Class #3823

Roly Poly Mat

45 min - Class
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Find a connection to the two ends of your spine with this advanced Mat workout by Cara Reeser. She uses the roly poly as an inspiration because of the way it can curl its head and tail. She teaches exercises that include spinal articulation to build up to advanced movements like Crab and Headstand.
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Hi, I'm Carol Reeser and I'm here to teach a advanced mat class. I'm here with Karen, Jen, Amy, and Noel. Thanks you guys for being here. The theme of this class is, uh, well, the inspiration for the theme of this class is the Rollie Poli bug, which I have great affection for, frankly, and I try to save them and not ever step on them. But what, what, what inspired me, that's really pulley bug is how it, it curls its head and it curls it's lower end, right? So it can kind of make all of the exercises that we like struggle with so much employees, right? All it can roll like a ball, a can roll like a rocking horse. It can do the swan. It can do. So I was like, hmm.

So theme being Roly Poly Buck, how do we get there? Well, we think of our head, you guys have heard this from me before as our first vertebra, and we're thinking of our pelvis as our last, right? So we're going to make sure that we have a real connection to the rotational movement at the AOE joint and the rotational movement at the joint where the pelvis comes into the legs, right? So we're going to be a really flossing, basically the two ends of that and looking for a lot of spinal articulation. So when I thought about the plies exercises, I thought, what's the ultimate role of Poli exercise? And I thought it's crap. So we're going to be apexing this with crab and we're going to flourish out that crab a little bit with a little bit of head stand out of the crab and see if we can unravel that roly poly bug and uh, come back through.

But when we get there, all demonstrate that part. So let's start standing up everybody at home as well. And let's just start to feel this idea of our head and our tail. Our pelvises is the first and last vertebra. So just standing in a comfortable hip with position parallel.

Standing Roll Down

Um, just shut your eyes for a second. Yeah, yours may, maybe some anticipation like, Ooh, I'm taking an advanced class, right? So take a couple breaths. I know I said the word crab head stands. I probably triggered you. So use the exhale to just let go. I drop your head on the inhale and let your spine follow all the way down. Exhale, we're rolling down standing, starting to get familiar with this concept of pelvis and head rolling up from the rotation at the hip joints, pelvis, unraveling the spine all the way.

Head stays down until we're almost vertical. Unfurl the head. If you feel like thinking rolly Poli bugs right now, that is fine with me. I think they're cute. If they were pulse, you do not bring them to mind and think of something else. Go all the way down and moving the pelvis. Troll up and that's the main thing I want you to be feeling here is that pelvis to head relationship.

Good. One more time. Head down and see if you can just notice when does your pelvis need to kind of follow through on the way down. See if you could notice when is your hat, when does your head follow through on the way up? Yeah. Let your pelvis fully rotate there. Yeah. Nice Ladies and rolling back up.

Feeling the pelvis moving. Let your head stay heavy, right? So you're just that little rollers hold about coming out of that position. Yeah, and last time we're going to roll down and we're going to, this time we're going to go and become a little roller pulley bugged down here at the bottom. We're going to do a little ball shape. Let your heels come up and make the smallest little ball you can straighten your legs, roll back up. We'll do this a little quicker. We go head down, rolling down all the way through. Bend the knees, make a little currently ball shape straight in your legs. Roll all the way up.

Little Ball Squat to Stand

Okay, good ladies. Walk forward on your mats because the next thing that's going to happen is we're going to sit down out of that squat, drop your head roll down, go into your Rollie Poli and put your heels down and put your bum down. Good. Let's take our arms like this and honor of the Catholic grant set up and a roll on down to supine position. Right? So feeling that same movement you felt standing.

Cervical Curls 1-4

We're going to bring our feet a little closer to our sitz bones and we're going to start with our cervical curls, right, with our head lifts. So we're going to start by floating are, let's take our hands behind her head. Actually. This is how we're going to roll this out today. Elbows, narrow scapula picked up onto the sides of the chest wall. Float your head off, curl your head in and find your way up into your upper abdominal core curl. Or if you're a heritage person, you know we're at number four here, right?

