Mat with Small Ball

Hi. I am Lara Hanland here on the mat using a ball for a fun filled mat class with you today. This is all you will need. We'll get started seated in the middle of the mat, facing either direction, legs extended nice and long. We'll take a point through those toes energy through the fingertips, pressing palms into the ball, and then a slight rounded shape forward over those legs right away feeling this scoop through the waistline and open sensation across the shoulders, energy through arms and legs. Squeeze inner thighs together, press pumps together.

Take a breath in, and exhale begin to round and roll all the way down onto the mat. Opening up through the spine, starting to wake up our core with our roll up here. Keep reaching through fingers and toes, stretch those arms back by the ears, inhale arms to the ceiling, palms press into the ball, exhale chin peels over the chest, belly draws back and in, keeping that rounded shape as we fold forward over the legs. Energy through the limbs, deep breath in. Palms press together as we round and roll back down.

Imagine you're gonna pop this ball between those palms really pressing into it to work our biceps a little bit deeper. Inhale arms up. Exale round and roll up chin over the chest. Use the breath. Use the belly lengthen through fingers and toes. Draw the belly button back a little further in opposition.

Deep breathe in. And exhale this time we round and roll all the way down, finding a hover at the tips of the shoulder blades sink the belly a little deeper and then lengthen head and arms back. The legs stay long on the mat. Arms reach the ceiling inhale. Once again, curling up to the tips of the shoulder blades.

This time, staying in this high crunch with those legs and arms reaching long and then start to float the arms to the ceiling on the inhale, reach them forward, press into the palms, into the ball on the exhale. Arms reach straight up, belly button, pull straight down for two, and reach One more really lengthening through the thighs, deepening through the waist. Reach those arms up, release the head down to the floor, fingertips up towards the sky, shoulder blades down into the mat. From here, right leg draws to tabletop, take a breath in. We curl back up to the tips of the shoulder blades reaching that ball right towards the right knee. We take that reach of the arms in addition to a reach of the legs.

So arms reach up right leg long hovering off the mat. Bend the knee and reach the ball to the thigh, inhale to lengthen exhale pull the belly deeper, pulling knee and arms forward. For three, exhale curl a little higher over the ribs, two. One more time, lengthen through the leg. Draw the knee in.

Pull that belly down. Reach the arms up leg long, and then lower the head and lower the leg. Inhale to prepare. Exhale left leg to tabletop curling up and forward towards that left thigh. Arms reach back, left leg long, inhale, press into the palms, pull the knee towards tabletop, inhale, we stretch.

Exhale to curl a little higher over those ribs for three, opening up through the front of that hip and thigh for two. One more time, lengthen. Zip up through the waist. Pull it in. Lengthen back out inhale, lower head, lower leg down as you exhale. From here, walk the feet in towards you, knees will be bent straight up to the ceiling, feet hip distance apart, and then we'll place the ball in between our inner thighs.

So pretty high up in the legs there. Focusing on our neutral pelvic position to begin, feet are parallel, palms pressed down, crawling those fingertips to the heels to find length through the neck and the spine, beginning really simply with a squeeze of that ball, inhale to prepare. Exhale draw the inner thighs together. Now, like, we're gonna pop the ball from our inner thigh adductor strength. As you squeeze the ball, feel the low belly connect, the ribs draw together, but the tops of the thighs back of the glutes and hamstrings stay relaxed. Inhale legs release the ball a little bit, and then exhale squeeze those legs together.

If you touch back behind your legs, this muscle back here, glutes hamstrings should be soft and relaxed. So we're not clenching back there to start. We'll get there shortly. Excel focus for now pelvic floor high inner thigh adductor muscles. Inhale release, exhale ribs draw together that corset tightens around our waist as we squeeze the ball. One more time with just that inner thigh squeeze inhale open.

Exale squeeze and hold. Take another breath and continuing to draw those legs together, and then exhale pull your belly button down so much to the floor that your pelvis begins to curl away from the mat. Now, again, if I reach back, my glutes are still soft. I'm not clenching using them yet. I'm just working low belly and inner thighs. Keep the inner thighs squeezing, release the pelvis back out long inhale.

Feel that scoop through your waistline small little pelvic tuck just from the low transverse abdominals pelvic floor. It might not look like much. It might might not feel like much, but can we really access these low belly muscles? A lot of us go through our life never really working this area. So important to start somewhere, start to really isolate.

