Strengthen and Lengthen Mat

This mat class is a class that I basically do as my own self-indulgent workout. Um, I either on a Saturday when the kids are taken care of and I can take a little extra time for myself and I can just get into my own body. Um, or frequently what I have to do is wake up at like five, five 30 in the morning to get my full workout in before I get ready, get the kids going and, and, uh, get to work myself. So, um, it's also what I found is that if I really want to be technically correct at that time of morning, my body's not warm and I'm tight. And, uh, I [inaudible] had the thought that like whatever happened to bent knees, like when I learned to [inaudible], we were allowed to bend the knees when our backs weren't, uh, ready for the roll-up and so forth. So, uh, you'll see that I'm going to go ahead and, and given to those tendencies in my back. I didn't warm up before this. So, so I'm going really from my own raw, not warmed up body, um, to demonstrate for you today, but we are going to go ahead and do an entire mat work. So, um, again, the self-indulgent part being to take the time to go from one, two, three, four. You know, that full 33, uh, technical, classical exercises of the mat work. Um, anything you can't do, leave out, watch, listen, do it the next time and try to add what you can the next time around. Um, if you repeat the class again and um, hope you enjoy, it's going to be a good workout style. So, uh, starting gonna lay back and just take a nice big breath in and out. And one of my teachers always said that [inaudible] starts from the bones and then we go deeper and then we work back out. So first thing I always kind of just feels where my bones are in space right now. I feel that there's a little more space under my lower back.

I know I'm a little tight in the front of my hips and my tummy is probably not engaged as much as I would like it to be. My shoulders, a little bit crunched my neck a little bit short. Um, so those are all things I'll try to work through as I, as I keep exercising. So taking nice breath in and out. Let's go ahead and pick up the arms, take a [inaudible] stretch and let those ribs faults in the mat and let it out in the neck. And then getting a strong center, reaching long through the arms and legs will start to beat for the hundred stretch. So once I sort of established that stretch, okay with my arms and my legs, then I want to focus back into my center. So once again, from the bones to the deeper aspect of those muscles. Now to drop, oh, to my neck in my center. Oh, I'm just going to be vigorous. [inaudible] three more. Squeezing the heels tight.

Okay. [inaudible] one more. Keep the center strong and stretch. Who? Good. So it was good. I feel my center working, but I still feel if I go into straight legs, I'm going to arch my back. So I'm going to go ahead and soften them up once again and start a roll-off and again, letting my abdomen drop to roll up.

I love that I have the ocean behind me right here because that's exactly what I think about when I'm doing the roll up. Like the undertow of a wave. If the abdomen keeps dropping deeper, deeper, deeper, the upper body are naturally curl up and over [inaudible] [inaudible] I to get the crush on the sand. Yeah. So especially after a long week of teaching, you gotta practice what you preach sometimes. Yeah. [inaudible] I'm still trying to keep my bottom active and my abdomen active and it feels pretty good cause my neck and shoulder aren't doing too much [inaudible] but to keep the two active, well, the knees are bent, is very peculiar effort doesn't mean I'm grabbing in my back.

[inaudible] and I like to also try to lift oh out of it and then we'll start the rollover. So stretching Wong, we'll continue the straw again. If my body's ready for it, I'll try to touch my toes to the ground. If not, they can lift a little bit higher and then opposition to massage through and almost think of my back like an arrow. Yeah. So I tried to narrow into my waist as I roll and that pointed, the Arrow is all the way down at the tailbone to get this job.

So that'll warm you up for the stretch and then you can go for power trying to get those hips really to curl and stretch you off in that [inaudible] and all of us get those little wrinkles and the waistline tells you exactly where you can work harder. Yeah. Ah, getting that stretched all the way down to that arrowhead. Ah, and then keep them the length, giving them a connection for the one like circle. So once again, if I were to lay my leg flat at this point, I think I would arch a tiny bit. So when I'm stretching more, so I'm going to challenge myself.

And then big old circle reaching with my leg, but nothing else. This simplicity of just a leg circle. Yeah. Again, those words drawing the stomach muscles in and up. So simple in their idea, but hard in execution. Still a little energy in the back of my left thigh, so it's not just dangling out there in space and it'll give my spine support to a lot of people get the crunchy crunchies in the hip and the back doing like circles. So try to control the, and then once again, little we can do a tree here, stretch deeper and again, massage the spine, reach to the tailbone, lower waist, middle waist, upper waist to stretch down and change sides.

Henry five circles each direction long and lean trying to cross across the body while the hip stretches back into the floor. Opposition to a stretch. Rightly. Yeah, yeah. There's a lot of things that think about in [inaudible]. That's why it's nice to just get in your own space and do your own mat sometimes. And then climbing the tree.