And then the roll that back down and let your head come back and again float your head and then spin and keeps spinning that head curling up. Getting up to your upper abdominal curl as high as you can go, right? I think you've got a little more in you, Amy. There you'd go and roll back down. Great, so go up one more time to do that guys, keep your forward. It's pulling the Scapula back that pulls you back. You got it?

We're rolly polling today, guys. We've got to pick that, that, that exoskeleton of the rolly Polly up. Yeah, that's a girl and back down. Good. Take your hands to your thighs for your slammed board. Pelvic tilt. We're going to slide the pelvis through. We're going to push the thighs into the risks. Really strong back of the leg and roll back down.

Slant Board Pelvic Tilt

Yeah, so let's get with that. So go on. No way up. Good straight arms, everybody at home. Press your thighs into your hands. Press your hands into your thighs and roll back down. Good. Karen, bring your feet closer to your sits bones are going to be happier. Jen. Hip width apart and everybody at home. Those cues too. Let's go up all the way. Good. Now notice, are you putting a lot of weight on your cervical spine?

Tip your head back. Make sure you have space under your neck and roll back down. Yeah. Here we go. Next thing, reaching your arms over your head. Interlace your fingers. Hold the back of your skull. I'm stealing this from the Feldon Christ technique or something that was told to me was that, and we're going to come up into our rurally pulley upper body first. Now we're going to do that same slammed board pelvic tilt, and that curling of the pelvis up is gonna take us back with our head down.

Flossing Spine

Now the upper abdominal roly polies is going to bring our pelvis down so it's like a little seesaw movement, right, and pelvis gums up and that takes your head back. Don't anticipate, let this be organic. Yep. You're all anticipating in the room. Lift your heads up. Don't let drop your butt. Let your heads come up, curl up and let that movement bring you down. Right? Exactly. In pelvis up. Let that take you back. Yes, Jen, so you can imagine. Now we're starting to get that move and in the spine that we talk about in plots so often, all the way down, right? Upper Ab curl paws are a head down, arms crossed at the elbows or reaching forward.

Walk your feet away if you need. We're doing our Kathy grants. Sit Up here. We're going to go head lifts. Zero. One, two, three, four. Up. Slow, slow, slow, slow. Yeah. Take it down. Easy breathing. Everybody. You guys all know this work. You know your practice. You've got this thing.

Kathy Grant Sit Up

Your rolly polling your pelvis. That's it. All you are as a Rollie Poli. That's it. If you're really pull your Rolie polie right? Yeah, that's it. Let's go up. Yeah, no. Resting Karen. Here we go. All the way. Good. Yeah. Nice. Cross your arms.

Go down to the tightest spot in your rollie polar spine and we're going to do some green room pulses. Training. Oh one two, three, four, five. So a little lower. Six, seven, eight, nine, 01112131415 come all the way up to seated. Yeah, I did. I say this was an advanced class. Here we go. And hands behind her head. Rolling back. We're going to pull out his footwork.

Green Room Pulses

Roly polies, knees in heels apart. Inhale, stretch up. Exhale in him. X in x, four in each position. Curl the toes in, x in acts good. Keep curling forward in ax. Keep curling forward.

Pilates Stance

Good Dorsey, flex your ankles out and and right. Even cruel. Your tail still right, cause you want to avoid going into extension. You have one more in this position. Good. Take your legs out. Figure it out. Point and flex. Roly poly guys, you have to think about the Rollie Poli. Good. That's it. Karen. Nice you guys and knees into your chest. Lay your head back for a moment.

Prehensile Toes

Inhale. Exhale up to hundred. Here we go. Pump it out. Two, three, four, five. Exhale. Now I would argue that you're still curling up in this exercise. Said, I would argue this exercise should feel more like the roll up or more like a rolly Poli bug than like some static position, right? Not Interesting. So keep it moving. Good. Exhale, knees into your chest. Lie on your back. Stretch your legs out for roll-up. Oh, makes roll. He means he right here he go. Inhale, arms overhead.

Heels

Exhale, curl it up. Stretch forward. Inhale, roll back. Exhale, arms. Inhale. Exhale. Curl it through. Reach. You can even do a little traditional pulse here if you want. Inhale, roll back. Exhale arms. One more in. Exhale. Paul's it forward.

