Mat with Foam Roller

Hi. I'm Danielle English, and this is an intermediate style mat class where we will use the foam roller the entire class. So get your foam roller out of whatever corner you stashed it into. I'm gonna show you how to use it to really level up your practice this class. I'm gonna rotate the foam roller so that it is lengthwise on my mat, and then I'm gonna get myself up on top of the roller. I like to align really the base of the pelvis right at the edge of the roller. And then with hands behind my thighs, nice inhale, I use my exhale to scoop the tail bone by bone trying to ease myself, finding a really nice center on the roller, and then just make sure you have the back of the head supported.

If not, you wanna shimmy down just a little bit, making sure you're aligned from tailbone through neck, back the head. I'm gonna walk my feet in and starting with just a little bit of mobility with this foam roller so great for alignment of the spine. I'm just gonna inhale one arm up by my ear a little stretch and then exhale. Now this is also getting me oriented on the roller. You'll notice you're rolling a little bit side to side.

So planting through the feet, I'm just breathing naturally. I'm in a very nice, relaxed, spine, natural curves through my back. And as I'm taking these arm sweeps, My scapula is just kinda gliding up against the roller. I can feel where things are a little crunchy, where are those little speed bumps. Then I'm gonna turn the palms to face each other.

It feels a little different. I've changed the rotation in my shoulders as I'm just kind of swiping and giving this tracking to my shoulder blades with that roller right in between them. And then you can also turn the palms to face out a little internal rotation. Maybe you'll feel a little more release here. I'm trying to keep my arms off the mat grounding through my feet. Again, it's also a moment where my brain and my body are kind of realizing that I'm on a moving apparatus. I'm on something that's a little unstable.

So just finding some nice planting through my feet. And then I'm gonna come back to palms facing forward for my last six. Just these little sweeps. May not feel like much, but it is just a nice gentle way where the rollers are already starting to dissipate any tension, any stickiness around those shoulder blades. I'm gonna top fingers to shoulders.

My elbows are gonna try and graze the floor and then big circle up and around. Elbows up to the ears out and around. Oh, now I'm getting there. So for extra challenge, extra opening, I'm gonna try and graze my elbows along the floor. My shoulder blades, hug the foam roller, and that's when I really start to feel the peeling open around the shoulder. And then reverse it.

Can my elbows touch the floor? Keep touching. Keep touching till the last possible second. So if you're really tight through the chest and the shoulder, this may be a little unpleasant, a little uncomfortable. Don't force it. Our bodies aren't really warm yet, but it's, again, just a little bit of mobility. And then it's giving me more time on the roller where my spine is just kind of finding its center.

Give me about two more. And then one. Yes. I'm gonna reach those arms up to the ceiling. Cactus my arms elbows drop down towards the ground. This may be a big stretch for you.

You can hang out here. If you want even more stretch palms rotate to the sky, try and let that goal post be flat to the ceiling. Maybe elbows one day reach the floor, shoulders soften down. Maybe hands. Oh, maybe maybe not.

Maybe hands. Make it to the floor. Feeling, we all get so tight in the chest and the front and the shoulder. We live so forward rounded on our devices. So just like gravity. Take over here for about two more breaths.

And then I'm gonna reach my arms all the way up over my chest. Here we go. Now let's get into some work. From this natural curve of my back on my exhale arms pressed down, I'm gonna scoop the tail up, find my imprint, and it just feels different with the bones against the roller instead of the mat. So I'm just gonna feel that connection and then inhale let it go arch the back. And then exhale, shoulders, shrug down ribs, enable the spine.

Tailbone scoops up, feel my imprint, and then I'm gonna release it. I like this this really nice moment of disconnect. So then I know what that difference feels like when I am connected, when I feel that pressure low back into the roller, one more, feeling that connection. My feet are rooting down. On this one, as I imprint, I'm gonna nod chin to chest start to peel myself off the roller.

Now if you're a little wobbly, a little unstable, just gently tap the hands down. And find your balance. I'm gonna keep going with hands off the ground, but just know that's always available to you. Trying to find my center imprinting. How high can I come up?

Not straining the neck. I think arms forward, tummy down. Chest shines right between the thighs. Oh, yeah. I'm building some heat. Three.

