Class #508

Full-Body Connection

50 min - Class
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Description

Join Meredith for an intermediate BASI Flow workout focusing on connecting with the entire body. This class features Tower Hanging Front Prep, Hanging Back, plenty of spinal articulation, and excellent stretches. Enjoy!
What You'll Need: Cadillac

About This Video

Aug 19, 2011
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Transcript

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All right. Hello, lovely day for a Cadillac workout. Just gonna push us out of our way for now and we'll get started with a roll down. So just standing to the side of the Cadillac, finding the feet, lining the body up from the feet through the hips, through the shoulders, up through the top of the head and feeling long until we inhale. Exhale, the head draws in towards the the abdominal support that forward spiraling of the spine. [inaudible] rounding down towards the ground, keeping the hips just over the heels, keeping them inward and upward focus and the abdominals breathing in at the bottom. Exhale as we lift from the center of the body, feeling the pelvis wheel forward, feeling the shoulders draw down and away from the ears, allowing the head to just float up into [inaudible]. Breathing in and breathing out, allowing the head to drop, focusing on the lifting and contracting and supporting through the front of the body.

While the back of the body is able to just fall forward and hang and breathe in and breathe. Rounding the spine, building the spine right on top of the pelvis. Tolerant Tyler each time. One more to go in here. Exhale. We feel the left. We feel the lightness in our bodies as we take our selves towards the ground. Pausing at the bottom. Let's bend the knees just once. Stretch the legs just once, taking the body a little closer to the thighs and with that exhale into come all the way back and living right along. All right. Starting with the Rolex, sitting on the Cadillac with the legs out. Stretch, backing up just away from the end, about 12 inches or so.

Holding onto the roll at ball bar ball. It's a bar. We sit tall. Xcel as we feel the spine rounding, rolling our way down towards a flat spine on the mat and inhale as the head and chest coma, keeping a denture downward pressure on the bar with the lats. Inhaling at the top and a round spine. Exhale, feeling the pelvis move first. Then feeling each bone come down individually. Pressing the shoulder blades down away from the years pausing at the bottom, lifting on the inhale. Excellent to round up.

I love this exercise because I feel like it helps us be able to go a little bit deeper into the role. So instead of using the springs to assist me, I'm a resisting away from the springs and allowing them to help me go deeper within my body. Exhaling Down Lincoln one movement into the next, using the XL. By the time we get to the item, we left hollowing through the ABS. As we come to the top, we're still around, but we're very pulled back in the center and we go down pressing slightly downwards on the bar. The legs are strong, they're actively pressing together, they're actively reaching away, especially as we go down. So we get the sense of lengthening the spine from both directions.

It's lifting up [inaudible] and rural and come down again. Just find the calm down just behind the pelvis from that place. Really Tuck the pelvis in, make sure you're in a deep abdominal contraction and XL pressing down on the springs and inhale release slightly and XL pressing down on the spray. So as I press, I'm not thinking about just working my arms. In fact, I'm not really thinking about my arms working at all. I'm thinking about flexing the spine more and as a result of that, the bar happens to be moving down.

It's pretty significant abdominal work. Let's do three more and release slowly with resistance. Then two and resisting up and one more and resisting. Taking it all the way to the bottom. Lifting the head and chest up to the right. We roll up the right side of the body.

Find our round spine with the shoulders over the hips. Tilt to the left, roll down the left side of the spy. Come all the way down and center and we're going to go the other way. The figure eight we lift turning to the left, curling up that side of the body. Stay round as you transfer back through center. Going back the way I came up. Rounding down the spine, finding my way all the way down into the center, lifting up the right side so we were rolling, keeping the abdominals hollowed back that long c shape in the spine or reaching the spine all the way back down.

Lifting to the left, rolling up that side, finding center, salting back to the left to bring my body back through. Little flection with rotation here. Lifting to the right x helps her roll up. Coming back through center, going back down the right side. We're going to do one more repetition to the left.

Inhaling as the head, chest and shoulders comes up, excelling as we hollow, rolling back up, pulling back on the abs as we find center. Going back to the left, peeling the spine down all the way and ending when the head is touching the mat, bending the knees for the mini roll-up, keeping my legs together for this. I didn't heal to curl my head and chest up. Looking for a neutral pelvis here. And then I'm working deeply in my spine as I roll the bar just past my knees and down and exhale and no movement in the shoulders. Nice stable position. End Down, oh left. Challenging the movement in both directions, avoiding talking the pelvis, working in my best neutral spine and last fi and [inaudible] keeping the spine inflection for never going down so low that I totally release my work.