It's that scoop, it's that curl, inner thighs low belly, not relying on our glutes or hamstrings yet. One more time. Release the hips. Think belly button to spine, curl the hips to find the tuck, hover the pelvis and hold. From here, take another breath and now start to squeeze sit bones and butt cheeks together, engage the glutes, feel the difference.

Right away, you'll start to lift higher, and then we lift our hips all the way up into our pelvic press bridge, shoulder bridge position. Now I'm in a beautiful long diagonal from knees to hips to shoulders. I feel this lovely opening sensation in the front of my hips and pelvis. I'm still pulling my belly down, so I don't overly arch my back. But I'm squeezing my seat higher drawing an her thighs tighter. Take a breath at the top. X, I'll begin to roll back down through the upper back. Into the middle back.

We're gonna hold when we find that hover of the pelvis into the low back. We hold the hover inhale. We pull the belly down and curl right back up hips to the ceiling, gazes up, chin lifted off the chest, inhale at the top, squeeze the ball tighter, exhale to melt back down through the back of the ribs, through the middle of the waistline somewhere along if you're wearing a high waisted pair of pants, maybe where that top line is, and then scoop from the belly to curl right back up so the pelvis doesn't release too much inhale. Exhale ribs draw together as the chest drops away from the chin, finding our hover and hold. Last time scoop the belly down, think of reaching your knees straight forward over the middle toes, Find the lift at the top, give the ball one more tight squeeze. Those glutes, one more tight squeeze take a breath in, and exhale slowly roll down core, inner thighs glutes, really already starting to feel this work. Finally, release the hips at the very bottom.

Feel how that pelvis lengthens back out, finds its neutral position, keep it in neutral, reach the arms back up to the ceiling, squeeze into the ball as you inhale, float the legs up to a tabletop position as you exhale. Take another breath in to prepare. Exhale curl up and over the ribs, palms pressing down to the mat by the sides. As the head lowers, toes lower to hover atop the floor, fingertips to the ceiling, inhale, exhale curling up and over the ribs squeezing tighter into that ball, really simple slow controlled movement here targeting the deep core exhale, use the breath to deepen through that waistline. Head releases down, fingertips to the sky gazes up, exhale sink that belly down, squeeze tighter into the ball gaze at it.

Imagine you're gonna pop it two more times, inhale back. Exhaling up. Once more, dig it back. So we hold our crunch. We hold the legs at tabletop.

We have a mini set of hundreds breathing in twos. In two, out two. Can you squeeze the ball tighter? Cur a little higher. Use the breath. For three, two, one more set.

Hold it here. Take one more breath and give the ball one more squeeze. Maybe curl up a little higher. Bend the knees in to rest. Hug the knees to the chest or shoulders, soften the shoulders into the mat, take the ball out. We're gonna bring it right up higher into the legs.

We're still squeezing it from high in the inner thighs. You should definitely feel those. I feel mine. Not like we're working our ankle muscles here, but we are squeezing it between the ankles. From there, knees can be softly bent or extended straight, whatever allows your toes to reach to the ceiling with that neutral pelvic position. So we're not tucking or lengthened out through the spine.

Once again, fingertips reach over the chest and shoulders, pulling shoulder blades down into the back squeezing into the ball inhale to prepare, exhale. We curl back up to the tips of the shoulder blades. Starting with a lowering of the legs. You could, of course, always go back to the legs being bent, pull those abdominals down, squeeze the ball to lift. Lakes lower on the inhale, zip up tighter through the waist. The legs lift on the exhale, adding on just like before, head down arms to the ceiling as the legs lower.

Use the belly to deepen the waistline to the mat as you curl up toes to the ceiling, palms to the floor. Inhale legs reach out on a diagonal. Exhale really cinch the waist tighter, knit the ribs tighter. Be aware that your back doesn't overly arch. The ribs don't overly split splay here, especially on the way back, keeping that core connected for two.

Axle to reach up and over the ribs. One more time, inhale. And exhale, we hold. We have our full set of hundreds, breathing, and fives, inhale to three, four, five, exhale two, three, four, five start to lower those legs to your point of control in and out. Squeeze that ball a little bit tighter.

Sync that belly button a little deeper. Take the legs a little lower for four and exhale out. Three and out. Two. And exhale.

One more deep breath in. Exhale out to three, four, five, stay hold and reach reach reach, bend the knees in. Once again, allow the knees to pull into the chest the head and shoulders to release to the floor. Take a moment, little rocks. I decide massage the spine on the mat, release tension, maybe in the hips or the shoulders, deep breath in, deep breath out.