Two. My next one curl up, stay up small, little, crunches thing. Middleback just kinda taps back to the roller, reach it forward. Arms, energetic, like, little laser beams. I'm shooting those arms forward to help me find just a little lift Not momentum, though. Exhale deepens that tummy every time I curl up for four, three, two.

And one, as I come down, my right hand comes to the ground, left arm's gonna stay up. Right leg only into tabletop, and my palm's gonna turn to face in towards my body. If I lost that imprint, little exhale scoop the tail draw the abs in. I'm gonna do a little crisscross here, and my arm is gonna chop up and over to the outside of my thigh. That's one. And then I'm gonna come to center, see if I can chop and reach a little bit higher and then come all the way down.

Now I'm a little wobbly. I feel those little muscles firing in my stability. Little exhale chop. And then I chop and then I come all the way down. So a little double pulse, you can always bring both feet back to the ground.

If you're looking for a little more support today, a little more grounding, and then if I want a little more challenge, maybe it's just fingertips on the mat instead of that palm press. So light touch, I'm giving myself a little stability work. Finding a little wrapping in the waist. On the next one, come up. Stay up. Hold the twist.

Little chop and twist there. Small crunch. Final four three two And one, coming down. I'm gonna switch sides. Left fingertips are palm down.

Left leg up. Slightly tuck of tail. I like to imprint into the roller and really put pressure through your standing standing foot, excuse me. On your exhale, come up twist. And then center it up. Maybe you go a little higher right before you roll down.

I love the roller. It helps keep the pelvis in the same place. A lot of times when we twist, we have the urge to kinda rock on the hips. So now I'm really getting that defined waist work. It is that rotation. And then fingertips may be tent up, giving you a little less stability, a little more challenge.

One more full set. I feel that heat building in my waist, great for those obliques. I'm gonna chop and twist heart spirals to the outside of the thigh. Then I try and saw myself just a little further. A little further can I peel up and off that rollers? Last three, two, and one, I'm gonna come all the way down.

Let those arms open for a moment. Palms face the ceiling. Just dragging those backs of the hands along the ground, some soft snow angels. The higher up those arms get a little deeper stretch for chest, a little massage, again, for those muscles running right between shoulder blades, letting the ribs open. The belly be soft.

And then I'm gonna ease off the roller. Just kind of slide off gracefully little plop to one side, and now I'm gonna move the roller underneath my pelvis. So I'm gonna turn it horizontally. I come all the way to the mat. I bridge the hips up And I want the roller, not under my glutes, not under my low back, right under that broad base and shape of the pelvis.

I like to hold the ends of the roller softening the elbows, but just kind of holding it in place. Instead of letting the back arch, disconnecting those ribs. I feel hard. It's difficult to access my abdominals. Find your slight curl that slight tuck of tail up, ribs in and together. Like, I'm zipping up from pubic bone all the way to the ribs. I'm pressing that middle upper back down into the mat.

Legs to tabletop. So just finding that little bit of scoop, so I'm already active. Hips are elevated, which is gonna be a great stretch for my low back. I'm gonna inhale hinge one five forward, toe tap the mat, Exhale, think of pushing the foam roller out from underneath you to really initiate in those lower hard to reach abdominals. Inhale as I hinge, the leg feels heavy.

I'm gonna exhale every time curl the tail up, draw the low abs in, and think of pressing the back of the pelvis a little more into the roller. Inhale, little exhale, breath, abs, scoop the tail, leg returns last. Inhale. We use the exhale to try and activate the abdominals. That's your initiation. And then it's almost as if my abs are pulling my leg back. A little pressure on the roller right across those s I joints. Again, a little massage, a little release.

But it's like the leg does not move independently. I really feel like my breath moves through the tummy, pelvis does that deepening scoop leg returns. Option to stay with single leg or we're gonna take it double. It gets a little heavier. You do not have to touch the mat. In fact, sometimes I recommend you don't.

So you don't untuck the pelvis, go to your limit, and then exhale tail up, belly in, legs are heavy, like weights being lifted from your lowest transverse abs. That exhale is the key to helping you unlock these lower hard to reach abdominals. Try one more. Inhale. Think of smooshing the roller out from underneath you. So it's like this little tuck, this little push, and then I really feel connected to that low tummy.

