Class #742

Mat Movement Mechanics

60 min - Class
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Inspired by her mother's unexpected recovery from a bout of pneumonia, Kristi reminds us there are the mechanics of movement and then there is the experience of movement. Each is important, but this class is more about the experience of feeling what your body can do. Push the envelope of your own expectations and you may find unexpected capabilities within your own body too.
What You'll Need: Mat, Overball

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I want to kind of push the envelope and I don't necessarily mean advanced, I'm just kinda inspired by my mom. Good. Okay. She, and if I could, I just have to say it cause it's like I don't believe it still, um, three weeks ago tonight I was told she had 48 hours that her lungs aren't gonna work again and she walked home, not walked home. She walked out of the hospital, she's home and she's breathing without oxygen. And I just find that amazing and it's like, uh, we know that part of the reason we're doing this is exploration. It's faith in more of what our bodies can do, but we don't really know. And then I think sometime I know from me that I can get very caught in the mechanics. I can get caught and how it's supposed to look.

I can get caught in why we're doing it, but I forget to actually do it sometimes. And I don't know how it worked with my mom. She doesn't know how it worked. Um, I don't care. I just want to look for it again tonight. So whatever that if it doesn't mean anything to you, but for yourself, look for away to find an edge. And I'll try to take you there, but I don't know where your edge is. Only you do. Fair enough. Okay. So let's start seed using the overhaul. Um, what I want to start with is just to reach the ball out in front of you.

I've just got it through the middle of my pumps. I'm realizing my balls I need, this can be tough. I may trade this baby out, but for now you're up on your sit bones. I'm not even squeezing the ball, but I've got it from here. We inhale with ease. If you've got to change your legs, do I want ease or lack of strength? Exhale and blow out all your errors if you're trying to blow the ball out of your hand. Yes, in hell, again, doesn't really matter where the ball is in space, but if you could exhale keeping the length of your spine as if you were going to blow the ball way far away from you. So, um, I am asking for exertion but not strain. Exhale, go from jeep. You know, maybe you open your mouth. Maybe it's more of a hub rather than a straw breath. Let's use it and eating this term as you blow out, let the pelvis roll backwards, but continue trying to blow that ball right out of your hands. Yes. Inhale, straighten up. Let's do three of those. If you notice, you're trying really hard. That's defeating my purpose.

So it's a tiny move and it's a lot of air, but it's not a strain. That's what we do. Take the ball behind your back, kind of get it in there where you can feel it, or at least you know you're gonna touch it soon. Exhale, when you press into the ball and you blow your air out, try to blow the air out so much to the ball. Almost pops. Just come up on an inhale. Stack your spine. By the way, my feet are part, they could be together. That's not super critical with focusing on that mechanism. That works for us without us thinking about it in him.

Let's think about it for a minute. Exhale, blow it out. One more. Inhaling up, exhaling out and so you know where I'm going. I said three or so like that has come back up last time. Try not to anticipate, but each time is another trip. Let's go down and hold it. Bring your feet in closer. If the balls off center adjusted, whatever you need to do now in him, just exhale and eventually put more pressure into the ball without tucking your pelvis. It's coming just from the front. Inhale and exhale. You can imagine you had that ball still in your hand. You're blowing away, pressing into the ball. There's no extra pressure on your feet. Again, exhale.

It's probably a good idea. I learned recently from Amy Alper to raise the shoulders a little on it and he'll just right now, not always get some room in there so you can let the full length of the lung extend left one and then of course they go back down gently staying here. Inhale. As you start to exhale, push into the ball, let the thigh float up. It should be easy. If the ball's not positioned well, you'll start to feel like you're going to arch. Put it down. We're going to switch legs on the next exhale and just feel how much easier there is. Keep going. I'm alternating. I'm going to do three more I suppose if you count them in singles, feel how. If you really take the air out, the inhale is a piece of cake.

I believe Mr [inaudible] said something along those lines. Didn't staying there. You okay? Your low backs are good. Take one arm up in here way back, way back. Go ahead and circle it around. Keep your position. There's your exhale, right other arm up, reaching without letting the shoulder come out of place. Exhale and I mean both arms, both arms go up and around.

Hold it there for a full inhale. Its shoulders raise a little so you can fill up Philip, Philip without the strain in the neck. Xcel shoulders go down and we roll up stacking your spine. You can use your arms to help you get that stacks fine place to all between your knees. You may need to adjust your feet away from you compared to where they were sitting up. Tall. Holding on I think is a good idea and pull up.

So activate the biceps now cause now here's the focus and you're not going to see it. It's you don't need to see me. I'm not going to show it the coat like a cobra. If your back as a Cobra, when you inhale, fill up your back like a cobra to just go for it. Even if your shoulders rise when you exhale, you can push on your legs a little mat. Squeeze the ball a little, deflate that sense of the Cobra back. Do it again. Inhale. All right, let the shoulders move. We can't be that rigid. You gotta have some suppleness our bodies and our lives to be functional I think and I do like to, I'm lightly squeezing the ball.

I'm pushing with my hands to lift the chest and keep the back working for Sierra. One more time. I just noticed I'm pulling on my legs to the side a little to there and it says, Hey, all right, let's kind of combine the two. A little bit of squeeze of the glutes. We inhale. Exhale, roll back, reach the arms forward. Hold Right. Arm goes up. Inhale, your whole back is down with the exception of above the shoulder blades. Exhale down other arm in him. Eyes are forward. Keep squeezed on the ball hold. I'm going right into both arms.

Start exhaling as if the arms had something to do with it. You're coming all the way up on that long exhale because then it's easy to inhale. I use my hands on my knees. You don't have to doubt me. Go again. Beautiful Aaron. Something's connected in the air and I love it. Pick an arm one up. I feel it. Exhale. Where's your edge? And I don't. Again, I just want you to feel good.

