathe. Inhale for four. Exhale for six. Just a change of pace and but also the start position from down here. So let's take an inhale on your own. Exhale. Here's the contraction, the head and chest start coming up. The arms float, the legs lift. So we're imprinting down on the men and let's read in four. Inhale, three, four. Exhale, three, four, five, six, four, five, six, wide. Chest, three, four, five, six.

Feel those arms long against the sides of the body. Some awareness in the arm pit muscles. [inaudible] two more. [inaudible] last one. [inaudible] and hold. Okay. So as we go back down, try to lower the legs, the head and chest, the arms, all at the same time, all the way down.

And it's still working. That quality of imprinting. Inhale here. Let's just come back up to the a hundred position. [inaudible] stay there, read and come back down two more times and exhale. So it's the quality of reaching out legs, long, legs long and on the return. Same quality legs long as you come back down.

Last one and exhale. So imprint first, get in there first. There you go. Now hold that position. We're going to do three arm movements. Just the arms up alongside the ears and exhale. Now prs, two more times. [inaudible] at last time, everything is going to come back down. I promise. That was it. That was it. Add pause.

Hopefully a little inspiring for the a hundred that we can take our legs and work on that low. Um, it's nice to start up and then work down as well. But keeping a little new life to it. I like that. Personally I think it feels nice to focus lower. Uh, sometimes. Okay. So let's slide our heels up along the mat and you can feel that uh, ankles and knees all the way together. Arms up for just a little transition and then arms out to the sides.

Now if before you just plop your arms on the floor, give a sense of reaching to the side walls, really starting from the chest, cross those pectoral muscles through those biceps out to forums. And then, and only then the arms can actually fold, come to the floor. Okay, so a little bit of rotation. Let's take a breath and on the x so we can take the knees to the right. So these sometimes feel basic, but make it more effort in your oblique muscles. Like you're really wringing out your, your washcloth in there, that wet washcloth image. And let's inhale, come back to the center and now over to the left. So as you rotate, it's from the abdominals. It's not just a drop of the legs, it's really governed by this rotation. The spine is turning, but the muscles are also making those bones move. And inhalers. We come back to the center, exhale to the right and we're knowing not to put an arch in the spine.

And Inhale as we come to center and exhale over to the left and inhale, come to the center one more time. Each side, this basic rotation. There we go. Yup. And exhale to your left. Having fun sliding on the floor. And so we [inaudible] feel different. Try to kick to that each time a little bit. Go ahead actually one more time each side.

Then we're going to add a little arm movement to it. Make it more, ask for more in here. There we go. And Center. And then your last one to your left. Squeeze, Lotta Tummy contraction. And then coming back to center. Same thing with the leg. So exhale the same way over. We go now as we're there, I want to take a second. So the knees are to the right, excuse me, and the back of the left shoulder. Can it stay in contact with the mat a little more so. So now the left arm start to circle it up above your head.

If the fingertips can stay on the floor the entire time, that's great. And then as the arm passes overhead, just kind of turned into almost a sideline position. Okay? And you're still working into the abdominal muscles. Now there's a little arch in the side of the back or the waist, because we're on sideline now. So you've got a little lift here. And then on the return fingertips trace the floor, try to get the back of that left shoulder to the floor rather quickly is still reaching the knees to the right. So there's that rotation again, and then find yourself back to center. So over to the left, the XCL can take us over.

So right there in the back of that right shoulder, pretty firm on the floor, pretty firm on the mat. Now the arm trees, the floor fingertips on the floor all the way overhead. So you're almost in a s we are pretty much in a sideline position. There's that little window underneath your waistline and then return as you go back the other direction. Really try to wrap that shoulder blade, get it to the floor, keep squeezing those obliques in then then find yourself to the center. Okay, so we're gonna do that with a little more flow. Breathe. Exhale to your right. Good. And the arm's going to hold all the way up. You've got such flexible shoulders and there you are wearing your sideline position. And then as you return, reach a little farther in space.

