Class #2242

Release and Activation Flow

45 min - Class
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Sally Anderson returns to Pilates Anytime with a Floor work class designed to help you find release and activation in your muscles. She uses breath and awareness to help reset the muscle recruitment patterns that you may need to work on. She also fine tunes certain movements that we see in the Pilates repertoire like the Forward Curl, Side Lying, Swan, and more.
What You'll Need: Mat

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Hi, I'm Sally, and we're going to do a release, an activation floor work class today. Now the thing I would like you to remember as we go through this is it's not really a met work class. So it's more using exercise selection for release, an activation, changing some of those muscle recruitment patterns that can be a bit tricky. So it's fairly gentle or there's, there's a couple of little challenges in there, but it's aimed more at doing maybe in the morning, maybe in the evening to release an activate or perhaps even before you go into a nice strong session with your favorite instructors. So bear in mind, it is about releasing activation. It won't look like necessarily a standard mat work class that I might do or others, but just enjoy it and use it to try and reset some of the patterns that you might need to work on in your body. So I have a lovely team around me.

I'll have Sarah up on, um, the demonstrating mat. But everybody, if you'll start in your quadramed position, please. So hands and knees and just don't do too much with abdominals at the moment. Find your knees under your hips, hands under your shoulders. The this early section in Quadro paid can be a little bit rusty. If you need to go onto your fists, do it. It's not heavy, it's just where there for a little bit. So to start with, can I have an external rotation of the upper arms?

Give me elbows slightly forward and heading out past your shoulders so you get that spiral of the upper arms, the inner elbows going forward, and just a nice little set of the upper arms. Now you're going to release and drop into you shoulders. So just a little scapular retraction and then pull back up and protract. Good and dropping. So just drop through and let go. Releasing the upper back and press away. Good. Allow it to drop in and come back up. Good. I'll have three more.

So keeping the oboes strong and just letting go through the thoracic and good. Nice. And now just keep the abdominals drawing up underneath you gently and drop one more time and pull up. Now as you drop into that thoracic extension, send the sternum forward. So you do think of extending the thoracic and then press back up, tuck the hips under, and you go into a little cat stretch.

So you using that upper back protraction retraction to give you Kat stretch. So drop into the upper back and extend the chest forward and impress up bringing the tailbone under. Rounding the back, giving me a little curve. Good. Now drop into that, but try to keep the law abdominals just supporting the spine a little so that you don't release completely and press back up into cat stretch. Let the head follow through and to more release. Send the issue tuberosities up and into round back.

Good and don't anything too much more than that. Just allow it to release and lengthen and press back up and good. Now come to a long flat back for me. So just moving up the body into the head and neck. I want your sitting bones to be going out to the back crown of the head forward.

And I'll come around and give some of you a little cue. But think of head standing out the top of the head to the opposite wall. So you're really long through the crown of the head. Now turn your head rotate to look to the right side and back to center. Rotate to look to the left side and back to center. Good.

Now keep spiraling out the crown of the head as you rotate and back and spiraling out the crown of the head and center. Good. And now hold that rotation position and take your eye line further up to the ceiling. Good. And then back to center. Good to the other side. Rotate, spiraling. Take the eyeline as far up as you can. And back to center. Just staying completely on that rotation line.

One more each way. Yes. So now just the eyes come back and center and last one and to the center. Now I want neck flection extension. So draw the Chin in and look under to your belly button and then bring the head back, lengthen out, and look forward island to the front of your mat, just off the mat and then Tuck the chin in. So I think of retracting the Chin into the neck as you flex under the You keep it active and lifted and then lengthen out. Take the eyeline forward. Good.

And so little bit aimed at bringing some work back into that C7 joint and anti-technology activation there. So length and under. One more time and then lengthen forward and bring your head back into your aligned position. Crown of the head long. Now I just want lateral flection of the neck, so your right ear to the right shoulder, back to center, left ear to the left shoulder. And I don't want to work through to force to position. Just keep moving and lengthen the left side as the right side goes to the shoulder and moving. Good. So upper arms, just give them a little more encouragement to spiral and stay connected and center. Good.

