Class #672

Begin with a Bang!

50 min - Class
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Description

Karen Sanzo is here with an intermediate to advanced Reformer workout she calls "Begin with a bang!" Class begins with Standing side splits on four heavy springs. You are not likely to move the carriage, but you are likely to feel where the initiation of movement comes from. Feeling deep core connections is a theme carried throughout this class. Smooth transitions, exciting variations, and exercises that are well set up are sure to have you work up a sweat in no time at all. Enjoy!
What You'll Need: Reformer w/Box

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Apr 12, 2012
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This is an intermediate to advanced reformer workout. I call it beginning with a bang because it starts with standing side splits with four heavy springs. You're not going to be able to move the carriage. The importance of this is to feel where the initiation comes from. So let's put on four springs. Step your foot on the stable surface. First, stand up on your reformer with your foot very close to the edge. Belly pulls in.

Pelvic floor lifts up, arms out to the side, strong arms, strong arms. Now push the carriage apart. It's really not going to move, but feel where that initiation comes from and then slowly release it two more times. Inhale, push and hold tight legs. Exhale, release. One more time. Push apart, hold strong arms, and then release. Hand. Lower the arms down. Feel where that initiation comes from on the side of your leg.

Roll your body down. Stay curled in that tummy. Take all the springs off except for one light spring. Unroll your spine all the way back up. Arms out to the side five times in a row. Inhale out with control. Exhale, pull back. Here's to shoulders down, belly in Cagle up two more times.

Push down with the arms, grow up with the crown of your head last time and bring it all the way in. Lower your arms down, nod your head, pull your belly in, roll down, load up those springs again so that you have a total of four springs on. Roll your spine all the way back up. Turn yourself around and we'll repeat it on the other side. So with these heavy springs, you're going to be very mindful where the initiation comes from on the side of your body. Here we go, push and then release, push, initiate. Try not to arch your back and then release one more time.

Push and initiate from the side of the hips and then release in arms down, head nods, belly scoops. Roll yourself down. Take off three of those springs. So you're left just with one on. Roll yourself back up, continually feeling the souls of your feet into the reformer. Arms out to the side like a t five times in a row. Go. Inhale, exhale, pull in to and pull in. Stay really tall and strong.

Be sure that rib package is pulled back over your pelvis. It almost feels like the back of your ribs are over the back of your pelvis so that you limit any excessive arching in your spine. Last time out and bringing yourself in. Arms down and pause right there. Nod your head down. Round your spine down. There's one spring on.

I'm going to add a second spring because I'm getting ready for front splits. Round your spine up. Turn to your carriage. Take your foot bar lifted up, put it in the position that you'd like to do front splits in. Now Roll your spine all the way up. We're going to start front splits way up like this.

Pull the tummy in your left leg starting first. It's put on the foot bar just a little bit to the left of center. Arms come way up in the air. Take a big inhale as you exhale, scoop the belly into think of spine stretch. See if you can keep your ears between your arms. Roll all the way down to your forehead, almost touches your knees and then curl that tail bone.

Roll yourself right back up to vertical. So before we even start with the exercise, we're actually getting another exercise right here in the transition. Rolling down and then bring yourself back up last time. Lengthen that spine round the spine as if you had horizontal stripes in the back. Stripes are getting longer. Front stripes getting smaller. Put your hands on the reformer next to that left foot.

Raise your right heel up and down three times as you raise that right heel up and down. Feel the depth of your belly. Stay up on that third one. Lean on your hands, lean on that foot and then hop that leg back into the heel. Down Position and toe gently turned out. Lengthen out the chest bone three times. Here we go. Press out, leave your arms down and pull yourself in. Here's two. And then pull yourself in. And then last time three.

And then pull yourself in. Readjust that front foot if you need to. You're coming up to no hands. Take your arms out to the side like a t, three times straight and left leg push. And then Paul and here's too, and then pull last time. Pull yourself in. Round that spine down with control. Lift up the right heel, pike your belly button up in the year, and then hop that leg up. Take your left leg off, unwind your spine. Bring yourself. All right, way back up into vertical. Take an inhale here. As you exhale, the right leg now comes up to the right side of midline arms.

