Creating Space Reformer

Hi. I'm Zola. Today we'll be doing a short and sweet prenatal reformer safe for all three trimesters of pregnancy. I will be using a balanced body studio reformer, the sitting box, yoga block for sideline work if you choose and a pad for not slipping when we do stomach massage. I'm starting with two red springs, and we will start standing up. So legs are hip width apart and parallel. Starting with some squats.

So sitting the hips down toward your reformer, maybe the hips tap, maybe they don't. Either is fine. And once you come to the top, press your hands back, lift your heels, lift your chest. Again, heels down, arms up, hips, tap the reformer, maybe. Come up to standing, straight legs, press the hands back open the chest and lift the heels, just warming up the body, bending the knees. Now if reaching the arms up isn't accessible for you, you have the option To keep the hands pressing on the thighs as you sit down, maybe don't go as far, bring yourself up to standing, and lift those heels open the chest. So the arm position is totally up to you.

Make sure the knees are going right over the toes as you bend your knees. Let's do three more of those. Hit sit back. Maybe they tap. Stand up tall. Lift the heels open the chest, press the hands back. One more time, bend.

Stand up tall and lift those heels, press the hands back. Heels come down and carefully bring yourself to seated. Let's lie down on your side. I am using a yoga block just to support the head. If you don't wanna use one, that's totally up to you.

Let's start with some side lying footwork. My hips are seated back toward the back edge of the reformer. I'm tucking the knees under, putting the foot on the foot bar parallel knee in line with the hip, toes in line with the knee. Let's press the leg out to straight and just make sure you're more in the center of the foot, so you're not favoring the outside of the foot or the inside of the foot. Try to be right on the middle and continue your footwork from here. Keeping it nice and parallel, knee in line with the hip.

Try to find that full range of motion all the way out and all the way in. Good. One more time. Just press the leg out to straight. Now from here, stand tall on that top leg as you lengthen the bottom leg, keeping it parallel flexing that foot. Continue your footwork with the bottom leg straight.

Every time you press that top leg out to straight, feel like you're standing tall in both legs. The side of your body that's resting on the reformer is actually lifting off of the reformer. Making a little mouse house, if you will. Let's do three more. Press out and bend two more. To control it in.

One more time, let's press out from here. I'm lifting my bottom leg to my top leg, squeezing the inner thighs. Good. Exhale. Inhale. Five more times. Inter thigh squeeze.

And four Three, two. One more. We do the same thing with the carriage in. Try to keep that top leg parallel as you lift and lower that bottom leg. Seven more. Seven. Six, five, four, three, two, and one. Let's press the carriage halfway out from here.

Keep the carriage steady, externally rotate that top leg and bring it back. Make those tiny minor adjustments in that foot if you feel like your foot is sliding around on that foot bar. That's totally okay. Open and close. Let's do four more. Four. And three. Carriage is steady.

Two more. Open. And close. One more. Open. Keep it open. Press the carriage out. Continue your footwork with that externally rotated leg.

Let's point through the bottom toes this time. Just to change it up. Good press out. Pull it in. Five more, five, and in, press out four.

Always hugging that baby to the spine, As we do our work, keep that leg straight. Same thing, heel to heel. Bottom leg meets the top and lower. Lift and lower. Squeeze, working the inner thighs.

Five more times. Squeeze five. And four. Three. Two.

And one same thing with the carriage in. Keep that top leg turned out. Bottom leg comes up. For nine. Eight, seven, six, five.

Breathe. Two more. Let's do leg circles here. Five each direction. So that bottom leg circles, nice and big. Three, two.

And one try to keep those hips stacked reverse those circles. And four. Three, two, and one. Good. From here, very carefully switch sides. Be gentle with yourself. You can flip onto your back.

Carefully go to the other side. Sit those hips back to the back of the machine. Let's have both legs tucked first so that bottom leg is tucked. Top leg is parallel. Press into that foot, stretch the leg. Stack those hips.

And then continue to press out. And then try to be more on the middle of that foot. Good. Let's do one more. Keep that top leg straight, so you can lengthen out the bottom leg, standing tall in both legs, spine is long. Bottom foot is flexed.

Continue your footwork on that top leg. Let's do five more here. Both legs are active. That bottom leg isn't just resting down. Two more.

Two. Last one, we keep that top leg straight. Bottom leg squeezes to the top leg. Lift and lift. Both sides of the waist are activated. Five, four, three, two.