Open up, rotate that shoulder, rotate your spine, get the back of that shoulder down rib cage in. Use Your muscles and then find center. And one more time to your left and arm all the way up and over. Over. Yep. There we go. And then the return, turning the shoulder, bring those ribs in.

Use your muscles there, Leah and center and rest. Very nice. Okay guys, separate your feet. So a little bit of a pelvic curl articulation. So I'm, for me personally today I am going to take my feet a little wider than my hips. Just a little wider. My or my pelvis there should say. Take a nice full breath and let's go ahead and articulate up to the shoulder blades.

Just a nice inhale at the top and exhale as we roll down. So let's just do three. Nothing fancy. Another breath in and exhale and pelvic curl. And again, pressing the backs of the shoulders to the mat right underneath the Toshi, the glutes, the sitz bones should definitely be together. Breathe in and exhale. Here we go again to roll down, keeping the squeeze back here, the very bottom, the sitz bones can release slightly. And take a breath in. Exhale again, and gather the sitz bones together. Apply pressure into the feet and roll your way up other bro.

And then exhale again to roll back down. So now we'll change the alignment slightly. I'm going to have my feet back and line legs back in line with my hipbones or sits bones back up again and exhale. Okay, so when we've done these before, trying to establish this plank line or the trunk line, not dropping the pelvis or hips and just do a little bit of ankle work. So I'm going to have a start with our right heel.

Let's lift it on an inhale and exhale, lower the right heel. We're going to alternate and the, and they'll know both heels up and both heels down. I'll switch it to the left. It's an inhale, lift and exhale. Now the right, so again, things that could be showing up, that pelvis could be dropping, maybe just on one side. And as you do both ankles, usually a little bit easier to stabilize. Let's single it again and right and down and left and down. And both heels up and both heels down.

Start left again up. Can you get that down more right? There you go. There's where I want you to work both. Now let's keep repeating both. So think of talking a little more there, Kiddo.

Feel that. So make it abs. Yeah. Make it in your, in your abdominals. That's a better line in that Brittany. Yep. How you doing? Yep. Both. And down. Let's just do one more guys and lift and lower and then go ahead and roll your spine all the way down. Get more tilt. [inaudible] different. Yeah. Well, it's interesting you and I have, you know, we've talked about that before, a little bit of the similarity of we've got a really good bow right here and we can kind of be up on a bridge position and think we're there and change it just a little or a lot. In that case, what you just did was a little bit, it felt like a lot I think. Yeah.

And I think you know as much as the word tuck sometimes is not wanting to be, we don't want to use tuck. You know what? Sometimes we have to just Tuck, we've got or rotate, tilt. Probably the better word to work on. But yeah, any who. Okay. Let's figure needs to tabletop. Going to go into double leg stretch, slightly different. So hands on tops of the knees or sides of the knees. Drop your sacrum. Let's take a breath and exhale. Curl our way up. Okay. Before we get going, work a little more of the chest lift. So again, like last week we really got into that. Push the back into the mat, curl higher.

Okay. We've done these before. So instead of just one inhale, one exhale, we're going to do two inhales, one exhale, it does this, go a little higher and then we'll continue. And so that double inhale, it's a chance to reach more and reach goodly and around and reach and round. Let's take it three more times and and reach and shit around. Last one end. [inaudible] and around. That's plenty. Let's roll our way up. Okay, I'm going to move our hips back. Let's do a diamond. Some rotation again, another little rotation piece. We did this one last week, so clasp your hands behind your head a and p just for a second sense, the back of the head into the hands with slight pressure.

There's a little bit of pressure and then as if we're taking her head and pulling it up off of our neck, slightly sweet can get more link where even on her sits bones or feet are together. Her ribs definitely are not pushing forward and let's take a breath now. Let's rotate to our right. Exhale and just come to center. So we're going to build on this. This is going to show up in a, in a minute also on something else. These little progressions. So think about it. The abdominals come in, but the opposite side of us is coming around the corner. Yeah.