Ends three and back and two and I don't want one and back coming all the way down to the bottom. The back of the head touches. Drop the knees to the left or to one side. Stack the knees on top of one another. The ankles in the feet stack as well. Now lift the head up just in the center so the chest is squared forward, but the knees are turned away and then we haul of the abdominals and curl up that side and down that side. And again, ah, as a spine flexes forward, we continuously create energetically or energize backward work through the apps. I'm curling and back hurling, looking for deeper work in each repetition.

I'm going to go two more times here. Lifting up and working my way down on the inhale last time, working up and working down and we'll all the way down onto the back of the head. Allow the needs to come back through center. Shift them over to the other side line at the ankle bones, the knees, lift the head and chest in center and we peel out. This is a whole different side for me. It have a challenge and Kerr and I'm trying to keep my shoulders squared forward. Keep my shoulder blades down, keep my knees actively pressing towards one another, but also dropping down towards the ground.

Last four here and back and three and then two and back and [inaudible]. I take it all the way back. Find my way down to my back of my head. Stretch the legs back out straight. Lift the head and chest and roll the spine all the way back on. Letting the bar go. Taking a stretch forward. So Nice, strong, energetic, warm up. I'm gonna roll myself up and his set up for footwork.

So I think we all notice that the safety strap for us, but I'll mention it anyway. That's what's happening here. Loading both springs from the bottom. I don't have another spring down there, so I'll take this one. Okay. I mean down on the back, sliding back to the back, pressing up on the bar.

I'm just checking my alignment here up on the bar to bring the feet underneath. Starting the heels for our footwork. Making sure here as you position yourself that you're able to maintain a neutral pelvic position. As we bend the knees, arms are long and straight. We feel the hamstrings connecting, contracting and then we stretch the legs along and we can track Tibet and stretch. So something that works for me or that I've been working on in this whole series is the idea of trying to sync the abdominal so much so that the femur bones get deeper in the hip joints and the legs almost relax up.

That enables me to feel a bigger sense. [inaudible] we'll do about three more hair reaching up, keeping the feed still and too. And why changing positions moving to the toes. Plants are flexing through the feet and we've been working the hamstrings on the way down and stretching. As you bend your knees, make sure that you're only bending to the point that you can keep up and maintain that neutral position in the pelvis. So for me, because I have very tight hip flexes, that's not a big movement. That's okay with me. I'm working hard and drawing the abdominals back as the legs. Reach up into the air, creating the work on the way down, finding that energy out.

Three more here, keeping the feet absolutely. Stall ankles, reaching up and forward, taking it into the Small v position. Heels come together in touch, squeezing the heels to activate the inner thigh. As we inhale, bend the knees. Now I can move a little bit more here cause I don't run into my hip flexor so soon I pull the bar down and then I press the inner seams of my legs together at the top. All the while reaching the arms long, strong and straight on the mat. Next to me all the while remembering to focus on that strong abdominal connection through the center of the body and last for and last three and two. Let's take it wide to the outer edges of the bar on my heels, rested the balls of my feet underneath that outside edge bar. I'm actively adducting my legs as I bend them and extending and pulling the bar down, lengthening the legs, feeling again the depth that the femur can drop downwards into the pelvis in order to keep the pelvis ae in neutral and also to maintain the best stretch and the best neutral position possible. Breaching, working in both directions, keeping their ribs. Press down into the last three times here. Two more and last time.

Taking it to the toes, keeping the feet wide on the bar. Once again, I keep my feet in Plantar flection, bending at the knees and stretching and bending. Keeping the extension of the nice smooth, focusing on both legs, creating or making it to that extended position at exactly the same time. Checking in with the arms and shoulders, checking that there's no tension in the neck and last four feet still and pulling down to lengthen up. I one feet come back into the center on the toes, parallel for calve raises. So we work beyond the springs as we drag the bar down and then we roll through the foot to left and pull rolling through the foot to left.