Legg straight up to the sky knees as long as you can get them if you're a little height, maybe bend, maybe turn out. That's a nice place to be. I'm gonna go for a straight leg pike as I inhale flex and lower. I only go as low as I can keep the abs in that little tuck up pelvis, and then exhale, I go deeper, tail up, abs in, legs respond slowly. Don't anticipate the lift of the legs. Inhale. Long plank body exhale, scoop the tail, fold those low abs in on themselves.

It's almost like you're trying to create this little crease in that low tummy. Four thirty, two. Slow, slow, slow. Oh, I feel so connected to those lower abdominals now. I'm gonna inhale drop one leg. It looks like a scissor split, and then I'm gonna take a little satellite. We're gonna start to do some hip maintenance. My legs are gonna orbit out and around, keeping my pelvis balanced on the roller.

So the roller's a great tool. It'll show me very clearly if I lift on one side, and then we go again. I'm gonna scissor switch I'm gonna keep even weight on both sides of my pelvis, allow the legs to rotate inner thighs spiral towards the ceiling. I try and get them to hit the straddle at the same moment creating a little symmetry, and I can clearly feel a little crunchiness in one hip, a little resist distance through different points. That's what this is for.

It's almost like flossing for your hip sockets, and the elevation of the hips on the roller is what helps us find all this space in the hip socket and for the low back. So it's okay if it's not perfect. We're gonna scissor switch now pause. Let's reverse it. So now I'm gonna drop the other leg first. I'm gonna reverse that satellite, and I'm trying to keep even weight on both sides of my pelvis. It's so tempting to tip over to one side. Things feel a little clicky, a little crunchy.

That is why we're doing this. Abbs are still hugging in. I have a slight tuck to the tail just to engage the abdomen as I'm supporting these heavy legs kind of floating in space. And normal, if you're hearing sound effects, it's kinda gravely in there. I need this for sure.

I'm hearing all sorts of things down there. But this is where we start to kinda smooth out those pathways if anything's just gotten a little restricted. This helps you find that full rotation of the ball and socket joint. Last one. And just the angle of the pelvis up on the roller helps us do this really beautifully.

And then I'm gonna bring both legs up to the sky, bend the knees, one foot at a time, find the mat. I'm feeling pretty good. I'm gonna bridge my hips up. And as I roll down my spine, it's a nice little foreshadowing moment of exactly what we're gonna do next is some bridge. Now that my hips are off the roller, I am feeling like really open and spacious through the low back. Those q m q l muscles feel pretty happy. I'm gonna find my feet on the foam roller, and I'll give you the option.

Planting the arches on that roller for bridge way more stable, a little friendlier. If you're going for extra challenge, I want flexed feet dig into the roller. Either way, that roller wants to rock, and you're gonna have to hug the heels to the backs of the legs using your hamstrings. So go for stability here. Don't push the roller away from you, exhale tuck your tail ground through the heels and start to peel your spine up, abs and squeeze glutes.

And if that roller crept away from me, I'm gonna Hoo, hug those heels to my seat. You can't miss it. Inhale pause, exhale roll it down. Now as you roll down, hamstrings are gonna feel tight. You want to kick that roller forward, but you gotta pull it in, pull it in, pull it in. If you get a little cramp, again, I recommend flat feet.

Less intense for that posterior chain, but we wanna exhale, hug in, tuck tail. Scoop the tailbone up, the ribs, the abs draw together. Maybe I pause at the top, I think heels down glutes up for just a little extra juice out of those muscles. Inhale, and then exhale deflate the balloon, ribs down, belly button to spine tail up, up, up, up, I work through every bone in my back, but it feels pretty accessible since we're already really open from having the hips up on the roller. So I love that.

Heels down, abs, and can you squeeze? And then rolling it down. Trying to think hips to heels, heels to hips. Oh my goodness. If you feel like you're about to cramp, you're not alone. That's kind of the work that's happening through the back of the leg, gluten hamstring.

Adding on on your exhale curl it up, and then we're gonna pause. Can you roll the roller a little forward and then drag it back in? That is the good stuff, and then we roll all the way back down. So adding a little moment of instability, and then you got a muscle that roller back to you. The further you go. Oh, it's a little more challenging.