Come all the way up in the air. Lengthen big. Inhale. Exhale, trunk round. Try to touch your forehead to that knee, getting the deep flection that you can in that lower spine and then unwind your spine. Bring it all the way back up. Inhale, exhale, roll back up. Last time, stay planted. Then that left foot round the spine down. Take two hands on either side of that right knee. Lift that left heel up and down. Three times, lift and lower.

Every time you lift that heel, you think lift your belly, lift up and pause. Take an inhale, lean on those hands in that right foot. Bend the left knee, hop up, and then take the leg back. Lengthen out the chest bone. Be Mindful here that your head and neck are long like somebody is putting their hand on the crown of your head and you're reaching it long and then here we go. Press. Inhale, pull home. Exhale, keep the legs from, keep the Armstrong. One more time. Inhale out. Exhale, come in. Reposition that right foot if you need to.

You're coming off arms. Let go, and here we go. Three times. Push and then pull. And here's two, and pulling your right foot is actually pressing down to the floor as you go out and down to the floor. As you come in, round that spine down, hands on either side of that foot. Lift up the left heel, pull the belly in, hop up, leg comes off. Unroll the spine and take your arms all the way up in the air. Big Inhale. Exhale, relax the shoulders, getting ready for knee stretches. You're going to round your spine down. Put your hands on the foot bar. I have two springs on now.

If you need to change yours, if you only had one spring on, you can add another one. Knee stretches. We'll start with the rounded version first. Your eyes are right over your foot. Bar. Your back is lengthen your bellies pulled in. We're going for 10 push pull. Two, three, five, seven, eight, two more. Last one. Pause here. Feel how your belly is so scoop.

Now you're going to journey that spine out to a length and chest bone. Look in front of you. 10 more. Go. Push, pull, push, pull. Your hands are pulling apart the bar. Belize pulled in and five, four, three legs. Work two and one. Bring yourself in round that spine so deeply.

Take an inhale. As you exhale the hands. Press down. The knees come off 10 times. Go Push. Pull to halfway. Two more. Last one. Lower yourself slowly down. Bring your knees to the front edge. Sit your bottom down. Take your foot bar, lower it all the way down. Take the lightest spring you have. In this case, I have a blue spring.

I'm going to use one blue spring. This is a tricky exercise. It's called kneeling abdominals front. My hands are on the foot bar. My knees are at the front edge of the reformer. My ankles pressing down. I'm in the infamous quadramed position. Lengthen out through the crown of your head. Take a moment here.

Take your right hand on the crown of your head and reach the crown to the head. Long as if you're reaching into imaginary wall, away from you. This spring is very light. The knees go out and in five times a tiny movement out with the knees and in with an ease. Feel like each of your hands is pulling towards the opposite knee so that that closes the core in the front of your body.

We've got one more pause now you're going to push with your arms. Go out a little bit. Hold that position right there and do the knee portion again. Five pelvic floor, three shins. Press down to last time one.

Bring yourself all the way in. Here's the tricky part. Left arm out to the side. Turn and look at that left arm. Make it nice and strong and firm. Turn your face look right down at your foot bar again. Knees only go push. Woo. Two, five times three, four and five left arm comes down. Pause. Right arm comes out. Turn and look at it.

Be sure it's coming right out from your shoulder. Press the shins down. Pull the belly in. Here we go. Look down at your foot bar five, four, three, two and one. Put that arm down and pause. Curl the toes. Here we go. This is a big girl exercise right here. Take an inhale. Think of the exercise. Knee stretches. Your knees are lifting up a ted. Try to curl that tailbone.

Here we go. Hold five times legs, only five. Pull four, three weight bearing into those shoulders. Two last time, one. Woo, and we did it. Last variation. I love the Quadro pet position. Let's take your right leg out. Put it right on top of that shoulder rest there. You can guess what's coming next. Let's take that left arm out in front. Now using your left knee and your right arm.

Push and then pull everything back in just three times. Here's two and pull it in last time. Come in, pause right there. We've got to lift that right leg up. Now three times. Go One and then pull it and two and stable trunk last time three.

