Class #4552

Reformer Twist 1

45 min - Class
345 likes

Description

Give your regular Reformer practice a boost with this fun workout by Sarah Bertucelli. She uses creative cues and sequencing to flow through the class. Give yourself permission to play so you can find more joy in your movements.
What You'll Need: Reformer w/Box

About This Video

May 25, 2021
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Transcript

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Hello everybody. Thank you for joining me this morning with this live series here at the studio. Today will be a zesty reformer workout with a bit of a twist and some extra stretches. As always, please make sure that you take care of you. If anything, I ask you to do doesn't work make sure to modify and play accordingly.

And according to how your body is feeling today. So I'm set with my footwork spring. I have three reds and a blue and I've got my foot bar in the middle position. And I do intend to use the box at the very end of the workout today. So if you have your box, go ahead and go grab it.

So I'm gonna have you lie on your reformer and let's get started. Settle in. Find your alignment. Feel that you're spacing between your neck and the shoulder rests even, feet on the bar, comfortable position, open through the chest a little bit. Perhaps have the palms upward.

Maybe you'll take your palms down. It really depends on you. Let's all close our eyes and take three breaths. Hopefully you can hear the ocean in the distance. As you exhale, feel your head heavy.

Feel the back of your heart heavy, one more deep inhale. Feel your pelvis grounded. Allow your legs to separate just a little bit. And let's prepare to move through the pelvic curl, inhale. With an exhale, engage your abdominal, scoop your pelvis up and curl all the way up if you're ready, curl well, partially up if that's better and then inhale and use an exhale to peel down articulating through your back.

Inhale, prepare, exhale abs first curling up. Feel the backs of the legs, feel the inner thighs inhale here, and exhale to peel down one vertebra at a time. Repeat. Remember we're trying to engage the abdominals. We're trying to engage the backs of the legs but we're also trying to stretch a little bit across the front of the hips inhale and exhale to peel down.

Since this idea of spiraling the thigh bones in as you peel up spiral the thigh bones in, feel the inner thighs, feel the backs of the legs, don't be shy about using your arms, inhale and exhale to peel down. Just one more time, please, pelvic curl exhaling to peel up. Holding this lifted position, give me three breaths pressing a little bit higher perhaps. Think about bending your knees, lengthening through your back and engaging the backs of the legs just a bit more. And one more inhale here.

Use the exhale to lengthen your spine and lower down one vertebrae at a time. Allow the legs to sway to one side, nice and relaxed. Allow the legs to sway to the side nice and relaxed. Come back to center, we inhale to sway. We exhale, pulling back to neutral inhale, to twist exhale, pull back to neutral.

Feel free to continue with your legs grounded on the foot bar if that feels like the right choice today. Or you can choose to lift your legs to tabletop position you may wanna hold the pegs behind your ears as you twist and you exhale, pulling back. Inhale to twist and exhale, pulling back just one more time. Need be mindful of your shoulder blade still grounded down. So the opposite shoulder blade stays grounded.

We come back to center, hug those legs into your chest and then set your heels on the bar, arms up to the ceiling. Let's engage our abdominals, the chest lift. Exhale to lift the head and chest and inhale to look around. Just makes me smile being here. The sun on my feet feels delicious, lower down, exhale to lift, we're gonna hold this nice lifted position, reach around to the backs of your legs.

Lift a little higher, feel the stretch through your back. Single leg stretch, sliding one leg out, and changing, and changing. Now at any point today, if you feel like working a little slower, you'll work a little slower. But if you wanna pick up the pace a little bit with me we're changing, and changing, and breathing, and engaging those abs and mindful of the legs as well. Two legs in pause, lift a little higher, slip your hands behind your head and move into to crisscross, change.

Nice and deliberate pace to begin with, control. Feel the lift as you twist, pick up the pace a little if it's change, change, change, change. Use your breath. When it suits you please too two and one, two legs in, hands to the backs of the legs, lifting the chest, rocking, and rolling just a bit here. So you're gonna rock and roll until you can balance on your tail.