One more each side after this last left one and make sure it's really just lateral flection, no rotation in it and right side and center, left side, and holding the center. Now just add the torso for a happy puppy. So now you're going to turn a look to the shoulder as you bring the shoulder and hip together back to the center and to the other side. Try and stay right above your knees, hands and rotate. Now a little faster and look to the right center and lift.

Good and open up that long side. There you go. Good ribs opening on the long side. One more each side and open that to the center. And last one and hold good. Just sit back onto your heels. Leave your arms stretching forward and take two deep breaths.

Spreading the ribcage to the back. So inhale and actively try and spread the ribs. As you inhale. Exhale, walk the fingertips forward as you let the air go. Good. One more breath that way in Hailey into the back and exhale. Walk the fingertips forward. Good.

Now bring your left hand to your right hand. I'll have you breathe into the left side of the ribs and try and send them out and open them up. And then exhale. Keep your sitting bones on your heels. One more to this side. Inhale, spread the ribs. Nicely done. And exhale. Let that go. Good.

Bring the hands back to center and take the right hand across to the left. Good. And breathe into the right side ribs. Open them up. Inhale, send the ribs out as open as you can and let that breath go. And one more good. Bring your hands back to the center and come back up into your quadramed position. Setting yourself nice and long. Again, we're going into thread the needle. So have your right arm come out to the side please and hold that t position. So for this thread, the needle, I want to go through this t position each time from that tee position.

Find the back of the shoulder back of the hand to open you up and reach to the ceiling. Then comes through taking their hand under, but keep the pelvis square, so walk the fingertips along the floor. But for this one, I want the rotation in the torso, Pelvis Square, and then come back to your t position. Good. Find your team, engage the back of the shoulder, press the back of the hand up to the ceiling and open the ribs out and then arrange through, walk the fingertips underneath and take the body through as far as you can. Keeping the pelvis square. Very nice. One more to the side for me out to the t position. Good. Yes, I find that tee and then find the back of the shoulder reach and then going through. Very nice. Good. And I quite like the fingertips down. Doing a little walk.

It kind of helps you reach a little further and then come back to your t position and then place the hand back down. So that's fine. The hand back to center. Good. Going to the lift. So find that directly out. Hand in line with your shoulder, then find the back of the shoulder, back of the palm and press up. Good. Very nice. Lovely team. And then take the hands through, turn the fingertips down and walk through for me. Yes. And just through the torso. Nice. And then come back to your team.

We've got two more. Good. Press it back. [inaudible] nice eggs, health through. Awesome. You're one more. Find your tea, find the back of the shoulder and press up. Go a little further, take it really open and then walk the fingertips through. Lovely. Come back to your quad ped position. Hold that position there. And we're going to press up into a pike. So Dick, you toes under or for a lovely Jennifer, you will be good in a pike, but come up without digging your toes under.

We have a little fractured toe so everybody else into your pipe, pressing your heels down. And now we are going to be in pike for a moment here we're doing our neck releases, again, slightly different order. So press your heels down, find the point of your hips going up to the ceiling so that hip hinge going up. If you need to adjust forward to be in a slightly more comfortable position for hamstrings. Do that now. So lift the chest a little. Find a position you can stay in and let your head hangs on a little traction through the neck and hands as wide as your shoulders. So it might come out a little wider. I mean, yes. Good. Now to start with here, I want lateral flection of the next.

Are you going to let the head reach from side to side? Ear to upper arm keeps spiraling the upper arms out so that you're pulling back through the shoulders strongly. Now it feels a little weird at first, but if you can just go, yeah, Yan. Yeah, takes a little getting used to just side to side and then let it go a little faster. So it's like a little pendulum. One, two, three. Good. And remember the white of your head can distraction the neck down. Try not to pull the neck back up. Let that hang good. Come back to the center. Now we're going to look under.