So there's energy in both directions, focusing on the articulation of the foot. And in addition to that, watching my ankles here for alignment, it's a really fantastic place to watch with the feet. Do some of us want to roll in or rollout? And here we can just look straight up at our feet and see that they're moving properly. I'm gonna go five more times here, ah, and pull down and four and pulled and three and Donald's reach away from the toes going into prancing one knee bent, keeping that bent, the pushing on the bar. I flex the other foot up and then I rise up and change and it's up and I strong energy and both legs, making sure that the knee that's bending comes right into the chest. Instead of pointing out to the side, rolling through the feet and and preach and preach and preach.

Take it one more time on each side and hold it here for a bit of a stretch, checking it. Then my pelvis didn't go, not level or on level change to the other side. Seeing the leg on the heel. I'm going to keep this spring, but if you want to change to a one spring, that would be perfectly fine. Bending the other knee, taking it down along the Mat. I reach it energetically forward and then I bend my left knee and stretch it and pull it again. The foot needs to be stuck or looking for alignment in the ankle joint, arms long and straight and take it four more times. Anchoring that straight bottom leg into the mat.

[inaudible] and one in order to change legs. I'm going to bed and my bottom knee sat that heel on the bar. Make sure I'm strong, ready. I'm the level before I take my opposite leg down and anchor it into the ground and then we bet. And the length anchoring energetically with that straight leg along the mat, pulling and stretching.

Try and the abdominals back as the leg presses a last for progressing the pelvis, checking that the pelvis is level and two and one [inaudible] keeping the right leg straight. I bend my left knee, set the toes under the Bar, make sure I'm strong and ready and then take my right leg down. Plantar flexing the left knee or ankle, excuse me, and stretch. Focusing on pressing the shoulder than the abdominals and the ribs backwards. As the leg stretches beyond focusing on our breath last three and [inaudible] and one [inaudible]. I slide my right knee in. Place that foot underneath the bar, then my left leg, stretch it away, anchor it, check the alignment on my pelvis and we're off ending and stretching.

Watching the alignment of the ankle, alignment of the hip, pressing the arms actively into the mat. Working always as we bend the knee. So we contract the hamstrings and then lean last three and two and one. I bring my left foot back up cause using both likes to control the bar as I bring them our back down. I'm gonna deviate slightly from the Bassey block system just for the sake of flow in this class.

Taken one spring off so that now I just have one full spring attached to the bar and the slide myself out. Arms are straight and then my feet are going to come back up under the bar. I'm going to do three tower preps, followed by three towers, so I start with pointed feet. My arms are pushing the bars but my shoulders are pulling down. I'm going to breathe in as I Dorsey flex and then plantar flex my feet. On the exhale, I bend my knees, contracting the hamstrings to support the springs as I peel my spine up into the air in healing at the top. Exhale, the chest goes down first simultaneously straightening the legs as I lower my spine into the mat. Coming down all the way into a neutral pelvis.

Flex point. Breathe in, breathe out. As you press into the bar with the feet to contract the hamstrings, bending the knees to move the body up. Inhaling to pause. Excellent. We lengthen away, stretching the legs, stretching the spine, reaching down to neutral, flexing and pointing to breathe in, hollowing out through the ABS. Nice and supported as we peel the spy ina holding to inhale and exhale to roll down. So this is the end of the third, taking it into the tower here. So the difference here is that we fo again flex it and point, but as we roll up, we keep the legs extended. Peeling the spine, rolling in, healing at the time to bend the knees, contracting again, the hamstrings. That's what supports the bar.

Stretch the legs and rolling the spinal all the way down with straight legs, with shoulders down with active arm pressure, dropping the pelvis back, flexing and pointing the fee, articulating the spine up with straight legs. Watching the, again, the alignment from the hip to the knee to the ankle. I bend in parallel stretch and I particularly all the way down, creating more and more length in my spine. Enjoying that delicious low back stretch, reaching the pelvis into the mat last time for me rolling up in healing, we bend and stretch. Same breath and exhaling to roll down strong, long legs, strong, long spy. And then just for fun, when I come down, I'm going to reach up and get myself a little bit of a stretch.

Not a little bit of a stretch. That's a pretty big one for me. Okay. We're all done here. Coming up from underneath the bar, taking the springs off. Okay. Move the strap out of the way. Take the spring I borrowed from the top and attach it to my push through by and go into a little bit of abdominal work here.

