Class #2593

Embodied Classical Mat Flow

60 min - Class
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Embodied Classical Mat Flow…with You, Gravity and Ground Reaction Force (GRF)
"I am deeply grateful for my original classical Pilates training with Romana Kryzanowska. What occurred for me, a few years after that training, was a deep noticing that I was over-stabilizing, by "fighting" gravity and controlling my abdominals. By studying with my mentor, Judith Aston, that my movement could be supported by "the waterfall of Gravity - Down the Back," and Gravity's partner "Ground Reaction Force (GRF) – Up the Front," I discovered a more balanced relationship with my whole body - in relationship with gravity and spatial orientation. This new awareness brought up two very potent questions that are at the heart of all great body/mind practices: "what's just enough effort" for the movement, and "what can I let go of that I don't need to be doing?" See what you notice as we play and flow with gravity and GRF together!" -Wendy LeBlanc-Arbuckle
What You'll Need: Mat

About This Video

Apr 26, 2016
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Well here we are again. So I'm thrilled to be here. Amy, DJ Hailey, Candace, just wonderful, great to explore together. And today we're going to go through a classical mat flow with just you and gravity and ground reaction force. Yeah. So what in the world are we mean by that? Right?

So let's take a look at these two images that we're going to be actually moving from and understanding of how gravity supports us and how ground reaction force is. Gravity is natural partner. That's our natural lift, our suspension, our reach that happens through a deeper understanding of how we're supported with the earth. And I want to just have a huge thanks to Gita fast and who is one of my mentors and who I've been hoping for years could teach on holidays, anytime and here she is, she's on floods anytime. So be sure to look at what she has posted on here and um, and use that as a reference point to get into your own discovery because that's what's occurred for me at first when I needed to do is study. What is she talking about and what is gravity? I mean, I was a yoga teacher for 20 years and when I started studying about gravity, I thought, what have I been doing? Where has gravity been? I mean that's how it occurred for me because it was such a shift in the amount of tension that I was holding. I had no idea what I was doing.

So that's why I'm suggesting that you look at uh, exploring and, and just noticing what can you let go of that you don't need to be doing. That's a huge question. That's the question that Alexander the Alexander Technique, that's what Alexander discovered. That's what felled in Christ discovered. So this is not isolated stuff. These are big questions. They're really take us into a deeper awareness of how we are in our bodies and in the world.

So the image that we're looking at right now, down the back, how does the shoulder blade, notice how at the core top, top corner, it says the waterfall of the shoulder blades sit bone tailbone into the tripod of the feet. And so the image that you're looking at on the screen is actually showing how the, the yellow blade with a little circle in the bottom of it, that shows how there that the shoulder blades have a glide. The glide moves with the exhale, and so that's why the multifidus muscles are painted blue along the spine. As you're re, you're allowing the shoulder blades to release down the back, the that mirrors the exhale and that allows your body feel it right now as you're exhaling. Just allow your input one hand on your ribs and the other hand on your tail and let your tail relax.

Allow your inhale and allow this to be soft and exhale and feel how your tail can relax and your ribs can soften. Remember, this is your diaphragm, this area right here. This has a down effect all the way around your ribs, your low ribs. This moves down with the exhale. We don't have to do something to make it happen. It is what's happening. We just don't want to feel like I have to compress it or I have to. So just let that happen. But then put your hands up here at your clavicles, the widening of your clavicles and just feel trace the clavicles from the middle to the outside and notice how that widens your shoulders.

That allows your neck to relax, the softening and widening of your clavicles and lets you look from side to side, resting into your feet. How does your head relax as you feel more of your grounding into your feet? Then put one hand on your low belly. On the other hand, behind your head. Inhale, exhale, and let your head go up and let your tail relax down. Feel how that gives you that feeling of two directions of your spine where you get the shoulder blades, water falling down the back shoulder blade, sit bone tailbone into the tripod of the foot and the lift up the front.

Let's look at the up the front image now. Up the front is inner ankle lift. Inner thigh lift from the pelvic floor along the front of the spine under the Oregon's right at the back of the spine. We call it the front of the back, up the front of the spine to the inner ear. So the inner ear lift works with the release down. Amazingly enough, if you've ever read Mabel Todd's thinking body, which was published first in 1937, then republished in 45. I mean she's a genius and she's um, one of the four, one of the pioneers of imagery movement.

And in her book she says, let the spine be free down the back, up the front. So it's really, it's been around a long time. This deep understanding, it's just letting our bodies discover what they already know. What for us to get in touch with what's happening. So let's begin with standing in the front of your mat and since [inaudible] one hand behind your head, one hand on your low belly. Inhale, soften your knees just enough to feel your feet. Exhale, relax into your feet and get lift. So this is your down the back into your seat.

As you inhale and bend your knees, exhale and create. Lift up the front. That feeling. I'm going to talk to you about a lot through the mat. Once again, inhale, feel your feet, eh. Exhale as you lift up. Very good. Now you're going to reach forward. Reach forward because you're going to be sitting down from this feeling. So as you reach forward, here's upper core inner ear lifting up.