So tuck your head under looking to your belly button. Then lengthen the neck out and look forward. Your gaze goes forward of the mat. Good. And then tuck under, so it's neck flection extension. Don't do anything that causes you pain, but it should be fairly gentle on you there. But take it into extension using the back of the neck. And two more.

Good. Now work on the shoulders, drawing back towards the hips, the upper arm spiraling out, and last one and then bring your head back to where it's really hanging. So it doesn't need to be between your arms. It just needs to be well weighted or weightless. Tractioning down. Let it hang now without lifting your head. Rotate to look over your right arm to try and bring the eyeline up over your right arm and back to center. Now try and do this without lifting your head.

Just rotate and look past that. And back to center. Keep working the upper arms. Work the tailbone high, heels down. Rotate, rotate back to center and lift. Good. We've got one more each side. Keep the head hanging, not picking up. So it's right, yes. And last one. Good. Now just come back to electro flection. Nice pendulum, side to side.

Nice and fast. Dangled, dangled, dangled, dangled. Just that. Yes. Now you've got the lateral flection working beautifully. Good. I'm sure you have at home as well. Good. All right. Let the head hang. Walk your hands back to your feet, but keep your hands on the ground. So if you need to bend your knees to be there with your hands on the ground, that's perfect. So I'll have palms flee onto the mat.

Knees bent to allow that and you're going to keep the palms on the mat as you bend a little deeper and then stretch the knees back, sending the tailbone high so it is the little hamstring stretch and release and bend the knees and press up. And two more. Take a nice deep bend, stretching the back of the ankles, Achilles, and then stretch. Press the back of the knee joint behind you. Last one en. Hold it there. Good. Walk your hands forward. So you're going back out into a nice long pipe position all the way forward.

And Find Your Pike heels down, stretch it up, get the back of the knees a little more open now. And then you can soften your knees and walk them all the way to between your hands will walk your feet in. Yes. And then sitting down onto the mat. And we're going to go into our supine position for pelvic curls. Good. So I want your pelvic hills with your arms stretched over head. So Sarah, come down the bed a little so you're not off the bed there. And yes, try and be in the middle of your mat. You all look really nice. Good. So stretch the arms overhead and find the back of your hands back of the elbows onto the mat. If you need to adjust a little wider, I'm happy with that.

So just find a position that you're connected with the mat and take a deep breath in and slide the ribs down into the mat. As you reach fingertips are way over hits, aren't very active. Arms reaching. And one more breath. Inhale. And then exhale. Draw up the ribs in your right. Then go a little wider if you like. Good and last breath. Good. And now keeping the arms reaching where ever they work for you.

So even if you're wider, keep the stretch or the region, the arms and the fingertips extending out. We're going into the pelvic curl. So exhale. Scoop the belly in and roll your pelvis up, pressing the feet into the mat. Take the hips up, knees over, toes still actively out with the arms. Stay, breathe in and then breathe out. Reach the arms away as you roll down. So you should get a really long lengthened stretch through the body as you take it back down. I'll have three more like this and exhale, scoop. Find the abdominal, start you, roll you up. Hips lift feet, press into the floor to lift the pelvis and breathing in. Breathe out, roll through the sternum, reaching the arms as you come down. Very nice.

Two more here. Breathing in and exhale, drop the sternum roll up. Good. Nice, good. And inhale at the top. Good. Exhale. Yeah. Beautiful. One more with the arms in this position. Nice. And really send the knees out of the toes in the hands away behind you.

Nice deep breath in. Then exhale, rolling back through. Once you're down, bring your hands into where they rest just on top of your head. But the elbows are pressed wide and we have four more pelvic curls. So again, I bridging is something that I think really does have a lot of benefits throughout the body. So we're doing eight up with the elbows, pressing into the mat and exhale, articulate back down, sternum length in the mid back, low back sitting bones. Go all the way away to your heels. Exhale, roll up again. Good, good. Now press the feet into the mat to help you lift the pelvis. Then exhale, bring it back down.

