Mermaid

Let's take a look at mermaid on the reformer. Mermaid has a headrest that's up, a foot bar that's up, and we have a red spring. You'll have a seat on your reformer, bending the knees, shinbone against the shoulder rests, inside hand on the foot bar. That hand is in front of the shoulder, and we're trying to start with our sitting bones evenly weighted. That may or may not be you.

We're endeavoring to get them as evenly weighted as possible. Remaine is a lateral flexion exercise to begin with in the in the roots of the exercise. So as we open the carriage, you're bending your spine toward the foot bar, breathing in. As we exhale, close the spring, it's that resistance of the spring to bring the body back up. So I, again, shoulders above pelvis, head over shoulders. Let's take it again.

We breathe in. I'm trying to open the rib cage this side. Stretching the spring, the knee can press against the shoulder blocks a little bit and then control yourself to come back up. Let's take it one more time. So again, mermaid is lateral flexion, a side bend element. We're trying to stay.

I'm gonna be in this position for a moment. In this lateral flexion, sometimes you may feel like you're in the shape that you're leaning forward or sometimes leaning backward. Be in between the frame of the reformer. It's built for that. We're right in the frame.

Now let's add another element of spinal rotation. You saw that in a few exercises already. So we turn through the rib cage. You place that hand on the side bar. You scoot the other hand across.

We're trying to get, and the goal is to have even weight on those arms, chest centered between those arms. You're in spinal rotation with a hint of extension. Now pressing the carriage open a little bit more to stretch your long, twisted spine, adding three elbow bends and straightenings. Even weight on those hands. I'm slightly pulling the foot bar apart.

We're in that deep spinal rotation. All the way out. Now we add some extension through the thoracic spine. Not needing to come very high pressing back out with the breath. It's a breath in and an exhale to come forward. So the sternum coming toward the foot bar and up, ideally both arms stay straight, not needing to come all the way to the stopper. If you do, that's wonderful.

If you don't, that is okay. Take yourself back out. Now the exit, we wanna shift our weight Again, and we have to change hands. So the back hand comes to the front hand. Place weight, de rotate your back in your lateral flexion.

Bring the carriage all the way in. Place this hand on the shoulder rest. And we do what's known as a counter stretch. Lift this arm off the bar, bring it up by your ear, and we bend the inside elbow when we pull and we open the side that we were bending first, for the counter stretch of mermaid, and you come all the way up. To take a look at the other side, I'll swivel my legs around.

So you'll be able to see the leg design from this angle. Again, endeavoring to start with even weight on the sitting bones, hand on the foot bar in front of your shoulder, opposite arm out shoulder height, lateral flexion. Let's take a breath in. Crown of head toward the wall opposite the foot bar, exhale resist the springs to come back to your pelvis. Breathing in, shoulder stabilization on the arm that's pressing on the foot bar, exhaling to come in.

And again, I'm in between the frame. My chest isn't forward or back. Adding the rotational element, rib cage rotation. Place your hand. Steady the hand and slide the opposite arm across.

Wait for your stretch to occur rate for the rotation. Try to get into even weight on both arms. Inhaling stretch that spring a little bit more, exhale for the bend of the elbows. Sometimes we call that the push up element. Inhaling exhale.

One more to go. You're pulling the foot bar apart. You're keeping the scapula stable on your back. Now for the extension, there's a press down with the hands on the bar and the arms. And we're bringing this torso toward the foot bar and the chest up.

This inside waist very elongated. Two more to go. We breathe in all the while, even weight on the hands, Body centered between those arms, rotation extension. Last one, inhale. Pressing the arms down, scapula stable. Sternum lifts.

Beautiful extension and rotation. And then the getting out, again, it's the back hand slides up to the front hand. Place weight. De rotate to your lateral flexion. Control the carriage in.

This outside hand places down on the shoulder rest. Lift the carriage arm up by your ear, and we de rotate. So are you a counter stretch? You bend this elbow, allows you to pull yourself closer really opening those side ribs to finish the mermaid with the rotational element and that is the mermaid.