Everything comes in lower. Everything down. Pause right there, left leg out, put it on that shoulder rest. Go ahead and press it down on the shoulder rest to tighten up the back of the thigh. Take the right arm out in front of you, the left arm and the right leg moves. Go, push, pull. Here's two. Here's three. And come in. Now take that left leg lifted up. Tighten the back of this. I don't lift it very high and three more times go one and in and two and three. Everything comes in. Arms and legs. Come down.

Sit yourself back and pause right there around the spy. Very good. Just a little stability, a segment there. Now climb on off. Get ready for snake. Remember we're building it from the beginning with a bang. So we're starting, we're gonna progress now to snake, so I'm actually going to put two red springs on the snake. Exercise can be kind of tricky. If the springs are too heavy, you have to fight too hard with your arms. If the spring is too light, depending on your body size, the carriage may fly. So here we go, right foot on the corner of the bar to hands across the carriage here. Now raise up and down on that left heel a couple of million times and as you do so you're piking in your belly button. Let's do that one more. Lift up, stay up, take an inhale as you exhale, hop that left foot onto the carriage. Now lift that left heel really high and pull your belly even deeper.

Left leg now just simply floats on top of the right. Looking down at your shins. Lengthen the carriage out. Now start to journey your chest down. Look out in front of you. Inhale, exhale, head nods. Come up two more times. Last one, close that space between your thighs.

Exhale and then step down. Nice job. Take time in between your transitions to roll up the spine and we'll switch sides. Right hand on the shoulder. Rest left-hand on the carriage, left leg up on the foot bar. Lift that right heel up and down five times one to take that time. When you go into that Relevate to make that leg connect to the abdomen.

Last time, lift in whole, take an inhale, right leg hops to the carriage. Lift that belly button even higher. Float that right leg on top of the left, and then lengthen yourself out. Inhale, exhale. Bring it in three times. Here's two, and bring it in last time, man. Bring it in and then step yourself down with control. Unwind the spine and bring yourself all the way back up.

Prepare now for down stretch. So we're going to raise the foot bar. I like to do down stretch with two red springs and I think today I'm actually gonna add an extra spring. I'm going to add a blue one. I'd like to feel the challenge of my legs pushing back as I keep my trunk and torso long. The down stretch exercise is about a back bend beginning, so press down on the arms, art's the chest, tighten up your thighs and pause right there as if you're trying to pull your hands to your knees and your knees towards your hands. Five Times.

Go press away. Exhale, resist. As you come in, find a spot to look at and stay looking at that spot as you go out and as you come in. Two more. Inhale, tightened thigh, squeeze inner thighs, lift, pelvic floor. Come high, high, high last time. Exhale, nod the head. I'm going to take one of those springs off to stay on to red springs. Now bringing myself up for elephant. Okay. Take time here in your elephant to lift the toes and imagine that you're pulling the carriage in front of you so you want to pull a carriage underneath your arms. The first version here, I'm going to have a little bit of a rounded back.

I'm going to look at my shins 10 times kind of dynamically go. Press your hands down and away from each other and halfway five lift those toes. Four belly pulls in. Three and two last time one. Now I'm going to add a third spring and now I'm going to change the focus of the elephant to a more lengthened spine. So I'm going to take my chest and drop it down. My ears are now between my arms.

Lift the toes, bend the knees just a little bit, and then lengthen out the hamstrings. Pull the belly in 10 times. Go Push, pull, push, pull. As you pull in, you're actually still resisting the carriage out and three more. Two more last time. Bring yourself all the way in. Drop down on your knees and pause right there. Getting ready now for long stretch.

Long stretch is an exercise where the more spring you have, it'll help you to come in. The less spring you have, it'll be a little bit harder to come in. I'm going to use two red springs. Take an inhale. As you exhale, the chest comes over the bar. Your feet are in between the shoulder. Rest. Lengthen out your torso 10 times. Push, pull nice and slow and controlled. Lengthen through the crown of your head. Here's the fourth one.