And then I drag, drag, drag, heels to hips. And I'm gonna tuck the tail up, abs in, abs flex as if it's the abdominals pushing my spine down one vertebra at a time. One more. Test your range. Little out. Oh, little in. I gotta really press into my triceps to keep that one together. Rolling it down, resisting the urge to plop or drop into the mat, curl up and stay up, meet me in your best bridge, whatever that means to your body today.

We just wanna feel connection here, glued squeeze, We're gonna rock and roll. Heels out and in just an inch, little forward, little back. Trying not to let the pelvis move. So as I push forward, I'm squeezing my glutes up, and then I pull it back. Dig flex into that roller Heels are heavy.

Push pull. Hoo four. Three. Two. Heels under your seat. Can you hold it? Little dip, little squeeze lift.

Little inhale exhale now up. Crease the hips, bump right back up. Pretty small. Stay in your working zone. Abbs hugging as well. Think abs flex to bring the glutes up for five, four, three, two, and inhale.

Exhale roll it all the way down as you roll down, allow the legs to lengthen what they wanted to do all along, and take some ankle circles, especially if you had flexed feet that whole time. Tibialis muscles, we're working very hard through the front of and back of that shinbone. So just some ankle circles feel pretty happy here as I roll it around. I'm gonna open my arms wide like a tee. The backs of my ankles are now naturally on that roller, ready to go.

And I'm gonna take the right leg up to the sky. My hamstring's gonna feel a little tight from that effort. Finding a little leg circle here. I'm gonna inhale cross the body press down into the roller with my other ankle as I exhale swing it around. So inhale doesn't need to be perfect. Sometimes I see these, like, really precious, really controlled, and I love that. We should be using the abdominals trying to hold the pelvis in place, but also ride that circle, like, swing it a little bit, give yourself something to work against, and I'm really using the roller as a tool for my bottom leg. I wanna feel hamstring on the bottom leg, bearing it down.

To keep the back of the ankle and the roller still. And then reverse it. Inhale, big tip, exhale swing it around. Our little satellite circles prepared us to feel a little looser in the hip for this back so the shoulders ground down. Palms press and anything that's a little sticky, just moving through it, inner thighs zip up in together, exhale tightens my waist. I'm trying not to move the pelvis too much.

Finish the circle you're on, and then hug knee to chest, pull it in, feel that space in the hip, that length, and the other leg. And then I'm gonna switch back of the ankle on the roller pressing down, other leg in the air. Take an inhale, start to cross the midline of the body and then exhale, hug the abs in, anchor the palms and the back of the ankle down, swing it around. Don't be too precious. Give it a little whoosh.

If it made a sound, it would be whoosh. Inhale tip twist, exhale. And then I'm gonna try and hug in my waist a little more, a little less movement in the pelvis, and then reverse it, inhale to the outside, exhale. This will also help loosen up the hamstrings after that bridge work. So it's like active recovery.

Three, two, One hug the knee and a little past the ribs. Back of the ankle stays on the roller. We got long legs. And I am feeling really nice all throughout that pelvis. Inhale, the arms all the way up overhead, ankle stay on the roller.

I like to point my feet, but feel free, flex if that feels more comfortable to you. Exhale chin to chest, forehead to belly button. Belly button to spine. I start to round all the way up with that concave tummy. The roller gives a little lift to my legs.

I'm gonna enjoy that forward fold. And then I'm gonna sit tall stack the spine and scoop and tuck the tail out from underneath me. The roller should pull back just a little bit. As I articulate down the back, I want that roller to move. It's showing me that I'm really initiating with the pelvis.

Arms up overhead. Give yourself that big, good morning stretch, and then exhale. Enable the spine chin to chest It's like I'm trying to draw my belly button back back back. Like, it's on a string as I come over those thighs. You can grab the roller. You can grab your legs.

Just give yourself a little happy stretch before you tuck and roll again. I'm gonna add on on my exhale. I start to curl up. I feel that roundness in the spine, then I'm gonna start to levitate one leg off the roller just coming up into a half teaser balance. I'm not all the way up on the sits bone.