And so making it more dimensional. One side pulls in the other side plays a role to bring us around. Let's take three pulses and, and again, exhale. One, two, three, one more just there and then we're gonna add a little more to it and two and three back of the head into the hands and one, two and three center. Same thing to start and exhale three, two and there. So the right arm, left arm, excuse me.

When reach forward now the reach of the arm, let it reach. Really let it reach the other side. I'm going to think I have a think about the right side of our back. Turning back. Turn the right side of the back, back. Check that out. Good. This arm is helping, but it's really the waist there.

We're going around our central axis and return to center. Do our left end to add three. Taking the right arm. Yes, it's reaching. It's helping us rotate. So now on the right side of the backs coming around the front, the left side of the back is pulling back, pull opposite energy, equal energy, I should say, in opposite directions. And let's find center one more with a little flow end to [inaudible].

Maybe just one long exhale that rotate open. See if the chest can open a little wider center. And the inhale and last time, two, three center and just rest. Okay. Stretch your legs forward. I'm going to just scoot forward a tiny little bit. Uh, this might, well, what the heck?

Let's hold arms here and we'll do one roll back. We're only gonna roll back. So we're at the shoulder blade tips. Okay. So hmm. Articulation. Okay. Now little pulses. Just to imprint a little bit on contract a little bit more. We can do the double breath and it's going to be the, and making an effort in the inner thighs. Also [inaudible] shoulder blades and press into the mat.

Press into the mat. And four, three, this last breath series. We're going to come back up and lift your right leg. If you can have your hands near your ankle. Oh and bring your torso forward toward the sigh. Be careful if you're not really ready for this kind of hamstring stretch, but it might feel kind of Nice to do it. And the right sit bone and hip. Again, making that effort to reach to the front of the Mat.

So we're looking for equal weight on our seat. Might be slightly different with this right leg, but okay. Now if you want more flexibility, of course, bring your leg up a little bit higher and you're still contracting those abdominals. Now let's bring the torso more upright. You can extend your elbows. So kind of a little bit more like reformer, one of the climate trees.

Let's bend the elbows and bring the Phi closer and then sigh coming down. Just two more of those and pull and lower. Are you sitting as tall as you can? That was really more for me than you too and hold the leg there. Now let's contract the abdominals and at some point we're going to have to let go of the leg, but the leg can stay. I'm having issues here. The lake can stay up there. Let's roll all the way down on the way down.

The leg will also go down. I'm gonna have you transition your arms all the way up. Circle them out to the sides and let's roll up again. So similar to what we just did, the left is going to come up. You can hold that your ankle, keep bringing your tour.

So forward toward the thigh. There's that lift of the waist and then the curve forward. Continuing to breathe and reaching the left sits bone forward. The whole side of the hip. Pardon me for having to work this out here.

Good breathing time though, Huh? And if you want a little more work, bring that Phi higher. Wash those shoulders. They love to go up, don't they? Okay. And then same idea. We're going to have to erode. Uh, let's, oh I forgot. Come up to sitting tall, distracted with that thing. So it was up to sitting. Now that we have a place to roll back to you from here is that contraction, the abdominals find that pelvis and rotated under. At some point the hands need to let go. The leg goes away from us.

We're reaching at long, we're rotating our pelvis, trying to articulate back down the arms. We'll transition all the way up overhead out to the sides, down by the thighs. Breathe in and exhale. Let's roll right back up. Now bring your leg up. I did forget something on the left side. I'll go back, back to it. Little bit taller. Let's inhale again. Reach. We're going to do the same. Roll back and roll. [inaudible] ah, [inaudible] and arms up overhead out to the sides.