Both arms appreciation and around add flare. If that works for you. I'm coming up, coming up, coming up, coming up. Prove it to yourself. If you run out of air, you don't have to hold it there for long. Inhale up. Let's do two more. Exhale down. Okay. Oh, the way he pick an arm. You inhale, you exhale down. I love it. Deborah.

Inhale and see both arms. Take a little longer on this one. Milkin find more work there. And finally, all the way, inhale when it's appropriate, you can still be moving. Last one down. You Go. Love it. It's like a wave. All of you. And in here, one arm. Exhale. Good. Inhale two.

Exhale. Inhale, hold it here. Squeeze a a little more XL. Don't move the arms. Just squeeze the ball and sync the abs as if you're going to come up like this. One more email to bring the arms around. Maybe grab the legs or just reach forward to exhale up. When you get to the top, do hold onto the legs, grab on, fill up your back like a Cobra. Exhale, we're going all the way down.

Reach the arms forward. Head to the mat, arms pressed into the ground. So again, you want to feel contact, connection, not strain. Inhale for pelvic curl. Exhale up. Find the nuance here and these what are perceived as easier moves. I think. Inhale and exhale. Melt your way down. If you overuse things here, it just feels like a waste. And I think it is. So let's see.

How little can you do to breathe as deeply as you are. I'm rolling still. I'm at the top in. How little can you do? Exhale down to create the motion, the mechanics, because that's where the important part is. Just one more like that up. Exhaling as you go. If you need extra air, take it. Then here you are. Hopefully in that long line. [inaudible] my wife. Yeah, I was gonna say you might want your feet closer and from there relax everything you can and if it all of a sudden drops into your low back, that probably means we overdid it. Think of holding a little from the front, holding from the hamstrings. Inhale, get ready. We're going to extend the right, like as we squeeze the ball. Here we go. Exhale.

Pressing down pretty firmly in the other leg and put it down. Let's go. The other side. Left leg reaches in schoolies and down. I'm doing it again. Take your time though. If you go. It's not about the slowness of it, it's about what are you finding in yourself, other side and Dan, hold it. Inhale. Are Your risks on the ground? Could they be Xcel down?

Let's try for that if you can, who are taking it down, taking it down when your tailbone goes down or when you find what feels like a level or neutral spine pickup. Both knees, keep your arms where they are. Inhale, rotate your knees toward the front. If you need space, go ahead and actually let's just take the arms to the t. That'll feel better. Palms up, squeeze the ball a little. Exhale, pull center there. Side, lift the hip right away so it really feels like a spinal exercise rather than just moving the lower body and Ian Heel to the front. A light squeeze on the ball. It doesn't mean the feet are tight, the feet can just hang out and go along for the ride and in him to exhale. So at this point, the breath patterns have stayed pretty consistent. They may get faster, but essentially we're still going for releasing it all, getting as much air out so we can get as much air in as possible. All right, we're gonna put the feet down, the lace to fingers behind your head.

Keep the squeeze on the ball, feet flat, feel your feet. Inhale, exhale. As we curl up, it's as if your head's going on. I want it to. It wants to go backwards. Curl up, blowing out. Take a second here and inhale and stay up here on your exhale. Can you press your head backwards? I don't mean up, I mean directly back into your hands and curl up more. I don't know where the breath is. Okay. In inhale, I'm going to guess.

Exhale, take it down. So because it can be very easy and neck thing. If we don't think about releasing the head, enhance. Exhale, inhale, hold, exhale down. So just warming up, feeling how much the breath can in it of itself. Heat us up. Inhale, hold, exhale.

So on a simple move like this one way, you challenge yourself. Let's just do two more. You could proved yourself to all the years out. Come on Helen, a little higher. Yes. Inhale, start. Exhaling, try to get the air out as you are lengthening away. That is a little bit of a challenge or you could just sort of know what the timing is. And check out and then it's just boring.

We're gonna stay there or we're not going to say that this would be the last one. Inhale and exhale. All right. Curl up enough that you can reach your arms. I'm going hand over hand just just showing the hammer. Hand over hand, shoulder blades down and from here, Tuck your pelvis. Yep. Press the shoulders towards the waist. Exhale and come up a little higher like you're going to actually get up, get up, get up, get up, get almost release the pelvis.

It's gonna probably affect your upper body, but try not to let it. He'll get ready. We're coming towards the window. Exhale and only go so far as your, the top hand that should be directly lined on. The little finger is lined up with the leg touching the leg. If you want more, you go further forward. Inhale, skim across the ball and the legs to the other side, to the other little finger, the lower little [inaudible] fingers. I suppose I should know which handles on top Paul. Anyway, you're not going much further in the leg. Inhale as you pass through, not dropping down, you're welcome to hold your head. That's the same thing.

It makes your upper body a little heavier, but it also might support your head. Squeeze the ball a touch more, leaving that tailbone down. Now let's do it again. Inhale, come through. Little bit of squeeze on the ball. Last one there. As we come center, we separate the hands. We roll up, I'm grabbing onto the legs. By the way, I'm rolling up. You're probably gonna have to move the legs away. I'm going to, oh, breathing, breathing, breathing, breathing, and sit up to take the ball.

Place in between your ankles. This is where I'm wishing I had a bigger ball, but anyway, there's no right or wrong place. But what I do like about placing it at the ankles is if you supinate, you can really feel, you can see it more and if you, sorry. [inaudible]. If you turn the feet out, you can see that too. So try and get it level so that the ankle bones are doing the pressure. Okay. Now as you look at your, the distance between your ankle bones and your knees, that should be equal too. All right, let's flex.