Tendon Stretch

Roll all the way back. Okay. And Bend your knees hip with the part, right. We're moving into a shoulder bridge series before rollover so that we're better prepped. I want you to press the back of your head into your map for one, for two, for three, for four and release.

Hundred

Press your arms into the back of your mat for one, four, two, four, three, four, four and release. Press your head and your arms for a while. One, four, two, four, three, four, four and released. I'll come into a shoulder ridge, pressing your head and arms back. Lifting your pelvis. Lift and hold for one pressing hold for two pressing hold for three pressing hold for four pressing roll down. Okay, good. One more time. Keeping that pressing. Chin off your throat.

Roll Up

Guys up. Press. So press your arms. Press the back of your head. More like the back where you'd wear your like a Yamaka. Not, not like the back here, right? Like up here pressing. Yeah. Yeah. Good. And come back down now.

Shoulder Bridge - Neck Press, Arm Press

Take both knees, float them into a double piston tabletop legs. Straighten your legs up to the ceiling. Give me that press in both directions and rollover. Take it over. Inhale. Nice. Karen. Open flex. Roll down. Good. Now don't lose the point here, which is pressing, pressing, pressing press and over open.

Roll Over

Flex and roll down. Right? So you're going to feel your Chin wanting to get dragged in. Keep your chin off your throat. One more in this direction. Open hands pressing. Oh arms. Don't forget to press your arms. Reverse the action.

So we got out of sync. That's good. That's cute. Let's all stop when you get down for a second. So you ladies, you can stop with your legs up. Good. Let's do one more over leg wide. Yeah, you were right over legs wide. Good. Close and roll all the way down. Lower your left leg. Grab your right leg, pick up your head, cruel your head. Hold your ankle and pull your leg towards you.

Tree

Be in the rolly Poli vibe. That's it. Breathing in the roly poly vibes to head is really tucked in, right? Great. So now keep your upper body. I better do this with him. Keep your upper body where it is. Bring your arms down, lower your leg, walk up for tree. Walked down for tree, connected to this Rowley pulley concept.

Here we go back and walk up for tree, right? Walk down for tree. And here we go. Single leg circles. Cross the pelvis. Way over. Inhale. Exhale home in. Acts in acts. One more other. Way Out. Cross it.

Single Leg Circles

Now how about pressing those arms and the head back a little bit again. So we've got a nice space here. One more. Bring that knee into your chest. Give it a squeeze. Roll up to seated. Okay. And let's do, hold on. Keep that leg out. Let's do some leg lifts here for second one and two.

Single Leg Lift

Now feel how this leg lift roly. Polies your tail a little. That's good news. Switch legs. I'm a rollback. You're about to go to your split stretch. Hamstring. Split stretch on the other side. Curl the head in. Pull the leg in. Good breathe. Keep your roly polies self right.

Tree

So pelvis is curled here guys, cause that's how, that's how the body works in the leg is up really high. So don't try to keep that down. Let it Roley Poley through. Yeah. And then keep your head up. Take your leg, lower. Arms out. Head Up. Walk up for tree. Yeah. Good. Use of a momentum going on over here. That's what we need sometimes.

That's all right man. You gotta you gotta you gotta work hard to get good. That's like, that's the way it goes. Yeah. And walk back. Damn good. Single leg circles. Cross. Inhale. Exhale. Good. In X, we have four in each direction. You can count press right. I'm still pressing my head. I'm still pressing my arms. I'm still totally rocking it. Like these four ladies. Yes.

Single Leg Circles

Two more good. Keep your breath going. Everybody bring that knee into your chest. Roll up to seat it. And we're doing leg lifts here, right? So I always teach this here cause I want to feel that pelvis grow. Yeah. It's a big demand on the quads, Karen. No question up.

Single Leg Lift

You go bring the leg in, rolling like a ball and go. Inhale. Exhale. Nice. Raleigh, Paulie. Right here in the room. Four of them. That's it. Curl the tail. Curl the head, right? So when you're thinking this way, it helps you, right? You're bringing image to mind. Mind is helping direct the body. That's what we're doing in polities. Last one. Yeah. Great.