So coming back down on the back, bringing the bar with us, hands on the push bar, legs and Straw. Inhaling to pick the head and chest. Excellent to rule through the spine, hollowing out the ads as we come all the way to a seated position and he'll tip bend and stretch the arms excelling to roll down all the way. Bringing the shoulder blades down our back. I'm going to scoot my body back just a little bit and again, we lift the head and chest, excuse me, itch, and we hollow out the abdominals, keeping the arms straight, the shoulders down. Think about going beyond the bar. Pull the bar down, press the bar, hollowing out through the abdominals as we drag the spine, the shoulder blades down into the mat all the way I'm going to add on, but it'll start the same. Lifting, curling, caressing the chest through chicken for a straight back bend and reach.

Now coming down, finding your way down to your lower back. Get it really connected into the ground. I'm pressing into the lower back and then I'm pushing forward on the bar here to activate my lats. From there. Hollowing the abdominals. We just pick up one leg and so it's like a spring action. They abdominals push down in the leg, lightly floats up. Doesn't look like much, but it feels like a lot. And last two and last one and I'm going to take it straight to the other side and it's exhale. Tila.

I'm thinking about flexing and bending. My low back is my right leg just floats up, breathing out to float the lay, maintaining shoulder pressure. Okay. I'm been working on this one for a long time. If you can't do this without keeping your back flat, I advise bending the knees, but we're going to take both legs just a little bit and and sinking the belly, both legs just off the floor and one more and I didn't come all the way down onto your back and then come all the way back up or rolling through the spine, coming all the way up into a sitting position, flat back bending the elbows. I'm guiding me all the slightly forward stretching the arms overhead.

This time as I round down, I'm going to slide my knees in with me, so I'm moving simultaneously through the knees and through the spine, coming down, just off the shoulders, floating the legs up, flexing the feet, coming into a frog position. I press forward and pull in and press forward, sinking the abdominals into the mat and press forward and pull it in unless to and pull in every moment. Challenging the a little bit deeper. Last one. I'm going to come to parallel. Bring the legs up towards the bar. Take one leg down and push the other leg into the role at bar and change keeping the spine stable, incurring the bottom leg as a top like floats and presses and change and change. Pretty challenging abdominal work for me anyway.

And, and, and, and one more time. Both things. Keeping that leg down. Slide the other leg down to me to lower the body down. And with that we pick up the head and chest. We roll up one more time.

Creating the deepest abdominal contraction possible to our bodies. Flattening out the sky, bending the arms. One last time, stretching the arms. One last time I let the Bargo and take my body forward. [inaudible] hmm. Coming all the way on taking that spring down at the bar down. [inaudible] they exchanged my role at Barth springs from my legs, springs for some hip work.

[inaudible] that. So coming down onto your back again. Well hang all the way down. Positioning my body about straight arm distance away from the polls and I'm going to take one foot into my springs, followed by the other foot. It's going to go through the basic hip work series, basic Bessie hit works series, pelvis in neutral heels together, arms actively reaching overhead. I press out an exhale and I pull back and press out.

I'm thinking about going straight out and things that are important. Neutral spine position, keeping the root gauge that bottom rib really connected into the mat. As I reach up with my arms, I allow my hands to anchor into the bars by way of drawing my shoulder blades down my back and last for pressing and actively pulling, keeping the heels pressed together so we can really feel the inner seams of the legs. And last too, and last one, taking the legs up, keeping the pelvis down and I go into my circles down out around to the top and feeling the rotation through the hip joint. Feeling the hip extensors powerfully working as I pressed down on my springs, keeping the springs in control. They come around in external rotation to the top.

Making sure the heels come all the way in, connect together before we move into the next repetition last three and last too. And it's, this is gonna take it into the rivers. So we go out into gather and we pull the legs up from the center of the body out and together at the bottom, making sure that the legs never go so low that the spine can't be in control. That's a really important thing here. Greeting a n, N and uh, and last two times here.

Last one time here. When it come back to the top, turn my legs to parallel alignment and start a little shuffle with my leg. So I want to get that movement going first. I'm going to keep that pattern as I press down, down, down, down, up, up, up, up, up. Two, three, four, five, six, up to three, four, five, six. How many legs are working? Passing one another evenly by, I envision running in a miniskirt with heels. That little shuffle in the legs and down, keeping the pelvis strong and down, keeping the knees slightly soft so we don't hyperextend. And last one.