Exhale as we rotate a roll up, bringing the left thigh up and it will pick it up. Now on this one, so we're gonna. Let's come up to our extension and we need three elbow Ben. So Ben, the elbows to pull the fi closer and reach the thigh away and again, bend and pull closer. Are you sitting evenly on that? Sits bone and last one, pull in and reach away. Now letting go and rolling all the way back. Reach of longer, trying to touch each other there with your feet. Arms all the way back overhead and then just holding your arms there.

Imprint your ribcage, good long reach through your thighs. Let's just do a normal roll-up arms head and chest roll all the way up. And let's just come to a CT sitting tall position. Flex the feet and let's open the spine. Stretch forward with some extension and rotation.

Breathe in and a contract right from the middle of those abdominals. Rounding the spine. All right, full breath to find the extension and the exhale. Feeling the strength of the last pool, those shoulders down. Now that rotation we did a minute ago, we're going to add here. So hands behind the head, take a breath and over habits. Rotate to our right. Be a little bit strange to rotate on a forward hinge, but that's okay. Now, same arm gesture. Left arm is going to reach. Do you see where it's going?

A little bit like sauce coming next. Now I want us to take the top hand though, the one that's behind her head and reach it up to on a diagonal. Yeah. So if we're on the trapeze table, this might be the, the uh, push through bar. Yeah. Now let's do our best not to Yank on this foot, but let's do a little bit of the inhale. Inhale, XLX ELN, try the rotation a little bit farther and [inaudible] hat and flex those feet and hold. Now take that right arm, lift it, rotate it, turn it down, and then round the spine. So now we're more in a saw. I like looking back at my hand. It feels good for me. Sometimes I have my palm face up.

Sometimes I have it down. Today I'm just working in the reach in both directions, those spiral in my spine and let's just unwind all that and come up to center other side and exhale. So basic contraction, I think about the work in the shoulders, the lefts, full extension, ah, hands behind the head. So the exhale is the spinal rotation. You are slightly in the forward hand. Now the right, the right arm will reach. The exhale is going to help you come a little bit farther around the rotation without the pelvis coming. This is a toughie.

Now reach the left arm up. If it was on the push through bar, you'd be pushing the bar up and let's work a little bit of the double pulse and and still upward extension and last breath cycle. Now the top arm up, turn your palm face down maybe as the transition and go into around back. I'm now taking my head and looking to my back arm. That feels good to me. Reaching that arm back as I'm also reaching the front arm forward past my pinky toe, winding, rotating, and then all the way up through the whole thing. One more time without all that stuff. Inhale, see if we can find the flow of it.

[inaudible] [inaudible] and arm. I'm going to not do the pulses and oh over do another breath cycle and we'll use the exhale to come all the way back up last time and read in and Ooh, big undulation through the spine. Heavy shoulder blades, hands back, exhale and bring your back around, right arm [inaudible], left arm, both sides reaching, just lift of rotate that left arm and contract into flection. Another inhale and exhale. All the way back up and arrest, hold their priests and lets contract back. Keep your legs open. You can soften your feet. And I'm gonna have you roll all the way down. [inaudible] and arms back overhead. Same thing. Just keep your legs relax.

We're going to roll up again. [inaudible] another inhale, sitting tall. And then just the exhale to contract the lower belly and pelvis just there. So the transition for Open Lake Rocker, I think you have enough room. You guys. Darn it. Do you need to move forward? It might be okay is, tell me about that. Is keeping this solid, this contraction.

Try not to let it push forward and bring the legs up and into the, into the ants. Go, go, go. You got it. Okay. No kidding. Let's just sit there for a second. So I, while I was away, I did a little practice with myself. Of course I'm here, my hands on my legs, I'm gonna press my calves against my hands a little bit. Just for a little extra connection. Yeah. And work quite a bit more on my back extension for me. Not worrying so much about that of popping my ribs out cause I do get a little ruby. Okay. So here we go. As we roll back, keep pressing out, uh, onto the hands and remember, change the pelvis. So it's the inhale haul low.