Let your legs hang over the bar. Option one, option two, press into the bar straighten the legs and extend your upper back. I'm not pulling, I'm pressing with my arms. Look forward round through your back, looking down at your belly, inhale extend through your back, exhale round through your back. And one more time extend, good, come back through, send your arms toward your feet and roll down one lovely vertebra at a time.

Settle for your footwork, please. The belly of the heel on the bar separated a little bit about hip width. Feel your neutral pelvis, feel your alignment. And when you feel ready to go, we press out and we press in always takes me a couple to get organized and make sure I'm using the right pieces. So be mindful of a deliberate pace at first.

And as you feel comfortable maybe you pick up the pace of those legs. Feel inner thighs pushing into the feet. So I'm exhaling out and I'm inhaling in. And I think about pushing into the feet or pushing into the bar. One more time, come in, pause here, change the feet so they're just down a little bit.

So the bar, once again is right above the heel. When you feel ready to go, you press out and in. Here, try to relax those feet a little bit and allow the bar in. If it doesn't feel like you're able to relax perhaps change your foot position a little bit just two more here, nice breath (loudly exhales) and then gently come in and change the feet again. So I'm kind of in the middle of my foot, on my arch, relaxed through the feet, pressing out, be mindful of your feet.

Your footprint should remain the same as you press out and in. So I want you to avoid letting your feet swivel around. They stay grounded and the feet absorb the bar each time you come in allowing the foot to get a bit of a stretch, a bit of a doming stretch, which is quite lovely. We'll come in here, change. So I'm gonna move my feet.

So I'm on the balls of my feet, not on my toes really but on the balls, just at the top of my arch, footprint remains the same as we come in and out. So this is a bit like the prehensile that will traditionally do except I'm not asking you to drive the heels down each time. In fact, I'm asking the foot to stay the same. Try to feel that your feet are relaxed, that they stay stable in space and see what happens differently in your feet, in your legs as the results of this. Good, come in here.

Let's change to the balls of the feet. Now the more traditional active foot position from the toes exhaling out and inhaling in. Again, you can feel free to stay slow and deliberate the whole time, but you can also feel free to pick up the pace a little bit, warm up your body, practice, feeling inner thighs, feeling feet. Two more here. Now keep your legs straight my friends, we're gonna move into calves right now, press the heels down and pull up.

So you're pressing into both feet using the inner thighs as you pull up, of course you're working your calves. I do want you to think about lengthening through your spine the whole time especially when you go down, grow a little taller let's do two more, grow a little taller, one more move right into the prances here, we bend in change and change. Remember, breathe when it makes sense to you. Also feel both feet working equally as you change, change. So we're working on both the four starch foot and also the stretching foot, one more time on each side and then hold your stretch in a delicious place for your foot and your body.

Be curious here, settle in, find your breath. Maybe you'll spin your knee in a little bit and send your heel out. Maybe you'll move your foot around a little on the bar. Most importantly, breathe (loudly exhales). Change legs, please, so again, adjust your foot.

So the stretch feels good to you. I pretty much always bring my foot a little higher up on the foot bar so that I can really relax and allow my foot to be cradled by the foot bar. Be curious, each foot is different, each leg is different. Each body is different, each day is different. So make sure you're respectful, breathing in, and breathing out, one more deep breath there.

And then let's just bend the knees and come in. We'll set up for the small V positions. So with the toes on the bar nice and active squeeze those heels together exhaling out both legs, working equally and exhale. Now, if you find it and yourself moving more quickly on any given day, feel free to breathe differently. So you might find that you inhale for an hour in and then you exhale for an out in.

Good, just one more in this position (loudly exhales). And then let's go to open V from the heels. The heels are wide on the bar. Let the legs open, feel a little stretch and then pull those knees up a little bit. Feel rotation of the hips as you press out.

Now, I would like to explore a little bit in this position here. You may continue to stay with just external rotation focusing on those deep rotators throughout this piece, if you will. But if you'd like to change it up a little bit I would like you to come in. You'll take your knees in toward one another and then you'll press out and then you'll come in and then you'll take your knees open and you'll press out and you'll come in and you'll take your knees in. Now you can press all the way or only partially if that's better for you open and press out and in.