Rolling Like A Ball

And stop. Here we go. Now we've got a little variation on our abs here is to stay with me. Okay, we're going to come back. We're going to roll down. I've got my right knee and my left leg out, right? I'm going to ask you to hold your right leg at 45 bring your hands as if or on a wall, and you're going to lift and lower the left leg. Inhale. Exhale. Inhale.

Single Leg Stretch

Exhale. Inhale. Exhale. Bring that wagon and switch. A little variation on single leg stretch, right? Just to get me working. The lower part of my abs, a little different. One more. Good. Now this is the real fave of my year. We're going to split stretch left leg up, right leg down.

Single Straight Leg Stretch

Now take your hands behind your head. Thank God they say, and rock your pelvis away and forward. So your back arches a little and it rounds. Pick up your scalp. Lit Arches. A little it rounds it arches a little it realms. Roly polies switched legs. This is totally intense, right at home. You're filling your lumber's spine. Get flexed, extended, flexed, extended right. This is an advanced class who were strong enough to handle that.

Take both legs up to the ceiling. Take your hands behind your head for Chris Cross. You have them there and right leg. One, two. Exhale. One, two, good breathing. Good. Keep this scapula up and rest. Lie Back. Good. Put your feet down. Take a couple of breaths. Woo Babies. Stretch your legs out. Arms over your head.

Criss Cross

Roll up to seat it. Perfecto. I know you some momentum y'all. Gosh. All right. Take your legs out for your spine. Spine, stretch, seat it. Let's start with our arms overhead, right? Inhale, exhale, curling forward. Let's do the version where we really curled down to the floor and try to tap the crown of your head.

Spine Stretch Forward

Head to the map and back up. Right? So a little different than I sometimes teach us because we're headed towards crabs. So we're gonna do this version, right? We're doing what prepares the body for the advanced practice. Exactly. End Up. Good. Karen. Keyhole, your arms extremely rotate the arms.

That's what that means in Kathy Grant Code and go forward. Yeah. There she goes. Let your arms lower a little cause there's a little hyper mobile in there and come back up super one more time and get your head to that. Matt, you guys can do this thing like really tap it. Yeah, right. Be a Rollie pulley buck. Yeah. Yeah. She's moaning. She's a moaning rollercoaster like and arise and bring your self to open leg rocker. Take your ankles, right so you can see how many stretch those legs in and out.

Open Leg Rocker

A few times of these exercises. Connect this movement of head and pelvis. Next time your legs are straight, looked down, pick your tail up, pick your head up, pick your tail up, pick your head up, pick your pelvis up, pick your head up. There they go. Keep going. Stop at the top. Bring your together. Hands here, a little moment of her reprieve. You're fine. We're going to roll back. Keep your legs up to the ceiling. Okay. We're just going to do a kind of torturous version. Of course you're here.

Corkscrew

Take your arms out a little bit and take your legs to the right as far as you can go and hold for one. Hold for two, hold for three and come home. Take your legs over to the left is close to the floor as you can get them. Hold for one. Hold for two. Hold for three. Breathe and come home. Go over to the other side, right. Get a little closer to the floor this time.

Hold for one. I know. Hold for two. Hold for three. This'll make corkscrew. Not Be hard later and home. Really getting those obliques. Last one over. Grazing the floor. Hold for one. Good. Karen. Hold for two. Hold for three. Breathe. Everybody come back to center. Yeah, and pull your knees into your chest. Roll up to seated.

Let's take a quad repaired position. We'll have our heads facing in and let's get some cat on. So we're going to start an extension and we're going to start by bringing our pelvis and our head at the same time. So if you're a Cathy grant heritage person, you're going one in 11 right? Until you're all the way in your cat and then you're going to move your pelvis and head away from each other to bring you into your cow. So instead of pulling your spine up through the middle and back, you're doing it from your head and pelvis. Head in, pelvis in, yeah, head and pelvis in.

Cat Cow

There's not too much head you can do right now, right? Because we're going to do crab into headstand. So let your head go all the way through your arms and then tail and head. You see what I'm saying? We want to get that head through, right? So there's some like stopping point that a lot of you are going to have.

It's a rule really, because really your head actually likes to do that. Yeah, great. And back out into great. So we're going to do a little sexy cat here. So we're going to go over to the right around the pelvis.

