Class #3380

Day 19: Feel-Good Mat

35 min - Class
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Welcome to Day 19! Your body will feel great after this traditional Mat workout with Monica. She uses the Wooden Dowel in the Mat to help you get more opening in your upper back during certain movements. She also uses it to challenge exercises like Corkscrew and others.
What You'll Need: Mat

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Welcome to class number 19, out of your 30 session challenge. Um, we're gonna do a matte today about an intermediate with a lot of legs and a few advanced exercises. I wanted to use the wooden dowel that you can put at the end of your mat to get a little bit more opening in the upper back and challenge some of our corkscrew and legs series as well. So if you don't have the Dowel, maybe on your Cadillac, you can hold on to the two bars when I cue this part of the exercise. But um, otherwise, uh, see if you can pitch your dowel on your mat. If you are just doing it in your living room on an exercise mat, maybe grab off dining room chair and put it down close to you so that you can grab onto the legs or a club chair, you know, living room chair.

So those are options to help you get the same concept. All right, let's get moving here. We're going to start standing in our [inaudible] stance, doing a little bit of standing footwork, a little bit of bending the knees over the big toes, long, lower back and drawing the inner thighs. Even starting from the arches, the pelvic floor and lower belly. Everything up, lifting the crown of the head to the ceiling. Have that beautiful lift up as he cross one arm over the other. Put One foot in front of the other and let's keep that lift as we bend our knees and lower ourselves down to the mat. Keep lifting, keep lifting, lengthening the lower back and down. We're going to lift our bottom back to the middle and we're going to roll out scooping in, lengthening out, reaching my arms even back. Now I'm going to start with a hundred, right sir?

We're going to bring our arms down by our side and I'm going to think about grabbing onto my ankles as I draw my belly in and reach Cam. We're going to start pumping here and exhale on the next exhale. Extend the legs long and lean and low and exhale. Really letting go of those hip flexors, connecting the back of the ribs. Just squeeze out the air. Keep thinking about pulling those arches towards you. Those inner thighs, the lower belly into the lower back, up to the upper back. Exhaling in with the air back of the thighs are squeezing. That's 60 really work on that scoop. [inaudible].

Exhaling. That's 80 [inaudible]. Give me one more sec. Yeah, lowering the legs, reaching the arms up and back. We're going to lift the arms and head for the roll up and exhaling. Reach forward. Draw those arches. Draw those inner thighs, lower belly all the way back and exhaling and empty the lungs.

Okay. Stretch. Pulling back a heavy weight. Stretch that lower back. Keep the back anchored in with the air and lift the head. Exhale. [inaudible] pulling a heavyweight back to storage that lower back and up and back in arms, head and inner thighs. Lower back. Let's do two more and then we'll go into our rollover.

[inaudible] draw something back. Stretch that lower back. Good control. Let's do one more in with the air head. Exhale here. Stretch and pulling back. Making sure I'm staying centered and I'm getting ready for my role over pressing my arms down in a swing. My legs over open. [inaudible] ruled in stretch, stretch, stretch, sweep long and lean and reaching up, scooping it.

Flex Open. If you're on the mat, you can push back on the ball, the foot. We're going to reverse. Squeeze. Pull those legs towards you. Stretch that lower back and down low. Exhale in with you to start. Exhale all the way down. We have one more squeezing, lengthening. Think of your tower.

Keep the right leg. Stretch the left one down. I'm looking for my bars and I'm going to grab onto them and slide down till I have straight arms. K [inaudible] a little bit lower. So again, and grab onto your dining room chair here, or your Cadillac bars from your powerhouse. We're going to lengthen that right leg all the way up to our nose and do our circles. Here we go, one and two and three. I love to really understand how my upper body has to stay stable in this exercise. Rivers, reach that waist. Work your hips. Three two.

Here we go. Last one and bend that knee and hug it and slide it from the back of the FYE. Engaging it solid into the mat. Hug the left in. Stretch that one app. This is going to be a nice feel. Good, Matt. I hope you're enjoying it. We're going to lift that left leg from our powerhouse.

Long and lean right thighs anchored and up with to our nose and crests around. Up. Ribs are staying anchored back, right basting, anchored to around, up. Cross around, up, cross high, around up. Reverse all round three to reach and out. One more. Reach away from those arms and hug in that knee. We're going to get ready for rolling like a ball, so both legs are long in with the air exhaling. Then we're going to lift your bottom forward and grab on to your ankles and pull your belly off your thighs to balance. Inhale to roll back. Exhale coming up and again, five more.