And one more time, this just feels really delicious on my hips. Good, let's rest that please. Single legs is happening now. I like to keep my springs the same. If you need to change your springs go ahead and sit up and take a spring off.

Let's take the left foot on the bar. The other leg is at tabletop heel of the left foot on the bar and we exhale to press out and gently come in, adding on, we press out, the tabletop leg goes out, in, we return, we press out, it goes out, in, and we return. So we're adding just a little instability by moving the leg. Be mindful of keeping your pelvis nice and still, just one more, so fewer repetitions here today. Good, come in, let's change legs.

So the right heel is on the bar. The other foot is at tabletop, leg is at tabletop. Let's do one with no bells and whistles and gently come on in, now we press out the leg goes out, in, and we come in, we press out, out, in. So when I say out my leg is going to the side and I'm stabilizing with my core. I'm also using my hips a little bit here to do that movement.

And we'll do just one more, be mindful of the back of the leg generating the force to move. Let's change legs ball of the foot on the bar so heel is slightly lifted. Send the legs straight up toward the ceiling. We press out the leg goes out to the side. It comes up and we come in, we press out to the side, it comes up and we come in.

So we're working a little bit that free leg working stability of the pelvis, mobility of the hips. And this can be the last one here. And gently come on in, we'll change legs, all of the foot on the bar, stretch your other leg up to straight, and we press out, the leg goes out in and we travel back in. And out, in, be mindful of your pointing foot and see if you can keep the toes long instead of curled. I think that's one thing that changes a little bit how you use your foot.

So just be mindful of that. Good, come on in how your knees into your chest here, again, hold onto the backs of the legs rounding through your back, lifting your pelvis. Let's get that rock and that roll again, and see if we can come up to that teaser shape. So the legs rest on the bar, hands on the bar, push down, open your heart. Oh, feel the sunshine on your face.

Inhale, open one arm around. Take the hand back to the bar, push down with your legs. Push down with your arm, opening the other arm around, come on back and let's swivel to change our spring. So we'll use a blue spring for our reverse knee stretch, taking all the other springs off, just one light spring. Woo, (giggles) a little wobbly there.

So with your knees and feet together, we're gonna take the hands on the frame round through the back, hollow that belly inward, and pull the carriage in. Try to be mindful of really keeping the weight in the bar, tops of the feet, a little less weight in the knees, exhale to pull in, inhale back, exhale in, and inhale back. Just two more here. Good, let's come to a rest position for just a moment. We're gonna all move over to the right.

So your right foot will go on the floor. Your left leg is on the side of the frame here, the side of the reformer. Lean into left arm, left leg, and focus on this idea of lifting up. So you're getting a little sensation of stretch now allow the other leg to rest on top of the standing leg if you will. And we pull the carriage in, we exhale in and we inhale back.

Think about lifting up, without puffing up through the back of the body, while moving the hip joint kinda flossing the hip joint if you will, last one, rest that carriage at rest. Bring your legs over to the other side. So I'm now standing on my left leg. My right leg is on the edge of the reformer carriage. I'm gonna lean into a stretch feeling here.

Really try to lift up and feel that sensation of stretch first, and then keep that lifted feeling as you stack your other leg and we pull in, and we pull in. Don't be shy about taking time to set up this twisting exercise, I feel like the setup is almost more magical than the movement. One more time. We'll bring the carriage into rest and gently rest that. A red and a blue For your hip work please.

Red in a blue or one and a half springs, hip work. I'm lying back on my reformer. I'm going to retrieve my straps and put feet in straps. Basic frogs first, heels together ankles are flexed. Settle in, make sure you're square on your reformer.

We bend the knees in and we press out. Check in with your feet for a moment and just be mindful that you're pushing through the heels. That's you're not necessarily pushing through the toes here. See if you can really keep the ankles flexed and push through the heels. At the end of each movement squeeze those upper thighs together.