As you begin to sit down feet or hip with the parts and begin to sit down. As you reach toward one another set and come back up, press down to come up. Yeah. So feel the down. Give you lift. How does inner ear float up as you sit down, right? Feel how the up allows you to go down. That's right. And feel the reach of your arms. Yeah.

This feeling will free up your arms connection to your spine. It will change your mat work. Again. Reach through your arms are rooted to your breathing spine. That's it. Feel your shoulder, your arm, the connects through your shoulder, through your shoulder blade, through your shoulder to your spine, to the breathing of your spine. One more time as you release down. Good. This time as you sit down, right?

Go all the way down. Sit Down, feet on the mat. Good. Put your hands behind your legs. Beautiful. You got them right there. And then from there since way through your feet, inhale, so tall. Exhale and begin to curl back down. As you roll through that spine sense, weight only go to where you can feel the waterfall of your shoulder blades down the back. And then inner ear floats you back up.

Inhale to come all the way up. Lift up, look up. Keep the looking forward. As you exhale, as you your eyes, look down. Let your Chin relax just a tiny little bit. What's tiny? That's right. Feel how that length and your spine, good. And then inner hah. Aha. Inner ear floats you back up as you feel them down. Give you lift again. Inhale, exhale, sense, way through your feet.

Feel your seat as you curl down. This time you go all the way down. Place your hands behind your head. Hands are laced behind your head. Heavy head and your hands. And inhale, elbows wide. Exhale your elbows towards your ears. Feel the shoulder blades waterfall down the backs. Inhale, elbows wide.

Exhale, shoulder blades waterfall, and inhale out. Exhale, good. Keep your elbows forward. Allow your inhale breath into your back. Exhale as you curl forward. Sense weight all the way down into your tail. Feel your heavy tail as you curl up, relax your shoulders.

Relax the waterfall of your arms. Good. Allow the inhale there. Stay there, and exhale sense that dropping down through the shoulder blades. Feel the lift of the inner ear. Lift your toes when you lift your toes. How does that wake up? Lift through the inner ankle to the inner ear and inhale.

Exhale. From that lift, you float your right knee above your head. How does that right leg connect through your spine to your inner ear? Keep it there. Inhale, exhale. Feel the down. Give you lift. Feel the tail. Get heavier as you lift the other leg up, floated up. Good. Flex your feet. Keep reaching through the down and inhale.

Exhale. As you extend your legs away. How low do you want them? You do not want your belly to pop. You do not want your back to tighten. So have your legs at an angle that gives you shoulder blade to deep belly. Inhale, exhale. As you extend away. Inhale breath into your back. Exhale.

How does your feet go one way and your head goes the other way. Yeah. Feel your spine. Inhale. Exhale. As you extend out feeling that shoulder blade to deep belly. Beautiful. Yeah. One time. After time in hell, ex hell as you legs. Reach out. Good arms reach long along your side.

Reach some long hands on the mat. Walk, walk, walk along the Mat. Keep lifting up as you feel the down waterfall. Good. Yeah. And from there, inhaling and exhale. Bring your legs up a little bit more so you can really feel breath into your back. Flex your feet. Reach through your heels. Yeah. Beautiful. That's right. Feel the waterfall. Feel the grounding. Soft elbows.

Keep the exhale. Deepening your understanding of waterfall so you feel lift through the inner ear. Take one leg away. How far away does that leg float toward the floor? Only to where you can still feel grounded and wide. And your back. Can you still feel light on your neck? If the leg is going too low, you'll suddenly feel your neck tighten. You don't want to go there. Keep your leg flexed. How do you keep flex? Right?

How does that have you deep and your understanding of the down and the up. That's it. Yeah. Good parallel. Feet harder. That's right. We're so used to turnout and then lie back down. Beautiful. Hold your knees, weight shift, side to side, right? So feel the weight shift from one side to the other.

Your head goes one way. Your knees go the other way. Allow your body to hydrate. Allow your discs to hydrate. Feel how the movement is nourishing. Then extend your legs long, right? So arms above your head. Roll up, reach up as you inhale. Exhale.

As you begin to curl forward and round over, over, over, reaching through your feet and then reach through your heels. As you start to roll down, feel the reach away as you curl all the way down. Good. Now we're going to do one leg roll up. What a show everybody. So it's very hard sometimes to really get that softening and widening through the front of the pelvis. So bend your right knee, pull behind your side. Imagine you have an ankle weight on your right leg.

Press that leg into your hands. As you reach that leg away, feel the waterfall down the bag. Lift your head and reaching that foot. Keep asking the waterfall down. Beautiful. That's it. Feel how you can keep wide across your back as you curl up. Good. Sit Tall. Inhale up. Exhale as you curl back down, send that leg away from you. That's it. Feel that right. Sit bone reaching towards your left foot. Beautiful. That's it. Yes.