Okay. Really massage that lower back, the upper okay to more rural and come right back up quickly. One more with a little bump on the way up. Good job. Let's lift our bottom back and we're going to do the series of five. We're going to s roll back with control.

We're going to do a little combinations here with our series of five, so I want you to draw both Hasan, extend the left leg down the middle and as you switch legs, have the right leg. Sweep the floor. Now here we go. Longingly oolong. Make it like a knife. Cutting down in the middle of the body. Stretch, reach, squeeze back of the Thiam Button.

One more set. Arms are up. Let's grab both angles. Same thing. Sweep long. Pull it bellies in and up to the fingertips. Exhale. Yeah, for more. We're using the back of my size and see I'm anchoring my ribs. One more drawing my inner thighs. Lower belly, single, straight like both legs up.

Reach the left leg long and switch. Switch and switch and Beck thigh and Becca flying through the air. Try to keep the tension out of your neck. One more. Set both legs up, hand over, hand behind your head. Take a big breath and exhale. Lift up your way over your bra strap or bottom of the shoulders and reach out. Pull up, reach up, pull up. Let's change that tempo down. Pull up. Oh, that's hard.

Damn. Pull up slow. One More Paula. Okay. Bend the knees, Chris. Cross right and squeeze your right hip. Pelvis. These anchor to get more power to come up. Last one and hug both knees head. All right, we're going to set for spine stretch forward. Up we go. Feet flex and arms lift at shoulder height.

Lift off the seat, dry your belly in and up and in with the year and empty the lungs. Pull the waist back, pull it back, pull it back and in with the air and exhale forward. Exhale. Four, three, two, one. Inhale up to three, four, five. Exhale down, squeezing the air out. Try to feel the connection to the back of the thighs with the squeezing the air out of your ribs. Let's do two more in with the air. Last one. Lifting up off the back of the thighs, squeezing the air out. Deeper belly and in with Europe.

So now you should be ready for your open leg rocker. I'm going to draw my powerhouse back. Let my legs float up, and we're going to be ready for open leg rock. Or here we go. Come forward onto that tailbone as much as you can, as much as you can. Take your weight forward and in with your back and exhale forward all the way forward. All the way forward. Lifting your belly in and up, not just in and buy more. Yeah, really working on my breath. Initiating from the lower belly, emptying your lungs on the way up helps ease your upper belly. Three more [inaudible].

Now same thing as rolling like a ball. Little quicker on the way up period and quickly and two more light on up. And last one up. It feels a little better. All right, we're going to bring her legs to Heather and roll down like a teaser and then see if you can grab onto your bars. Ooh, I match that up perfectly. So we're going to hold there and drop the belly. Take a breath, exhale the ribs, reach those legs long reaches you, drew up to the right circle, long and lean and center and over to your left ribs.

Squeeze out that air, et Cetera, and now to tempo and reverse. Squeeze those inner thighs. Draw that belly in. Reverse. Yeah, really getting a stretch in your shoulders and we're going to sit up. We're going to open the legs and we're ready for saw arms reaching out. Lift off the back of the thighs, twist those ribs and really squeezy or out as you exhale forward for your baby. Toe In with the air up, up, up.

Twist those ribs, upper body. Empty the lungs, keeping the hips anchored in with your app. Twist, exhaling, and therap. Torsed empty your lungs back arm, reaching up forward when reaching. Let's do one more set. Twist the tiny waist. Keep a tiny waist. As you reach, reach, reach, lift up through that waist.

Twist and emptying the lungs. Okay, up we go. Squeeze your legs together. Let's do neck roll with that bar. So you're going to turn around and you're going to find your bar and have your head. Maybe your ears equal with the bar first. We're going to start and keep my head up while I explain. With the lower half of your body here, really press your hips together.

Push your hips into the mat. You should feel your pubic bone down on the mat and reach those legs really long. Then create a little space underneath your belly button. See if you can lift it up off the mat before you start your neck roll. So here we go. Heads down, reach long. Lift the belly.

Now keep that lift in the belly as we lift up our head. Lift your head and sternum or chest phone with your belly lifted up to your rips. All the way up. Beautiful. Keep your shoulders square. Keep reaching those legs long and reach to the right. Circle the head down over your left shoulder. Look behind you. Look forward looking left around.

A lot of times we kind of throw this exercise away and lengthening to come down. And to do that again. Squeeze the legs, press the pelvis, lengthen. Lift the belly in opposition. This time we'll start with the open shoulders and we're going to look over our left shoulder. Circle the chin down to the chest over the right and look forward.