It's a little easier to see all of that that I just said. Sit Up. Super Tall, lovely Marie. Just back your upper body just to smitten it. You were straight and beautiful. You were just slightly lean forward, so get even straight or taller is all, I mean, perfect. Inhale, exhale. We roll back, I think of lightly squeezing the ball but also pressing the ball down into the mat. Reach back, lightly. Touch your head. In. Inhale, we're coming again. The roll up is blowing the air out. It's forcing the air out. Let it kind of feel that way. Inhale, you can start rolling back. Exhale, finding a blend for you so it just feels like continuous movement and the movement itself is what's forcing the air out of the lungs, not some memorized pattern and push to the feet. Let's see.

Flexed feet. Lovely. Wendy. Lovely. Not Sure Mary might be able to s there you go. I thought it was coming from your toes, but I stand corrected. Good. Go again, go again. It's very subtle, but I'm wanting to do that. Yeah, good, good, good. This time let's go down to the shoulder blades [inaudible] and then as you get there, you have a little pressure on the ball inward. Yeah, and then think of the back of the thighs downward, so maybe it's a sense of reaching off the mat with your feet there. They're touching them out, but down from there it's like you're going to get up, you lift one, it's so small and barely want to see it.

To let the breath be the reason that you're moving. I'm exhaling as like slightly go forward [inaudible] and hold. Tick the right arm out to the side. Press both legs together. A little more. Other arm is just outside the left hip. You're going to come up like that, that arm out there if you can, and when you get to the top, bring it back to center. Roll down to the shoulder blades, just to the shoulder blades. I'll change arms when I get there. Think of the feet again. I just noticed my own sickeling out.

I'm pushing through them from me. I got to push more inward. Some of you will be the opposite. Other arm out to the side. Inhale other arms like right next to your thigh. Exhale, we go up, trust it, find it, find it, find it, and then bring them back towards center. Inhale, exhale down. We're going all the way with our heads. Don't forget the feet though. Up we come.

[inaudible]. Then from here I think you can just pick, maybe you want to put your hands down and scoot forward. That'd be easier just so that you can sit up tall. Still having the ball where it is. Getting a little back extension stretch. Maybe switch your hands to over the front of your knees like Andy has it.

Anywhere that's comfortable is really what I'm going for so that you can squeeze your glutes, a little stack and then try for a back bend, but not without the squeezing of the glutes. That's really pretty Mary. Yeah. Finding that opposition. Can you inhale here? I can't without an exhale. First I'll start coughing. There's a whole story behind that. I'm sure I'm gonna do one. One more. Keep your knees squeeze in toward each other. Just a, just to keep them parallel on that. We're going to exhale, contract around the spine to draw the feet up, keep them kind of away from away from you. A little. Reach the arms forward.

You may decide to move the ball to your knee if it feels squirrely, but otherwise we're just rolling from here. Inhale, roll back, exhale up, hold. Inhale. We're looking down a little bit so that the head is involved in that curve and back. [inaudible] keep that but bring the feet right close to you so you really like now the legs into is what's forcing the air out. Here we go. Inhale, you're going to have to get tighter. Keep it squeezed, trust it. Even if you don't get up, it's all right and back. [inaudible] readjusting when necessary. Again, back to come up and then from there we're going to hold the back of the lights and we're going to, we're going to just inhale like it's nothing as we straighten the legs or as straight as we can as well as the spine. Hold the legs up, up, up, up, and exhale. Try to keep the thighs close.

It might mean you don't get to straight cause I'm looking for a straight spine as well. Inhale, lengthen and exhale. Squeeze the air out like you're pushing something with your hands or in glass time. Expand growing with your breath. And exhale, we're going to bend the knees, roll down to the legs. End Up in tabletop. Yup. Reach everything forward. You can start with the legs higher, low, like don't do anything but hold that ball from the upper inner thigh and it's inhale two, three, four, five and exhale, fill up, bring the area and see the ribs move. We've got to see the ribs move.

If you want to fill the lungs, you might even see the shoulders move a little. They're that high. Right? But use the arms. Use that pumping as a way to get the air out, out and out to, is that five Andy or four? Good. This is on six right and I'll thank you. You know we talked about you every time. You're not here cause I'm paralyzed. I think it was eight, but we'll ask Andy and now deep in it, it's not about the legs and if your back feels like get rid of the legs, get the air in and out. However, last one.

All right, raise the legs, arms down, head up. Inhale, exhale, roll over. Still about the breath from me tonight. You're lightly squeezing, but are you long in your body? Are you hanging out waiting for me to tell you to do something else? Flex your feet, lower the legs if that is available to you and down you go. Again, if you can kind of think of the legs being what helps you get the air out.

I'll talk ever so slightly faster point and inhale the 90 exhale up old. Flex the feet. If you find that, go ahead and roll down. If you find that you're aware of your lower legs or feet a lot, you should move the ball up more close to the knees or even the inner thigh and up to go over [inaudible] flex. That's really the only difference, but you can deepen your sense of contraction here. How supple can you make the spine? How long can you make the legs? I'm doing one more inhale.

Probably have to readjust the shoulders now and again. Flex, feel your throat, pull away from your chin or maybe you experience yourself more on the back of your body. Not sure. Both are important. When you get to 90, just softly point the legs. Let's tilt to the right so the left hip comes up, my head is still down theoretically and circle around for corkscrews, just the basic one and center. Inhale over and feet are still lined up. Exhale and center in health tilt and around.