Stay a little back on that broad part of the pelvis. And then tuck and roll, replace the leg, inhale arms up overhead other side, exhale, surrounded. I feel action in the abs. I feel supported then. I start to lift the leg, staying back on the pelvis, but trying to find just a little lift in the heart.

And then long leg tuck and roll. It's kinda like helps us prepare for a really nice teaser. Feeling that balance on the back of the pelvis replaced. And one more. And you can probably feel what's coming as you exhale, chin to chest, abs draw, and I feel that tension in my belly, then I'm gonna start to lift both legs if that's available to you. Bending both knees in, finding that bent leg teaser.

I'm still a little scooped in the tail, a little lifted behind the heart. Then I'm gonna tuck the tail triangle low back, middle back, rest the feet, and then the head comes down, inhale arms up overhead. Exhale. I love the roller because having the feet already a little bit off the ground feels like a friendlier transition up into this teaser. If you've got the flexibility, maybe leg straight, But that's just cherry on top.

If you're feeling tight and knees bent, the work is here. It's more about spine. The legs will come. Now let's do one more big inhale. Last one, chin to chest abs and I feel the abdominals really connected before I levitate those legs. I'm gonna bend the knees and scoop the belly, scoop the belly, and then grow a little behind the heart.

And maybe if you've got that extension in the lower body, we go for that straight leg hold. Tees or any teaser you're in, try and hold it. Heart shines up and out for four. Three, two, and one. Lower the legs. Big inhale sit tall.

Exhale take that dive up and over. I like to wiggle my hips back a little bit. Forward fold coming out of it. And then we're gonna reorient ourselves a little bit here. As I come onto my tummy, I'm gonna turn around. And then we're gonna take the roller around with us.

So as I come all the way down, it's still at the edge of the mat, so you could just flip over that way. I'm gonna come to face this direction, and I'm gonna bring the four arms on to my roller. So palms face in, kind of like on this knife edge of the forearm, and I want it above my wrist, but below my elbow. So that when my arms are straight, I'm still on my mat. I'm gonna inhale prepare.

I press the shoelaces of the feet down. Slightly tuck the tail quads and glutes engage. And I've got my feet hip width distance today for a little space in my back, but please feel free to squeeze it all the way together for a little extra challenge. Inhale, reach the roller a little forward. Let those shoulders just creep up to the ears. Now exhale keeping the arms straight.

The shoulders draw down the back. The heart shines forward. Up and over the roller, and the roller's moving not because I'm pulling it. It is this articulation in my back. I'm using my little knife arms pressing down to feel the up of the chest. Maybe I can even come off of the naval.

My shoulders are down away from the ears, and then I'm gonna let it roll all the way back out. Let the shoulder scrunch up into the ears so you know what you're trying to avoid. Step one, shoulders and shoulder blades draw down the back. My roller starts moving before I even lift the chest, then I think of slithering forward with my heart like a snake. Think ribs and chest a little forward up and out. Can always leave belly button on the mat. You wanna engage the glutes, tighten the tummy, and then maybe come up a little higher, higher, higher, Keeping the space in the neck.

If you've lost that space, I don't want it. Keep it a little lower and work on that shrug of shoulders and shoulder blades down. It should really be the first thing you do. Exale my shoulders pull down to my waist. Once the roller can't move anymore, that's when I really start lifting.

So I love this tool, because that helps us find that scapular and shoulder depression. And then maybe I wanna keep going. Not a gotta do if you've got that mobile back, just make sure you're not cranking into that lumbar curve relying on the arch there. Even if I'm gonna go further, I'm thinking glute squeeze, press the pubic bone down. If I'm gonna leave the mat with my belly button, I zipper those ribs up and in together.

So I'm supporting that back, and then we come all the way back down. On your next one, come to where you can hold it. So it's not gonna be my highest one, I'm gonna hover, and then I'm gonna hold it. And then press into the roller with one arm, feel tight in your armpit, lift the other, and then exhale, feel the down pressure of glutes and underarms, and then lift the other arm. My goal is to stabilize with breath, muscle squeeze, and then lift.

And then press down. I'm not wobbling on my pelvis. I try and keep that chest in the same spot. Maybe you wanna add opposite arm and leg. I love a little swimmer.