Halfway done. Squeeze those inner thighs. Lift the pelvic floor. Here we go. Five and return four inner thigh, three and one. Woo, and then dropped down on the knees. Very, very good. Going to leave that foot bar there. Turn yourself around for a little leg. Pull the leg pull exercise. Going to put your feet on the foot bar. I'm actually going to take a second here. I'm going to add another blue spring. Give myself just a little bit more support here. You know, take your foot on the foot bar. You're not going to the carriage first.

You're actually going to lift yourself up your butts in the air. Now journey that spine down and lengthen out the chest. Now take the arms, push them out in in three times out two, three. Now let your butt pike up in the air. Bring yourself in pause. Inhale, exhale, journey the hips and the pelvis down. Lengthen out your chest bone and push out three and two and one and pull the belly in. Come up, drop down under your knees.

Drop down onto your other knee and pause right there. Step off the carriage. Get ready for a thigh stretch. Let's go ahead and take your foot bar down now and I'm going to turn and face my shoulder rest. I said thigh stretch, but really what I meant was chest expansion. They kind of all go together here. So I'm facing the back of the reformer. There's that one spring on right now. Kind of work the arms and the chest expansion fashion here.

So with your spine and vertical, your hip points forward and your shoulders back. Just simply pull your arms back and pause. I like to pull my arms in this karate chop fashion. It kind of helps me stay long in my torso as I release the arms. I still keep tension. What did that five times in a row? Pull. Inhale, release. Exhale, Shins. Press down, belly lift, shoulders pull and then release. Three more times. Inhale and release two more times.

Inhale and release. Last time pulling hold. Add the neck. Twisting. Left. Net twisting, right center release. One more time. Pull. Look right, look left. Look. Center, release. Sit down. Pause right there. Now go and look at your springs. I'm going to add two more springs on for a total of three because in this next exercise, thigh stretch I want the springs actually helped me come back up a little bit.

There's lots of versions, but that's the one that we're choosing today. And we're going to start this time sitting down on your knees. So shoulders back, belly pulls in. You're going to pull your arms and do what I call Neal up. So you're gonna pull. Feel those thighs. Pull the arms back out a thigh stretch.

Return. Hold the straps, curl your bottom. Sit Down, feel your thighs get loaded. Release the arm, pull arms and kneel up. Hold thighs, stretch back, hold return. Hold the arms. Sit yourself down. Release arms, pause. Last one. We're going to add the arch now. Pull arms and Neal up thigh. Stretch, hold. Add the arch. Come out of the arch. Return from thigh stretch. Hold the arms. Pull the guts in. Sit yourself down. Release the arms.

Pause right there. That's a good exercise. Put the straps down. Turn to the side. Now we're going to do a little bit of kneeling arms. I'm going to put on one spring, come to the front edge so that your left hand grabs your front strap. To exercise here. We're going to do hug a tree and rotation, so take that left arm out to the side and pull it in. Hug a tree. So from here, kind of readjust your thighs. Make sure you've got yourself stable.

With this strap coming from the left arm, you're going to feel major work under that side of the body. Release. Inhale, five times. Exhale, pull. Inhale, exhale, pull. Inhale, exhale, pull. Last time open. Last time, close hold. Lace your fingers, trunk rotation to the right, pulling the strap, go trunk rotation to the right. And then reason I call this driving a school bus. Like you got a big old school driving wheel in front of you. Twist and then return. We're doing a total of five. Here's the third one.

Inhale, exhale, release, stable shins, twisting ribs, twisting trunk, and then come back. And then last time and then return. Very good. Now put that spring down. We're not going to turn to the other side just yet. We're going to keep that spring on there. I'm going to do a little side work here on the leg. So your right leg now comes up to the shoulder rest your belly pulls in your hip creases forward.

Good to move the left Shin out just a little bit so that when you pull the carriage in you the the Shin will then become a little more vertical. Okay, so take your arms out to the side. Take an inhale. As you exhale, pull both your legs and it'll travel the carriage. So now you're at a right angle here and this leg is working inner thigh adductors, which is the underneath your pelvic floor. And then release, but not all the way. Five Times. Here we go to and then release tight arm strong arms. Three. Press that right shin down into the reformer carriage for last time. Poll five, hold his tricky part. Right arm comes in the air side.