You can take it as low as you want, but you have to be mindful of your back and over to make it a little more interesting. You might add a little lift at the end and around at a little lift right in the center. Roll down and go. Left around and up a few inches. Alright, one more each way. That was the one to the left. And Walla come down in the middle.

Take the ball in your hands and um, yeah, just hold onto it. In fact, reach it back. In fact, stretch your legs out too. Let's prove to ourselves how much length we can get in an inhale so you can arch back. You can raise your shoulders, you can do whatever feels good. You can flex your toes or your feet. Take a big, big luscious inhale and on the exhale you can relax. You don't have to tighten everything up. Do it again. How much more air can you get in there? Cause that might be the very thing you need to heat you up and on this exhale like you, the middle of your body was all you could feel.

Curl herself up into a double x stretch ready position. I'm going to encourage you today for now only to pull the knees up. Yes, my hips came up and I did it on purpose. That's as much as I can do. It looks great. Wendy. Maybe self in shoulders everybody and bring your heads towards your knees more. Now when you move into AA stretch, the hips will drop. That's cool.

Let's come back to this position for four. Let's go. Inhale, retold, come back, lift him up. Lift the hips, come on and open. Exhale, scoop. Again. Legs aren't doing too much, but they're energized. Pick them up. Now. Drop the hips. If they're up, they should be dropped them down and now four more without it a little quicker. We go in now, exhale all the air, upper body. Still one more time. Rest, shoulders level out so you can feel your collarbones wide.

Look over your left shoulder. Look over your right. Come on back. Inhale, exhale. The curl you up for this one, placed the ball between the shins on the inside edge of the Shin. Support your head. This is probably not going to give most of you a full extension.

[inaudible] the right leg or would pick, let's say right leg out. As you pull the ball forward up your knee, there's your inhale. Exhale, center. Squeeze the ball. Inhale, switch it. You may have to adjust the ball as you go. That's a great exhale center. Keep your upper body up. Ian Hill, squeezing the ball. Reach, reach, reach, exhale. Center doesn't have to be a strong squeeze, but it has to be some connection and an reach. It's okay if the ball kind of, you know you're not right in the center of it, but if it's about to drop, fix it and let's do two more.

Squeeze and reach. Bull Bull. How high up on the lake can you bring that ball with the opposite foot and all right, we come back to the center. Let your head go down. Inhale, exhale to curl up. Take your the back hand the hand closest to the back of the room. Picked the ball out and I'm going to just show you from my view kind of right on the outer shin. Okay. Then you're going to extend that opposite leg. We're going to stay here, but before we do anything else, squeeze the inner thighs toward each other.

If take a quick peek and make sure you haven't crossed the feed or anything like that, then all you're doing is trying to roll the ball further down your leg. Dang on that side. And the truth is the arm doesn't move. It's the spine rotation. Just to make it a little more something. Put this a, what is it? Your forward elbow on the mat. Use It for leverage, twist more, but keep the opposite of down. Push it into it. One, push into it to push into it. Three and finally push into it.

Four, come back to center. Rest your head curl up again, opposite leg, right so other hand goes behind your head. Extend the leg closest to the back. The opposite hand holds the ball and you are in rotation from there. XL and reach into at a one. Think about the breath first to the mechanics will happen after that. Three I'm going to do five which will bring us to a nine but that's all right.

Then let the elbow go to the ground. Put it in a place where you feel like you might get a tiny bit more leverage and do four more breaths. One push into the ground. With that forward elbowed, two leg is energize. Three I am pushing the ball into my shin. Here's four for an even nine. Come back to center and rest from here. Feet down. Take the ball, roll up or just lift up and place the ball at your sake room. Rest on it. And when you do rest on it, are you in a a, you're definitely gonna be arched I think, but is it comfortable?

Are you forced in a big one and adjusted so that it feels like if you're really going to be sloppy, you'd probably go into a tailbone falling off the ball toward the mat from there. I don't even really want you to move. You probably will, but let's exhale as if we were going to do a pelvic curl. But just think of engaging the abdominals and see how much more pressure you can put in the ball. Inhale, relax. Without adding pressure on the bottoms of your feet or changing the spine. Can you do it? No change of the spine other than I am trying to weight it more. Um, it's like the split second before I go into a tuck some.

I'm wondering, can we find a way to, you know, a lot of times we say, lighten up on yourself and let levitate. I'm saying let's get heavy on the sacred without using our feet and without arching anymore or rounding the last one, just a thought. You feel the front of your body is what I'm hoping for. Now we will do that pelvic curl just to get to the next exercise. Here it is. We progress into it. We roll up. You might want your hands close to that ball.

Doesn't roll away. It's just to enjoy a little stretch through the hip flexors, standing on your feet strongly. Go ahead and push your feet into the ground now, but as you do it, you want to hope for a stretch in the front of the thighs and hips, not anything going on in your back. All right, we're going back down to center, pelvis on the spot, I mean on the ball and then we pick up two legs. All right? Initially to get used to it, you'd just leave it any soft or bent pretty significantly and now as you do a Tuck the pelvis, I've got to move mine up a little higher. Otherwise I'm not going to get anything. As we press into the ball, we're going to lift the hips. Now I don't expect them to clear the ball though. They they might and release. So I go almost from an arched spine or maybe it is an arched and then I press the belly button down. I do tuck the pelvis and I lift the hips or I try to, but only from that action I, and I'm, if I'm, if I think about it, I am using my triceps, my whole back of the arm into the mat, but not just to get off the ball.

What would be even better is if the thighs for the most part when straight up rather than towards your face. So you get that work, get that range. Just do two more, one more and then set your feet down. Peel your spine up, take the ball at it from underneath you and just for a few here, we're going to hold onto the ball above our chest if you need to position your feet. What I'm seeing looks good. We're doing shoulder bridge or at least a version it from here. Stand on your left leg a little more. Anticipate in this exercise that you get to pick up the right knee and don't let the hips change. If they do, don't pick the foot up. Then extend that leg, reach the leg long flex and bring it up for five one.