From here, we'll lower our arms to the mat by the sides, reach the toes to the ceiling, keep squeezing that ball between the ankles moving into our rollover, start with a deep breath in, exhale pull the belly down to start to tuck that pelvis and then curl the hips up and over the chest. The legs parallel to the floor. Hold it here squeezing into the ball. Flex through your heels. Take a breath.

And exhale begin to roll down chest away from the chin. Press them to the palms. Feel your triceps engaging to support you as you lower one bone at a time. Palvis lowers to the mat, legs lower to a diagonal point through the toes as the legs float up on the inhale, roll over as you exhale squeezing inner thighs towards one another. It's gonna help us really roll evenly through the spine, flex through the heels, inhale, roll down through the spine as you exhale, think of a long gating crown at the head to the back, tailbone forward, heels forward.

One small point in reach up, exhale to roll over. Flex through those heels. Deep breathe in, exhale to lower the legs. And the spine all the way down and long. Point through your toes, curl back up to the tips of the shoulder blades, bring your hands behind your head elbows wide for support here, and then take a little turnout of the legs. Keep squeezing that ball.

Right leg on top. Open left leg on top. Open working our inner thighs to hold this ball tight. Try not to drop it for two. One more switch.

And switch right leg on top to hold. Palms and head lower down. We're taking part of our boomerang here. So start with that same roll over. Inhale, exhale. Roll the legs over the chest.

Squeeze the ball, take that pivot of the legs, you open and switch, keep squeezing it, start to roll down through your spine, peel the chin over the chest, curl up finding a teaser, legs extended long in the diagonal, see if you can reach your arms up. We hold it here. Squeeze that ball inhale. Start to roll right back down through your spine. Your belly pulls down, pumps, press down, toes to the ceiling, head to the mat, roll those legs over the chest.

Cissors, switch your legs in a way. It's like a little tight fifth start to roll through your spine, forehead towards the knees, rolling up up up. Can you find that balance, float your fingertips high, squeeze the ball a little tighter, breathe in, exhale to roll down with control. Legs float over. Think of opening and then squeezing thigh over thigh.

One more time, we roll down through the spine, forehead to the knees, pull that waistline in, reach up up up, fight for it, inhale. Exhale left leg is on top. You roll back and down, zipping through the waist, press into the palms, roll those legs over. One more time, we switch those legs right leg on top inhale, roll down through your spine as you exhale, forehead to the knees, pull down in your waist, reach fingertips to toes, see if you can find that balance and hold. Deep breathe in.

Deep breathe out. Open the legs. Option to bend your knees and hold on behind your hamstrings. Or keep the leg straight and hold on behind the ankles. We keep squeezing that ball. Do not let it go.

Tuck the chin over the chest. We have our open leg rocker, inhale rock back, top of the head, never touches the mat. Keep that chin tucked, pressions, or back of the calves into your hands. Round back deep breath in finding your balance for just a moment at the back, and then exhale really holding it high at the top. For three, using that low belly connection to squeeze tighter into the ball, elbows are bent wide, two, and give a little shelf for your shoulders at the back, and then somewhere between tailbone and sit bones at the top. Last time, breathe in.

XL, rock up, find your balance, fight for it, hold it, lift the chest up, squeeze the ball. Reach fingertips to your toes and hold. Deep breathe in. Lift everything up a little higher. Pull that belly a little deeper.

Leg stay still. We roll down through the spine in four. Take your time in three. Belly sinks deeper. Find your hover to pull your knees into your chest on one. Our core should be nicely warmed up now and our inner thighs. We'll take that ball out.

Make sure your head is still on your mat, feet flat on the mat, curl your hips off the floor for a moment to place this ball behind our low back behind our sacrum and then allow your hips to be heavy on it. So that's going to allow our hips to open up and release a little bit. Should feel good on the back. Palms pressed firmly into the floor, still working our low belly. So think pubic bone pulls down to the sacrum right down into this ball, and then right and left leg float up to table top. So right away, if you feel like your hips are flying forward or back, adjust the ball.

We wanna think of that seat belt still across our pelvis, we stay square. And then right away, we'll take an extension of those legs. So often, if we're tight in our hamstrings, this little lift of the pelvis on the ball might allow our legs to be a little straighter towards the ceiling. And then chin lifts off the chest pressing palms into the mat for support. Start to lower your right leg down as you inhale, and then pull that belly down into the floor, into the ball to flip the right leg up as you exhale. Left leg lowers, find length through the front of that left thigh, and then sink belly deeper, knit ribs tighter to left. Again, right leg lowers, keeping the left toes reaching up, your gaze reaching up.