Feel the down before the up, shoulders down, hips, press down, glute squeeze, then find the up. And then you're nice and stable. You've done the work to set that foundation. Four. Three, two, and one.

I'm gonna reconnect shoulders down. Maybe find a little extra lift. Before I come all the way back to my mat, very, very nice. I'm gonna pull the roller a little to me as I press myself up. I now wanna come over the roller. I wanna bring it to my shins and my ankles as we get into a little planking.

So I want that roller below the knees right onto the shins, and that's why I really like a roller that's not rock hard. It should have a little squish to it if you can. I'm gonna start to bend the knees, tuck my tail soft bend in the elbow scoop the knees towards my chest, inhale stretch it back out. Can the heart shine a little forward? I don't mind if your toes touch the mat, but try and find this little lift through the tummy not sinking into the low back. Here we go, exhale scoop tuck and curl like a handstand.

My arms have to press down to feel the up of the belly, knees, and I'm gonna round the spine. So then I feel the difference when I extend heart forward. I still tuck the tail. Little softness in the elbows if you're prone to that hyper extension like me, exhale up and in with the tummy, knees to nose, and then stretch. The slower you go, the harder it is, my goodness, exhale.

Up and in. Option, add a twist. I'm gonna rotate hips to the right. XL, slow drag, knees to right elbow. Take it all the way back. And then exhale twist, scoop tuck curl. Boom, inhale through center, throaty.

One chin just kinda glides along the roller. Mostly, I'm interested in the movement in my pelvis and spine. Four. Three. Slow and steady. Like, you're dragging yourself through the mud. Two.

One, I'm gonna come to center. I'm gonna tuck and curl through center. Trying to get some weight into my arms, get a little lift away from that roller and just hold it. Maybe the roller can come to the ankles because you're carving out that tummy for five. Drop the head four. Three, two, and one. Let it go.

Let it go. I like a little child's pose. I'm just gonna take it over the roller, hips to heels. Mhmm. Breathing. That got my heart rate up a little bit. Then I'm gonna lift my head.

I'm gonna dive forward and take it into sideline starting with the hip on the roller. So this can be a little uncomfortable, especially if you have a really hard roller. So I do recommend one with a little squishiness to it. I'm gonna bring the hips onto the roller, and then still try and come all the way down to the mat. So it is putting a lot of pressure on my bottom hip. And I wanna get out of that bony area a little more up to the edge of the hip. Once I'm there, neck is long.

I stack the hips, and I'm gonna try and zip up from pubic bone to ribs. I'm already super lifted off the mat. So this helps me find a tight waist. Fingerships are gonna connect. Now as you exhale, draw the waist in, try and find your balance and go for a double leg lift.

And then inhale, once we're lifted, I don't want you to touch the ground. Give me an exhale shoulders down abs and think of a side bend. It's really your top oblique. That we're stretching a little bit and then drag your hip bone up to your bottom rib, inhale a little pressure on the roller. If you absolutely hate this, just do this on the mat. No foam roller needed.

I just like the extra elevation off the floor. So this feels a little more dynamic. I try and keep the space in the neck as I inhale. Exhale. Little tuck on the tail to keep the smoothness through the low back. Four.

Oh, yeah. It's like side plank with the weight lifting of the legs, three. Bottom inner thighs working hard, two legs like one tail. Now lift up, hold it. Can you hold just the bottom leg down and then squeeze it back up zipper? Inhale, exhale, stable in that top leg, abs drawing in from all sides, neck trying to be long tips of the ears reaching towards your middle finger.

Bottom leg squeeze four. Three, two, and one lower down. And then I'm gonna ease off the roller and let it come all the way under my neck. So now I'm gonna use it as a little pillow, finding space in the side of my neck. You can hold the roller and the floor.

I like how it just creates that lift off of the floor and the bottom shoulder. My bottom leg's gonna stay bent now. I like to feel a little more grounded now that I'm on the mat, and then I'm gonna lift the top leg up. On an exhale, I'm gonna kick that heel forward, and then point the foot, squeeze the glute, bring it back. Now if you want a little extra challenge, maybe top hand of the hip.