Sexy Cat

It's add the torso over to the left, back out, right over right. And let's not even worry about what this looks like, even if it gets a little crazy. Let's just get into the sexy cat groove, right? Whatever that is for you. Wow. This is real variety at home. You can go for it, right? Cause nobody's watching. Um, and come back to center. Ladies, come toes under and float your cat. That just means bring your knees off the mat a little bit. Just hold good. Now what we've got to do here is push our arms, right?

Floating Cat

We got to push Jen and feel that cereus interior, right? We got to feel that capital rapping towards the front of the chest wall, right? That's what Karen needs to feel. That's what Jen needs to feel good. Go out into a plank. Go out into a plank, right? Right. Great. And just push those arms. Get your legs together. Everybody gets, you're bummed down. Jen, Karen, Noel, everybody at home, your bums up to get it down. Bend your elbows.

Plank

Come all the way down onto your belly. Yeah. It's hard to perceive yourself as a plank, right? So it's nice if somebody in the room to say, Hey, do I look like a plank or do I look like a hill? So come on, come onto your forearms and let's, uh, go into a forearm plank. But let me just talk about this for a second now. Okay. So this is the skill that we're going to need when we get to this head stand, which is my ability to really use my cereus to widen my scapula towards the front.

Forearm Plank

So I want you to really nail that in your forearm plank, right? You got to get your booty down, you're going to hold that for a few breaths, and then you're going to walk your feet in so that we're into adults and position again, really pushing, cause when we get to that headstand, we're going to need that support. And besides, it's just like all over the map in plot. He's in all of our advance skills. So let's find that position hands together, right? And just do me a favor here and just do that motion with their shoulder blades for a second. Yeah. Not your spine, Karen. So don't change your spine. Just change your blades. There you go. Good. Now next time the blades are wide. Get your toes under.

Come into forearm plank everybody. I think four legs together, Karen. I think for our plank is the hardest thing ever. So you're going to hold for one, you're going to breathe, not rounding your spine. Hold for two, right? Not rounding your spine, feeling like you're pulling your toes towards your elbows. Hold for four. And then walk your feet in for your dolphin. Keep pushing.

Keep wrapping that Scapula. Right and breathe for one. Exhale. Let your head dangle through. Breathe for two heels. Drop down. Exhale and put your knees down and go into child's pose for a moment. Good. Take a breath. It's super hard, right?

Dolphin

So you feel yourself heating up. We're going to, our prone series ladies lie on your belly. Uh Huh. So you're going to start with Swan. Put your under where you go for Swan. And now this is takes a little bit more kind of creativity. Think of the Roly polies were able to go the other way as well. Which he might, I've never seen. But you're going to lift your head up, press the front of your hip, crease into the mat, and come into a full straight arm Swann. Don't fake this one. Let's go. That's it. Good. And back down. You guys all did what? I said. Amazing.

Swan

And here we go. Up. Lift your head. Yeah. Nice. Karen looking great. Everybody in the room. Exhale down, right? I wonder if everybody could straighten their knees, right? And keep their knees very, very straight up we go. Good and down. Good.

Take your arms into position for single leg stretch. Kick. Right. So we're in this and let's have our art. Let's have our hands that actually in our elbows floating up for this, right? So, so yeah, I know. Sorry about that. So here we go. And kick, kick, stretch, kick, kick, stretch, kick, kick, stretch. Now keep going. And imagine you're squeezing a yoga block between your elbows, Jen, everybody at home. Amy, squeeze. Good kick, kick and rest. Hands behind your low back. Interlace your fingers or your thumbs and triple kicks. Go. One, two, three, stretch. Good. Lift up your eyes.

Single Leg Kick

Noelle eyes. There you go. And one, two, three. Your eyes are in your head. So if you lift them, it means you're lifting your head usually. And a one, two, three up. Good. And one, two, three. And up. Hold. Now stay up. Put your hands under your shoulders. Go into a full swan and bend your knees. Just when you thought I was going to cut. Oh yeah. Baby.

Double Leg Kick

And back down. Good. So now you've got to open the front of your hips. Go all the way down. Good. Let's go up again. Swan. Bend your knees right now. Keep your knees bent. Lower your trunk down. Yeah. And wait. Stay up there and now reach your right arm back.

