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Hi everyone. A while back I filmed a class when my back was out and I showed you the types of things that I was doing to ease my way back into my movement practice and I got so much really beautiful feedback from so many of you and such encouraging words of support and I want to thank everyone for that. This class is intended to be a follow up to that. I am much, much better how would even say back to normal, but these are the sort of simple things that I've been doing to keep up my strength and to make my way back into optimal health. So you can use this as a followup to that class or as a class on its own. It's up to you, but that's what it's intended to be.
Pelvic Tilt
And here we go. We're going to lie down on our back.So it feels like a circle of energy between the heels and the fingertips. Bring the awareness to the breath and the inhale. We allow the ribs to expand to the back and to the sides and as we exhale we lightly work through the center of the body to support the connection there in here. As you exhale, Tuck the tail under, allow the low back to flatten into the reformer and then inhale, reach back, taking the spine into gentle arch and exhale, drawing the abdominal. Then our how in the spine to flats and into the reformer and in has you reach back in arch.
One thing that feels okay for me now because I just feel like I can move a little bit more quickly and I don't have to be nearly so careful about about how, how I'm getting myself set up. But it, it's a very nice way this too, to just get the pelvis and the lower spine moving and now we're going to take it up into a full bridge. Inhale, exhale, flattening the spine, standing evenly on the feet, and then just begin peeling the pelvis away from the reformer, sending the knees forward and the heels back, the fingertips forward in the head back in here, and then exhale. Feel that again, that reach backwards of the head as we peel the spine back down. Working to bring one bone at a time into the reformer underneath us, dropping all the way down into a neutral alignment. In inhale and exhale, flattening the spine, stepping into the feet, pulling the heels back so it feels as though we're trying to pull the carriage into the stopper, which isn't difficult because I have springs on the reformer set up to do foot work and inhale, so they're assisting me in that carriage stabilization, but it's nice anyhow to to create the work necessary to keep the reformers still, even if we have a little assistance. Inhale and exhale, standing in the feet, standing in the arms, elongating the spine as it lifts out of the bed of the reformer, pressing into the top of the position. Inhale and then exhale, softening the throat, the chest, the middle back, lower, mid back, and working down through the base of the spine. Let's do one more inhale and exhale. Peel up, holding ourselves up at the top. Inhale, we're going to step into the right leg without shifting the pelvis at all.
Pelvic Curl
Lift the left leg up and touch the bar. Excellent. Lift the leg up and touch the bar. Exhale to lift up and touch the bar. Just Abel Asing the spine here as we stand on one leg one more time. Lift up as you play. Set foot back down onto the foot bar.
Bridge w/Single Leg Lift
Can we do that without creating a lot of shifting in the pelvis or in the spine as we stand on the left leg and lift the right leg up and touch. Exhale, lift and touch. Exhale, pulling the leg up from the center of the body. Here's our last two and down last one and down. Stepping into the bar. The most challenging parts for me is when I'm having to step down or change sides and really trying to look for stability there. We're rolling down the spine now, imprinting it back into the reformer and as we come all the way down through the pelvis, let's reach the arms around, hold onto the pegs, lift one leg than the other for the spine.
Bridge w/Single Leg Lift
Twist will go towards the right on the inhale and exhale, so working within our range that feels comfortable on your back if you're coming out of an injury. Certainly want to be sensitive around range, but if you're feeling good as I am starting to feel, we can really work into that range now exhaling to come back and I find what really helps me in this pro process of stepping back into what feels like my normal body is just the reminder to be patient, to go easy and to really look for the details in the work to really look for the support in the work and the strength that can be found in the simplicity of the movements selected. We'll do that one more time to each side in here and Exa and inhale, gently moving the spine and exhale. Then to lift the head and chest, hold the back of the legs, roll up, turn to the side and put the pelvis just at the front end of the reformer. Then roll back onto the reformer, letting the feet drop down towards the back of the legs. Hands. They're going to come behind the head here, reaching the scapula up in forward to cradle the back of the head. Inhale, take the back over the top. I'm keeping my, my upper back extended, but my low back and middle back on the carriage. Exhale to curl, inhale to go back and Xcel to curl. So when my back was feeling challenged, one thing that was very difficult for me was to go into extension.