Keep the down giving you lift again. Send that leg away. Inhale, exhale. As you reached through that leg and round your spine. Feel the deep roundness and widening of your back. Inhale, lift up. Exhale. As you curl down, reaching through. That's it. Reach, reach, reach. As you roll down and change sides, let that leg release down. All right, and send that leg away from you. Inhale, exhale as you feel the waterfall down, down, down. As you curl up, breath into your back. Inhale, lift up, exhale and curl rounding. Feel that internal support.

How does the reach of that left sit bone through your right heel, allow you to ease yourself down. How does the grounding through the back of your arm create lift of your inner ear? Feel the waterfall down the back. How does that down give you deep hip release? How does that allow spinal lift? Inhale, lift. Exhale. As you reached through that left leg, releasing the hip, releasing, releasing, releasing down. Good. Yeah. One more time.

And send that leg away from you. Curl, curl, curl. Right? And lifting up and roll down. Reaching through [inaudible] curl, curl, curl down. Good. Reach your arms out to the side. Palms up.

Double spiral. Set up of the arms with your arms out to the side. Feel your shoulder palm is turned up so your shoulder is wide and open. Keep that feeling as you bring your arms down by your side. Palms up back of your arm is on the mat and then from there turn your forearm over. So now you've got the back of your arm. On the mat platform of the upper core to bend your knees and float your knees above your hips, right?

Feel how the down can give you lift as you press down to the back of your arm and your your hand as you lift your legs up and rollover. Inhale, exhale. As you go over. Flex your feet. Open your hip, feet, hip width. Inhale, exhale as you reached through your legs, right. Roll, roll, roll down and together. Inhale, feel the down. Give you lift. Press down to rollover. Open. Inhale. Exhale as you roll down, down, down, beautiful together. Inhale, press down. Soft, wide eyes.

Allow the chest to open and roll down, down, down. Keep your legs open. Inhale, exhale as you go over, reaching over. Yes and Britt legs together. Inhale, exhale, reach through your whole foot as you release, release, release. Beautiful to open. Inhale, exhale. Feel your tail. Take your legs over. How's your spine? Your breathing spine is moving your legs as you roll through.

Last one. Inhale, breath moves your body. There we go. Yes. And inhale. Exhale. As you roll down, down, down, left goes to the mat, right leg stays up whole behind your thigh and press that leg away from you. As you inhale, exhale and walk up that leg climate tree. As you walk up, send that leg to the middle of the room. Send it out, send it out. How's the down creating lift. Inhale there. Exhale.

As you walk down, reach that leg away from you. Reach it away. Reach it away. That's right. Right sitting bone reaches toward left foot. Yes, and again, and walking up. Reach the down. How's that right hip reached toward that left foot and inhale. Lift up and walked down. Did you send that leg away? Curl, curl, curl. Beautiful.

Last one and feel the down. Give you lift as you come up. Very good. Stay there. Hold. Relax your shoulders. Feel like you're slightly pulling on the skin at your ankle to open up your foot and then circling how you give a fashion release. Beautiful. How is your whole foot?

You move through the foot as you move in one direction. Baby toes lead as you go in the other direction. Big Toe leads. Remember the big toe is your mid line connection to big toe is your midline connection to the first finger and the thumb is your Midland [inaudible] baby finger and baby toe is your lateral support. That's your periphery. Isn't that interesting? Yeah. So gorgeous. Keep moving. And from there are you going to walk down right and walked back up one last time. Walking up.

Beautiful. This is a movement that I love to do. It's just a one that we created. It's called twisting teasers. He put your left hand on the outside of the right cause. The other hand down on the Mat. Now, right here, you want your spine to do the movement. You're breathing spine. Inhale, soften your knee. Feel your heavy hip. Exhale as you go deeper into your spiral to reach your leg.

Long, gorgeous. Inhale, soften your knee. Feel your heavy hip. Feel your breathing spine. Exhale, go deeper. The right, there you go. Yeah. Last one. Inhale, soften. Feel the heavy hip breathing spine. Exhale, go deeper. Yes. And then come back to seven second and then roll down. Walk, walk, walk down. Beautiful arms long by your side. Feel that upper core connection leg stays up and you circle that leg across your body, around and floated up. Reach it over, around and up.

Is that right hip? Reaching longer. That left foot. Feel the lengthening of that hip. Is your leg floating from your spine or locked in your hip? That's what you're looking for. And reverse down around and come back in.

Put your hand on your left belly and pull in and up. Lift in and up. Feel the lift up. Feel the suspender on that side. Feel the lift up. Yeah, that frees up that right hip. That's it. Feel the success bender around. Lift up. So the difference. There you go. So that helped breaches and long.

There you go. Yes. Beautiful. Yes. And that hip reaches long. Yes. And then other side, that lead goes down. The other leg comes back in right away. Left sit. Bone connects to right foot. As you walk up that leg, send the leg long, feel the down.

Create lift right in. Helps a tall feel the waterfall. Exhale, walk down, curl, curl, curl. Yes, and again, walking up. Feel the down. Give you lift. Inhale lifts up. Exhale, sense the waterfall, but you stay lifted as you walk down. Very nice. That's it. Yes. And again, feel the grounding, the reach through that left hip, reaching through that right foot. Good. Stay there. Pull gently on that ankle circle.