Reverse right. Circle the chin to the chest over your left. Look forward now keep reaching your legs long. Keep lifting your belly. Keep lifting as you pull the bars behind you to lengthen your spine in front up onto your elbows. Push your knuckles together. Same. Pull the belly up off the mat. Come on those legs longer, longer, longer, and keep one leg reaching.

The other one squeeze is one to one leg reaches one leg long, one like off the Mat, one leg kicking your bottom, the belly still lifting rich and lift and reach and stretch. One more set and we'll do double leg kick. Here we go. Same concept. Hands are going to be behind your head, mean your back and reach those legs. Long lifted belly. Okay. Legs up and and now reach those legs. Lift the belly effortlessly.

Lift your chest, switch sides, hands reach, belly left, and keep lifting your belly. Keep pressing down your pelvis. Keep lifting. Two, three, one more set. Yeah. Lyft, Lyft, Lyft, and other side and reach. As you lift the belly, reach, reach, reach, and lift in the powerhouse. Round your back. Sit on your heels, crawl your arms forward. Opposition. So you really want to have as much space between your belly and your thighs as possible. You can tuck under your toes and stretch your feet. You can pull your weight here and then grab onto your ankles and keep trying to use your belly to dive your head down. All good stretches. Let's turn around. Flip over for your neck. Bull legs are long.

We're going to start sitting hand over hand behind your head and take a big breath and exhale back. Inner thighs. You're pulling your arches towards you. You're pulling your lower belly, you're lengthening your spine. And now we're going to put our hands by your side and with the urn exhale, you can keep your hands behind your head and in with dear. I'm just going to do my first two like this. Okay.

And one more like this and then I'll join you. If your hands are behind your head. If you can't put your hands behind your head on the way up without jerking up, then keep them by your side. [inaudible] and the more, I almost forgot who was about to put them behind my head. Exhale and pull on the neck here.

That's why it's called neck pull. You pull here, here, here and up again tomorrow. [inaudible] in the year. Exhaling back. Yeah. When do one more immediately right into it. [inaudible] if you can keep your elbows wide on the way up. Even better.

Yeah. Time for our fun sidekicks. Turn onto your right side. Slide to the back edge of your mat. Your elbow and your feet are all there. Nice and long. There we go. Flex your feet. Bring the top leg in front.

Slide the bottom one under and now from your tailbone to your elbow, you should be a straight line. Let's lift up the left leg. Reach it long. Keep this line straight. Okay. And we're going to kick forward for a little double pulse one, two and take it back to em. Forward and back at four we got eight more. Your leg is reaching for the walls, reaching out of your hip.

You're trying not to hike your hip. You're trying to keep your box. You're trying to keep a little space under your waistband, not letting all of your belly hang onto the mat, but trying to keep the tight waist. We have two more forward and back that set around your waist, even on your side. And we're going to bring the legs together and I'm going to put my hand here to really work my outer thigh as I push up and squeeze down and up and squeezed down and up and squeezed down to mark up and squeeze. You can have your hand down in front or behind you. Last one, reaching long.

Really squeezing those inner thighs together. Five little circles. One, two. Notice how my upper body is staying. Still. Reverse. One, two, three, four, five there. Just small circles. Now I'm going to do bicycle. I'm going to kick that leg forward. Bend the knee to my chest. Keep my heel on my seat. Take the knee back to the other knee. Keep taking it back, back, back again. Corset, trying to keep my hips stacked and I'm going to extend behind me before I do another two forward. Bend the knee. Need a knee.

Try to keep this hip here. Stretching the hip flexor, working the hamstring and glute to extend. One more. Take the knee back. Make sure your knee is not lifting out of alignment as you take it behind. I hope mine's not reversing. We're gonna use the back of the thigh and see. Hold the leg there.

Towed your head as if it's touching your head. Need a knee. Need a chest. Extend forward. Two more back of the fine seat holding it there. Pull the toe to your head. Need a knee. Need a chest. Extend One more. The bottom leg can be flexed or soft all the way forward.

Make sure you're working each of these points all the way to nose and together. Let's bend the top leg. Place the foot flat. You can either grab it behind or in front of the ankle. Still keeping my box. Reach my leg really high. I'm going to lift, lift higher, lift higher, lift higher. Now from there I'm going to start my circles and I like imagining I'm back in New Orleans and there's this a big sugar pot and my leg is, my foot is stirring the sugar.