Two more. Let's quickly do a little nice deep breath and the exhale. A loved X. Your exhale. Sound fantastic. Okay, and last one for everybody. Exhale. Roll up and we'll meet at the top.

So good everyone. Stay in your bridge position at the top. Just pull your knees over your toes a little more so you kind of shuffle it. Yes. Hold that position. And then exhale. Roll down through the sternum length and all the way away. Good.

Very nice. Now I want your feet together, Dorsey, flexed onto the heels and your hands can come out at 45 degrees on the mat on the floor. Good. So sir, you'll be fine. Just to the edge of the bed there. So with that Dorsey flex position, I want you to exhale and drop the knees across to the front of the room and then draw into the abdominals to bring the pelvis back. Knees come with it. So that's a little modified side to side or spine twist position. And find the abdominals to draw you back in. Good.

And let's do inhale to go across with this one. Now find the exhale. Yes, that's giving you a better breath to come back with. Good. So in Holocaust, I don't mind in hills. Next House, I like x hell to come across on this exercise, but that's working nicely. One more each side. So the top leg goes with the bottom leg and they rotate back onto the heels. Good one last one. Then we're gonna add something good. Now go across to the first side. Take the knees across. You're going to extend the top leg.

But as you extend keeping the thighs together, I want you to actively draw back into the hamstring and fire up the back of the thigh. Leg comes back in scoop and bring it back to center. So it's just starting to give you some activation back into the wrap of the thigh or holding the thigh as the leg reaches away. That's holding your labor and bring it back in and come back. Good. One more each side. So yes, consciously find the back of the thigh and in good one last one.

And [inaudible] good. Reach through the heel. Very nice. Migrants doing beautifully and come back. Good. All right. Separate the feet and bring them hip with the part for me. And hand actually hands onto your thighs. We'll start with good. I want you to come up into a chest lift, walking your fingertips to your knees.

So just walk up. Now what I want here is that you don't allow the pelvis to Tuck at all, so it kind of feels like you hit a wall and then bring that back down. So just walk back down or slide back down. The fires is fine and exhale. Now wipe the pelvis down so that you hit that wall and you go, where do I go?

No where you just activate the abdominals and back down. Nicely done. And three more. Good. Now when you're up there, find that soft position of the pelvis, but no pecks coming in. So you spread the shoulders and just make it work through the torso, through the abdominals. Only abdominal wall engaged. Good and back down. Good. Alright. Bring your hands behind your head as this first set up position here.

So it's a preparation for the hula or just a little way of assisting it. Take your right hand and your left knee and bring them together so the hand will go to the knee. Now press the left leg down as you come up into chest lift. So the leg is drawing you into your chest lift position. Hold that and bring the right hand back behind your head so that foot goes to the floor, hand comes back behind the head and then back down.

Good left hand. So the hand and the knee come together. The knee pulls your body into chest lift til it goes all the way down. Hand goes behind the head and come back down in center. Good. So the knee is dragging the chest lifting. Then you get to set. So when you come up into this position, state square off the pelvis, bring the hand behind the head and then take it back down.

Good and knee drags the body into that abdominal position such as go on the top there. Then the knee can bring you, yes, bring the hand back, drop the pelvis and good. So it really is just working on your pattern and how you're able to then like find a deeper, a deeper flection position. Hand behind the head. And I think we've got one more and come back down. Good. Now just slide up in your chest. Lift with your hands behind your head. Beautiful. Good. Now find all the points that we just worked on.

So the pelvis is really just steady on the bed and come back down. I'll have two more and nothing changes in the hips and nicely done. Good. And coming back down. Last one and hold good. Bring your hands back besides you there. Alright. Just going into little stretch before we prep and go as a prep. Before we go to the side, bring your right foot across your left knee.

Use Your hands just to sit up towards your leg. Good, good. All right, so I just, and you can turn the hands out wherever they're comfortable. You can sit your bottom up and forward towards your foot. Good. Now walk the hands into push yourself right up close to that knee.