Freeing up. How does your foot relate to your whole body? This is not an isolated movement. This is a whole body move as much, right? Leading with the baby toe, leading with the ball, the big toe. Feel the movement of your whole foot point and flex it. We forgot the point and flex on the other side and the right side going, darn.

Yeah, but we have to learn how to let things go. So right twisting teaser on that side. So you're turning, you're spiraling. Other hand is on the Mat. Good. Feel the down. Give you lift. Inhale, soften your knee. Feel the space that you spiral into. Exhale, straighten your leg. Just spiraling deeper into that space. Yeah. Inhale, soften your knee. Feel how you free up space, exhale and you go deeper ride.

So then your leg extends from that connection to your breathing spine. Inhale, soften. Exhale as you go deeper. Gorgeous Yall, wonderful. Yes, come back to center and walk down that leg. Send that leg toward the center of the room. Reach it out, reach it out. That's arms long by your side, Phil, the upper core platform, and you circle that leg across your body around and bring it up. Inhale, exhale over, round and up. Feel the lift of your right low belly, the right belly, low belly suspender.

Pull up on that right belly suspenders so you get lift along that right side to release that left hip towards your right foot. Feel how down the backup. The front is moving each side, supporting each side, gorgeous, and then come up to sitting. Oh, thank you. A round. That's what happens when you're overly enthusiastic. [inaudible] around. Very good, beautiful. And then come right up to sitting, rolling like a ball. Feet are touching the mat.

Bend your knees, hold your legs in a way that you can sense the waterfall down your back as you curl back. So you want to have that feeling of curling back with your feet on the mat. Keep your feet on the mat and curl back. Keep curling back. Find the hover, find the roundness. Feel the waterfall. And from that feeling, can you lift your feet without losing?

You don't want your hips to pop forward. You want your shoulders to drop from that feeling. You roll back. Inhale the roll back. Exhale up to balance. That's it. Yes. Inhale back. Exhale up. Very good. Flex your feet. What feeling does that have?

How do you get more down as you curl and reach? Yeah, it's really fun. That's right. Feel how the down gives you more lift. Yeah. And back. Inhale, ex hail. Keep that feeling. And from there you transition. Inhale, exhale.

You send that right leg away from you. Curl yourself, slowly reached through to that left leg as you come out. And then from there, an inhale for two. Exhale for two. Yeah. What's most important here is don't be automatic. You know the exercise. Feel the waterfall, feel the waterfall. Get a sense of lift. How can you feel the shoulder blade to deep belly. You don't want to be in your shoulders.

You want to be in the shoulder blade to deep belly. And then double legs and inhale arms and legs. Reach out. Exhale and hug the knees. Inhale. Can you feel the waterfall here? Arms reach. And if you're reaching your shoulders too hot, drop them. Yes. And one more. Inhale. Feel the waterfall. Feel the shoulder blade, the belly and good.

Both legs go up, scissors. And in Hail switch ex hale. How much does the down give you? Lift. Feel the back of your leg connected to the front of your spine. Yeah. Flex your feet. Reach through your heels.

Feel how that changes the whole feeling. That's it. Yeah. Reached through those heels, reached through those heels. That's it. Fabulous. That's it. Ball. The big toe reaches ball. The big toe reaches. Oh yeah. Oh yeah. There you go. Both legs go up, pants behind your head, lower lifts and inhale the legs.

Move away. Exhale, bring it in. How far down do you go? Don't pop your Belize. Feel the breath into your back. Feel the lift. Tell your legs how far to go. How do you get the lift to support the reach? That's it. Breath into your back as you move. And then from there, crisscross and how do you take your reached through?

How is your rib move across? Opposite rib to opposite pelvis. There you go. That's it. How were you reaching through your whole flexed foot ratios, heels ratio. Those heels. That's it. Yes. Feel how the reach to the heel changes everything. That's it.

Yes. And then come right up to sitting gorgeous. Oh yeah. Sitting tall. Beautiful. Reaching out. Spine. Stretch sense. Weight, right hip, left hip. Sense the weight through each heel. And inhale. Feel the ground. Inhale you up. Exhale and dive you over. Feel the ground.

Lift you up. Heels and hips float you up. Inhale up sense weight as you dive the inner ear over. Yeah. Feel your breathing back, your breathing spine. Inhale, lift up. Exhale as you have over, over, over, over. Beautiful. That's it. And reached down to come up. Last one. Exhale over, over, over [inaudible] good and reached down to lift up. Beautiful.

And from there, open leg rocker and right leg. Inhale to float up. Feel the heavy hip floats the foot and release it down. Left hip down, floats the up and release and feel the reach. The down. Grates the lift and release the down. Creates the lift and release and feel the hips get heavy as your feet and had get light as you inhale and exhale. That's it.

Keep playing with it. That's it. And feel the down. Give you lift and flux. Your feet. Feel that feeling of how you're lengthening your back body as you feel. Lift and down and again, reach out. Reach through your heels.