[inaudible] I'm maintaining that parallel alignment with the legs. I'm gonna take my right like all the way to the back. Then that neighboring and underneath this spring stretch the right leg up as the left leg presses for the bicycle. We get that l shaped that strong position for us and then we spiral the legs through. So reaching out and finding that both legs are straight at once and we're reaching, reaching pretty challenging hip extension work.

Pretty challenging stability work last time I think I have to do another one on this side to be even and we're going to change. So we take that top leg and bend it, reach it out along the mat as a bottom lead, come straight up again. We hit the position where we've got both legs straight at one time. Then bending and reaching and victor, I know Richie, two more cycles and and one and both legs. Bending the knees to take the feet out of the straps, the straps to go back, stretching the legs out, bringing the arms overhead in, healing to bring the head and Chester excellent into a roll back all the way and attach the spring. So again, get one spring connected to the bar or the spine.

Stretch forward, holding onto the bar with both hands. Legs are pressed up against side. Desperately need this hamstring stretch. Now I deserve it. Inhaling, prepare, excelling, curling the spine back. Using the same exhale. Breath to press the bar down and forward. Lengthen. Inhale, extending the spine.

Exhale, curling the spine back. Controlling the pressure in the springs, keeping the feet against the Poles and lifting. As we inhale, exhale. As I go down and forward, I'm concentrating on keeping my wrists and arms strong. Hands Straight, lengthening the spine. On the inhale, [inaudible] exhale, we start to roll back feeling the pelvis. Tuck under, feeling that deep abdominal contraction. Yeah, and lift and exhale to round and press forward and in healing and tobacco extension and exhaling to curl the spine back and enabling to lightly stack the spine up to the top last two times. Pressing the bar down and forward, keeping their wrist strong and strong in healing into back extension. Shoulders pressing down as we start to flex the spine again and just floating back up to a straight back. Last one for now reaching far, take it into the side. Reach here in healing, extending the spine, excelling. I take it back through reflection, focusing on keeping both feet, adamantly touching the mat, the bars to a right arm back, keeping my lower spine round as I reach back and around that right on. And then I add fail contracting through my obliques. Coming back to the bar. Inhaling to sit up. Excellent to flex the spine again in yelling to take the left arm back, reaching the left foot into the bar, drawing down in, in on that right shoulder blade, excelling to come back. Okay.

And in healing to come up and exhale, we flex the spine from the pelvis and we inhale to take the right arm back again. And this time I'm going to excellent and go into a side bend, reaching into the ocean, come back through this side stretch and come back to the bar sitting up til last time. Exhale any how to reach that left arm back, keeping the lower spine round the pelvis level, then take it to the side and I come back and I'm come back to the bar and just sitting all the way up to the top again. I'm taking the spring. Can I exchange my legs? Springs for arms springs. Now, just a second to get organized. That annoys, sorry about that. Okay. Okay. So as far as the bar goes, I'm gonna take it down.

Just level with the tops of my shoulders holding onto the handles. I stepped back for tension, B feet parallel, spinal lined, reaching down into the springs for tension. Any any help for the chest expansion. Exhale, the arms reach down and slightly back and in Hilton reach down and forward. So it's a small movement. A lot of work within and forward shoulder blades. Press down as my arms, reach down, focusing on engaging through my [inaudible] each and every time and I'm never letting go of the springs as I take my arms forward and back and forward. And again when I do that five more times, keeping my spine long, my legs strong, my abdominals strong, active, pulled down through the shoulders with every repetition. Last two for me and forward last time.

Right turning around. I'm just going to check quickly to make sure I'm right in the center and then I take my arms to my sides, leaning into the springs for tension, finding a strong aligned center and you bring my arms across the front for the hug, a tree. Exhale and inhale. In this exercise I find it a really good place to practice and focus. Not that it always isn't, but practice on the expansion of the ribs cause the arms can guide us that way. Right? We open the arms, we feel the entire trunk expanding outwards and then we press the waist, the arms together, and we'll do five more and open and four.