Got that little stretch. They're good. So just relax toes and stay there. Allowing the hips stretch. Just using your arms to press you forward and just take a couple of deep breaths there, allowing them. Now on the next breath, go towards the foot. That is up not too far. Just take a little rotation across and you should find a little more performance stretch there. And, but keep supporting yourself with your hands and upper body.

It's just a little stretch. There were release. Good. And then bring that back to center. Place the top leg down and this time to put the other leg across. You can just lift your bottom and little, which allows you to get that leg over and then sit back down. Easy. Good. Now push up into it so you get a nice sensation of stretch.

Make sure you feel that there's a stretch on there. Take a couple of breaths. Good. And then on the next breath, take that rotation across slightly. So you're just taking a little emphasis onto the rotate bear to get into the Piriformis more. So if that doesn't feel good in your back to anyone that's working out of the room today, just bring it back and stay with the first stretch.

So that more sagittal or parallel position is a little safer in the back, but it's not too extreme. So just go a little way and try and get that performance there. Good. Bring that back to center. Take the foot down and we're gonna roll onto our side. Facing the front of the room please. So knees bent up.

Amazing line with your hip and arm extended. So I want the upper back nice and long or the body nice and long and tabletop position. So knees are in line with your hips. Feet are in line with the knees. Now squeeze the feet together and I want the top leg just to rotate up an open so the knee opens up to the ceiling and then close back down. Good. Now relax the toes, but press the feet together and it should be a small range. So ideally you just want to feel that the rotators of the thigh activate to lift the knee off the bottom leg and back down and lift you up a little closer there.

Good and bad down. So just the rotators to lift the knee. Yes. And really keep the range small. So you're really not going for too much leaf. That's not and [inaudible] Nice. Can you feel them? Good.

So you should start to feel a sensation of working at the back of the thigh. And that's what I want. I want you to feel that you can sense where you've got to work in the back of the Fi to hold the leg from the back. So we'll do two more after this one. Good. Keep that top hip long, but you, everyone here looks good.

Keep your top hip long and squeezing the feet. Last one. Now try and keep that sensation that you just worked on in the rotation, but a parallel leg lift straight to the side in abduction and close and lift. We can go little faster with this one. Not too fast and lift. Good, but keep the sensation from the rotation. Almost like a poem and up. Good. Three more.

Good. Last one. Now we've got circles. So bring your legs back together and you'll start by just circling the leg up and around and over and two. But now we'll do it fast. Six this way, three, four. So mobilizing the hip six and bring it back and reverse up and over. And two, three, four. Nice work. Five, six and knees together. Good. Leave your underneath arm long and take the top hand behind your head for me.

From there you're just to open the elbowed back into rotation. So drawing the shoulder back to the floor and then come back. Rolling back onto your arm. And three more. So exhale, wrap the ribs back. Wrap the elbow back, reach for the floor, and then stack back to center. Good. And again, come on the way back.

Really reached that elbow to the floor and your head just rolls onto the back hand and then rolls back onto your underneath arm. Good. Last one. Good. What? Loveliness. Good. Come back to this start position. Bring your front hand down and extend both legs out along the Mat. So now I want the top leg lifts just off the bottom leg and externally rotate it. So you should be able to find that rapport, that rotation in the fire that we just worked on. Hold that sensation and draw relatively slow circles going forward.

Up, back and together and around. Now the portion of the movement I really want to focus on is the back movement. So yes. So use your hand and little in front to help you stabilize and find the movement to the back of the circle. And yes, good. So Nice. Less front and more back. And then the abdominals pull in.

Good, nice work. And it doesn't need to be too big or too small. So there's the most open queue you could have. Just make sure you're feeling the back of the thigh and reaching to the back. So that's it. That's the portion I'm really interested in. And reverse.

Same thing though. Come back and up and over. Good. And you should feel the movement of the Femur in the hip joint and the activity of the muscles in upper thigh. Good. And Karen don't get too high. They're just [inaudible]. Nice. Just almost verging on a little bit high.