Be mindful of your pelvis stable, and be of your breath. Stay straight, point your feet now, gonna shift a little. So my straps are in a better position. Legs are gonna come up to maybe 90 degrees but pelvis down is the important piece and then press down through center. Let's just do that one more time, inhale up, moving into circles, we go down, we come around and we glue those heels together.

Again, exhaling down around and glue those heels together. Find your flow. Be mindful here that the hip work is really about stability first hip disassociation which means we're keeping the pelvis still but moving the hip joints, reverse your circles. Open the legs, come around that bottom position using both legs equally. Exhale, come around that bottom position, inhale up.

So you can feel free to actively point the feet here but you can also feel free to just lengthen through the feet. Again. I like to pay attention to my toes and I'm really working on not curling them so much. So I'm going to encourage you to give that a look. One more here, keeping the legs in the middle of middle position. We're gonna open flex the feet, exhale, pull back together.

As I open, I flex my feet for a little bit of stretch. I point my feet and put together, just two more. Waking up those inner thighs and pull together, one more please, a little change. So bring the legs together and then bring them up in parallel-ish position, I'm not really concerned with it being perfect parallel, right knee is gonna bend, left leg goes out to the side. The carriage stays somewhat stable.

So my right leg is toward my groin area. My left leg is straight out to the side, come up. So back to up legs, the left knee bends toward the groin area. The right leg goes out to the side and then we come back up. So the carriage is staying somewhat still.

And I want you to kinda find something here. We're gonna go to the other side, right leg comes into my groin, I'm gonna hold my foot and push my knee away. Thinking about the right leg. So I'm getting a nice little stretch through the quad and openness through the hip. The other leg is just relaxed.

And then with control, I bring my legs back up. We go to the other side, So the left leg comes in. I'm gonna reach around and hold my big toe if you can, or the strap, push the knee away. The other leg is relaxing out to the side that should feel nice, if it doesn't stay with the first variation. So let's just do that a couple more times on each side.

So you're just gonna find that shape, stretching some edges. Moving up and stretching in, moving up. I say stretching and I'm pulling my foot in and moving my leg away. So I don't know if that's really the best cue there but something to consider one more time, please. The foot comes in, the stretch happens across the front of the hip and then the legs come up, bend the knees in for a moment, preparing for short spine or a variation if that's better for you.

So we'll press the legs out to straight pointing the feet. We folded the hips, find your end point. Those of you that need the variation. Bend your knees here without rolling up and press through, one more time circular, frog, folding at the hips, feeling the stretch supporting with your belly, bend your knees and pull yourself in and through. Those of us ready for the short spine we folded the hips until we touch the stopper.

We use the arms and the abs to roll up onto the shoulder blades. We bend the knees, we roll down with control, flexing the feet and pressing the legs through. Repeat. we fold, feel the stretch. Feel the work as you roll up, bend the knees, rolling down. Now, if this is not a familiar exercise for you.

Make sure you watch me. Don't do it and watch at the same time. Fold at your hips and roll up, bend your knees and we roll down. Rolling those legs through all the way to straight. Then bend the knees and take one foot out of the straps followed by the other and let's make our way up to a standing position, please.

So actually a sitting position. We're gonna do some arms. Actually I've changed my mind twice now. I sort of lost my way for a second but I found it. We're going to do one spring.

So a red spring is going to work for me for the up stretch position. So that's the heels lifted. Up against the edge or up against the shoulder rest, hands are on the bar like we focused on last week. You're gonna think of pulling those arms towards your face or towards your ears if you will, as you slide the carriage back and you slide the carriage in. Now, option one we can keep just this exercise right here.

Just this, inhale back, exhale in. Option two, we take our left hand, we reach down and we touch the frame. If this is comfortable, you move into rotation. Seeing if you can get a hang on the wood part of the frame here, sliding the carriage back, inhale, sliding the carriage in exhale. If you're happy here, turn your palm up and do a couple without holding on, breathing in one more time.