Bend your torso to the bent knee side. Lengthen out the side of your ribs. Hold back. Karajan. Bring yourself all the way back up to vertical. Release the carriage and pause right there. Very good. Let's turn around to the other side.

Kneeling arms side. We're just going to do two versions here. Hug a tree. His first right arm comes out, belly pulls in, and here we go. And help prepare. Exhale, hug. One. Inhale, pull the belly in. Lift the pelvic floor too and come in. Here's three nice big open school bus wheel for last time. Feel the resistant rotation. Hold on. This fifth one, clasp your fingers, twist your trunk to the left, twist and rotate and then return.

Keeping that big space between your poems and your chest like it's a big wheel there. Here we go, three and here we go for and then last time five and then release. Put that handle down. Take your left leg to the shoulder. Rest. Take your right leg out on the, on the edge of the carriage. Make sure that that Shin is a little bit further out. Take your arms out to the side and then pull hold and then release and pull.

Hold. And then release. We're going for five. Here's three and here's four. Last time five whole left arm comes up, length and left side of the body side. Bend over, stretching that whole left side of the hip, left side of the thigh, left side of the ribs and bring yourself all the way back up and then release and take your leg down. Great. Cool. I'm going to come on off. We're going to get our short box now. No props for this. We'll just use our arm position. So we're going to take the short box.

We're going to work the lengthening portion here, so I'm going to put a couple springs on just to be sure that the carriage stays stable. We're going to only work the hinge back beside the side and the rotation cause we've used other exercises that work us through articulation. So monitor the position of your spine. Pull your shoulders back, pull your belly in, lift up the pelvic floor, take two arms over your head as if you had that weighted pole. Take your arms as high as you can by your ears. Lengthen through the crown of the head, hinge back five times.

Hinge return. It's not an arch, it's just a hinge. It's working in the abdominals in their regular linkedin. Phase three [inaudible]. All your horizontal stripes stay equal on both the front and the back. Here's four and here's five arms come down, pause.

Just holding your arms up in the air is indeed a lot of work. Here we go. Arms up in the air side to side side. Bend to the right, like your side, bending between two panes of glass, and then pull yourself up to a vertical. Inhale, side Bin left. Exhale, keep that rib package back and then inhale to the right and lengthen out to come back up. And then side bend left. Bring it out to come back up. Last one, arms come down. Pause to do rotation. In this version we're going to do like the saw, so take the arms out to the side, twist your trunk to the left.

Lengthen your torso saw down towards that left Shin. Reach one reached to reach three. Stay here for a second. Only turn your head behind you. If you've used up all the rotation in the chest, once you've used up all that rotation in the chest, then simply turn and look, come up in that rotation center, twist right belly in. Look at the right shin. Use up that rotation in the chest.

Push the left hand into your right shin. Get all that rotation and then turn the head and then bring yourself up in the rotation and bring yourself back to center. Very good. Come off of there. Long box. So for our long box series, we're going to do pulling straps one and two followed by the swan where we're facing the uh, rope end of the reformer. So for pulling straps, I'm going to have one heavy spring on, on this reformer.

It's a green one, just one spring. So when we get on this box for long box, I'm not going to have you grab your straps first. Just joined me here. So lie on the box. Let's put your hands on the edge of the reformer. I want you to clean up your thighs by reaching the leg long, taking any wrinkles out of the front of your thigh, lowering it down, left leg reaches long, and then gently attract your heels together.

Now just when you start here, I don't want you to start in extension. Take your arms by your side and just hold right here so the crown of your head is reaching long like a rocket. I don't want any extension. First you can squeeze shoulder blades, tighten up your triceps and reach long through your arms. That's the first phase of the exercise we're going to do. Let's grab your straps, grab your hands, kind of high up the strap, maybe, maybe lace your straps around your arms, like a little bracelet, and here we go.