I take it into the arm circle and how into my obstacle. The palms turned down, rise up, opening the arms back to the hug, a tree and back across the top at shoulder level. Inhale, as I take my arms up, they stay narrow. The arms stay straight. The spine says adamantly sto, [inaudible] [inaudible]. That was a really long train last time and then we're going the other way. We open for the down circle, the arms go oh overhead and we press straight down from just below the shoulders out aura. Now while I'm definitely focusing on keeping my shoulder blades down and level and connected, I'm also allowing the springs to help me just a little bit as I explore the range of motion in my shoulder joint, reaching back behind me and I know we're reaching out, keeping the spine long, keeping the body lengthening forward on that long diagonal, pressing the heels into the ground, the head on a slant, ways in the opposite direction. And we're going to go four more times here. This is one of my very favorites or I'm serious cause I like the exploration. It's allows you within the shoulders. Last too, the last time, taking the arms down, bending both elbows at once, taking the left arm forward for punching and we switch arms has one arm changes and passes by the other. Absolutely no movement in the trunk.

No shifting from side to side. The shoulder blades pull back away from the hands as the hands move through. Space, reach, reach, reach and reach. And here's five, four, three, two in both elbows coming all the way up to standing. I'm taking the handles off. Now I'm going to reattach the roll up bar.

Okay. Just getting this ready for what I want to do next. And then are we going to do some lateral work? So side lift with the push two bars and the next thing on the, on the plan, slide my strap in, get it ready. You can up my bar, Sadie, my legs underneath the strap, the top leg is going to be the leg that is the top leg goes on top.

That wasn't very good teaching, but it seems to make sense. Here we go. So I take my bar with me. My head is down on my bicep, got my top foot crossed over my bottom foot and instead of crossing it, the knees, I've let my feet separate a little bit so I can squeeze my thigh bones together, bending the arm to reach the bar overhead. Finding a good strong center in healing the Elbow Benz, the shoulder draws down away from the ear. I exhale, lift into my sideways, reaching all the way up in healing to come down and exhaling to bring the bar back over. I don't really like my position. I'm going to scoot my, my, um, body. Okay, happy. Again. Inhale the elbow. Exhale this fine.

Inhale the spine and exhale, keeping the shoulder down as I reach overhead. Inhale, keeping the ribs connected. I lift trying to reach up and touch the bar. My head is framed just between my arms and I reach back down and do that one more time. Reach and lift and down and thrill. So to change sides, it's gonna roll over to the other side. Bringing the top leg over. Strap is not helping me very much. It's not very loose. Let's see what I can do. So I sat up strong, straight arms in healing to draw the shoulder blade down, bending the elbow, excellent lift, ah, in healing to come down with my body, keeping my arm straight and exhale, the arm goes overhead. As the shoulder pulls down. Inhale the bend.

Exhale the spinal left. Inhale to come down and exhale the goes overhead. As I take my arm over the top, I'm pulling my shoulder blade down and here's for three months, just lift up and the spine goes down. And the arm reaches through and last you to lift up. And I guess my last one, pressing the legs together, reaching the spine up, lowering the spine down and taking a bath. Okay, so I'm gonna transition here by taking my feet out from under this strap, sliding over onto my have dung for the problem. One like straight, just checking alignment here. Both arms on the bar, head down on the mat.

[inaudible] so focusing on reverse articulation. I allow my head to start to stretch forward into the bar, extending through my cervical spine, leading that into my thoracic spine, holding onto my abdominals as I rise and I exhale to lower my body down. Got a little bit of energy through the backsides of the legs, letting the head lift up, guiding the eye slightly forward as I draw my shoulder blades down and back, focusing energy on the middle of my back and then forward and again, reaching the shoulder blades down, lengthening the spine out in a, yeah, I'm releasing back. Just going to take it through two more repetitions and draw the shoulders down. Allow the head to start to flow.

Feeling each segment of the spine articulating one after the next and releasing John One way. [inaudible] challenged my heights a little bit on this last one just for fun and then to reach all the way back down. All right. Being careful with the bar has become a still let my bar go in facts while I'm at it on. Okay, well I'm going to take a moment back into my rest position to stretch my neck. Okay. We're rolling all the way up and do the last three exercises with the trapeze. I need a little spinal articulation in my life, so we're going to do the bottom lift with the roll up bar.