Spine Twist
Now that I'm feeling better, I'm really enjoying being able to work that range. Again, I think it's a very important range to consider. We'll do three more like that. Inhale back and exhale to lift. Inhale back and exhale to lift.
Abdominal Curl w/Extension
Taking the whole of the size, deepening into that position, checking that the tail is down, checking that the low back is supported and flat on the carriage. Let go hands come back behind the head. We're going to lower the toes towards the ground and pull back in. Now the amount is that the toes go down is directly determined by the ability that we have to keep the lower back connected to the reformer. So again, a very simple movement pattern, not necessarily very easy but simple. We'll do three exhaling to lift and excellent.
Double Leg Lift and Lower w/Bent Knees
So lift and down one. Excellent to live. Reach again for the back of the size reach again, one. Once again, just reinforce that flexed position of the spine. Hands come behind the head again. We'll take one foot down and alternate.
Toe Taps
Toe Taps w/Oblique Twist
So I'm using my arms to really get a nice supported position there. I never ever use my arms to make something easier. I always only use my arms if I want to take some care to find a really, really solid position. Let's do four and four breathing, three and three. Two and two. Last time.
Last time. Bring the knees in. Take the hands back behind the head. Once again, just allow the back chair reach over the edge of the reformer, taking a stretch through the front of the body and then lift the head and chest, hold the thighs or the knees and come back up. So let's come back down onto our back.
Heels
Once again, I'm going to put my hands on the front of my pelvis, on my ass and bend. And so I'm just feeling for equal pressure in my legs, feeling for the neutrality of the position. You want to keep that tailbone down, but we also want to make sure that we're not doing that effort by lifting the ribs or the center of the body. So the back is nice and stable. I like to imagine that I'm velcroed to the reformer and that nothing in my legs can happen until the center body connects and starts working. Let's do three more out and pull out and pull one more out and poor.We'll do five little pulses here to maintaining the strength in the legs too. And one come back and move onto the toes, pressing into the bar with all 10 toes. Press out and ah, and back breathing. Feeling the length in the neck. You can also feel under the hands for there has to be engagement in the tissue underneath your hands and the bowl of the pelvis. We'll do four more here out keeping the heels nice and still three and then two and then one more out.
Heels - Pulses
Back in pause and pull. Two, three, four, five and bend in. Swivel the heels together to touch. Pressa wrapping the hips and wrapping the hips. And I'm trying to again find connection to the center body before efforting in the lay eggs, we'll do four pull back. I play a little game with myself where I try to make it more difficult to come in than it is to push out.
Toes
One more bending in and we pull to deepening in the abdominals. Every pulse press, Huh? Bend and take the feet to the outside of the bar. Feel that the inner size are sliding towards one another. So that there's an energy between the legs as we stretch in.
Toes - Pulses
Then bent, stretching, then bend flexing through the feet, breathing with each movement. Last five and pull back four and pull back three and two. One more. Bending in, pausing there. Tiny pumps. Five, four, three. I'm trying to go deeper into my abdominals with each pump. Press out and bend in.
Pilates Stance
Pilates Stance - Pulses
Reaching out and coming back and we're going to move the feedback in towards the center, keeping them just hip distance apart. Reach out, take the heels under and connect that heel raise all the way through the back chain of the body. Cross the hips through the upper back, which is heavy through the back of the skull, which is heavy, but try to find some lightness in the feet. Pushing the bar away. We do four and three, two and one. Let's alternate the feet.
Heels Wide Second
Now pushing into the foot bar with the bent knee foot. The foot that's attached to the bent knee pushes actively into the foot bar as the opposite heel draws under for a stretch. We'll do five more here.