Pull those arms back. Resist the urge to lift your chest. I know that that's part of the exercise, but first I want you to resist that extension and just get your arms engaged and then as you release, you're still keeping tension in the straps. We'll do three like that. Go again. Here's to crown of the head like a rocket. No spinal extension to start with or minimal last time. Pull the straps, hold the straps here, and now invite the spinal extension like Swat and then lower yourself down.

Release the straps, and now we'll do two more like that. Pull the straps at the end of the straps. Hold, stretch, lift chest, squeeze thighs. Lie yourself down. Last time. Inhale, big lengthen. Exhale, lower pause. Take your straps. Make them longer.

I'm actually going to take my hands on the outside here. Make your arms nice and flat and then pull. Hold, release. Don't lift up yet. Feels a little bit harder to almost like pull the arms independently. Squeeze those sides together. Last time. Pull hold, hold the pole, arch the chest. Shine your collarbones. Release everything down.

Put that together two more times. Arms come out flat. They're parallel to the floor. Lift the chest, shine your heart forward. Exhale, bring yourself down. Last one, pull and hold in length and reach and then slowly lower yourself all the way down. Put the straps back on. Climb off your box. And One more extension exercise called Swan. I'm going to put two red springs on. I think Christie might have just one red one here. Oh righty.

This exercise I find works really well. If you push the box out a little bit and step right onto the foot bar and then you can put your pelvis right at the edge of that. And if you have tight hips, this is actually a nice way to just let your hips be flexed and let your back be soft. Hang onto the edge of this box. Hang onto it. Put your forehead down on the box and just do some legwork. Hug in a box with your elbows. Pull your shoulders back. It's like you're doing prone leg work. Frog, bend the knees, stretch the legs out.

Sometimes what's missing in a really good swan is a good leg connection. I like to call it the butt thigh connection, right where your buttocks meets your thighs. One more timeout and one more time in going to add the arms. Take your arms down by your side. Straighten the legs, straighten the arms, but don't arch your back three times. Go Inhale, exhale. Inhale. Last one, three more straightened arms arch back.

Bring yourself down. Straighten legs, straighten arms are to back. Lower yourself down. Last one, straightened leg, straighten arms, arch back. Bring yourself down the grand finale, who we're going to add the bent knee version. Once we're up there, that'll increase the extension. Here we go. Straight legs, straight arms reach, arch, Benny's arch. More straightened knees. Reach out, lower yourself down. Almost done. Reach. Stra Ben, lengthen.

Lower. Last one, straight leg, straight on arch. Then knees reach out. Lower yourself down and come on home. Take yourself off of the box. We're done with that box. Let's put it back.

[inaudible] roll down. I'm going to put on one heavy spring. Face away. Put your feet right in the shoulder. Rest here. Yeah, grab your handles. We skipped the roll down portion of the short box and we're going to gather it up right here. So with your arms kind of pulling out to the side, pull your belly in.

Start to roll that tailbone underneath you and lengthen your low back. Push apart on those shoulder rest. That helps and then pull the arms back as you slowly roll yourself up. Stack up this by. It's not quite rowing, it's just a little rolling back. Inhale, little tug of the arms roll.

Now stay right here. Pull your right arm more than your left and twist your trunk of hair to the right. Come back to center. Pull your left arm a little more than the right. Twist a hair to the left. Come back to center. Pull the arms. Sit both here. Set your body up by pulling both your arms. Very good. Take your left strap, put it down on the hook. Take your left arm, grab your right strap.

Now you're going to do like a sawing motion. You're going to bend that left elbow. Pull that strap across your body till your left elbow, your left ribs. Take your right arm out in front of you. Inhale, exhale. You're going to try to roll your spine straight back, but it's pulling from this right diagonal. See how low you can go, and then curl yourself all the way up. Release the arm. Pull the arm again this time. Let the pulling over the arm. Twist your trunk to the left as you reach your right arm right in front of you.

Roll down on that diagonal. Stay twisted. Hold and then curl up in that twist. Bring yourself back up. Return to center. Whew. Let's put that handle down. Right hand on the left strap. Pull the right elbow until it meets the right ribs.