Open and close and open and close and open and close. And then come. Why does your mat right reach through your whole foot? Feel the lift of the inner ear and roll back. Inhale back. Exhale up to balance. That's it. Reach through your heels. Feel that lengthening through your heel as you move. That's right.

Feel that lift right shoulder blade to deep belly supports the reach. How are you reaching through your feet? Reaching through. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. That's it. Reached through your feet. Feel the reach through the feet. Give you inner ear lift. Yes. Last one and come right up. Beautiful. Bring your likes together. Arms reach long by your side leg. Stay up. Inhale. Exhale.

You roll down the corkscrew legs. Stay up. Good. Find your double spiral arms. Feel the back of your arm on the mat and legs to the side. As you inhale, circle around Xcel. Press down to get lift up, up, up. Feel the up. As you roll down, feel the reach through your feet. As you release, release, release the down creates lift, print. Press down to create, lift and go up and right fill the reach to the inner ear is your release down. There you go. And the reach down through your arms lifts you up. There you go. Yeah. Last one, and down to lift and this time you come down and come right up for soft.

Good legs are wide arms or out to the side and sensing each. Sit Bone to each reaching arm, reaching through and inhale. Lift up. Twist to the left. Exhale as you dive all over. So feel the reach they give you and keep going over and keep going over, over, over. Yes. And feel the reach away. And then pull back to come up. Inhale up, twist, exhale over. Press the leg against your hand and reach the arms away from one another as you dive forward forward like rowing's. Yeah. Good. And then pull back to come up. Inhale up, twist.

Exhale, dive over. Reach your arms away from one another. Very good. Yeah. And pull back to come up. Inhale, lift, tall, twist and exhale. Yeah, I'll ride. Push you like out and fear. Yes. Feel how it gives you more spiral and then pulled back to come up. Very good.

Yeah. Feel how it's a rotation from a reach. That's it. Yes. Good. And then pull back to come up. Bring your legs together. Turn over on the Mat. Swan.

So we want ground reaction. Force the lift to happen from grounding. So hurting here. The feeling is what happens when you begin to lift your head? You want that feeling? What happens to your hips? Can you hips relax into the mat as you lift your head, look along the Mat.

Look along the wall. Can you feel the shoulder blades down the back? Move your arms under your l, your elbows under your shoulders, right? So you get that feeling of what is the waterfall down the back? How is that connected to my spine?

How are your arms rooted to your spine? How are your legs rooted to your spine? So your breath. Inhale, exhale and release down. And again, look along the floor along the wall. Feel the waterfowl down the back. Feel how your hips get heavy as your upper spine gets light sensing weight. See that, that feeling now from there, keep looking up to go into your hands. Look up. Look up.

Feel that lift. Notice how that takes tension. Fashional tension out of your feet starts to free up your feet from there, right? Feel the lift of your low belly, the waterfall of the shoulder blades down the back, and keep your hands on the mat as you rock up and down. Look up. That's right. Inhale, exhale, inhale. Hell, that's right. Feel you round this. Feel your arch. Feel your arch. Inhale. Exhale, inhale. That's right.

Shoulder blade to deep belly moves you. Yes. Good. And then sit back towards your heels. Round your spine. Great. And then come forward for single leg kick. So now we want that distinction of how we created lifts through the Swan to come into the setup for single leg kick, press into your fists. Bring your shoulder blades or your elbows under your shoulders so you can lift your chest and feel that lift through your low belly, the shoulder blade to deep belly lift up and right leg.

Inhale. Exhale. That's right. Inhale, kick, kick. And the way inhale, kick, kick, and the way, feel how your hips are opening as your knee is reaching, your foot's coming in, but it's not tightening your hips. Your legs are reaching long through your knees as your foot's coming in. Very good. That's right. Feel how the down is creating the lift. The reach through the knee is creating the lift. Yes.

And then lie all the way down. Double Legs, double leg kick hands behind your back. Elbow is released down, right. Exhale and kicked three times. One, two, three, reach long. Inhale, lift, lift, lift, exhale down. And one, two, three. Inhale, fill the down, give you lift and release. And one, two, three. As you reach out and fill you have the hips. Reel the lift and release down last time. One, two, three. And feel the reach of the waterfall. Create, lift through the front of your spine and release down and sit back towards your heels. Beautiful breath into your back.

Walk to the right side of your mat with your fingertips and breathe along your left side. Allow your legs to rest. Allow your spine to rest and then walk your fingertips to the other side and [inaudible] breath into that right side. What can you let go of that you don't need to be doing? How do you let go of tension?

And then turning around for Jack Knife. So come back to your rollover. Set Up, you lying on your back, knees above your hips, double spiral arms. Make sure you've got the back of your arm and your palm on the Mat, right? You need to go above your hips and press down as you take your legs over and then reach up with those legs. Reach up, up, up. Now keep the reach up as you roll down.

Keep reaching toward the ceiling. Feel the down. Float you bride and again, go over and up. Yeah. Now Flex your feet. Reach through your heels and imagine I'm holding your heels as you. You're melting down towards the mat as your feet are touching the ceiling. Yeah. Good. And again, oh, oh.