Good, bring both hands to the bar option one, the other hand goes to the reformer carriage. Otherwise the arm comes around to the frame inhale the carriage back and exhale in what a gorgeous view here, pulling in. You can also turn the palm up and do a couple without holding on really testing your limits here. Make sure you're breathing. Two hands are on the bar, two feet are flat.

So see if you can really straighten out your back a little more and aim that tailbone up. Slide the carriage back, pull the carriage in. Option one, key both hands connected to the bar. Option two, let's go for a deeper twist. So remove your left hand, rotate around.

See how far down you can take the hand pushing with the arm that's on the bar and pulling with the arm that's on the frame as we slide the carriage back and we pull the carriage in, luxurious stretching here, this feels so wonderful for me. Make sure it feels good to you. Otherwise you can just keep both hands on the bar. Bring your arm around and let's change sides. So we're gonna take that arm all the way around and see how far down we can walk on that wood frame there or whatever frame you're using.

Now I know some of the reformers don't have something to hold onto. So you'll just have to work with your hand free, which is a little harder, but still worth it. I'm pushing with my hand on the bar while pulling with my hand that's on the frame and we have one more here, beautiful Two hands around on the bar here. And then I want you to take your hands down to the edge of the carriage here, allow the head to relax. And like we did last week, you'll sit in like a deep squat tight position.

Then we'll use your hands to pull forward stretching the feet. You push back to your feet, deep squat, and we're going to stand. Deep squat again, finding a flow. We come forward to the knees, we push back and we stand, just one more time like that, deep squat, forward, breathing when it makes sense. And this time we'll come down and stay down, moving into the down stretch.

So for this one, put your feet all the way up against the shoulder rest, spend a couple moments really enjoying that foot stretch. So important. Two hands are on the bar, hollow the belly inward as we pull forward into extension. Holding the extension opening through the heart we slide the carriage back and we slide ourselves back up. Think about abdominals and hamstrings, as well as your upper back, but really focus on those abdominals and the backs of the legs to support your low back.

Breathing when it makes sense, I like to inhale on the way down, and exhale to lift up, hold the carriage at the stopper and then untuck the feet and sit in a rest pose or a child's pose, allowing your legs to sway side to side. Beautiful. And let's keep the spring the same. I'm still on a red spring for some sitting footwork. So those of you who were with me last week we did some arms sitting, we're gonna add on to that.

Do you think about sitting on your sits bones and allowing your heels to be resting? Don't worry too much about straightening your knees unless you really want to. I like to just sit here for a moment and really feel that I am able to sit up right with my abdominals. I'm supporting more than with my friends and my legs. Reach around and hold onto your straps.

Sitting up nice and tall, we've got two straight arms. We inhale, we exhale, we pull the arms back, opening through the heart and we inhale forward. Now pull back, change your gaze open the heart and lift the sternum and come forward. So we're adding a little back extension and an eye shift here. Just one more like that and then we'll add some rotation, please, inhale, exhale, take your arms back without too much extension.

See if you can look towards your left and pull with your left arm a little more. The two arms come forward, pull your arms behind you. Look to your right and pull with your right arm. So if you're able to bear all the spring with one arm then feel free to move with that one arm. Meaning as I pull back, I'm leading now with my right arm as I look around and as I pull back, I'm leading now with my left arm.

Beautiful, and we'll do that again. One more time on each side, I can feel my lats. My triceps, feels delicious. Last one here. Good, going into biceps.

We're gonna lift those arms up so they're about shoulder height. We're gonna bend the elbows, check in with your biceps and make sure they're staying engaged. Feel free to not bend as far or to bend more if you're able to. Let's go ahead and do one arm at a time. So let's go right first, and straighten hand left, little more energy here, staying lifted.

It almost feels a little bit like you have to lean forward to not lean back, so check in with yourself and make sure you're not leaning back to find the power to bend. Last one here, place the straps for me on your elbow joints, rhomboids, and a little add on here. So we start with the palms facing the face. We open, feel external rotation, spreading of the collarbones in the shoulder blades and we come in. So we can add, add duction of the shoulders which means you open your heart more.