I know we often wanna kinda look at our legs here. Can we lift the chin off the chest beautiful open neck and throat. This time flex through your heels, making the movement a little bigger as the right leg lowers, your left leg comes closer towards your chest and then scissor and switch. Inhale to switch. Exhale to switch.

Press down into the palms, open through chest and shoulders, working the triceps to help us stabilize, switch inhale, switch exhale last two. And one, keep the right leg back. Start to open for helicopter, open your inner thighs to the ceiling. This should feel so good. Rotate all the way around, left leg over the chest, right leg forward, scissor, and switch two times.

Right leg up. Left leg up. Reverse your helicopter. Open, open, open through the hips, rotate right leg over the chest, scissor and switch, breathing in, breathing out. One more time each side. As you open, you turn out, flex your toes towards the floor, reach your heels up, rotate from that turnout back to parallel as you scissor switch one and to feel inner thighs, hips opening after all that inner thigh work we did earlier in class, and switch one. And two. From here, both legs back to the ceiling.

Turn both legs out heels together toes apart, point through your toes, take a breath in, begin to lower those legs down to a diagonal. You feel you can maintain staying connected deep in your core. We're gonna take our frog. So heel squeeze together. We bend the knees towards the shoulders. Really squeeze your heel bones tight as you squeeze your inner thighs tight and extend.

Resist to bend. Like, you're moving through molasses here. Pulling that belly button down towards the spine, pubic bone down to sacrum and ball, exhale to lengthen through the toes and lengthen through the crown of the head. For four, stretch those legs out. Three, resist. Keep squeezing heels together, inner thighs glutes together too, and out.

One more time, bend, and extend. Float the legs all the way back up to the ceiling, and then bend them all the way into the chest. Just give them a hug for a moment, feeling those hips lift with control, lowering one, and then the other foot down to the floor. Tucking and curling the hips off of the ball, taking it out, take a breath in, and then roll all the way down through your spine, bone by bone. From there, we'll take the ball back between our palms, reach the arms to the ceiling send your legs back along on the floor, zipping through the inner thighs, take a breath in, and then exhale start to peel the chin back up over the chest.

Same way we started here full roll up. We're rolling all the way up and forward. Now we're gonna combine a little bit of that bridge work, of that leg work starting with the ball underneath the left calf. From here, right leg on the mat, left leg on the ball, reach your arms forward, inhale. And then exhale to roll back down bone by bone.

Now you might have to kind of adjust your alignment here. We'll play around with it together. Palms press down, right knee bends in foot flat on the mat, and then slide that left heel on the ball towards you. So your feet are pretty even with each other. I think I'm pretty good here. Pressing left foot heel, especially into the ball, right heel and foot into the floor palms into the floor, take a breath in. Pull the belly down, tuck and curl your hips back up into a bridge pose.

Now we want to try and get our hips as even and square towards the ceiling as we can. Really focusing on that right glute connection to stabilize as we press down into the ball and slide that left leg out straight on the inhale. Drag it back in. Think of that zipper sensation in the core as you exhale. Left leg extends over the ball.

Drag it back in pulling belly down, lifting hips and pelvis up. For three gaze stays up. Palms pressing into the floor for two. Pull it in one more lengthen and bend. Now really press left heel into the ball, lift your hips higher. See if you can lift your right heel up, and then press your right heel down.

Right heel lifts, right heel lowers. Can you drive that left heel further down into the ball for two. One more time, lift, and lower. Lift the hips one inch higher inhale. Xhale, press both feet down as you roll down evenly through your spine bone by bone.

Once the hips lengthen at the bottom, extend that left leg back over the ball, keep pressing your left calf and palms into the floor and into the ball, flex through that left heel, draw the right leg to tabletop, and then extend the leg to the ceiling. Take a breath in to prepare. We take our leg circles from here. So right leg crosses over the body, goes down to the right and straight back up, think about that seat belt, inhale, exhale, press that left leg down into the ball, press your palms into the floor, really trying to anchor our body into the mat here as we circle and open up this right hip. For two, belly pulls down lengthen to lift.

One more time, energy up through those right toes out through that left heel. Hold at the top, inhale, reverse your circle as you exhale to the right, down across, length, and and left. For a four, pull that belly button a little deeper, reach the leg a little higher three, and up. Last two, and lift one more circle. Lift and hold, take a breath and flex your right heel high, and then lower the right leg all the way down to the mat kind of next to the left, arms to the ceiling, inhale, roll up, and over the chest, belly pulls down. We curl all the way forward towards our forward fold before lengthening up and switching to our other side.