Heels Wide Second - Pulses
Travel a little higher up and lower down into the Achilles and up into the belly of the calf. Stretch the hill down underneath the bar again, come all the way back in and reorganize the feet so the pads of the feet are on the bar. The toes are reaching over. The top of heels are reaching down
Toes Wide Second
And then last two ribs are heavy.
Toes Wide Second - Pulses
Heels Lower Lift
Bring the legs up into a tabletop position. In here. As we exhale, we're gonna curl the head and chest, reaching out towards the foot bar as though you could touch and then lift the arms and then bring the head and again acts to lift up, making sure the lower back is coming into contact with the reformer and then lifting the alarms. Using that lift of the arms to challenge the height of the torso and head comes down and three more x to lift. Lift that alarms and bring it down. And two more. X how to lift. Really energizing the alarms. That's what helps us lift as high as we can.
Running
Here's the last one. We're going to hold it up. Stretch the legs out straight and bend. Reaching past the feet and cha pull back and her recheck. Pull back, lifting higher. Two more. Bending in. One more.
Toes Parallel
Bending in this time. Bend install for the lower spy lifts up, curls up off the reformer, lower the pelvis and lower the body. This time as we exhale, we'll send the legs straight up into the air. We're going to take the legs down. Lift the legs to 90 cruel, the pelvis up, curl the pelvis down, take the legs down, lift the legs nice and simple. Moving the spine from the center of the body. Three more down, a little pelvic Kirra and down. Two more. Down and back. Little pelvic curl. And then last time down and little pelvic curl and down.
Spinal Twist
Bend the knees, lower the body.
Roll Up Variation
Putting a lot of focus into the squeeze in the heels that drag in the press of the lengths.
Hands in Straps - Reach Forward
I always like to challenge myself to make the legs work at the exact same rate. And if you've heard me talk about that before, you might know and that's sometimes a challenge for me as a think you can be for a lot of us. Well I'll do four looking deep into the details. Three to find the integrity in our work.
Hands In Straps w/Double Leg Extension
It's this very focused simple work that prepares us and makes us able to do the more advanced movements.
Hands In Straps w/Double Leg Lower and Lift
Imagine that you have something heavy to push heavier than the springs even so that you're working into the spring tension, but you're also creating additional challenge for yourself.
Frog
I find with the heels close to the hips, it oftentimes gives me a little bit more opening in my back rather than so much of a hamstring stretch and press out folding in half. Letting the springs assist the lift of the spine, bending the knees, heel tight into the hips and peeling down, peeling down, peeling down, working into that lower spinal stretch. And then we'll just do that twice more. Letting the springs help us and assist us into that lift. Keeping the arms long, the neck long the heels tight to the seat and lowering down and you're reaching at one more folding in half.
Leg Circles
Finding ease in the position, ease in the body and bringing it down. Once we arrive all the way down, let's take the feet open, bringing the arms on the insides of the knees in an effort to open and stretch the hips. Pressing the knees out, pulling down on the ropes, pressing down and back through the hips. And then maybe rocking just gently over to one side, going into a deeper stretch on one side and then find center rocking over to the other side. Deepening the stretch on that underneath of both sides, really and center. Let's do that one more time to each side. Over.
Lateral Open Close
Short Spine Massage
Hip Stretch
Roll Up Variation
I realize that perfection is elusive, so forgive me for my infor perfections when they are eyes and coming all the way back in. I'm gonna just six change legs. Their right foot goes up against head a. What's that? A shoulder block against the shoulder block. The front foot steps up onto the foot bar.
Hip Flexor Stretch
We get a little bit of energy back through that right leg as we press the carriage back, working into this stretch to the front of the leg. Breathing in and out.
Like my two sides. Never even met each other and come all the way back in. Pausing for a few breaths.
Down Stretch
We just changed the shape and the arms exhaling to press out. Inhaling to lift up. It's a good idea just to keep the gaze in the same place. Now it will change. It will shift as the carriage is moving. But what I mean or what I'm trying to emphasize is that we're not looking down to initiate the movement. We just continue to keep the eyes forward, to keep looking out into the distance, lifting up feeling as though we're lifting up away from the foot bar.