That pelvis rotate. I'm going to lose my microphone. Exhale, come back up. Press the a cabs against the hands. Keep going. I need to shift this. Can't win today. Ah, and control this movement. Remember, think through the top of the head. Your head is a helium balloon. Is that helping you to review this? Well, it's helping yours truly here cause these are always like, okay, one more time for you. Go real back.

Now let's let, let go and bring your legs together cause we're already ready for it. Know all the way up. Arms Up. So can we go into teaser three? We're just going roll, rotate everything, articulate everything down. Take your arms down, back overhead. So here's that opening. Uh, concept. Let's keep moving. The imprint here has to help bring the legs up. Everything moves at the same time. I'm going to have us do a full breath.

The exhale. Then arms up, reach for something up here. There's a lot available up here. Lift and a full roll down. Reach your legs out, reach your legs out. Still working. Articulation all the way back. We've got two more of those guys and full breaths.

Imagine something in your hands that you need up on the ceiling. It's up there and rolling back. Yeah, rosy cheeks. One more time and go, go, go, go, go, go, go. Oh, can the legs go higher? Yes they can. Okay guys, good and come all the way down. Just relax. Yay. Very, very good. And do this with the legs. Shake them out. Okay. Corkscrew. Yeah, so core to, with the rollover. A segway I think were plenty of warm. I just can't win it.

The microphone position today. Legs up, arms imprinted back of the arm and shoulder. Long legs reaching to the ceiling. Sacred miss down to start. Sacred down the way there. Take a breath and up and over. We go into the rollover position. Okay, let's roll down our left side today to start.

Okay. Down the left side of the spine. Here we go. All the way. Take your time. Work some control. Swivel over to the right side. Now we're tracking up the right side of this. Fine. Oh over and centering the hips at the top. Now down on the right side, down across, over up the left side.

Keep going down the left side. Swing around, up the right side. So the opposing energies are really helpful to think about everywhere. But on the roll down is to the top of the head, that polarity, top of the head and the pelvis. This direction and up over the left side. Let's do one more each direction.

If it feels like you want to make a bigger leg gesture, you know, eventually those go way down there. If you feel safe enough, reach your hips over your chest, hips over your chest. There you go Leah. And one more time. Nice Brittany and go back up and over. You guys. Let me get myself there. Sorry for all the distraction with that thing. Okay. So I'm going to have us go into just slightly out of order again. But um, can you flex your feet? I know you guys can and do your toes.

Can you get your toes to the mat or to the floor behind you? And again, we could do that by rural in way up high on the neck, which is not what we're looking to do. But rather taking the hips over the chest. I also have to think my hips up and over to get this beautiful long stretch down my lower back. I may not get it there today. I'm not going to force myself to do that. Okay, well don't worry him. Let's just stay there for a second.

No lots of ways to do this with the arms. They can stay down here. They can even go out to a team. They could then of course go all the way back up there by the feet for some control balance. I'm going to go out down here. I'm gonna hold this now. Point our feet and lift the right leg up. Remember, it's the hamstrings and that glute section really pull up. So it can help to think about pressing the back of the arms into the mat, but also lift your entire pelvis up. Really needs to reach upward.

Now breathe. Exhale, contract your abdominals. Keep your pelvis right where it is and we lower the leg. Breathe in. We're going to go to the left side. Ah, so the pelvis can actually allow the leg to go higher. Everything is lifting. Trying to get that more sense of extension in through the waist.

This seems to be helping my sense of balance. I'm holding myself in and the exhale from the abdominals to lower the leg. I'm gonna Watch you guys do one more, right? Is this okay? There you go, Kiddo. Huh? Yes you can.

Yeah, that's okay. That's how we find out other side. That's how we learn. So I'm going to put my, you're going to feel my knee against your lumbar a little bit. We have your pelvis, Brittany. There you go, girl. Now can I let go and you keep you keep it there. Yes. Bring your leg down.