So left leg on the mat, ball underneath that right calf, reach through your heels, stretch your arms long, take a breath in, And then exhale begin to round and roll down, reaching heels and fingertips forward, pulling back in the waist, trying to roll evenly across the hips, across the spine onto the back, left knee bends, left foot flat, right knee bends, right foot on that ball. Make sure it's solid here, deep breath in, belly pulls down, scoop and curl those hips up, pressing right heel into the ball, left heel into the floor, hip bones evenly lifted and gaze is up. Right leg extends on the inhale, dragging in, working from underneath that right glute as you exhale. We lengthen, and we curl that knee back in. For three, Keep lifting those hips up, pulling that waistline down to one more extend, bend and hold, right heel really presses into the ball, lift the hips a little higher, squeeze the seat, left heel up.

Left heel lower. So left heel lifts. Try not to let the hips dip down. Keep the pelvis pointing up for two. One more. Hold those hips up deep breath in.

Exhale to roll back down onto your spine bone by bone. Right leg extends long. Feel your calf, back of the leg, active pressing into the floor, left leg to tabletop, left toes high to the sky, deep breath. And left leg circles across down out, sink the belly deeper, reach those toes up at the top for four. XL around and up. Three, lengthen to lift. Two, And, one more this direction across down out, hold at the top inhale reverses you exhale out down and across, sink the belly button down gaze stays lifted for four. And, for three, and lift keep pressing into those palms too.

Really nicely anchored through the hips one more time circle, lift and hold. Flex that left heel high. Lower left leg all the way down, reaching through heels, arms to the ceiling, breathing, and exhale round and roll on up. From here, finding that lift, taking both legs off, give your legs a little bit of a shake here trying to stay relaxed through the thighs. We're gonna stay seated and place this ball behind our back. So take a gentle bend of your knees, hips still in the mid mat, and then ball comes low behind that sacrum.

So when we were laying on our back, it was low in the back. It still is low in the back. Often, I see the ball come here and then we slouch, and then we're gripping in our hips, and it's not good posture. So let's really focus on our setup here. If you're in your hips and you want your legs longer or turned out, go for it, but try to really find your sit bones first and a beautiful tall vertical spine like someone is pulling you out the crown of the head to the ceiling. That ball should stay there.

Hold on to it if you need, zip up through the waist. Take a breath in. Now start to hinge back with a flat back over it. If you need to hold it there and find it, so it doesn't roll away, make sure you can really get there. Maybe the arms reach forward. Maybe you hold on.

For more challenge, those hands come behind the head elbows wide. We zip up a little tighter. We lengthen the crown of the head a little further to the back of the room. Now we're on a diagonal. Our back is flat like a board. We go from our flat back, core is already trembling.

Take a breath in. We move into a contraction. Our shoulders pull forward over the hips as our belly button, pubic bone, pull back towards that ball, never losing the connection of the low back to the ball. Inhale back to the flat back on the inhale, Excel deep core connection, that scoop as we round and contract up and over, inhale to lengthen head heavy in the hands, shoulders are soft, exhale use the breath and belly, like that course, it's tying tighter around the waist. And he'll take it back. Exhale curl forward and up.

One more just like this, inhale back, exhale forward, adena twist, inhale back to the flat back, you low belly pulls back first, then we lift and twist slightly to the right without moving the hips. That left hip stays anchored, inhale back center. Right hip stays anchored as we lift and twist up and over that left hip. So I'm not shifting from my pelvis. I'm pulling back in my low belly to stabilize and then pulling back in my oblique to twist.

Flat back inhale, rounded flex spine on the exhale one more time each direction, lengthen up through the heart. Pull back in the waist, last time inhale and exhale. Come back to that flat back deep breath and exhale curl all the way forward and lengthen all the way up. A lot of low belly connection there. Now we're going to do another part very similar, but also very different if you pay attention.

So the ball now is going to be behind the scapula. Be very careful how you get back here. We're not going to overly stretch until we're done. So the ball is, again, kind of beneath the scapula area. If you're wearing, like, a sports bra, it's back there underneath your shoulder blades.

From here, allow your spine to release. I always like to start on my forearms just for support. Make sure your hips are again anchored. We're still working the low belly. Our hands behind the head or forward over the chest if you need that added support.