I'm thinking of reaching the top hip bone long and cinching that bottom waist away from the floor. Good three. Leg stays at hip bone high. I'm trying to gently press up with the thigh bone as it travels. On the next one, carry it forward.

Let the foot be flexed. Turn it in slightly. Let's go big toe down. Heel edge of the leg up. Yes. A little internal rotation.

So it feels a little funky. I'm pressing down into my bottom thigh trying to keep that lift. So maybe my leg doesn't go so high, but it is imperative that you keep the waist work. That's what makes it Pilates in this side lying series. Oh, that funky little heat building in the outer edge of my hip, glute, edges of the seat. Let's go through.

Turnned in, and it's not just the foot. I'm really thinking of spiraling my inner thigh towards the floor. Two? Lift and hold it, itchy, itchy, right there, up an inch, heel down, toe up, foot like a floppy fish, little exhale firm in the waist, five a little higher, four. Three two, and one, bring it all the way down, and give that seat a little bit of a rest. Excellent. I'm gonna help myself up taking it into that second side.

I'm just gonna flip over and bringing that hip back to the roller. So, again, it's not upper thigh. Really try and balance that kinda, like, fulcrum point of the pelvis right below your hip bone where there is a little squishiness. There is a little bit of a muscle bed there. So you're not directly on bone. And then my body's in one long line. I'm already feeling this reach through that top hip, a little lift from the bottom, and then I'm gonna take the curve out of my low back with just a little tuck, feeling that exhale, zip up both legs, I'm gonna try and find my weight lifting, double leg lift cinching top body, like, from rib to hip bone, and then inhale, don't touch the floor.

Once you're activated, stay in it. Keep it tight. If you touch the ground, usually the body softens, and then you kinda have to find your setup again. So think of this as weight lifting for your waist. Bottom legs giving you a little bit of an assist. So inner thigh like magnets squeezing up and in will give you a little boost but really think of lifting from here.

I'm a little more wobbly on this side. My alignment's not as good. Meaning, like, it just doesn't come to me as easily. So that's super common, especially with side lying. So don't be discouraged.

Maybe there's one side where you have to fight for it just a little more. This is where we start to bridge the gap between those two sides, those little imbalances between right and left. On your next one, try and keep that scrunch in your top waist. Top leg does not move. Like, a little crocodile mouth, can you chomp chomp that bottom? Like, up and in. Chomp chomp. Squeeze it up and in.

Little inhale, and then I think exhale up and in together. I squeeze glutes, inner thighs everything around pelvis. Inhale. This pressure is also loosening up that little bunch of muscles that all meet, right, underneath that hip bone. Four, inner thighs squeeze, feel that heat. Three. Two, and then squeeze hold, hold, float it down.

Oh, yes. Small move, but lots of effort. Gonna take that roller underneath the smooth part of my neck. Bottom leg is gonna be bent. My bottom hand just holds the edge of the roller for a little bit of stability, stacking the hips, fingertips on the mat for support.

I'm gonna flex and lift, hips are stacked, little tuck in the tail. Belly feels wrapped in like a corset from all sides. Exhale, I kick the heel forward, and then point, I squeeze the glute. I open the hip by swinging it back, and then flexing kick. Point, press flex kick, leg up at hip height.

You want a little challenge. This top hand comes off the mat. Maybe it comes to the hip. Four. Hips try and stay stable.

Three. My waist creates this little seat belt trying to hold on to the pelvis in that stacked position. Good. I'm gonna flex that foot, lift it, bring it forward, and now internally rotate it, inner thigh to the ground, relax the foot. And I'm almost knee over knee. I'm gonna tap the floor with that big toe and then heal up. Inhale.

Exhale on the lift, let it feel funky, let it immediately target those abductors, those outer hip thigh glute muscles, and trying to keep the integrity of my waist. So maybe that leg doesn't go so high, but again, it's really spiraling inward. Inhale exhale four. Three. Two.

Hold it up. Keep it up. Right where it feels sticky, itchy. Press into a little exhale heel up. In earth eyes spiraling to the ground, little exhale, little exhale. Four, three, two, and one, I'm gonna bring it down.