Flex your feet this time. Push your legs apart on the shoulder, wrist. Scoop the belly in. Roll yourself down. Don't let that head drop forward. Keep pulling on that right arm. Roll yourself up. Release the arm. Pull the arm one more time. Twist your trunk to the right.

Hold that trunk rotation to the right with your left arm out in front of you. Roll yourself down. Hold right there. Drop the shoulders, twist, hold that twist. Come up in that twist and then release that strap. Very good.

Let's go ahead and turn around and we'll face the front for rowing front. I'm going to lower the tension. I still have one spring on. It's just one red one now instead of one green rowing front, one and two with two hands first, and then we'll do it with one. Okay. Tom's facing the floor, rowing front one. Then for my girlfriend's Saundra. Inhale, the sun comes up. Exhale, the sun goes down.

Inhale, the sun shines all around. Here we go again. Sun Up, sun down. Sun Shines all around. Last time. What to circle around three pause right here. Now pause. Hold. Grow up tall, tall, taller. Lower the arms down.

Release them in, palms flat on the Mat. Inhale, big. Exhale spine. Stretch forward. Clean that mat. Reach your arms long. Let the weight of those straps pull your shoulder blades back and then unwind that spine all the way back to vertical. The heads of the last two. Reach up and then continue with the circling around. Arms on the Mat. Inhale, exhale, pull.

Reach law on wine stacks by drop. Shoulders Circle, last one. Arms Press, belly scoops, reach long dropped shoulders, unwise, scooping in the belly, unwinding, unwinding, and then circle around and then pause. Put the left strap down, right arm by itself. Only two of each. Okay, here we go. Sun comes up, Sun comes down. It's a challenge. Sun Shines all around.

One more really works. The rotation forces and down circle all around palm flat. Inhale, exhale, Coleen, the carriage push stack circle and her last one. Bush stack. Note to self may use later. Spring for one next time and then circle it around. Get a job.

UE. Let's put that strap down. Take the other one. I'm not going to change it though because I'm doing the same on both arms. Here we go two times. That's all. So comes in, Sun comes down. Sunshine's Oh, resist. Resist, resist her and one and two and three and four. Arms down. We're hitting the home stretch. Here we go. Inhale. Exhale, clean the carriage reach. Circle.

Oh, clean circle, very good. The good thing about starting with the bang is the ending is gonna see me. Z. Okay, here we go. Short spine, two springs. Lie yourself down. Make sure your head rest is down. Load up your feet, starting a little frog shape. Nice.

Neutral spine is star with bellies pulled in heel, squeezing together. Arms down by your side. Here we go. Stretch the legs out for one. Let the legs come back to get the stretch first and then let the straps start to help you articulate your spine as your legs reach up and over in a rainbow fashion. Pause. Bend the knees in. Keep your feet and your seat the same distance and roll everything down all at once. For the first one, just to get the of that short spot. Let's do another one like that. Press scoop, belly curl, reach, bend, knees.

Roll everything down in one fell swoop. Press away. This time, reach up and over by reaching your legs away from you so it makes a little bit more. Yeah, Vance, so you're gonna reach up long and tall this time. Bend the knees in. Keep your feet right where your eyes are, and then roll your bottom down so that you articulate your spine until your legs can't take it anymore. Then pull your legs in just a little bit. Pause. Roll your spine down. Some more legs in spine, down, legs in spine, down. Pause. Whew. Let's do that one again. Press away. Hold. Squeeze thighs up and over.

You go touch the ceiling. Paint a rainbow all the way up and over. Keep tension on those straps as you bend the knees and then bend the knees more and then roll your Tushie down. Lengthening out behind your shoulder blades, lengthening your spine. Then pull the feet a little bit. Activate hamstrings, roll spine. Similar pull heels, roll spine, some more. Pull heels, roll spine some more, and then pause right there. Take the legs up in the air. Three leg circles in each direction. Inhale up open. Exhale down close. Inhale.

Oh one more in this direction. You bring your bottom heavy and then reverse it down. Open Up. Close. Nice and controlled. Up and close last time around, and come in. Bend the knees. Hands in this straps.