And one same thing with the carriage all the way in lift that bottom leg up, working the inner thigh and lift and lift. I think it's a little bit harder to keep the top leg parallel as you work that inner thigh on the bottom. Three more. Three and two. And one, lower the leg. Point the toes, press halfway out.

Turn the top leg out. And then back to parallel. Make little adjustments with your foot on the foot bar if it's sliding around. Four more here. Open and close. External, parallel.

One more time. Keep the leg turned out. Press the leg out to street, standing tall in both legs, and continue your footwork turned out with that top leg. Three more. Three and two. Last one. Keep that leg straight. Bottom leg meets the top leg in her thighs.

Good. Five more here. Squeeze five. And four. Three, two. And one same thing with the carriage in.

Keep the carriage in. Bottom leg lifts. 10. Nine. Eight top leg is active. And six five more.

Squeeze five. Four. Three. Two. And we do leg circles and make them big. Five. Four, three, two, reverse.

Other way. Five. For continue to activate the side of the body that is resting on the carriage. One more time. One good. And from here, bend your knees and carefully bring yourself up to a seated position so that you can change your springs. Let's do one blue spring.

Taking off the red. And facing the back of the reformer. I'm going into a low kneel. If that is at all uncomfortable for you, find a comfortable seated position preferably cross legged. So I'm gonna put this on the floor because I won't need it for a while.

Reaching down for your handles, I'm putting my hands through the loops, climbing them up to the tape. Starting with the chest expansion, hug your baby into the spine, grow taller through the spine, press the shoulders down, The arms stay straight as you press the arms back, squeeze the shoulder blades, and bring the arms forward. Let's exhale to press back. Open the chest. Inhale to come forward.

Continue. Think of the path of the arms being down toward the floor and back, and then down toward the floor. And forward. If your arms are longer than mine, take them just a little bit wider so you have a little bit more space. But my arms are short enough that they just miss the reformer. Good. Let's add a little neck roll.

So from here, press the arms back. Keep them there. Look to the right, circle the neck down and around. Feels really nice. Look to the left.

Look center. Bring the arms forward. And of course, once your arms are back, they stay there. Nothing in the chest changes. Look to the left. Circle the neck down towards your chest.

Around, look to the right, and center. You should really feel the back of the body working here. Press back. Look right. Circle the neck down and around. Look left.

Center and forward. Last time. Look, circle down and around. Keep the knuckles punching down toward the floor. Look forward and bring the arms forward.

Hula hooping your arms. So pretend there's a hula hoop around your waist and trace that hula hoop with your pinky finger squeezing the arms back. So similar to the chest expansion, the arms just go a little bit wider squeeze and circle the arms forward. As you go through your pregnancy, you'll notice That upper back gets really tight. Lower back too, honestly.

The whole back just gets very tight. So after you give birth, there's lots of rounding forward holding the baby. Nursing if you decide to do that. And the upper back just is very stiff for a very long time. So you want it to be very strong as well as open. Good one more time.

Good. From here, let's cross the ropes. So I'm taking my hands out of the loops. Crossing the ropes, I'm not gonna bother putting my hands through the loops this time. For a wide rope, palms face down, elbows lift it. They pull back, squeeze the shoulder blades. And then bring it forward.

I'm going slow and intentionally, so I don't use momentum to pull the ropes back. I'm really using those back muscles. We need them to be strong. Exhale back. Inhale forward.

Five more. Two more times. Keep staying tall in your spine. Last one, pull the elbows back and resist it forward. Good. Uncrat across those straps.

Place the lips back on the pegs. And let's lower our foot bar so that we can add our long box. So foot bar all the way down. Let's also keep the blue spring, actually, and add our long box. Come to the front of your reformer Let's have nice wide legs. So about shoulder width with the legs, and just place the hands on the front edge of your long box. From here, press the carriage out, going into a flat back.

Let the belly drop down toward the foot bar. Let the chest open up. And to pull the carriage in, round the spine, control that spring. Same thing. Press out. And pull it in.

Let's add the breath here. That's exhale to press. Inhale to pull it in. Good one more exhale, press out. Now if you feel comfortable, take one hand to the center of that box and very gently take the opposite hand to the frame.

Into a gentle twist. Keep it gentle. Keep pulling the baby into the spine, and take a breath here. Switching sides. Hand to the center of the box. Find the frame of the reformer.