Good. And you can think that of drawing like big dinner plates. That's about the size I would want, but it needs to be an even circle and one last for me. Good and close legs down together. Good. If you'll just sit up and swing your legs to the other side will stay facing the front. You know what you're doing and it's so much nice for everyone to see your face.

Good. So start with our first series, the sideline hip series. Knees bent up, feet together and make sure it's 90 degrees in the hip joint. 90 degrees in the knee, joints long at the top. Hip is long along that side and squeeze the feet together. Open the knee up just by using the rotators to get that back of the fire activated too. Good. That's been your a little foot forward. A little good.

Okay. Nando I'll have four more please. Good. Nice. So going into number two, but make sure you keep that sensation. You just earned it and then lift the knee up and two, good foot relaxed and really think of the knees starting the movement, but the foot comes with it. That's it.

So it's a nice even positions through the leg, lifting from the hip and you can even think of dropping the head of the femur into the hip joint as you lift the knee. Three more. Good. That's pretty good though. Good. One last one. And then we're ready for us circles. All right, so start with the knee coming up towards your face and over and around.

So up over and three. Good. Keep the full circle in this direction as well. Last too good and reverse and down. Up and over. Good. Last two. Good. And Lay's come back together. Good. This top hand in behind the head, stay on the underneath arm lengthened and they ex hell rotate back, opening up the chest, ribs, elbow. And hopefully we don't lose Sarah off the bed and three more.

Good. And don't rush it. You had a nice exhale as you go back. You don't know a little bit and come back on one more unless I counted wrong. Could reach the oboe back. Got a little more with your elbow Jennifer. Come, come, come yes and come back to the sentence. Lovely. Put that top arm down.

Extend the legs and we've got our leg circles but so I mean for 10 each direction. I'm not sure if, I think we did a about 10 each direction last side, but we didn't count them particularly. So I lift the leg slightly and externally rotate it and go into your first movement of the circle and around. I don't mind which direction you go first with these cause it's the, just finding the full circle to behind you is really the attention or the focus I want. So when you've done 10 go to the other direction and the front hand can help support you a little just so that you are able to find the focus that you want in the thigh. Good.

Nice. Keep lengthening. And you should be just about done I think legs back together if you've done your 10 so don't let mean steal any from you. Good. All right, rolling onto your stomachs please. And I want your hands into almost be beside your shoulders a little bit lower down to elbows are bent in but elbows are on the mat. So go why? Just find a comfy position where your hands are on the floor, your elbows are tucked in, your forties down. So everybody find the fart even tucked under a little.

So then be comfortable with your arms. Just come a little wider. Yeah, just find a position where you really are comfortable with the arms down. The elbows are slightly tucked in, but your forward is tucked under so the neck is lengthened at the back. Now I just want to start with the head. So you're going to take your eyeline forward to go off the mat with your eyeline. Lifting your head up. Good. That's it. And then take that back down.

Very nice. So come out through the crown of the head. Reach the eyeline forward. Lengthen and bring the head up in line with the shoulders for me, and then come back down. Good. One more just with the neck. So activating all through the back of the neck, bringing it back into the shoulder girdle. Nicely done, very nice. And come down. Now the same thing with the head. Bring the head through.

Now press your elbows into the floor and just press up a little to draw the shoulders back, wrap the upper runs under and send them and then come back down. Good. You can wink at, you might across the mat and send the sternum forward. Use the arms, so engage the shoulders and upper arms to help press the shoulder girdle through, sternum. Forward our lineup, and then lengthen as you come back down again. Two more. Nice, good and relief. Find scapular wide and find the mid-low traps. Find the sternum forward and the upper arms back of the shoulders active in town. One last one leading from the crown of the head. Forward elbows, press into the mat, roll the shoulder girdle back. Good.

And then the length and and bring it back down. Keep you far there and reach your arms back beside you for basic back extension please. So allow the shoulders just to drop four little where they come from and spread across the back. I want you to use the same head shoulder work to come up into your very low range. Basic back extension. So the head forward, the shoulders draw back and the hands just pick up with that so it's long, not high and then come back down. Good.