You draw the shoulders together. We can also add back extension. So we're gonna open, draw the shoulders together and extend the upper back, and we come back in. And repeat all those pieces together. Beautiful.

So we feel the back of the upper arm. We draw those shoulders together and we extend the spine. This time we're adding on, find extension that holds stretch two arms to straight. Palms are gonna face forward. I want you to press back five, four Three, two, and one, bend your elbows.

Come in, one more time, a little change. We open again, we extend this time palms are facing up, actively up and we press back five, upper back, four lean, three and two, and one. Beautiful, let's come to a standing position. We'll take a quick quadricep stretch. So I'm going to ask you to use the reformer only as a kickstand basically.

So I'm going to have my left leg which is the one that's closest to the reformer in my hand. Now I should have started closer (giggles) but a little hop will do. I'm putting my knee down just so I can feel my knee grounded. Now, if you wanna stand up, you don't have to put any pressure on your knee here, but I'm just... I'm grounding through my knee to pull my pelvis forward to allow to find more stretch basically, allow my body to find more stretch.

I'm pulling my pelvis forward. I'm opening my heart and I'm looking up on the diagonal a little bit here, and that just gives me a little bit more of a stretch. Go ahead and release that. I'm just going to turn to the other side. So if you wanted to go to the other side you could do so, you could also just put the knee down, reach around and grab the top of the foot and then be here for a moment, bending the knee as much as you're able to supporting with your abdominals, you'll press your pelvis forward.

And then I want you to look up a little bit and lean around a little bit. So I find if I look a little bit to the side that I'm stretching up I get also a nice little peck stretch here, and we'll go ahead and release that. So sitting facing the other direction I'm still on that same red spring. I highly recommend keeping it there. Sit up nice and tall on those sitz bones.

And again, check in with your legs. I like to keep my legs relaxed so I can use my quads less and the rest of my body more. I've retrieved my straps, I'm going to send my arms forward. Tickling the edges if you will, scratching an itch here. We're gonna keep the elbows pretty straight.

We're gonna open to where we know we should stop usually. Spread the collarbones and shoulder blades a little more, turn the palms up slightly and go a little deeper and then pull those arms in. So open where you're sure you've got your pieces, spread your collarbones, turn your palms up, open a little more, opening the heart and slice it back in. So you need to manage your body. Maybe you can take those arms back even more, stretching and working, remembering that we wanna try to find a little more range of motion but we wanna make sure that we can in fact support the range of motion with our bodies.

Breathing, opening the heart here, and pulling forward. One more time, just a bit of a stretchy exploratory hug a tree, let's bend two arms for me. Take your right hand and put it behind your back. You can still hold on to the strap and try to bring the arm as much behind your back so you've got a nice stretch there as possible. Left arm, up over the shoulder press one arm to straight.

Now, as you bend the elbow, I want you to look behind you finding rotation and press, and bend, and press. Aim for a little bit of speed, a little bit of power here if it suits you, two more please, and one more. Beautiful. Gently, come on in, take your right arm out in front of you so it's prepared to move. Take the other arm behind you and get a nice little stretch through your shoulder here.

So again, we're gonna start with that arm kind of near the thumb is sort of near the temple above the shoulder and we're gonna press out, now as you come in follow your hand and we press and we follow with our eyes, where your eyes go, your head will follow. So it's beneficial to look where you're headed. Two more please. And one more please. Nice rotation there, beautiful.

Let's take the two hands behind us. Put those straps away, swivel around and take a nice luxurious hip flexor stretch. So I'm just going to tuck my toes under put my knee down to begin, bring the foot up near the foot of the reformer. I want you to encourage your knee to go inward a little bit, maybe. I'm gonna feel a little more stretch in the outer part of my quadricep if I spin my knee in and then bring my pelvis to the middle.

So my knee is going to the outside near my other leg and my pelvis is going to the middle as I bend into the stretch. So I'm getting this really beautiful sort of high quadricep stretch right here. Now you can go to your traditional lunge position if you want or you can be curious about this and just explore What do you feel? I'm getting a really lovely stretch right at the hip crease which is where I need it, breathing in, and breathing out. And then let's go ahead and change sides.