Swan Variation

Yeah. Hamstring cramped. That's gonna happen left-hand back. And go into rocking. Flex your feet and rock. Don't even rock. Just get up. Yes, Karen. Nice. Nice recovery. Hey there. Rocking good or rock. Rock and roll. And come on down to your belly.

Rocking

Lie Down. Prone hands on your forehead for a moment. Take a couple breaths. Wiggle around a little bit. Yeah, I got to wiggle after those. [inaudible] backbends good, good. So come on back into your child's pose for a moment. Good. Good. Tail head, Rollie Poli Bug. That was your whole break. Come on up. Sit Up for neck full. Okay, so neck pools. Interesting, right?

Child's Pose

Cause we, we've got sort of like keeping this upper body sort of rigid or stable or upright or whatever people like to call it. And then I've got to figure out how to really rolly Poli that pelvis. Right? So here we go. Arms in whatever position you prefer. Let's pick our scapula ups so they're not dragging us down and tip back and roll that Palestine under, under, under, under, under and up. Good. And curl it up. Up.

Neck Pull

Now we're trying to bring up the crown of the head in between our legs to the mat and up and tip it back and go under under super, super, super. Yes. And whatever's happening, whatever's falling apart. Keep going. That's okay. That's part of practicing guys. So let it be messy. You know, doing your best is perfect and perfect is boring if it's really perfect. So let's go back right there we go. And rest at the bottom all together.

Bring your arms down by your side. Good. Bend your knees. Yeah, they're working really hard. You're working really hard at home twos. Everybody take a deep breath. I mean it's cool like we're pushing ourselves, right? So take your right knee into a piston or a knee fold and we're going to do little pumps with our standing legs. You're just going to lift your publics up and down, up and down, up and down, up and down, up and down, up and down and foot down left lane.

Single Leg Piston

This is my new favorite way to get people to use their hamstrings on their shoulder. Bridge is just a prep it with this up and down, up and down because you don't have quite as much momentum. So you start to really feel how the back of the leg has to do that and foot down. And then lets indeed go into a full shoulder bridge, pressing arms, head, feet down, lifting pelvis up and really engaging the back of your legs and exhale down. Okay, good. Everybody pressed your arms back so your shoulder blades actually come together a little bit. That's what we want here, right up. So let your shoulder blades come together supporting the back of your chest wall. My Yoga teacher says, let it be a tray for your heart to rest on.

Bridge

I love that. It's very cute and back down. Yeah, but that would only be one side. So like, you know, if you had two hearts on each side or whatever, and up, here we go. Yeah, let it go. Good. Open the front of the hips. Your legs don't have to be together there, Jan. I feel like that's harder. Yeah, exhaling. Roll down. Okay, good. Take your right knee into your chest and roll up to seated.

All right, we're going to do rowing into teaser. Also a Cathy grand special. Um, you guys all know this. Maybe young, maybe Noel, you know this. Great. So at home what we're doing here is we're starting with their hands reaching out. We're pulling like we're doing rowing, but I'm doing that growly Poli pelvis part. I'm coming to my upper abdominal curl, open my arms, float my legs up into my teaser, bend my knees. Now just stay here for a second and let's drop the head. Bring the knees to touch the forehead. Holy Moly.

Rowing to Teaser

Stretch the legs out. Yeah, that's no joke. Here we go. Roll back. That's it. All the way. You've got this thing ladies. Pick your legs up and come up into that teaser. Yes. So here's the hard part. Needs to Nipples, right? We're there. Now bring that head down. Pick those knees up. Make a really round shape.

Stretch out. Yeah, one more time. A lot of this is inspired for me in some of the poses I do in my yoga practice to press up into a handstand and headstands who it's really helpful. Yeah. Have good knees and good. She's on the fight over there. Take a deep breath, feet down and rest, Rachel. It's a lot of work, right? But remember at home, you know when you pull your leg into flection that hide your Rowley Poli tail comes with you.

Twist

So it benefits us when we're trying to do things that express inflection of the lumbar spine to IX really experienced that. Right. Great. So we're going to do seal. No, we're going to do twist one and then we'll go into seal. So let's twist one. Why am I thinking twist one? Why don't you guys face the camera? Well, because I gotta get my head really curling on n right. And so I'm going to watch you guys as you go.