And you can hit those gold little and then crown of the head comes forward. Nick. Lovely. No, don't lift the back. Just think shoulder girdle and then hands for me and then come down and he had comes through, picks up the shoulders and no higher than you. Just bring thing of humeral heads back to Scapula to pick up the hands and coming down. Good. Three more from me. So it's linked. Head comes a little earlier for you. A little more. Yes.

I want that. [inaudible] is beautiful and come down and lengthen. So the head goes out, up and just think shoulder girdle. Think humeral head. Yes, Jennifer. Nice and come back down. Good. I want one more move. Stay up just a little less lift with your back. Herron head, shoulders. Yes. Now everyone's staying in that position. I want circles with your arms going up and two, three in close to the body. Four and five. Keep pulling the shoulder.

Go drawing it back and opening across the front of the chest. Her collarbones are wide. Good. Nice. And keep the shoulders pulling back and reverse the circles and up to three. Good up. Make sure you get the up position. As they fatigue. They want to just go side to side. Last three to one.

And down you come. Lovely. Bring your hands around to under your forehead for me please. And keep the head and shoulders down. But Ella, lengthen the legs out and elevate and just off the mat. One centimeter. Good. And I'll have half swimming, Mesa shoulders pulling down. I just want the top of the thighs to lift you up. Now a little slower for me.

I want you to lift, lift, lift, lift. Uh, uh, right, right at the top of the thighs. During the lift. Pull the tummy up underneath you. Stretch the knees. And last 10, nine, eight, seven, six, fight. Good. Three, two, one, end down. Very nice. Bring your hands beside you and sit back into your rest position for me.

Take one nice deep breath in spreading the ribs. And exhale. Walk your hands away as you drop your tailbone into your heels. Good. Just stretching through the back. Now you coming, coming onto your hands and knees again into quadro pet. Jennifer, this is where you can come back up into your pike however you need to for your foot. The rest of you did. You told totally done, not a happy position for Jen. And send your tailbone up into the pike. Good. So press back into that pipe position and stretch both heels down into the floor. Find your elevation of the pelvis. Good.

And now I want a little prancing through your feet. So one foot's going to bend. You just stay and stretch through the back of the legs and just release into each leg. Change. Change. Could Nash Shoulders Open? Yes. Change. Good. And six more. And who won? Two shoulders open. Spiral the upper arms out and relax the neck.

Both heels. Press back down. Good. Now walk your hands slightly forward. So about two hand prints further forward. And from there you're going to come out into your front support. And Jennifer, this is where you might want to go to your knees, front support. Now keeping the connection of abdominals and hamstrings.

Take your lift up through the chest that we were just doing with your back extension. So send the sternum ahead up, sternum forward and roll into the shoulder girdle and then scoop and come back up into your park. So it's a version of pipe to swan. So we'll just work with the movement slightly. Come come into your knees Jennifer yet. And you do a little modification from heels to forward. Good. Yes. So into your swan position.

Now scoop and pull back up into your pike and we'll just find tune this so that nice deep swan is coming. What I want you to get first is the activation of the upper back to lift and send us down and forward while you're supporting and mediate midday. And then scoot back. Good. So you don't drop all the way into it just yet. We're working towards it. So long spine position in the plank. Then send that upper body forward and then you can start to take a little more and scoop.

Good. You've got two to go. So lengthen. I want hamstrings on abdominal zone. I want the shoulder girdle to roll back and give you the upper back work and scoop it back. Good heels down as you come back. And one last one. So length and through work for the chest, work for the shoulders, rolling back the head for the back of the neck, active as you come through and then scoot back. Good.

So Sh yes, we'll do one last pipe to swan. So come forward and nice lifted position of the chest. So come forward with the sternum scoop back up into your pike. Good. Now did that little stretch into the back of the legs. Lower your knees down into the mat and walk your hands back to your knees.

