Side Splits

We're here to take a look at standing side splits. I'm walking around the back of the reformers. I'll face you for the demonstration. Head rest can be up because it doesn't need to be down. Foot bar is down. It needs to be down.

Spring choice is a medium or heavy, which would be a red or a green on the balanced body reformer. Safety is key here. Alright? Place the outside foot on the stable side first parallel. We're about to put the second foot up on the moving platform, and I'll start my foot close to this edge. We're endeavoring not to have to put our hands on the frame to get up.

If you need to place your hands to get up, please do so. I like to load this leg. I stay kinda low in a squat and I stand. Then we stretch both legs up. This leg, though, we're gonna take it out maybe halfway out on the pad. So you're seeing me do this little spiral with my leg in and out We're gonna come back to parallel and stay parallel.

All of that should be done with the carriage staying still. The emphasis there is the inner thighs. They're working to keep that carriage at the stopper. And you'll use those again to move the spring back in. So the standing side splits, the legs are solid. The feet are solid.

We are not overpronated or supinating at the ankle. Feel your leg bones pulled up into your pelvis. Pelvis is level. So we have that hip bone, hip bone, pubic bone in this frontal plane. Now what happens with the movement, we slide the carriage open, raise your arms to shoulder level. You don't have to go very far open.

Pull your arms down, pull your inner thighs together as you close. The breath is an inhale to open and exhale to close, so using the inner thighs. Again, you're resisting the springs back in. Now sometimes we'll we'll say or you'll hear open to the point of control. What does that mean? Open without tipping the pelvis forward to think of going farther out or tipping the pelvis under to go farther out.

It's not about that distance. It's about the alignment of your body. So if your distance is small, but you have all of this alignment in check, wonderful. Eventually, yes. We would love to have the range increase. But not to sacrifice the foot alignment, the knee alignment, the pelvis, the entire spine. So it's an inhale, and an exhale five to eight repetitions on each side. Lot of focus on the outer hip and the inner hip.

I'll give us one more here. Lakes are straight, not locked. Incles are solid. Now the fun. Keep the carriage closed. Shift your weight to your standing knee to stable leg and start to swivel that foot back in, carriage stays quiet.

Now, we have to dismount. Always dismount with the leg that you just moved. Keep the weight on your standing leg for safety. Very important and you'll step back down behind the carriage and finish the exercise. So that's the standing side splits.

Of course, you would do the opposite side, but for this demonstration, that's our standing side split.