Exhale down. Inhale up. Here's two or the three gs four and Q. Here's five. We go up, we roll down, we Rola, we're turn the foot, stand on the right, like pick up the other side, stretch it long, nice long waist and exhale. Kick down a one. Inhale up, kicked down two and up. Three here's four. Bring it back up. Hold it in. Flex.

Roll down like you're trying to reach the ball through the ceiling, keeping the arms attached to your body. Roll right back up. It's push, push, push, push, push. We're turn the foot and we rolled. All right. Walk your feet a little bit away from you. Just reach forward, curl up and roll up. Good. I'm going to set the ball under the right leg. When we get there. I'm going to hold on for this one, or at least lightly on the vent, the leg that's on the ball, but certainly on the other. And all I want to do now is get as we're just going to push the ball away as we do. You're thinking about your spine hopefully, or at least that's what we want to focus on. Big a inhale, exhale, push down to go up with the spine and roll the ball away.

And now you have to be careful about not hyperextending the knee. So keep the knees soft. Inhale, press down to drag it back in and try and feel that hamstring. Just three exhale, emperor ask. Get Taller, taller, taller without losing the back of the uh, leg and again, but really without losing the ABS is what I meant to say. Bring it back in and from there just change. Nice and simple, nice and simple. So you're up. Nothing wrong with using that arm. Use it. Inhale, exhale. As you push away, you're tall.

You almost don't, you just kind of want to dive backwards. No. Try to create that sensation up. Push down like I'm going to go backwards, but really I'm just looking for straight last one and bring it back. All right, you can leave it on that foot. Roll down, rolled down and then place it so it's under both feet. If the ball's tiny, sorry, I might have to get rid of it. And I'm saying that to myself at this point. Uh, try for legs together or let's put it this way. If they're slightly apart, it's okay, but don't let them open and close as you try to do this. Roll Up. We're going for hamstrings. You okay? Huh? A little cramp.

Okay. Inhale this one. We'll do that to start to XL. Best you can. You're going to relax your feet and peel the hip up. I'm going to say let's not to the top. Let's go to like pelvis off if you can with the shoulders down from there. Inhale. Exhale. Allow the ball to go away.

Now you can kind of minimize the pressure on the ball. Just move it a few inches. Exhale, bring it back in. But keep the curl of the pelvis. Do it again. Push out. Find the back of the legs. Yeah, look, you can get in Maria and scoop and per ass. The further you push the legs and more, you have to consciously think of keeping the scoop of the pelvis. Oh, what are the shoulders doing? How much ease can you find in your upper body?

I'm not finding a lot, but I'm trying. Maybe I shouldn't try. Come back in, roll it down and from there walk the feet away. Still on the ball. Just roll the ball away a little bit and we're just going to roll up. Extend the legs as you roll up. Hopefully they're still there. Be careful about the back of your knees and just stretch forward. Meaning don't press the knees to the ground. If your feet are elevated in heel, flex the right foot, reaching it a little longer and then exhale, switch and switch. It's already at the knees. Move a little.

It's not really important to it, but just try and get that stretch through the leg and then easy legs using your arms somewhere where you can still hold on either the tops of the feet or the calves. Start to elongate yourself more forward on a diagonal. It's okay if you're still a little bit rounded in the low back. Just trying to reach your ribs out further along the thighs or toward the thighs and then exhale into it. Again, just easy. [inaudible]. All right. Now if we come, just let your feet come off the ball and let's stay there. I think it will.

If you just came off, it won't roll away. Cool. All right. Little spine stretch for you. Let's do Aaron goals from its version first and then I'll go and you can then pick whatever you want after that. So in order for the back extension version, we usually hold our hands behind her head. See, when you look straight ahead out on your horizon, first of all, take a deep breath and let your shoulders rise. But keep your eyes sort of on that imaginary horizon. Raise the shoulders and fill up the lungs way up there at the top.

Easily. Let the shoulders fall. Don't push them too hard, but I'd like it as be able to see your elbows here so they're not back here. Okay. Here we go. Inhale, prepare. Exhale. Stay as tall as you can in your upper back until it's absolutely time to round forward. This is such a good exercise for getting the air out. Try not to get too far away from your hips as you go down. Then prince the legs down into the ground. Stick your bum out.

As you lengthen your leg and your body on the diagonal. Here's your inhale. You might have to come up quite a bit. There's no doubt about it. Then exhale, extend your arms easily. There's not a lot of tension there at all. Right alongside your ears. Inhale, get longer in your spine. As you refold the arms. Exhale to round over and roll up a ton of words, a ton of things going on. You'll be fine. Inhale, exhale. Feel that head fall. Feel that chest, not just sink.

It kind of lifts as it rounds over. Are you sure you've got all the air out? Nice Marie. Inhale, lengthen the. This part should just feel good. There's no doubt about it. The back is working. Exhale, extend the arms. I tend to, we tend to turn a thumbs toward the ceiling, so we get that external rotation. Inhale, refold arms. Exhale round and roll up. Okay.

Now if you know another version that includes some form of back extension, go ahead and round over. If you don't like this, and I mean get the air up, get the air up, pull your hips up and back in hill. Just seamlessly transitioning. Are you still getting all that energy? Exhale the arms. Now instead of going forward, go up with yourself. Inhale, return the arms, exhale round and roll it up. We're doing two more trying to find space. Theater. Flex legs are energized. If the ball were bigger, we would squeeze it. Exhale, inhaled as downward, forced to give you that opposition of the length in the spy.