So it's interesting to pay attention sometimes to just how you feel rather than trying to create a perfect picture. And that's exactly what I'm doing here. I'm tucking my toes under. I'm gonna put my knee down toward the frame, toward the outer part of the reformer. My pelvis goes in the direction of center.

So whether it's moving or not, doesn't matter so much. And then I'm going to get into the stretch here start to feel the stretch for me, it's really very, very spot on where it needs to be. And I've taken my hands so that I can lean a little more. And again, I'm not paying attention to my pelvis and squaring anything. I am paying attention to my breath and my abdominals and I am paying attention to the fact that this feels good.

So make sure you do you here, breathing in, and breathing out. We'll go ahead and rest that. So, last week we worked on the tendons stretch. We will work on it again and we'll add a little twist. So if you're not comfortable with this exercise I encourage you to try this modification.

You'll press your legs out too straight, drop those heels down and feel that active foot flex. Even if you just sit here, this is the beginning. Put your two hands down, pressing into your two hands rounding through your back. Looking at your belly. Really solidify that flexed foot as you hover the pelvis up.

See if you can push forward first and then lift back to the bar. Try that again, forward and lift back to the bar. Forward, hold the forward position using your abdominals, push through your right heel a little bit and rotate your spine slightly. Push through your left heel and rotate your spine slightly. Come back to center, pulling all the way up at that suits you.

Slide it through, push with those heels, go to the left, go to the right and pull it up. Repeat, go to the right, go to the left, center and pull it up, one more time, please. To the left, to the right, back to center and pull it up. Have seat on your bar and let's move on. I'm going to take my bar down to the bottom position.

If you happen to have the balanced body rebo foot bar, this works really nicely for our standing work. Otherwise you need a down so that you have the foot platform available to you. I'm going to stay with this red spring that I've been using, seems to be my theme. You're going to step up with your foot on the frame first or on the foot platform. You can use your hands on the foot bar or on the frame if needed to find your way up to a standing position.

Your two feet are standing, you bend. Only as deeply as you can standing on your plumb line, standing on my inside leg, my left leg and I'm using the foot bar to press it in a little bit. Push out through the heel and come in. Like last week, we'll add a little rotation, a little fun, rotate, look around and come in. Just two more, and now we add a real twist here.

Stand tall, take your foot that's on the platform or on the carriage rather than move it back a little bit. So I've got my toe hanging off. I'm gonna bend both knees as deeply as I feel comfortable, and then rotating more at my pelvis then my spine. I'm gonna rotate around, looking on the diagonal over the foot bar if you will, the leg goes back. The leg goes in.

We add arms up, arms in, palms up, palms in, palms up, palms in and reach. Good, nice and powerful through the legs. Lots of work with the pushing leg. Lots of work with the standing leg. One more please?

Stand tall. Let's go ahead and do the other side, carefully step down from there. So you'll step with your foot on the foot platform. Use your hands to assist as you come to standing. Your two toes are hanging off your big toes.

You stand tall, lengthen through your low back, bend both knees, use the foot bar if you have it available, we reach out with the leg we pull in. You can add a rotation of the upper body and a reach of the arm here. Reach, I've taken my other arm behind me just to promote flexibility. Last one, adding on. So you're gonna stand tall first, bring your foot back in space.

Make sure the big toe is hanging off and you feel secure, bend deeply, supporting with your core, rotate more from your pelvis. And we reach, and we come in. And we reach with energy and look with the eyes, and look, good, looking up. I'm enjoying the mountain view, and the waves, and I'm gonna look around, and hopefully find a dolphin this morning. We'll take three, and two, and one.

Beautiful, all the way in and then be mindful about how you step down nice and carefully, here. We're going to use that box. But first I would like you to bring your bar back up to your original position, your middle position. We're going you use a blue spring for this next back extension exercise. So, get your box, the bar is what we're using as a prop to get a little more extension and feel the legs.