Well that's pretty spectacular. Bend your knees and come all the way down to rest. You guys good? My, let's flip over to our stomach. Do a loop a little bit for Ira, the other side of our body we don't on. Okay. Gosh, I had a lot more planned, but I, as you can tell, I haven't gotten it to a little bit of an interesting path here. Oh, well, so stack your hand. Nope, I tried this. I want to have a straight this. This is a little odd, but what the heck? Hands behind the hand, elbows can be on the mat. Actually to start for a second and do what we need to do to lengthen the lumbar legs can be all the way together. Slightly apart.

Get your fundamentals and then the abdominals. Okay, so now we're going to show either shoulders down, slide, or slide. Take a breath. Next, let's lift the head and the chest. Now as you're lifting into the back extension, I'm ha look down at your mat. You shouldn't be able to, I want you to elbows a little bit higher than down in the peripheral vision. Okay? And just hold that position for a second.

So take another breath on the exhale. Rotate yourself to your left. So the right elbow might touch the mat or could it go ahead. Yep. Inhale back into center. Other side, rotate to your right. Yeah, in heal center and then chest all the way down.

Look at this one today, the surfer and again lived into the back extension. Okay, what's going on in here though? Okay. Now, same thing. Rotate to your left. So here it is. The right side of the back is coming forward. The left side of the back is coming back. Watch that trap in hill, center pokey and the other side and rotate. So there's a lift in extension and a rotation.

Inhale Center and exhale all the way down. Let's just give it one more time. Breathe in. You guys doing great work here. Exhale and pull down there and rotate. Mapped was twist, twist, twist, twist, twist, twist. I know, and center. Notice how I'm not doing this one like into list. Go, go, go. Where's your pelvis and center and let's just call there all the way down.

Arms Nice and Moan and go into a swimming both arms and legs. Up. [inaudible] stretch your knees, stretch your knees good. And for three inner thighs closer to gather. Let everything come down and rest. One more thing on prone today. Now bring your arms down by your sides.

Palms face up, and again all the way adducted would be nice. Take an inhale and that same back extension, just kind of a basic. Now turn and look to your left shoulder to see the shoulder. We might've done this before it reached the left arm. Now down the left, so your spine, if we signed an aerial view, your spine would be side bending. Bend. Want to really feel the lower back obliques, the waistline obliques.

There we go. And then find your center and then all the way down and exhale. So I've got my palms face in the ceiling. Turn, look to your right shoulder and then the side bed. So my right arm is helping guide me down, trying to keep my left chest open, but not so much that I'm lifting my whole pelvis off on the mat and then find yourself to center and down. Just one more. Each time. Each side. Exhale, lift, inhale. Turn. The head and exhale. So it's a side bend. Go a little farther now that you know what it feels like, you probably can go a little farther. Are Your legs still long? And Inhale, center. Woo.

And exhale lower once again and exhale. [inaudible] and down. Okay. Hands underneath the shoulders. Tuck your toes actually can, should be a little bit farther back. Let's go ahead and press yourself up to that front. Support position. [inaudible] okay, we did this last week also.

I kind of liked how it felt and it looked really nice too. I on that. Everybody that took class. So, uh, let's just do it right arm, right hand to left hand, side by side. Okay. Now the left hand leaves the Mat. The feet have to pivot. Let's swing that left arm. That's quite all right. And put it right up there near your left ear or close to it.

Now think about the obliques. Think about the lower back muscles. They just did a side bend, but do it again. So come into your side bend, let your head go. I wanted to do this last week really badly, but I didn't yet to go. You know, to get up underneath there. I know and see, sometimes these imaginary things really do help, but now it's real. Okay, lower your arm, lower your hip, come back to a front support position and we'll do the other side. I'll do that to Brittany. So left-hander right hand and pivot arm over shoulder. Don't forget about this. Good sense of support there and yeah, you have more than you have. More to explore it. Go and go and go and go and go. Yup.

Excellent. You guys come out of that. Set your hand down. Come down to running regular front support and just hold. You're playing close to three breaths long from head to toe. Soften those was elbows. [inaudible] okay, two pushups. Why?