Give yourself a gentle, gentle twist. Don't force anything. Good. Place both hands back on your box and pull the carriage in. Good. Let's sit on top of our long box facing the front. Make sure you're in a place where your knees are at a 90 degree bend, and you can really hug that box in with your legs.

Reach behind you. Grab your loops sitting up nice and tall, pull the elbows back open the chest and lengthen through the spine. From here, exhale reach the arms forward, serve a platter, and then resist the spring to pull the elbows back. Continue reaching forward. And back.

So remember, we're not using any momentum here. Continue to squeeze the box with your legs. So everything is working. Good. From here, stretch the arms forward. Let's make circle.

So without changing the spine or the shoulders, try to reach the arms up toward the ceiling, circle them out to the sides, And then you'll bend the elbows back into your start position. So reach forward and up out and in. So we're trying to not let those straps or the ropes pull us back with them. As the arms go up to the ceiling. So the higher the arms get, the more you're resisting that pull of the ropes. Let's do one more this direction. Reach forward and up.

Out and in reversing those circles, stretch the arms out to the side, lift them up to the sky. Forward bend the elbows back. Continue. Reach out. Up forward and and smooth out those circles if you can. Let's do two more here.

One more. Good. Shaving and hugging reach the arms forward. For finger and thumb touching, a slight lean forward of the upper body, bend the elbows, stretch the elbows. Bend, shave off your ponytail if you have one. I don't.

One more time, bend. Stretch keep the arms long, separate the hands, sit up tall, and find your hug position, exhale close, inhale open. Exhale close, inhale open. Good. You'll bend the elbows and rest. Put your loops back on to the pegs.

And let's take our box back. Make sure you are standing upright as you walk with your box as to not strain yourself. Of course, be gentle with yourselves. And grab a black pad for stomach massage so we don't slide. Now for our people that are a little further along in pregnancy, I will suggest that the pad is a little bit further back than you normally would.

And I will be putting the foot bar on the lowest setting, just giving us a little bit more space for the belly. Spring settings, I'm going to do two red a blue and a green. So a little bit heavy. Of course, if you wanna go lighter, feel free. Carefully have a seat on top of your pad, and toes go on the foot bar. If you still feel like this isn't enough space, go ahead and gear the carriage back, and that should give you more space here.

Heels together toes apart. Give your belly a little bit of space here. Now hands on the front of the carriage, I'm trying to lift in the sides of the waist and look down towards my abdominals. Find those adductor muscles, inner thighs squeezing in. Of course, if the belly is in the way, separate the feet and go parallel, and that's totally fine.

From here, press the legs out, lower the heels, lift the heels, and bend, and continue. Keep going. The goal is to keep the shoulders over the hips. Three more. And two. And one more.

Come all the way in. I'm removing the green spring. Reaching the hands back onto the shoulder blocks. If this is too tight for you and your shoulders, make a fist punch your knuckles down into the performer. Otherwise, hands on the shoulder blocks continue the same movement, shoulders stay over the hips as best as possible.

Five more times, the chest is open. The shoulders are down. Exhale. Inhale, exhale. One more time, down and up. Pull the carriage in. I'm removing a blue spring.

So now I'm on two red for reach. Arms reach up on a high diagonal. You press that carriage back. No lower lift of the heels, then the knees. Continue pressing out.

And in. Try to find stability in your ankles here, pressing the heels together if they're touching. Good one more. Let's add a gentle twist over to the right. Make sure you're growing tall in the spine, carriage in. Twist to the left.

Hips stay pointing forward as the ribs twist. Good twisting right. And last one, twisting left. And then come all the way in. If it is accessible to you, let's take a stretch separating the heels, hands on the foot bar stretching the legs.

More accessible, hands on the frame of the reformer, and even more accessible would be feet on the platform. Stretching the legs and just taking a stretch here. And then bring the carriage back in. Let's lower the foot bar all the way down and take the pad off of the reformer. One blue spring for some arms.

I'm grabbing that yoga block again because we will be side lying. And again, be gentle with yourself. As to how you get down onto your side. Curll yourself up in a little ball. Remember, the hips are toward the back of the machine, so you can tuck those knees in as best as you can. Grab a hold of that handle or loop.

I'm gonna keep my hand on the peg. You can do hand on shoulder block or bottom hand around the waist. It's totally up to you. Arm stretches up to the ceiling and just press it straight down. And control it up.