You're going to go ahead and come up and roll under. Good. Good. Now wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. Everybody. Tuck your chin. Tuck your chin, Tuck your Chin and come back up. Good. And float up. Come through and really pull that head through. Guys. Tuck your chin. I want, yeah, that's it. Good. Good. Karen.

And back down. Good. Take it up one more time guys. Lead your head. Talk that Chin. And you should feel like you could just go up into a one hand hand stand right now, right? If you're like magical, which you are. And Go back down and switch sides. Just stay facing the camera ladies. Yeah. So again, I want to really lead with the head. This is going to get us into our head. Sand Dr Crabs. So go on off and around. That's it. Good. Karen and down. Right?

Everybody has a little bit of a different foot position here, but you could just really ground through the front foot. See if you can take your back foot off the mat. Yes. Magical and down. Float that pelvis sit and last time do that magical moment again where you pick that foot up. Starting to work on this sphere, which is going to come up here and like one second and down. Fear. Fear. That's fear. Upside down and sphere and arrest. Good ladies, take a break.

Wow. Okay, so we're at our apex. So this is how I teach classes a lot is how I picked sort of like an apex and then I kind of build into what would help us be more successful at that. Right? So we're going to do crab. And the reason I added handstand headstand to crab is because I think if you really did crab correctly, a headstand would emerge kind of naturally because you would be in such a true roly poly position that it would be just natural for your pelvis to just float up to the top right? But we have to build our headstand skill, which means fear and technique basically. Right? It's not even really that difficult. Strength Wise, her, some might argue with me, but you guys were plenty strong for it.

Crab

So I need to get on the floor for this. So if you guys could scoot over, I'm gonna take Karen's Mat. Okay, great. So this is a little bit of a workshop moment in class, right? But sometimes we need this so that we can like figure something out, right? So we're not just like winging it right wing. He get as cool, but it's not, it's not always that cool. Especially when things are high level, right? Cause we can hurt ourselves. So we know crab, right?

Our crab is going to take us from here. It's going to take us back. We're in a major rollie pulley moment. We're going to come here. And then here's the part of crowd that I think is really lost is that I need to keep my pelvis curled and then I need to reach my head down, right? So now I'm getting much deeper flection than if I did that right? So if, if that's the case and I can make it to the crown of my head, what we're gonna do is get in preparation for Yoga headstand, which is elbows narrow. This is also headstand, employees, reformer, pick our legs up. So I went on the balls of my feet to do that.

Now if you have a headstand practice and you know how to float up from here, this is the grand finale version. And I would come back down into a pike. My Yoga teacher would be very proud of me right now and then I would curl through and I would be able to go back up, right? So that's be like our fantasy. How do we build into that though? What we would do, but fantasies are how reality happens.

So like don't give up. So what we're going to do is go here, keep this massive tail curl, get her rolly Polian hands here. Just get your feet into this position. Take him out of the cross. We're in that dolphin again. You're going to lift your right leg and you're just going to gently reach your right leg back to see if it can pick up your left foot, right? That's it. No need to, to go anything further, but you see how I'm picking up that leg? It's like a seesaw. It's the same thing we've been doing the whole class.

This sort of seesaw effect. Double Thumb Emoji. Let's try it. Okay, so here we go. Let's do three proper crabs out of the fourth proper crab. Let's see. Find the headstand. Hold your feet on the top Jen, and make sure you're only crossing at your ankles team. If you cross like this, you're going to be in a real bummer with your shinbones only the ankle. Okay? Watch your codebases as you go back.

Inhale back. Exhale. Criss Cross apple sauce. Okay. Rollie pulley months. Yes, team around. Think of talent hat. That's all you have to think. Roly poly book, Roly Poly Bug Roly poly bug. You've got this thing. Nice. Breathe. Good. Your head's on the floor. Scoop back. Don't let your head be on the floor for this. Good. Yes, I know.

Everybody's getting tired. Jettison. Put good and come up last time. Take your hands into the position. Good. Now everybody breathe. Good. Everybody ran. Not yet. Karen. Just get your knees down and relax, right? They're panicking over here. All right. Just go into dolphin guys. Calm down.