Because you can't and press. Okay, nice and stretch. Junior palms face up here. [inaudible] hmm. Lots of deep, deep, deep breathing. Let's take two more giant breaths together. Inhale and exhale.

Then last one, inhale and exhale. Now guys, we're almost done. We're just a little different way to stretch our hips today. And we didn't do a ton of side work, but that's okay. And if this doesn't feel okay on your knees, you'll know right away it's gonna. It could feel a little tender here, but let's just, uh, if it doesn't, don't do it. But right now, if we're just sitting on our, our ankles in a relatively flat kind of normal spine [inaudible], and now on your exhale, contract those abdominals and get quite a bit more of a pelvic tilt going and just squeeze your Tush, squeeze underneath there, and then let go of that and start that same way again from the abdominals. So feel your pelvis go into rotation. Yay. Okay, now keep that. We're going to come all the way up into a high kneeling position.

Just do whatever you need to do with your arms, but let it really stay connected underneath. You'll hopefully feel a little bit of a quadricep stretch and bring your hips forward and going back down, my calf is cramping. That's a good, and going back down at the very bottom, let's just release. We're just going to do that two more times and maybe next time we'll elaborate on, there's a whole thing I wanted to get done with this, but that's okay. [inaudible] long here. Rib Hip and going back, keeping the glutes contracted, keeping a little bit of a pelvic tilt and the very bottom it can release slightly. Just one more time.

[inaudible] so how does that feel to you? Okay, good. Pretty intense quad stretch. No, let's Tuck our toes. Just a little weight shift. Hands forward. Lifting to the up stretch or inverted v. I'm going to hold for a sec. Leah, you missed it last week. We walked like a elephants. I know. Maybe next time, but we can do a little mini walk. Walk your feet to your hands.

Unweight the heels just a little bit and let your head hang. Oops. And let's do a nice 10 counts to roll up you guys. So again, it starts from wade down in that belly. Let the arms whole heavy tailbone puling down to the heels. Big Scoop up in the belly. I'm not even counting. And seven goodness, eight, nine. And before you walk away again, just feel how you are on your legs, how you are in your feet.

It's informative for me to watch you guys roll up to standing. You know how your body's reorganized a little bit and other things that I can continue to work on with you to when we come, right, that we really are upright over our bones, that we're not back in old patterns when we stand up or other things that show up. Freedom of movement. 20 jumping jacks. Face me here. We go in and no one, you missed this too. Last week we did 20 the beginning. Halfway through seven. Yeah. Just get your, y'all y'alls out. You're done with class 10 and one, two, three. Kristy, you don't have to use this part. I mean, you know, and I'm, and 10 thank you guys.

Comments

Geeze Louize! Great class that kicked my... well you know. Love the breathing cues, they're super helpful.
Thanks Julianne! I love it when I've kicked someone's...well, you know! :) Talk to you again soon!
I love your unique approach to getting a deeper connection with the abdominals! You helped me with my Teaser!!!
Hi Terry, I can't tell you how happy this comment made me feel....that I hehlped someone with their Teaser!! The Teaser (and man rolling/articulation exercises) have been challenging for me throughout my journey, so the fact that I helped you has made me feel very proud, thank you!!
Yea Amy!! You never disappoint!!
Kerry.... Thank you!!
Amy-

I love the lower leg lift abdominal preps into the hundreds. Great setup into lower ab connection. Also loved the prone side bending and rotation. Will definitely be using both of those in class in the near future. Thanks!
Hi Laurel---thank you so much for your feedback, it means a lot! Glad there were some useful pieces for you!
Amy I liked the way you prepped us to the 100s “a la Joseph Pilates”. Thanks.
There was a lot of deep concentrated technical work here but the class just flew by! Helpful tips on the Teaser and I discovered I have to work a lot more on that lower ab connection during the Hundred prep to lift my huge quads off the ground properly :)

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