Now if while you're here, you want a little extra something, you can lengthen the top leg over the footbar as you work this arm. Good press. Good. Just one more like this. Pause here. Flip the palm to face back and just sweep the arm forward and press it back. Sweet the arm forward.

And press it back. Don't let the arm come any higher than you can keep that shoulder down. So don't let it get too far from you. One more time forward. And back and then we make circles.

Lift the arm up. Slice the arm forward. Press it back. Lift up. Forward press it back.

Forward little half circles of this arm up. Forward. One more time this direction. Up and forward. And then we reverse those circles.

So arm sweeps forward first. You slice it up to the ceiling and press it down to the hip. Continue that four more times. Forward up and press. Press one more time. From here, palm faces back again.

Try set press. Bend the elbow and stretch it up. Bend. Keep the elbow hugging in toward your ribs. Bend. And press three more. Three.

And two. One more time. Good. Bend the elbow. Let the carriage come home. Put the loop back on the peg.

From here, outer thighs. Anyone that knows me knows, I love some outer thigh work. So just lift and lower that top leg. And breathe through it. Five. Four. Three.

Two. Let's make circles circle around for five. Actually, let's do 10. Up and around. Up and around. Keep the hips stacked.

Keep that top hip as steady and stable as possible. Two more. Reverse those circles 10 times 10. Nine, eight, seven, six, five. Two, and one, and rest.

Very carefully. Take yourself to the other side. Be gentle with yourself. Hips to the back of your reformer. Find that handle, tuck those knees, reach that top arm up, and then just press it straight down. If you want that extra credit, lengthen that top leg over the foot bar, and just keep it there.

Press. Using that armpit muscle or those armpit muscles to press that arm down. Good. Press it down and hold. Palm faces back. Sweep the arm forward.

Press the arm back. Sweep it forward. Two. My top hip is also burning. One.

Good. We make circles. So arm lifts up to the sky. Slice it down and press it back. Up and around. Up and around.

Two more up. Then we reverse those circles. So sweep the arm forward, slice it up to the ceiling, press it down. Continue four more of those. Two more.

Two. Exhale on the work. One more inhale here. Exhale. Good.pal faces back again.

Try set press. Bend the elbow and press and bend and stretch. Three more. Three and two. Last one stretch the arm. Good. Bend the elbow. Place that loop back on the peg.

Leg lips up and up. Breathe through it. Six seven three more. Eight. Nine legs circles. I'm shaking.

Nine eight seven six. Five, four, three, two, reverse the circles. Almost there. Take it back and around. And nine, eight, seven, six, five. Two, and one, and rest.

Whoo, carefully bring yourself up. Let's stay facing the same side, changing the blue spring to one red spring, and also lifting the foot bar back up. I'll place the yoga block down on the floor, and let's stay in a comfortable seated position sitting up nice and tall. The loop goes around the elbow. The hands go behind the head.

Lengthen up the crown of the head up to the ceiling and side bend toward the springs, and then bring yourself back up to center. Think of going up to go over. And then resist to come back. Good keep going. Side, bend down. Five more here.

Up and over. Three. Two. And one, sit up nice and tall. Good. Let the carriage come home.

Loop goes back on the peg. Option to stay in your comfortable seated position or change to a z sit, one shin along the shoulder blocks, the other shin parallel with the front of the reformer, hand on the flip bar, Other arm up by the ear, press the shoulders down, press the carriage out. In opposition, I'm trying to sit my hip down into the mat. So don't hike the hip up to press the carriage out. Keep those hips heavy into your mat. Inhale bring the carriage in.

Exhale press it out. Inhale bring it in. Exhale press it out. Two more, inhale in, exhale out. One more. Inhale in, exhale out.

Carriage comes all the way home. And let's switch sides. So find that comfortable seated position. Grab your loop. Place it on the elbow, hands behind the head.

Sitting up really tall. Think of going up to go over. And bring it back up. So I'm trying to keep length in both sides of my waist as I go over, lift up and over. Keep going. Excellent.

Let's do five more here. Also, trying to keep from twisting the ribs as you side bend That's also a challenge. Three more. One more time, lift up and over. Carriage comes all the way home. Loop goes on the peg.

Either stay here or you can go to a z sit. Try to get that hip that's closest to the shoulder blocks down. Hand on your footbar, reach up and over. And pull it in. Good. Lanken both sides of the waist to go up and over.

Two more. And last one, up and over. And come all the way in, let your arm come down, and you are finished. Great job. Thank you so much for joining me, and I will see you next time.