Crab to Headstand

Good. Figure out your dolphin, right? Good. And then what I want you to do is at home, I want everybody to lift their right leg. Yeah, that's it. Just lift your right leg that maybe that's your end game today. Now pick your leg up so high that it picks your foot up. That's it. Don't pick up your other leg, Karen.

Just there right now and back down. Good. Good. Stay there, Karen. I'm going to do that to these to pick up this leg, the up leg so high that it just picks up. Put off. Right? Look at how cute we are. We're all doing a headstand. It's amazing right here. Last time up. Yeah. She wants to bring that leg up so bad. She did.

And down and everybody rest. Right? Good. Sit Up. How are you doing? Yeah. Yeah. Hold on. Their hot stuff, right? Second leg. Right. So no, it's all good. So again, um, the energy is, is key here, right? So your energy's a little like you want it, you want it, you want it, right.

That's gonna make you flip over and freak out. You gotta be like, do I want it? Maybe, maybe not. Maybe. Maybe not. All right, let's go back. Second side, come back into your dolphin. Okay. Right. Interlace your fingers. Press your forearms down. Widen your scapula.

Bam. Left leg up. Uh Huh, I see. Great. Okay, good. So maybe we have that same thing right? Where you pick the leg up. A little foot comes up. Good. Push your elbows into the mat. Lady's leg up. Float it. Good. Right? Maybe at home you don't have somebody helping you like this.

So maybe at home you're just imagining, right? Or maybe you do have a friend you could ask you to help. They like it. Hey Mikey, ra down and good come up onto your knees and just settle in with the sensations in your cervical spine, right? So it's actually super awesome. If you're strong and healthy to stand on your head, your neck muscles, you know, sometimes you'll feel more released afterwards, right?

Rolling to Squat

So let's do rolling ball. The squat to standing. Just to finish, let's do two squat stand squat Stan, and we'll finish standing up. So take your role in like a ball position. I'm not going to stand up on this big giant Cadillac thing, but you're going to inhale, exhale, squat to stand. Good, nice and down. Let it go. Squat to stand. Nice. Stop at the top. Let your arms just come down. Close your eyes. Seriously.

Like hell yeah, man. You went on your head, right? It makes you, it makes people feel awesome, right? Challenge Yourself. Do something you're afraid to do, right? There's even a bumper sticker like that. I don't know if people really ever do with the bumper stickers. Tez but you guys just did, right? So just close your eyes. Breathe in, breathe out. Just notice how everything has changed. One more.

I'm just opening your eyes. Smile at the people you, yes. Good job, everybody. You're welcome. Thanks for watching.

Comments

2 people like this.
This class is going to be one of my favorites; I loved it a lot; Cara I am hesitating about the head position when we do bridge ; should the chin tucked in or in opposite position; and also shoulder position in roll up; you said shoulders up ...thank you for this great class...
Cigdem You want to keep your chin from tucking in too much so pushing your head back helps keep the neck in a better position. It will tuck in as you get higher.  On the roll up just avoid pulling your shoulder blades down. So glad you like the class. 
1 person likes this.
Fun Class!
1 person likes this.
Fun class, love the crab into head stand and roly poly bug connections, thanks!
1 person likes this.
For someone who has always rolled like a block, this class was amazing!  Loved it.  I found my headstand without my usual overarching back and it felt so solid and natural.  Thanks!!! 
1 person likes this.
Yes!! You Sexy Mother Heritagers!! I love this class. So good to get my Rolly Polly on. This class is a definite return visit to keep progressing. Cara you always bring it! Intellectual, challenging, and fun! I’m sorry to have not been able to do it with you all in person, but felt so great doing it with you from home. Love you all from my Rolly Polly heart! Xoxo
love this class! as a yoga and pilates teacher i was able to connect crab and headstand like never before . thank you so much cara!
Helen S
1 person likes this.
Loved this class so much!!  Thank you Cara! 
Ewa D
1 person likes this.
Never enough of Cara's amazing ideas!!!
Laurie C
1 person likes this.
This is an awesome class! I’ve been working on my yoga headstand lately. Have not succeeded yet but with the tools you’ve supplied on this video I have no doubt I will conquer the headstand one day!! Thank you!
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