We'll do two more. Yeah, yeah.
Chest Expansion
So it's quite easy just to lean back and let gravity help, help you balance. But let's try to see really forward right over the top of the knees and use that as a challenge so that we have to create our own sense of support. We'll do two more here. One more.
I'm an exchange my red spring for a blue spring. Reach forward placing the hands on the frame of the reformer, shifting the shoulders forward of the hands and the knees slightly back of the shoulder block. So my thighs are on the shoulder blocks, but my knees aren't round the spine
Reverse Knee Stretch Round Back
Rather than focusing on pulling from the legs. We'll just do two more and back deep and stretching the spine and back.
Tricep Pull
Kneeling Arm Circles
Sit down on the feet to pick up the straps and then come back up into the knees, onto the knees, taking the arms forward in a holding the orientation of the spine, reaching the arms to touch both sides of the room. Exhale using the front of the body just to stabilize the spine in this position to keep it nice and steady.
Mermaid w/Rotation and Extention
And I'm so grateful to be in a place where I feel as though I can work some mobility in my spine again rather than just trying to hold it still. It was a long time where I just stayed still. This is the last time. Go out. Inhale, exhale to roads. Hey, reorganize the hands so that one is on either side of the bar and then lift the chest through the arms as you come up in extension towards the bar and press out. Come up in extension towards the bar using the arms to square the shoulders. We'll just do one more recheck. Come back and lifting up. Lightening up out of the pelvis, push at, bring the and back to the center.Open the position again. Lift all the way back up. Take the hand off the bar. I put my hand on the shoulder block or the handle that's just in front of it and I use that arm to help me just navigate in that direction. Helping myself to just get a little deeper stretch on that side breathing and then we'll come around with the hands and use the arms to help the spine go into a rotational position and then we'll come out of that and change sides. So setting up the legs on the opposite side.
He one hand on either side of the foot bar, lifting the chest through the arms, push the reformer back with the back shit and the one pushed up against the shoulder blocks. As you lift the chest in opposition. So recreating a multi-directional energy. Reach out and pull back in feeling that we're trying to stretch the bar in two directions east and west, and reach out. This is our last one coming back through.
So we're going to put the box on the reformer long ways. I'll keep that red spring.
Swan
How about your range? We lift the spine, take the spine back down and Ben the arms, pulling the arms apart, keeping the elbows just under the hands. Reach of dominoes. Support the lower back as we move through the upper back into however much of extension feels appropriate to your body. We take it back down and bend to come in. We'll do two more. Reach out.
As you're lifting up. Take the reformer back. Bring the reformer in.
Roll Down w/Arm Extension
And we'll just do that one more time. Reach Ja going well, if that feels appropriate to your body today and curling back in, standing on the feet, lifting the arms off the box and up into the air. Yeah. Softly allowing them to open to the sides of the body and bring them all the way down. Thank you for joining me.
Slow Burn: Reformer Workouts
Mention
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Meredith Rogers (Teacher) |
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MARY ANN W |
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Kim F |
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Irving D |
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Renae K |
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Misty P |
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Margery C |
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Charlotte F |
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George C |
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Deb R |
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Fern S |
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Christine T |
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Noelle |
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Marcy M |
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Karen L |
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Dian E |
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Sarah S |
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Janie Flemming |
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Michelle B |
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Brett G |
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Michael Mary S |
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Rachel R |
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Bahara |
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Rena W |
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Tamara G |
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Elizabeth D |
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Lissa D |
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Erin O |
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Darlene Bradlee |
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Kit W |
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Paulina |
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Vicki O |
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Z A |
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Kristi B |
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Cansu S |
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Heidi VDB |
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Brian D |
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Connie M |
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Anita P |
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Galina G |
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Lori M |
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Lori |
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Jackie H |
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