So getting every rim of that circle to more every rim, using that inner thigh. One more, and then when we're down, we're going to reverse it. Circling back and up and forward and down for more really working that inner thigh powerhouses. Always stabilizing. Two and one more. All right, and now both legs are long. Now we're going to lift both legs. I'm going to scoop my belly and remember this with the magic circle that we're going to pull our belly in first and then lift both legs as they squeeze and yet two more scooping in. Make sure my hips are square so that when I lift I lift correctly and down.

One more scoop and we're going to add big scissors up and now bring the Wa bottom leg forward and the top one back. Bigger, bigger breach for the walls switch. Keep your belly working like it has a corset and take that back leg back, back, back in the front. One forward and switch. Really reach out of those hips when we're switching. Keeping your balance. One more bottom, leg forward. Back one is hamstring and glute powerhouses in and up.

And now both legs together. Let's do a quick Manhattan walk here. One, two, three. Let's do 24 five, six, seven, long legs reaching out. Stop. Sharp. Inner thigh, sharp legs. Let's do five, four, three, two, one and lower ground. Rhonda Zhang, we're going to take that top leg, kick it up to your nose, take it up to your ear. If I can do this, you can. You know I'm not a ballerina and we're gonna rotate in that hip as we take it behind us. We're opening up for the next exercise and forward to your nose. Up to your ear. Take it behind you and together try not to roll forward on your ribs on his last one forward a little turned out up to your ear. Rotate.

Don't roll onto those ribs, legs behind you. Let's reverse straight back. Hamstring and glute, right. Rotate in that hip as you take it up to your nose, your ear, your nose and center. Two more back. Pull your powerhouses. It rotates up to your ear. Then to your nose and together. One more, always long and out of the hip. Up to your ear, rotating in the hip, up to your nose. And now pa say so.

We're going to slide our toe is our knee bends up to the ceiling and back to our shoulders. Extend the legs there. Flex and down and slide. As you open up that knee as much as you can up up, up to the ceiling, back to your shoulder blades. Extend here, flex and down. One more slide. Scooping it back. Flex and down. Reverse right up. Ben that need behind you. And now use those inner thighs, this, squeeze those legs all the way together until you flex. Flexing up.

Bring that knee behind your shoulders. Toe is close to your body as you can really working those inner thighs. One more time. Flex up me Benz behind you. Opening that hip toe is close. Get those inner thighs and then slide out. Let's roll onto your belly. Before we go to the other side, we're going to pull in our course that we're going to lift those legs.

We're going to reach him away from as we make a small pill and 20 beats one try to keep your belly lifted. 10 more. One, two, three, four, six, seven, eight, nine hold. We're reaching them long, they're still lifted and we're onto our other side. Low run down, flex. Bring the top leg forward and then the bottom one. And here we go. Now we're gonna move the right leg forward. One, two. We're gonna use the back of the thigh and see opening up. That hit to and forward too. And back to and forward to back to and try to keep a little space under your waist, really to emphasizing that course at work.

Keep your box and we're gonna do four more. Four and back, the sciency and powerhouse back in the thigh and seat and to back the thigh. One more and back and legs together. I'm going to put my right hand right on my hip so I really keep the square and work that outer thigh. Here we go. It's up and inner thigh down and outer. Sigh up and scoop your belly and try to work on your posture here.

Get longer in your spine, out the crown of your head too, and scoop your belly in and up. One more time. Outer Thigh and then scoop. Scoop, scoop, so you should be long from your head to your toe and five little circles. One that's what holds your body balanced here and reverse is the lengthening of the spine and opposition and hold bicycle. Kick it forward. Bend the knee to your chest. Keep the heel on your side, knee to knee. Take that knee back, back, back and extent and forward. Make sure you're breathing. I just saw myself holding my heard myself, holding my breath. One more, all the way forward. Bend the knee to your chest.

Keep the heel on your seat. Working that hamstring and glute and then extend using those muscles. Opening up the hip, reverse back of the thigh and seat. Pretend you can touch your toe to your head. Then need a need, the need a chest and extend. Scoop your belly in as that leg reaches Outta your head.

Toad ahead. Need a knee, need a chest and its stent and last one long reach further, further, further toe to head. Need a knee. Need a chest and extent. Alright, legs are together and we're going to bend the top leg, but the foot flat grab you in front or behind. Reach that bottom leg longer and lift that inner thigh and higher and higher and a little higher. And now we're going to go back to that sugar power. We go down over to the front, up to the top of the circle and to the back. Every rim. Don't miss any of that sugar circling three, two more. You use the inner side of lift that leg, scoop your belly and to help balance you. One more. Let's go the other way.