So a little tricky to get in but once we get it all set, it's perfect. So I'm gonna have you lie on your belly and we're going to get our feet on the foot bar to push out. So you'll find your way, chest is hanging off just a bit. Then you can use your feedback there on the bar and hold for a moment. So gets your feet organized.

Now I find that it's difficult to know if we're in neutral alignment or external rotation. So I'm going to use this as a tool to find neutral alignment. Take your feet just a bit underneath the bar and think of pressing up. So my hands are helping me with the frame. My feet are pressing up into the bar and I'm spiraling in a little bit in my mind, and I'm gonna try to keep my legs close together.

So I'm using my inner thighs. So there's a lot of energy in the backs of the legs here. My hands can support at any time or you can try just letting your arms hang for a moment. Hollow your belly in and be very supported with your core here. Inhale, let's find our back extension, bringing the arms up by the side and exhale to lower down.

Keep both legs engaged, inhale up by the side and down. So it's like pulling straps. We're gonna inhale, we're gonna hold here. We're gonna take the arms out to a T-shape first, take the arms overhead, remove one foot for me lifting it above the bar. Good, so the opposite arm is gonna lift, oh, this is like swimming, right?

Change, remove the other foot. Feel arm, and leg, change, arm and leg, change, arm and leg, change. Keep your legs there. Allow the feet to soften a little bit so you can relax. Let your head relax.

We're gonna come back out to the up this, if you will, or back to this rather, and try a little bit of rotation. Use your arms to assist, use your feet. Find that push up feeling, that pushing up. Find those hamstrings, find those inner thighs. We're gonna inhale, to our back extension.

We're gonna rotate, looking around, rotate the other way, looking around. So feel those legs active, rotate, and again, rotate. One more time each side, please, rotate and rotate Bring your hands to the frame, unhook your feet and just kinda find your way in nice and comfortably. You do have a light spring so be mindful as you move. I would like you to move into a child's pose here.

Toes are hanging off just a bit. Forehead is perhaps resting on the mat of the box in front of you and your arms can dangle or they can hold the frame. Whatever feels like a good idea, breathing in, and breathing out (loudly exhales), breathing in, and breathing out. Listen for the sound of the waves, breathing in and breathing out. Slowly make yourself upright.

You may come to standing or kneeling or wherever it suits you. And boy, I thank you so much for joining me and for playing today. See you next time.

Zesty Flows with Sarah: On the Reformer

Comments

3 people like this.
Sarah, you are such a pleasure to follow! Espeically first thing in the morning, it just feels so good in the body and puts me in the right headspace.  Thank you!
3 people like this.
Sarah, thank you!  I was in a grouchy place this morning and your class turned my attitude right around.  It was just what I needed today.
Robin S
3 people like this.
another great class. thank you so much~ nothing to do with Pilates, but the sun reflected on your jacket so lovely and illuminated your beautiful face 
2 people like this.
What a pleasurable class!  Enjoyed every minute! Thank you very much, Sarah!!! I’m a bit jealous of your view!😉
Renae K
2 people like this.
Love love your class and the view.  Looks so lovely there!!
2 people like this.
I adore these classes! I haven’t seen the ocean in awhile (Thanks, Covid!) so getting the chance to see and hear it is incredible. Loved all of the twisting in this class. The variations were fabulous!
Hi Rachel R, Wonderful!  Thank you:)  I am really enjoying this new series and am so grateful to know there  is a whole group of people "out there"  playing with me.  Super cool.  And what a way to begin the week.  Take care. 
Terrip88* Wow! Helping you to be less grouchy...nothing compares. Thank you for letting me bring you up!!! Big hug and hope to see you soon.  
Robin S (blushing). Thank YOU for your sweet words.  It really is a treat to be outside...A little cold but lovely.  I really like that shiny red jacket.:) 
Hi Barbara L,  That view is priceless(and never ever gets old).  And being outside is a while new experience.  Just delightful.  I am enjoying every moment!! (wish I was there everyday) BUT glad to "share the view" with this series.  See you soon.  
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