Exhale. Can you take your arms for the back of Maria? I know you can not ask you. There you go. Further. Still further. Still further. Still further. Still now reach up with your spine. Yup. It's still still [inaudible]. Beautiful. Inhale. Refold everybody and down.

Was that already to one more good and in exhaling down. I'll give you a marker. Half of this exercise is just knowing how to, where to feel it for inhale indie or extension. You'll feel my hand when with your spine, when you're there. Good. Now extend the arm staying there. There you go. If you can just widen your arms little and pulling back that. Okay.

And from there, gently pulse back for 10. Sorry Aaron. One, two. And the truth is is it's coming from the shoulder blades. It's like you want the chest to go forward. Chat. There you go. Cheers. Good. Okay. Hold that in. How refold the arms. That's nice. Very nice. And just exhale forward and rest for a moment or stretch or should say, let the arms go. That was good.

Very good. Do you guys have a favorite Leilani's exercise that, do you have one or does it change? It changes. It's one of them. Okay, fair enough. I don't think it changes for me. Yeah, it's, I think the only thing I, I can't, I anyway, I love it. Okay. Uh, openly gay. I, this is, these are pretty small for OpenLink rockers, so let's start without them. But if, unless you know you want to put them between your ankles, we roll back.

Either pick up both legs, but if you're going to do that, you've got to be like ready for teaser or just bring them in and extend. Okay. Either way we're up and here's something you can play with. First of all, act like you're going to do a pelvic curl but don't fall back. So it's like a subtle deal isn't it? Sorry Auntie. Well, I could speak in now from the first one. I'm pushing my leg bones into my hip socket so I can relax my nat area.

That's what I'm doing. That's one way to try it and then we just inhale, roll back and I'm literally pulling down on my legs just like I described to get up. Let's do one more like that. Roll back. Got to keep a little glute connection. I think another option is to pull up on the legs. Sometimes that works better. Now look, it's not my hands that are doing it. It's just the idea of I'm going to lift my legs right out of the hip socket and make myself like as I roll back, you can even lifted.

You go back and push it to come up. It's just playing with the idea of how can you disperse the energy in your body. Let's do one more and if you've already got the ball, good for you. If you don't want to try it, put your legs up, put the ball between ankles or knees and let's do two more of whatever version you've decided on. You do end up straight, but not by looking up with your head, by actually moving the spine to that position and okay, let's take the, if you have a ball, put it between your ankles. If you don't, that actually works just fine without it. Let go. Keep the feet where they are or what else can be tough? Aaron, you might want to stretch your knees away or if not, you're, you are amazing.

Roll down, reach back, touch your head. [inaudible] if you can, you're gonna email the roll up. Take your time, squeeze that ball, exhale down. Give yourself the sense that you're reaching your legs away when you go, when you roll down to that is yep, but don't actually move away. Like right here. It's like you're pushing away, but you actually don't push away and up. This time we stay up. Now pull the knees in, stretch out and up. So I'm rolling the spine down. That's it. Hell, that's perfect. Down to mid back. So roll to the shoulder blades. Push everything out.

Everything good you can hold the legs is not going to help you. But it might release the hip flexors a tiny bit, which could be, I guess I can help out. And can you reach beyond the ankles without rounding your upper back? I barely can. One more. We're not done with that. Put your feet down. Roll down, head down. Bring your future comfortable place to do a pelvic curl. And up you come.

Okay. Drop your chest a couple inches. So you kinda nod in perfect forum so to speak. See if you can talk or round your back a little more. Push harder into your feet with that same posture to push your hips literally higher. It might straighten you back out again, but you're trying to keep that deep, deep, deep tuck.

And then when you're ready, take an inhale and exhale, roll down, pick your legs up. We're going to roll up. Give it a little momentum. And now we're doing the same thing we did a minute ago, but on the diagonal. So you'll start like, so you'll roll out. When you come up your your knees ago, say the left shoulder, your arms that go to the right Lala. Just try not to drop the feet. Keep them up above. Yeah, let's shoot for 10 so we'll stretch out.

Inhale knees to the left, arms to the right, one to the middle. Other way too. So when you stretch out, everything's in the middle and balanced and then you just get your arms out of the way. So that's not a, I mean it kind of helps, but it's not the big key. Andy. So six big squeeze. Blow out the air, get those knees high. This last one, I think tomorrow one and two feet go down, body goes down. Roll yourself up. Finding the length through the front of the body.

[inaudible] oh, can we be clever here so we don't have to roll up? Let the ball go, but put one foot on it. It doesn't matter which, just find it and put one foot on it. That foot when it's sort of centered on the ball. Me and my bright ideas, I can't even do it. Okay, is relatively relaxed, but I want you to press that thigh, the thigh of the leg on the ball downward to lift the hips up. So the foot itself is not tightly holding the ball. You're just poor. Try to pop the ball. I push it down and slight release, do five push down.

Slight release. I am trying to lift my hips, but I'm also trying to maintain a little tux in my low back. Doesn't take it one or two more and now roll partway and roll all the way down. Just be easier to change the ball since I'm the only one that had trouble with it. And if we go, we switched legs and I once you get up there, take a quick peak that you haven't, that your level in your hips. And now we, we minimize what's going on on that standing leg. And you think to pop the ball by pressing the whole fire down. There's two inhale. Exhale.

Thery here's four. Oh one more five. Alright. Let yourself roll down and just bring the ball toward the center so you hold onto it with your feet. Roll yourself up. Okay. For the moment, just we'll turn to the side. I don't think I'm gonna use the ball for this one.