Circle one and back and all the way to the top. And all the way to the top of them forward and to one more and leg is done. Alright, both legs are straight and we're going to do Grand Rhonda job. We're going to take that top leg forward to your nose, then to your ear. All right, now here's where you rotate that hip.

You might be able to see it easier from behind and then legs together. Reach that leg out as you reached here. Nose up to your ear and then rotate. Whoo, that leg is tight on me. And one more. There's always one leg that's tighter, right? Which one is it for? You rotate in that hip as you go behind you keep your ribs off the mat.

Reverse hamstringing glue. Take it behind you. Here you rotate your hip to bring the leg to your ear, then to your nose, and then reaching out to the other foot. Two more back of the thigh and seat. Rotate in that it. Bring it up to the ear. Bring it to your nose and reaching out. One more back of the thigh up. Ooh, I skipped a few things. I just remembered.

So we did ground roundish on here before we did the lift. So here we go. We're going to scoop in, squeeze and lift and down scooping your belly. Squeeze and lift. And Dad, hopefully you didn't remind them. Think I've completely forgot and more. We're gonna lift and now we're going to do big scissors.

Bottom leg goes forward, top leg goes back. And now switch. Keep your belly and keep your course at. This is really hard. We take that front leg back or the bottom leg back. I should say ant switching. One more time after this, we've got one forward, one deck. And now really lifting in that waist, reaching the bottom leg back and legs together for that quick Manhattan Walk. Reaching out. One, two, three. Inner thighs are tight, scooping your belly and keep that posture, reaching those legs. And Five, four, three, two, one and lower. Alright, so now all we have is side passe. We're going to point the toe, slide it on earth. Inner side, try to get the knee up to the ceiling, try to get the knee behind the hips up and flex down to more.

Sliding up, up, up, up, up, needed the back knee, leg extend and flex. One more. Pulling in your powerhouse. Big stretch and reverse right up and they need behind the shoulders. Get the toe to the inner thigh and then squeeze them to lengthen out to mar up me. Behind you. Toe is close to your body. Use those inner thighs to extend. One more flex.

Pull that knee behind you. Toe here. Extend, extend, extend enough. All right, we're going to lie on your back and we're going to keep your legs nice and long when we do our teaser, even right now, see if you can grab onto that bar and just really stretch out when we extend our legs forward to a 45 degrees and then we'll just leave the bar and go into teaser one, two and three. So take a big breath, exhale the ribs, squeeze out the air and reach the legs long and hello and in with the air and empty the lungs up and in with the air and reach those legs. They stay in place. Using the breath. Think about your legs series you just did and pretend your legs are just moving easily cause we just did our sidekicks. We've got this and now arms up and lengthening everything down. Work your legs like sidekicks. Don't change the energy.

We've got two more arms. We've got one more in to seal. Hold those legs. Draw the feet towards you. Six seals, and then we'll stand up. One, two, three, one, two, three. Exhale. Inhale to start. Exhale, keep your corset. That's what balances you. Three more and we'll stand up.

See if you can use your inner when you clap. Last one here. [inaudible] really, you really use the back of the thighs to pull everything up. Go ahead and take a big breath. Okay. Turn your poems out. Next Hale.

Now I want you to inhale as you lift your arches, as you lift your inner thighs, as you push down your arms and exhale here and have a great day. See you next time.

The Revival Challenge: with Monica Wilson

Comments

Gerri M
1 person likes this.
Great variety and nice challenges
2 people like this.
I am a 78 year old female and I must confess I do modify some of the exercises, but my body is changing for the better. Thank you!
2 people like this.
Thanks for this wonderful challenge. Feeling longer, taller and more connected 😊
1 person likes this.
Thank you for another lovely day- 19 sessions have gone so quickly. Out of interest why do you not use the foot strap to help with neck pull? I find I can keep elbows behind my head with the support of the strap on the way up- and it enables me to articulate through the thoracic stretch.
1 person likes this.
I love this class!! I even start to appreciate side kick series with this class and my teaser was so much better after!! Thank you so much for this wonderful challenge, Monica
Monica Wilson
Thank you so much everyone! I am so glad y’all are enjoying this class and the challenge! Thank you also for all your feedback:)
Monica Wilson
Hi Caroline, The foot strap is an excellent tool to success! Just like you commented, it allows you articulate and keep your elbows wide and your chest open. Once you feel you’ve really got the hang of neck pull, you want to make sure you continue to challenge your body and to keep advancing. The next step would be to not use the strap and see if you can still execute it as beautifully. I do love my foot strap though!
1 person likes this.
Loved this class, vitalising!!!
1 person likes this.
I like this class as it only requires a mat and that is perfect for me. 

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