Over and up. Good. Flex your feet. You're not. Keep reaching through and clasp your hands. Clasp your hands and reach down and long and walk your shoulders open. Allow your shoulders to open, right. Come on dude, your shoulder blades and keep reaching up, up, up, up. Clasp your hands. Hold your hands and reach down and long down in, long down in long. Very good.

Keep reaching good. Now from there, from the reach down in long, keep the back of your arm on the Mat and put your hands on your back. Very good. Feel how you're creating a platform that's beautiful. Now from there, create the lift of your sacrum as you scissor your legs away. Scissor your legs toward the middle of the room. Less that way and more that way. Yeah, you're going.

That's a big go toward the middle of the room. Toward the middle of the room. Cause you're going toward high frog. You're going toward a high lift. That's right. A high bridge. And then bicycle. You're going toward me right here.

You're reaching out toward me. It's okay. It's good. It's very good. Yeah. That is good. You see how you're building it? It's beautiful. Good bikes. Look all the other way. Go down to come up. That's right. How can you reach down toward the floor, but only as far. Very good. Stay connected. Stay connected. That's beautiful. That's right. Yeah.

Now change your hand position. Put your hands directly on the side. Make a shelf with your hands. Feel the back of your arm. Make a shelf and have your leg go up and over your sacrum. Go up and over your sacrum. Go over your sacred. Yeah. Change your heel of your hand. Yeah.

So you go over now go toward the mat, toward the mat, toward the Mat, and just touch the mat. Touch the mat with the other leg. Touch it with the other one. Thought she was one, and then the other one to stay there. Yeah, and stay there. Good. Very good and good. And then roll slowly down. Excellent. Good. And roll down. Melt. Melt. Melt down. Excellent. Beautiful. Good.

How do you reach out from that lift? You see connected. That's what you're studying and playing with, right shoulder bridge with kicks. Likes together. Turn. Press down to curl your tail. Where are your feet in relationship to your tail? You don't want to lift from your back. You want to lift from your spine, your deep spawn theater hip with the part and extend your right leg.

Soften your front ribs as you reach out. Put point out to lift up and flex down. Feel the down foot giving you lift. Feel the left leg pressing to gives the right leg lift. You're only going as far as your hip is not falling around.

You want to feel the lift up. Don't go. So No. Let the leg run away with your spine better. That's it. Yeah, and change that. Now that's you're pressing foot. Other side extends out. Feel the lift of your right side, supporting your whole spine. As that left leg listens to the spine, it's not throwing the spine around. That's it. Reach through. Reach through. How has that foot connected to your inner ear?

How is it connected through your whole body? It's not just a leg doing something from the hip socket. There you go. Yeah, you bend that knee. Bring the foot down. Inhale, exhale and melt down. Down, down. Beautiful. Yeah. Lie Your side for sidekicks. Good, good.

So first of all, Benji, bottom knee, giving yourself a little wider base of support. Feel the wider base of support to lift your top leg. So feel the weight of your right side. Lift your left leg. You see that? That's less effort. The down creates lift right now.

Bring that leg back in line with your spine and flex your foot. Feel that that's a super important. This is so important because this is your walking position. If you do everything in the mat in a 45 degree, you never ever really get deep. So as support and you never get the the pure ab duction of the leg reaching straight out like this.

Keep that leg flexed and take it down and feel the weight of your right side to lift it up. Take it down and feel the weight of your right side. Lift it up. That's right. Feel how the down gives you lift. Be sure to take it back to where it's challenging for you. You want to get your hamstring involved. You see, you don't want to just be something that feels easy.

You want to feel how do you get the back of your leg connected to the front of your spine. There we go. That feeling very good. Yes, and now from there, keep it level with your hip and inhale as the leg goes forward. Exhale and you take it back, right. Inhale as it comes forward. Exhale, inner ear sends a leg back and the hip goes back. As your leg goes forward, as the leg goes back, inner ear supports.

How do you feel? Down the back, up the front, supporting your leg moving. It's always whole body movement. Always. That's it. This time your leg stays forward. Turn it out slightly and point out to come up, flex out and down. Reach out to come up and down.

Can you sense length through your spine as you leg moves? The how lengths. That's right. How is your sit bone reaching long to that fright foot. Now you extend that leg, your uh, your right leg out. And can you maintain the same feeling as you go up and down? Can you sense that feeling? The down gives you lift.

Very good. Yes. And then develop. Pay sliding along, extended up and reach it long and slide and up and long and last one and up and reverse and float up. Bend and extend away and up. Bend and extend away. And last one and good line all the way down.

Bring your legs back in line with your spine. Flex your feet and lift both legs up and lower down and lift them up and lower. Feel the down. Give you lift. Feel that whole right side. Helping to lift your legs. And this time you lift up and walking back and forth, pointing and flexing.

Yes. Beautiful. And then your top leg comes forward and the body goes back in a spiral. Allying spiral. Just release back on the Mat. Breeze. You'll be slightly off the mat. It's fine. So your right leg is forward, I mean left leg and your bodies. Yeah.