And again, Jennifer, just take this carefully. Tuck your toes under and sit back onto your heels. So we're just gonna stretch the feet a little here so you can sit upright, come back, and just take the weight of the body into the feet, trying as much as you to stay over the big toes, the part that's the most painful. Good. And just take three deep breaths. Really trying to allow the weight of the body. Just press the toes under long toes.

That's right. And then just come forward and place your hands onto the mat and push yourself back into a little squat position. Now sit into that. So I'm just a little concerned about Sarah. I want you to come up the bed. Good. So into our little squat position. Good.

And now I want you to take the hands back closer to your body and sit back onto your heels a little more. So try and really not too far back with your hands. Just still balanced, but take your weight back so you get an ice to layers. Achilles stretch there. Yes. And sit into your squat as much as you can. Feet can be slightly apart. And is that painful for you? Yes. So can't, yeah, come up into a little hamstring bend and stretch and then come to your roll up.

So let's not push that in. Good. Everybody else. I do want you really sitting back and working to the outside of your feet. So give me a little pressure down through the fifth metatarsal head, the outside of the foot. Good. And you can take knees slightly out. Good. And yes. Now try and Karen, try and sit back a little even if you balance with your hands forward. Good, good. All right.

And then bring your hands back beside your feet and just beside your feet, the frontier unit. Press up into your hamstring stretch position. Good. All right. From there, walk back out into your pike for me. We're going through one more round of the neck releases just before we come to standing. So nice and Pacey shoulders open and our head goes side to side.

Just dangle it for me. One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, 10 last for and hold it. Go forward and back and all the way under and up. Good. Three more middle pace and let the head hang. So now remember you're hanging right under it and doing your rotation. So rotate and look to the right and look back to the center and lift that to the center. Look good. Last two.

Good. Back to the center. Now walk your hands back to your toes. Good from there, relaxed the knees. You're going to roll up to standing. And then Sarah, we might bring you down off the bed facing the front. They're good. From that standing position, I want you to take top arm.

So let's take um, or actually let's do a way arm, window, arm over to the front of the room. Now stay in your side Ben, and reach that arm away. Good in little side, standing waving and then pull yourself up to center. So, um, goes over and stretches you to the side. Leave the body there. As you reach the arm away, allow the body in the neck to release n. Roll it back up. One more each side and up and over into side bend. And leave the head there as the arm reaches away and drag it back up. Good. And last one. Good.

Take as much stretch as you can. Keeping both the weight through both feet. Reach it away and then drag that back up. And from there, rolling down for me. So scoop and roll down, hanging forward. Good. Relax the neck. Relax the shoulders and then inhale into the back. Exhale, roll up. And as you come up, reach the arms to the ceiling and all the little thoracic release often open and rolling down. Scoop and roll through. So the arms come around, roll you back down, all the way to hang good and coming up. Reach the arms forward and high and then lift the chest.

Sternum goes through upper backs working as you come around. One last roll down please. Hand food. Release it around. Come back to the front and standing tall. Thank you very much. It's Jay. Thank you. So as I say, it really is just a series of exercises that help release and activate different patterns in the body.

And hopefully you can use it just to prepare for your day or prepare for your session or excerpts from it to help address little postural habits we all get into. But anyway, thank you very much.

Comments

2 people like this.
Great release work, thank you!!!
1 person likes this.
Fantastic - wonderful after a hard tiring day!
1 person likes this.
Wonderful class, thank you!
Notme
1 person likes this.
Really enjoyed this. Nice pace for awareness and good number of reps.
2 people like this.
Great class Sally! I like your cueing to think of head standing in that quadruped position!
Lovely exercises Sally think you so much - I loved the pike to swan! My neck and shoulders feel great now!
1 person likes this.
Lovely exercises Sally think you so much - I loved the pike to swan! My neck and shoulders feel great now!
Sally Anderson
Excellent! Thank you your message :)
3 people like this.
Wow. That pendulum neck thing is awesome. I feel like all the trash in my head has been shaken out of it!
1 person likes this.
Nice ! Very nice ! I like your cueing. Especially the one that helps people find the humerus/shoulder blade/back connection. Thanks Sally :))
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