I mean all the way down into our backs. Bring the feet up into the swing, taking a hold of the bar externally rotated through my hips bar as just over the shoulder, so I've got a little pressure on my springs already. Inhaling to prepare simultaneously curling the spine up and pressing the arms to the hips. I breathe in, pressing the shoulders down. Exhale, feel the bar move back, but feel also as that happens, the strong articulation of the spine coming all the way down into a neutral position with the arms over the shoulders. Exhale, we come into it again, keeping my feet flexed, reaching into the strap with my feet. Inhaling deposits. Excellent. Roll down, pressing down with my shoulder blades. As the bar comes up, there's lots of work on that one. On that return and up. Exhale. Inhale, pressing the shoulders back and exhale to lengthen the spine. Make sure to come all the way down to a neutral.

Sometimes we forget that we to come all the way back and let's do two more. Reaching, focusing on that nice fluid spinal movement feels beautiful. And the last one [inaudible] at the bottom. I'm just going to let my bar go and take my feet out of the straps. Just rock up and stand up.

I'm gonna do the hanging front prep. Do about three stretches on each side and then we'll get into the top of the hanging front to transition. So at the moment I've taken my right leg and place it into the strap. As I bend my left knee, I'm trying to actively extend through my right leg and I'm getting a strong hip flexor stretch and I'm just coming down towards straight arms. Now I engage the muscles in my back.

I pull myself up with my arms and my back. I'm not focusing on my leg at all. It's very, very light. And then I reached back. It's an arc shape, so both spine travels back or the leg travels back and then I again pull with the back lifting, following through with that pelvis, I get an even better stretch there. And then back. Here's our transition. We're going to come through, pulling up, finding your way to the top, hold it, switch legs. And here we go. Left leg, strong and stray right knee. Bet guiding the chest up and forward through the arms.

Pressing forward into the pelvis. Light on the leg. She'd be able to lift it without too much trouble. And we pull up there lifting, lifting, keeping Alex Straight and energized and back. Reaching back into that gorgeous hip flexor. Stretch out over one more time. We're going to hold it at the top again, just finding that hanging front position, holding it, holding it. I'm stepping down.

Okay. And for the grand finale, the hanging back. So we just turned around him. I moved my bar down just a little bit to give myself a bit more space. We'll do three, maybe two maybe just to see how long my hands hold out. Okay, so the hands are on the bar. [inaudible] one foot into this trapeze, the other foot goes into their trapeze.

Starting with a flat back, engaging through the shoulders, rolling up through the spine, hitting that flat neutral position. And then another reverse articulation. We take the head, we roll through the middle back. We were all through the lower left and then the head comes back. We watch ourselves find that flat back shape and then we're going to articulate that. Peeling the spine down. Find neutral role. Take the top of the head back, let the neck extend, let the middle back start working.

And only then do we take it into the lower back. And then the head comes back and we rolled down all the way and then just hey and stepping one foot down, stepping the other foot down, standing up, stepping down to the ground, finishing the way we started, little lighter for me at least. Exhaling on the way down, finishing, focusing in words, letting any tension in the body go. Breathing in, find a little bit more length, healing the spine, back up, finding our way to the top, taking the arms. I'm just letting them float and I saw light and airy read them around to the side for one more. Letting the head go, barely even feeling any tin, any weight or arms are almost nonexistent here. Shoulders are held on the back.

Nice and gentle and so out of the hands of floats through space and I let them heavily fall to your side and that's it. All done.

Comments

1 person likes this.
Cueing is wonderful! Love watching you Meredith, you make it look so fluid. Love the warm up with the roll down bar. Beautiful class!
1 person likes this.
Wonderful class, Meredith!
1 person likes this.
This was great! Thank you Meredith!
1 person likes this.
Meredith, I felt it in my body as I watched you work. Excellent cueing to stay in our centers. Thank you
Thank you EVERYONE! I felt really great during and after that class as well. I appreciate your feedback :)
2 people like this.
anyone else almost pee their pants when the train flew by outside!!! OMG
1 person likes this.
Meredith: great session. Love your spinal articulation..so fluid and precise!
1 person likes this.
Train in background scared me too! LOL
Karen L. Burka
excellent well rounded workout,and beautifully executed!
Again...I thank you! Gotta love the Cadillac.
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