So just get it out of your way. Top leg in front. Actually I'm gonna use ball. Sorry, just for like a second, take the ball or some sort of prop that you can place it under your ribs on the side. I have kind of a short term horses. I say ribs and I think I do mean ribs. It might be better at the waist, but I think it's sort of mid side rib cage. All right. Then carefully sink into the ball. Okay. So that's, that's one way of sinking, right? Just sort of letting him go, come back up a little now this time trying to stay long but curve. So it's like in my mind I'm thinking energetically I'm going that way first.

Yeah. And then out without moving the hips if we can. So we're all gonna, we're just gonna try and press into the ball, take an inhale, exhale and try and press those ribs into it. You're gonna curve, you're going to curve, but you're not doing it by hiking the hip. You're doing it by almost going that way towards your head first. Then towards your hips with your spine. Pretty subtle. It's a can I stretch and strengthen? Very subtle. You're not going to see a lot, but I think you could feel it if you let yourself sort of go with what is this supposed to feel like? I don't know what it's supposed to feel like. I'm trying to get there now.

Find whatever feels is level and then definitely gently sink. So the shoulder has now moved then without driving a whole lot of energy into the elbow. Lift off the ball like totally could roll away. Yeah. And then sink into it. Gently let the shoulder move to do it and then lift off the ball. Okay. That's where you want to stay to start it can you literally, and it's, I'm not even going to be able to do what I'm going to ask here and my balls the smallest out of all of yours, but I want you to try to pull the rib off again, not moving the hips much and then rest on it. Pull it off and rest on it. Just one more.

This is side bend and it's beginning right without the arms and the legs. So that's where I'm headed. Now move the ball. You could do this on your hand if you want it more traditional. Otherwise we're ready to go. We lift up. We're in that long line, right? For the first starters, we're not gonna sink at all.

We're just going to lift off the ball at the arm. Go up and over. And now if you feel you're as high as you possibly could be, turned just your head and know that you turned just your head, your spine didn't change, reach the arm out overhead further. Let the hips come down a little so you're level like a bullet and then now you start sinking or reaching the spine like we did originally. Does that make sense with the first thing we did with the, all right, I'm going to shut up because I think you'll just do what you need to. We go find your long line just with the arm up.

Now lift off the imaginary ball and reach overhead. Eventually looking down. Then we go to a long line, long arm and now it's like if you followed your arm, your stretched the bottom side. If you need to move the elbow a little, it's okay. Don't sacrifice that last one up. Exhale, lifting off the imaginary ball. Love it, Andy. Looking good. Then turn your head if we're going to reach along for a skill, the whole spine connected to that and down we come. Pull the knees in. My ball just happens to be in a spot where I can grab onto it. You don't have to do that. It's just, it's kind of Nice actually, meaning with my legs, it sort of given me something to go toward, but it just happened that way I would never have thought to do that.

Other arm is up. Okay, so this right here should feel kind of comfy just here. If it doesn't spread it out, I don't want any pinching going on. Then lift up and we are going over, but if you just go down, you're going to feel that in a different kind of way. Try to get a bit of a stretch on that bottom side. From there, if you can, drop the farm over. Do without lifting your head. Keep your head with it and I'm going to let, let's say rotate toward the shins.

Let your back round. You can even back away a little meaning. Kind of sit backwards onto the hips. Inhale, just open it up. I'm going back to that. Fill up, fill up. You can even open whatever it feels good right here. Going back to the breath. Exhale, inhaling up, let the arm go free. Let's change sides all the way around. Ah, I'm getting tired.

Here we go. All this breathing. Your legs are pretty stretched out, but let them be there for support and I'm, I'm now rethinking how I want to set this first part of the, let the elbow be a little further out than if you're familiar with the side bend, just so you can feel this. All right. So the first thing we did was just sink into it. No big deal. And then we, without pushing into the elbow, we lifted up just so you can kind of feel, where does that come from? Then we thought about going longer in the waist, but still pushing on the ball. Not nearly as much as a full collapse. Helen, come away from the shoulder. Yeah, there you go. So it's hard to describe beyond that and lift back to level reaching out. I'm just simulating kind of what I want the spine to do.

Not really wanting your arm to do it, but not here. Right. That's the difference between the first one and back. Last one. It's almost like you don't want the hip going that way. The ribs going the other feeling that underside. All right. I did the opposite, right? We did. So from here you're going to engage to lift, reminding ourselves that the head is part of it. Pretty Small and lift.

Always checking that the shoulders haven't crept. Crept up. Yup. That's good. Very beautiful. Beautiful. Everybody last one left over. Interesting. Hmm. Okay. Isn't it weird what you discover? It's like, I don't know if it matters, but that's weird. All right, we're going up. So support, you might have to pull that elbow right underneath you or not quite, but very close. Use the hand if you need to, but otherwise you stretch the legs out. You use them and lift. Oh wait, we got these out of the way there. There it's no big deal. And we will all lifted more. Lifting off the ball, get the long line, make it, feel it before you turn your head. It's worth looking forward just for a second.

Then when you turn your head, you know, it's interesting. I think sometimes we realize how little it takes. And then we come back and reaching long with the spine, try to leave the legs relatively straight, going up, doing three, and then we lift the ribs. The feet don't do much more. Nor does the elbow eventually turn your head. I think sometimes the pull on my arm pit tore my waist back to center and then a long with the body, be gentle with the shoulder and again, up and over, we go ahead. Sorry Wendy.