This is gonna add a little additional work because gravity is gonna pull us back. Now we move into an extended hyper extended spine We go from this arched back extension, deep breath in, and then we move up to a flat back on the exhale. So I'm aiming for that flat line that we started with before. I arch over the ball in the inhale. Beautiful stretch for the spine. Exhale my ribs connect as I blow there out of my lungs.

I pull my belly button deeper towards my spine, kinda towards that bottom part between back and mat and ball. And he'll take it back. Be very careful that you don't go so far. You fully open the ribs. We wanna protect our upper abdominals, deep breath in, feeling everything tighter to the midline. Adding that gentle twist inhale back. Again, not huge movement, pelvis stays square, slight lift and twist up and over.

Left hip stays anchored. I crunch into that right oblique. Inhale, take it up and back, lift through your heart, and off the chest, exhale curl up and then twist. Always thinking square first, inhale back, exhale lift and twist. I feel and see my core trembling. The more you use your breath, the more you really work those deep muscles one more time each side.

Inhale back. Exale up. Last one back. Lift and twist. Come all the way back. And release all the way over the ball with control.

Feeling this beautiful release over the ball as long as it feels okay in your spine. Don't stay here too long. Don't force it. Always be careful with how you get in and out of these positions. But if it does feel good, enjoy it, allowing chest and shoulders to open, take a deep breath in wherever you are. And then with control, start to curl back up over those ribs. If you can, your forearms come down, and then use your arms to press all the way up so we get carefully off of that ball. Yeah.

We never wanna, like, throw ourselves up. Often injuries happen kind of in the in betweens versus the actual exercises. So take care of your body first and foremost. We're gonna flip around, bring this ball with us on all fours to stretch that spine out a little bit more after that core work. So on our knees, palms on top of the ball start to slide your fingertips forward.

Allow your chest to release over and slightly between the thighs. Reach your sit bones to the heels. Reach your fingertips in front of you. We're gonna take a little cat cow series with this ball. So palms press into the ball.

Zip up through your low belly first. So think core connects. Yet again, more abdominal work. Surprise, surprise, start to lift in your waist. Palms press into the ball. Think palms under the shoulders, hips over the knees.

Breathe in. Exhale, start to release your hips back this time arching through the back, drawing that heart and chest forward inhale, exhale pull up in your waist. We take our cat shape. Inhale and exhale release an arch through the spine. We take our modified cow heart and chest forward sit bones tailbone back one more time, pull up through the waistline, rounded cat shape.

Inhale taking that arch, chest forward, heart forward, exhale round all the way back up, and then sit your hips all the way back. We'll take our left palm on our ball right palm underneath the shoulder, both elbows hugging and tight, both shoulders away from the ears, and then right leg floats back. So opposite leg as palm on ball. From here, similar to what we just did, that left arm slides forward passing into the ball is you bend your right elbow narrow underneath the right rims, and then exhale press away. From there, a little tricep pushup, both are really elbows always staying narrow, but we're going to alternate both versions.

Left arm reaches forward on the inhale, press that right palm down into the mat as you exhale. Both elbows bend tight to the waist, really working to keep chest and shoulders square to the mat for two. Right toes reaching back, belly lifting up, bend, and extend one more of each lengthen forward, and up, bend it down. And press from their right toes to the mat, press left palm into the ball, step your left foot back, find a plank, squeeze your seat. Can you be square through hips and shoulders? We hold for four.

Hold for three. Hold for two. Right knee down on one. Slide that ball under your right palm, hips and shoulders are square, shoulder blades down elbows knit tight, left toes float back. Start to reach fingertips forward as you bend the left elbow tight to your waist press the mat away.

Both elbows bend narrow, inhale, and exhale. We reach through fingers and toes, sliding those left toes up that back wall, chest towards the floor, heart lifts up between the shoulder blades. Two more of each, inhale, and exhale, bend, and press last time, reach, and lift, and bend. And up, flex the left heel. Once again, toes lower down, think about hip distance apart, maybe even mat distance apart, right leg extends, press palm into the ball, lift your heart up, squeeze your seat.

Hold for three. Hold for two. Hold for one. Left knee down. Right knee down and then sit all the way back.

Reach the ball and the arms in front of you. Allow your chest to soften over your thighs, your shoulder blades to soften over the back. Take a breath in and exhale. Let it go. One more deep inhale. Feeling the shoulders soften across the back.

The spine release over those legs. And then when you're ready, begin to round and roll all the way up to a tall seat, we are all done for the day. Hope you had some fun with our ball. See you next time.