You just feeling that opposition. Beautiful. Then come back to center other side. So since the internal lift, you don't want to be here. Collapsed. You want to be up shoulder blade to deep belly holds your head, not your neck. Very good. Bring your leg, bend your bottom leg slightly. Bring that leg back in line with your spine. Flex your foot, right.

Reach through the heel and since wait through that left side to lift your right leg up. Just hip height and down. It's hard to feel what hip height, wood, hip height is. He's, that's your lateral support that is lateral, that is connected to your whole side body. That's it. Feel the down. Give you lift. Be sure to take your leg back to the place where it's hard for you. You want to feel the back of your leg connected to the front of your spine.

Hamstrings are postural muscle. They create lift along the front of the spine. They're gravity based muscles, which means that they're meant to work harder and not tire as easily. So you want to use your gravity based muscles. You're deep multifidus, you're right, more internal support and then come back and now hip foot is hip height, legs, hip height and you take the leg forward as the hip goes back and as you reach it back, inner ear lifts to hold that leg and the hip goes back to take your leg forward and inner ear supports the leg back and hip goes back as your leg goes forward and inner ear lifts and then the leg comes forward and you point out to lift up, flex out and down, point out and up. Flex and reach to that leg.

Point out to lift up and flex. Good. Now flex up and point and feel your foot connected to your head all the way through. Flex out to come up. Point. Any long gate. You see, you want your spine to connect to that leg. That's right. This is not a hip movement. This is a whole body movement. Yes, that's it. Breathing spine connected to arms and legs and head.

Good and develop. Pay sliding along that in her leg. Extended up and reach it long and sliding in, reaching up and long and sliding in up and lengthen out and then floating it up. Band and extend the other leg. Reach that bottom leg so you can lengths and along it and up and reach long. How are both legs connected to your head, right?

And then you bring both legs back, flex the feet by down on the mat and feel the down. Lift both legs off the Mat and release and float up. Feel the grounding through that left side. Lift your legs up and and floating up. Keep them up and walking back and forth right from your spine, your legs move. Feel the sow as support. Feel that front of the spine.

Feel inner ear. Feel the front of the pelvic floor. Beautiful. That's right. Pointing and flexing and then top leg goes forward. Body goes back in a spiral. Release breeze opening. Good.

Wonderful. And then come back to center teaser sitting up. Hold behind your size, right since weight. Since the weight of your legs, how has the weight of your leg connected to the shoulder blade to deep belly and walk up your legs. Begin to extend your legs as you can.

Relax your waterfall, feel the release down, lift your legs up and then from there, walk down, walk down, walk down, keeping your legs up, reach, reach, reach, reach, reach down all the way down. And then from there reach through and slide up your legs. Slide, slide side. But feel where your legs are that gives you the back of your body. Breathing, shoulder blade to deep belly. How do you feel the down? Give you lift. Feel the waterfall and hail there and walked down.

Release, release, release and again feel the reach. How do you reach this time? Reach, reach, retreats, and feel those legs float up as you reach through. Good. And then everything reaches up and [inaudible] down. And again, sweep around. Feel the down give you, lift the down creates lift and reach up.

Inhale and release down. Last one, sweep around. Inhale and feel the down. Create, lift. Beautiful. Inhale, reach up and release down. Down, down. Good. Yes. And bring your knees in. Hold your knees and rock side to side. And from that where Unis in now turn over for swimming.

You're around. Well your stomachs. Okay. Arms and legs reaching out, right. Press Down with your right arm and left leg as you lift the other side, right arm and left leg. As you lift your head and the other side, your head comes up. So your right arm is down and your left leg is down.

[inaudible] your left leg and then you're lifting up. Yeah, the other side. And then release. And then do the opposite, right? So feel the cross patterning that swimming is all about how can you feel? The lift of one side and you can study more about your secondary and primary curves in a piece that we just filmed. So it's your Cobra spine that you're getting in touch with.

How do you get in touch with that feeling of the reaching arm as you're extending alarm? The down arm is your primary, so you would feel the secondary curve and the primary curves. How are you moving without tightening your back, without gripping your back? How can you feel the down give you lift and have it be natural? And then from there, allow your hips to be heavy. Lift both arms and legs up as you lift up and paddling.

Relax your shoulders and feel the waterfall. Feel the waterfall down the back. How does your breath move your arms and legs? Soft hands. Soft Elbow, right? Feel the breath. Move your body and release down.

Beautiful. Yes, it back towards your heels. And from there, let's go to sidekicks. Kneeling. Okay, so you're reaching out. Let's do right leg standing and left leg out to the side. So right the right knee is on the ground and left is out. There we go. Great. So we're doing the same thing. And then from there, inhale to lift up. So feel your down.

Give you lift and go over in a mermaid. So first we're getting a sense of the release that happens through releasing hip and going over breath. Allow your hip to come forward. Feel the back of your leg. Can you feel your hamstring connected to your low belly lift? And then come back up.