Little tap tap for my seat. And then how wonderful I have a foam roller ready to go to open those hips. So I'm gonna turn. I'm gonna ease myself up on top of the roller, bringing my hands behind. And I'm gonna start with that right leg up and over ankle to thigh.

Instead of centering on the roller, I'm gonna lean on to the side that is crossed, so towards that right for me. And then I start to roll over and back. And anywhere that feels a little sensitive, That's where you need to give it some attention. So try not to skip that area. Maybe some smaller rolls. I put a little more weight on the hip.

I come all the way up above the pelvis and then all the way back down. Just kind of easing out, like, a rolling pin on dough, opening up everything I just worked. Feeling that really nice release. Again, if something feels a little tight, a little sensitive, smaller roles stay there for a few reps. And you can be there as long as possible. Pause that video, whatever you need.

I'm gonna take it to the second side, opposite ankle design, then I'm gonna tilt over, giving a little more weight to the side so it has more contact into the roller, more pressure, gets a little deeper. And again, I like a foam roller with a little give because we don't wanna bruise the muscles. We don't wanna beat them up. It's this really nice way to also help the fascia. So I'm rolling up above that hip bone.

All right at that attachment point, everything's a little sensitive, and then I'm gonna bring it back down. And then right where I feel a little resistance, I'm gonna stay. I'm gonna give it some small roll. Small roll. Until it gets a little less sensitive. That's when you know. Okay.

I've made some impact, and then I get to move on. And then my favorite gonna roll the back, bring your seat to the mat, recline onto the roller, hands behind the head, and then bridge your hips up as we start to roll up and down the spine. It can lean a little to one side. Again, note if it's sensitive. That's your body giving you information that that's probably a place to stay. Things may be a little bumpy, a little stuck.

We wanna improve that circulation, get blood flow back to that area. Again, good for fascia, and then maybe that other side, wherever you're feeling. And if you run out of space, you just reset. Typically, when we roll, it moves us forward and back. And then really big rolls all the way through that upper back. The more rounded you are, you wanna keep those hips off the mat, chin a little knotted to the chest.

And then as I travel up that body, I'm gonna place the back of the neck on the roller. Once I'm there, my feet are flat. I press the smooth part of my neck into the roller hands hold it. And then I'm gonna press the neck down into the rollers. I slowly turn my head to one side. That feels a little sticky.

I shake the head no a few times, maybe not a yes, and then press into the roller, take it to that other side, some yeses, some no's, and then you just continue chin drops lower, you'll get more stretch up to the base of the skull. Yes's and no's anywhere that feels a little sensitive and then chin down a little up down. And then I like to do these little semi circles chin down and then up to the right. Chin down up to the left. Feeling a little more spacious, right, where the skull meets that cervical spine.

So just creating a little lift, especially when we look down at our phones all day. And it's not super exact. You're just kind of taking this transverse nod side to side, and then where you feel that little pressure, that sensitivity, some yeses, some small nos. Oh, and that all feels really great. So you can linger there as long as you'd like.

I'm gonna help myself up and over to face the roller one last time. Taking my hands to the roller, my knees are open hip width, and I'm gonna do a little articulation. So my tail goes back. I'm gonna find this really lifted child's pose where the arms are straight, but I'm really extending. I'm not sitting I'm thinking of tail up heart down, almost like a downward dog, but I'm on my knees.

As I exhale, I'm gonna start with the pelvis, tuck the tail, draw the abs up and then ripple through the spine, and then think light fingertips on that roller. And then dive back down, tail up, chest, down, and forward really extend, exhale. Think of your arms being heavy. So the abs have to contract the spine moves, and that's what brings you. A little past cat, almost like if you could hold your balance, whoop off the roller, and it's a little challenge.

And then inhale dive it down. Tail up and back. So try not to sit the hips back, really scoop the tail underneath you, press down into the roller, feel the abs around this fine. One more like this. Creating all this really nice beautiful movement and articulation through the back, a little chest opening. And one more as you dive, and then exhale.

This time, let the hips sit back. Start to round up, drawing the roller towards you when you leave the roller, just let it be. We're gonna restock the spine. Sitting tall, feeling long and strong, feeling all that space ready for the rest of our day. Thank you so much for joining me.

I hope you enjoyed your foam roller.