You can also look down at your hips and see if you're rotating and then back and down. And we're coming up on that one. I'm getting close. I kinda liked the way that felt with my ball. So I'm gonna do it again. I'll be my new thing and up with the other side. So I'm just holding, I actually had my feet crossed. You don't have to, you could stack them and be even more twisty. Lift, lift, lift and over. And then I'm gonna encourage you, I'm not sure I'm going to do it, but arm to shoulder. I have a funny shoulder that in that position. So I might back off, but that's what we did before. Yeah, I'm not doing it. You.

You're kinda hugging your head. You let it drop. There we go. Oh, that's good. And then you can really flare this other rib cage out. Let it breathe. Take a big inhale and exhale. Rotate the chest toward the shins or towards the hip. Squeeze out all the air. Squeeze it out. Inhale, be open.

You can even open up at the top. Just mindful of your low back. It shouldn't feel bad at all. Exhale, squeeze out the air. Wow. [inaudible] all right, we're there. Who's calling back extension tonight? The one with the ball. Oh good. Okay.

I was like, I think there's [inaudible]. That's actually when I was thinking of Wendy when you said that, but okay, so when do you call the one with the ball and now I'm happy to have the small bulb we're placing the ball at about the sternum. It's going to be different for everyone based on lots of things. It should not take your breath away. Your arms, your forums are just resting down by your side. Yeah. And you kind of hang over the ball, just hang over the ball basically just like Deborah hair.

And then the idea is articulation. Just lands. You would chest sticks, chest lift, so you, you don't want to just lift up in one piece of what we do instead is to draw the shoulders down a little. You've got your legs reaching. The entire pelvis is flat. You're not tucking there. It's like you have a marble on your nose that you're pushing away as your shoulder blades go down and then as you continue to look forward, you're going to see the wall in front of your chest is starting to lift, but now you start pressing the ball literally forward. You don't lift off of it. You press the ball forward.

Do not expect it to travel a lot, but you're going to feel it underneath you and an exhale down. You'll feel a pressure changes more than actually see the ball move. Here we go again. You draw the shoulders down that no starts to reach and as your huddle lifts for the first few seconds, put more downward pressure on the ball at the chest. It feels so good.

Then it's like I'm dragging my elbows toward my waist and pushing the chest forward. Hopefully feeling the energy in the upper back and down versus the low back. If I go again, if all of a sudden you feel like you're lifting pressure off the ball right away, you're missing it. You're missing the good stuff. It's like you put more pressure on that ball first. Then when you get there, let's just stay there for a second.

Take me inhale wherever you are, gently exhale and pull the upper arm bones even more towards your waist. As you try to press your chest more forward. You may already be where you're going to be looking somewhat forward. Good, Deborah. That's gorgeous. Nice Maria, everybody, and then inhale and as you come down, you put pressure on the ball right away. The chest pushes down, the collarbones push down. The Chin finally starts to tilt toward the mat and then the forehead.

Let's do that again. Um, breathing however you want. I change it every time, but it's the idea that you can feel the sense of length. Now what about your legs? Not much, but they are reaching. There is a energy there. Okay. When you get to where you think you want to be, can you float your arms up so that they're still parallel to the floor and then elbows that they can be back? Actually, no, they can't take the elbows up to shoulder height so they're not back down behind you. Still looking forward a little. Most likely tilt the elbows down in the wrists up, but don't pull backwards on the elbows, meaning they didn't get any lower.

Then go back to level and I'm going to say, let's take the head down so the head of the lineup with it right between the wrist. Inhale, your elbows will tilt toward the floor. The wrist and head will go forward. That's what I wanted to do. Yeah, Wendy. Good. Wendy, actually just bring your elbows more forward towards Aaron more, more there and then level everything out so that the arms are resting on imaginary table. Let's do one more. How about an inhale? Still thinking I'm reaching above Howard. Can you feel the pelvis even on the mat from there, extending the arms forward. Can you get them up by your ears?

Come on, reach the leg. So they hover looking somewhat forward, come on longer and everything. Hmm? Why do you say I know it is? Yes. Far as and stuff. It's good stuff. It's good stuff. Appreciate it. Hands by your shoulders. We're pushing up. We're rounding back.

Let's take the ball with us since it's nearest and place it around the hips and the low belly. And that's what you're rounding over. Kind of drawing the ball up deeper toward the spine. You can sit on your heels and do it or not. Either way, let the arms, maybe if it feels good to you, come down by your feet. Either grab onto the feet. But the main point is to let the, the back feet rounded and release that. The ads that looks great. And then with wherever you found your comfortable position, it could even be on your back. Right?

But since we all have the ball in between our legs in the ribs or dyes, restaurant it, rest on it. And then when you inhale [inaudible] feel the pressure of your belly. Press into the ball. Maybe you'll feel the back expand as well and exhale. You don't have to try anything here. Just blow out. Get easy on yourself.

Comments

1 person likes this.
I will get your mom in my prayers.
Thank you Renee ~ Talked to mom today and discovered she went shopping!!
Kristi,
Thank you for sharing that. You and your Mom are in my thoughts.
hope your mother continues her positive and healthy journey forward.
Liz
1 person likes this.
Awesome incredible class...so glad you did this one. Best of luck with your mom!
Mom walked a mile last week... twice (and without an o2 tank!)! Thank you all for your good wishes. We both appreciate it very much.
Best wishes and prayers for your mom's continued recovery!!!
Great use of the overball. Can't wait to try it with Swan.
Thank you
Thanks Kristi:) I really enjoyed your class. it was the best post beach day workout. I'm on vacation and pilates anytime is my personal trainer. Found a few new variations on exercises that I am anxious to use in my classes when I return home. I am so happy for you and your Mother. She is in my prayers:)
1 person likes this.
Kristi....I just love you for your openness and strength....and your beautiful ability to allow your class to find the practice within themselves with you as the gentle guide. You define Pilates for me!
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