And then from there you're going over to create lift. How does your head, the hand behind your head and feel the lift up. Then from there, inhale. Exhale. As you extend out, inhale and exhale. Inhale and exhale. Keep that extension and inhales you let goes forward. Exhale. As you hip comes forward and your leg goes back, inhale and exhale.

Keep that hip coming forward. Feel the lift of your inner ear as you move your leg, and then bend that knee and come up and over. Come to center, right? So from here, sled goes out to the side, right? Feel the lift and inhale, the arm comes up. Exhale as you go. Oh Hoover. Feel the breath. Feel the waterfall down the back.

That's it. Yes. Releasing that hip open. Feel the back of your leg, opening up your hip. Feel the grounding into your foot. Gives you more hip opening. And then from there this hand goes down to open up that hip lift through the inner ear, and that's what lifts this leg up, hip opening. And inhale, exhale as you reach out.

Inhale, exhale how your foot reach from your inner ear. Inhale, exhale, opening up that hip, and then your leg goes forward and you reach back. Inhale, inner ear lifts up as your leg reaches back. Inhale, exhale, and then reach down to lift them up. Beautiful. Now Boomerang, so you're sitting down and one leg crossed over the other.

Feel the press down to lift your legs up. Inhale, lift up, exhale, you go over and then as you come forward, you reach through. Excuse me, change the cross, reach through, reach around, down and over. Do that again. I missed your little cross. And again, press down as you inhale, lift your legs up, exhale over, change the cross. Inhale coming forward. Exhale, come up to teaser and reach. Very good. Inhale, sweep around for rowings. Lift the legs up, exhale as you dive over, and then reach back with your arms. Inhale, exhale and dive over. And again, press down to lift your legs up. Exhale over, change the cross. Inhale, exhale as you come through and reach. There you go. Yeah, reach back. As you lift up, keep lifting up as you release, release, release down and over, and then reach back. Inhale, X. Hail over and up.

One more. Press down to lift up. Inhale, exhale over. Beautiful chairs across. Inhale X. Hey els, we come through and reach out. Good. Good, good, good. Yes. Inhale, lift up. Exhale as you dive over, over, over, and then reach back. Inhale, exhale and dive over and sitting up and seal. Hands and side.

Just in time to catch our trains and clap, clap, clap. Inhale back, clap, clap, clap. Exhale. Forward, clap, clap, clap. Inhale back. Exhale. Feel the down. Give you lift and feel the grounding. Create, lift, and exhale. Last one, rolling out the ball. And seal are the first inversion. It's the first lift.

So you want to get the lift from that place of Ref. Yeah. And then from there, press down to lift up. Put your feet on the ground, press down and come up to standing. List up [inaudible] beautiful. Walk to the back of your mats, so feel the down. You're going to go down, release, reach through your feet, come forward to your hamstrings. Bring that foot forward, reach out, push off that back foot and walk forward. Other side. One more time. Yeah.

Down here. Rich through your feet. Bring your hips forward. Take the other side. Reach out and push off the back foot to come forward and finish. Bravo.

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Comments

1 person likes this.
Really liked and loved this class! Very nice!
Thank you, Ellen! I would love to know what you enjoyed most about this class...what was valuable for you? xwendy
Hmm good question, try to explain in english as good as possible. I love the theme about gravity and use that for movement. The way you explain it. The use of your visualisations made me really feel the connection with my body/core. Your enthousiasm And the flow in de class. It really made me connect with my core en feel my body in a way I want to feel it. Work with the breath and the gravity. Hard to explain but it felt right So thank you
Thank you so much Wendy. I have never been able to do tree with such ease. The more I pay attention the more I am able to get more of the connections we have to the round, equipment etc, to work with gravity no against it. Been a long time coming. I am trying for the inner ear for the up. Time will help.
What a joy it is to hear from both of you about your experience, Ellen and Lynn! You are so right that when we allow gravity to support us, internal lift happens naturally! Climb a Tree is often a stickler for people because each side of the spine is fighting the other side...rather than working together with breath and gravity...what a difference! xwendy
Great!! Thank you!! I can feel the balanced relationship in my whole body!!! Love it!!
Thank you so much, Ira....I am so happy that this class as helped you to be PRESENT to the brilliance of your biointelligent body, which knows how to re-balance itself, when we learn how to let go of the tension that we hold, by releasing our weight into gravity, which wakes up our natural relationship with UPLIFT, and the world around us!
Thank you Wendy! So nice to have you in my home reminding me to use gravity and that every movement is a whole body movement. Your reminder to let go so the movement is stronger and more focused allows me to do the movements freely, without gripping. Thanks so much!!! Hope there will be many more of these.
Thank you so much, Trisha..you are so right... the distinction of "allowing gravity to support us" creates whole body tensegrity where the whole body works together! It's core coordination where your abdominals are connected to your head,hands and feet, so uplift is natural. This is very different than "core control" where the abdominals are tightening your back and hips, and you need to use more effort to lift up!
Wai Yuk CHEUNG
Dear Wendy, love your class. "Move from the breathing spine" is the key words for me in recent practice. Thank you!
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