Knees come out 90 degrees at the knees. Elbows down. Hundred beats with the knees bent. First curled a trunk. Here we go. Inhale, curl that trunk. We're halfway done. Straighten the legs out if you so choose. Inner thighs. [inaudible] dropped. Shoulders, curl at the ribs. Two more sets. Inhale.

[inaudible] start to challenge yourself a little bit more if you want. Last one. Exhale. Bend the knees in, arms come back, put the feet down. Put Your straps back on the handles. Take your legs off to the side. Roll yourself up. Three red springs bridging bottom. Lift, footwork. All that's left. Let's take your foot bar.

No. All righty. Bridging head rest is down. Feet apart on the bar. Arms down by the side. Just press yourself up into kind of a neutral bridge. Don't move the carriage. Press it up. Don't. I'm talking to myself too. Don't move the carriage.

Once you're up there, move the carriage three times out. Pull it out. Pull in last time. Pull in, lower the trunk down. Articulate the pelvis all the way down, all the way down, all the way down. Bring your feet together. Let's articulate the spine up now. Just a tiny little curl and then continue to curl.

Continue to occur or use those thighs, bird feet, your feet so that your toes are curled. Lengthen yourself up to your thighs, are level with your pelvis level, with your ribs. Big Inhale, exhale, lie. That's fine. All the way down, all the way down, all the way down. Heels on the bar about hip distance apart. Press your feet down to the floor to engage your hamstrings and then press the legs away to move your carriage. 10 Times. Go Push, pull, push, pull. Torso stays for. Here's halfway. Five more. Five long arms for long. Belly three to go out. Stay out, pause.

Slide your feet down to bird feet. We're just changing in the outface. Bend the knees towards the ceiling. Resist the carriage in and here we go. One and two. Looking right up at the ceiling. Belly pulls in pelvic floor up and in from the bottom, a little Kegel to take care of the bottom of the core and halfway done. Four press down to the floor with your feet. Three, two and one. Go down to the balls of your feet.

Keep your feet parallel. And here we go. 10 Times like this with high heels, 10, nine, eight, seven pressing the feet down to the floor and away from you. Five more. Four, three, two, one, go out. Stay out. Squeeze your heels together. Pilati Zvi. Here we go. 10 squeeze, nine, squeeze. Seven, six, stay neutral. Five, four, three, two, one. Go out. Stay out. Pause. Give those sides of the lecture. Squeeze. Separate the feet. One more time and run really slow at first.

Take the time. Lengthen out your spine. Make this tendon stretch and running. Be as much about lengthening through the crown of your head as much as stretching through your heel and double time. Here we go. Wrapping it up. 10, nine, eight, seven, six, five. Pelvic floor, three, two, and one. Bend the knees. Come on home.

Comments

1 person likes this.
Great class!! Really enjoyed listening to Karen!! My new favorite!
1 person likes this.
This was a great class - loved the reversed format and the variations!!! Karen I have enjoyed the 3 classes you have done - your presentations, descriptions, and variations of the exercises are just wonderful!! Thank you!!
Paola Maruca
1 person likes this.
Thank you Karen for a fantastic class...I enjoyed it very very much. Looooovvveee the originality...the way it started and finished...it was like watching a movie from the end to the beginning.....more more more...please :) Pilates Anytime rocks (.....as always) !!!!!!
Karen Sanzo
Good morning from Dallas!! The first comment is always exciting to receive. Thanks, Shirley.
3 people like this.
Good morning from The Woodlands:) fantastic class, tons of new exercises, loved the pace and clear cues!
Paola Maruca
Thank you Karen....Looveeed this class....very original...it was like 'rewinding' a movie from the end to the beginning...... thanks to PA for giving us once again the best of the best....hope to see karen again soon....
Thank you so much Karen !
Love all your classes!
2 people like this.
Great swan on the box variations.
I always love your innovative approach to Pilates, Karen! It's nice to see the same concepts of not actually moving to feel the muscles engage and inventing little exercises to prepare for the exercise done on Reformer. I never cease to be inspired by you! Now I have an itch for a Reformer workout... Pilates Unlimited here I come!!
Loved the swan on long box and Quadruped series. Thanks for some great new additions!
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