And again, I'm not going for a big ballet stretch. I'm trying to go for a nice deep pull out, ease reach, finding that c curve connecting. So everything I do, no, I'm feeling pretty good. We'll do a roll up and grab onto the legs. And again, rolling like a ball. We're going to try to draw the abdomen back and literally let it be the impetus that rolls us [inaudible] for my spine. I also have to think sometimes of trying to get my ribs to lift out of my waistline so I'm not scrunching down in my power [inaudible] so again, once I go deeper, then we go out, out into length, out into space. And then two a single leg stretch.

I'm gonna extend one leg and try to keep connecting into the work I just did. Yeah. One, two, one, two. Okay. I promise.

Oh, get a comment about my counting. One. Part of my self-indulgent workouts is that I just do it until I feel like I did it right. So like five to eight of these will stay there. Double leg stretch and again, drawing back in my center.

Ybor yet in north here, stretch and sculpt and do your power. Ah, two and one more. Oh, single, straight laced stretch and right. Again, easy knack, easy shoulders. I think we did five of those double leg.

Who can do five to eight of these and you can try to gradually pull it to your forehead. This is one of those ones at five five 30 in the morning. That was very tough. Double straight leg stretch keeping the center [inaudible] and this is part of one of those self-indulgent things too that I could slam out of you and try to go for it. But if I'm really trying to like get somewhere stronger, homo small, okay. And try to really work sincerely depend my center for criss-cross.

Wow. In sitting up for spine stretch, take a strong breath and exhale and again that stretch I was trying to establish up and out of my spine for the rolling. I can try to get in there a little bit deeper. As I've done blood longer, this exercise has gotten harder, so [inaudible] and then right into it. If you can go into open leg rocker, which is very tricky because you have to push and the legs, oh you see though that it wants to rise up. Oh, okay. So bend my knees a bit and push back out. [inaudible] that'll come into play later when we get to Caesar. [inaudible] good.

Once I stretch a bit then I can try to wrap my hands all the way over my feet and still establish that opposition. Ah, through the heels [inaudible] and then into the course room, keeping the connections and that stretch again. Sorry, just use my feet pressing out into my heels. Sorry. I want to keep the stretch and again, so as my time he drops Steve, I'm going to push out my legs [inaudible] and keep that strong. Stretch is exercises early. Nissan's one corrector [inaudible] three each way. Keep reaching and sitting up for saw. So on that I felt my hand do something funny on the Mat. So things like that. Even I tried to just connect and fix when I'm working slow and stretch.

So against some opposition for saw, I could reach my head out for my ankle, but I would prefer to get that strong connection back in my center, stretching my spine. Okay. For me, most of these exercises you just keep breathing. There are specific ones that are meant to be breathing exercises. So at the end there we can lift the waist, lift the stretch, and just take an extra stretch in here. You might just collapse for a moment. Let the elbows drop, let your shoulders drop. And even here, just kind of feeling the alignment of your feet, ankles, hips, my left thighs are the back of my knees tighter than my right, so I can always feel the stretch there a little bit more. And then again, just that idea of drawing the navel into the spine and then you might lengthen out a little more for a little more stretch. We can roll up and spin around for salt.

So I'm going to go right into the advanced version. You could stretch and keep your hands on the map here. I'm just going to go for it. Rise up, keep the length and I'm going to try to reach my toes for the wall behind me and my fingertips for the one in front of me. [inaudible] and then take an extra lift to come back and stretch down, back onto the stomach for the single leg kick. So again, opposition, stretch your chest, stretch your legs, lift those abdominal muscles in enough to kick, kick, kick, kick, kick, last set. And then we'll face uh, right cheek down, looking over the left shoulder.

Hands behind my back. [inaudible] don't feel it. Your hips are flexed somewhere here. Not going to try to lift my chest as much as, open it and press my hands up and face the other way. Exhale to kick an inhaled arise. Hard. All the stomach in and up still.

Oh stretch. Let's bring the arms forward again and sit back for a stretch. [inaudible] into the side stretch. So I love to do this like in the studio or a gym when I've got a big medicine ball or a weighted bar, but without anything, just took the arms up. Think of stretching, everything up, up and away.

And again, I've been away. And last one, draw the navel in and up. Connect to the thighs. Lift out of your waist to turn around for neck pole. So is my back ready for straight legs? I'm going to keep them a little soft, still connecting into my tush. Once again, drawing the navel. Inderal. Aw, still tight and stretch. Well, grow tall. And then rolling back. I'm going to try to reach my elbows back, draw my navel, and think of that Arrowhead against stretching Hawaii as I pull deeply back three times.

Oh to stretch [inaudible] it's five o'clock. I don't care about my hair. I'll try to keep myself composed here. No, that wave, slow tide getting up and back again. Opposition push through the heels. Maybe I'm thinking too gentle on myself. Maybe I should have worked harder.

Oh, sometimes just go forward into the scissors and bicycle so you can again just stretch through the legs. Drop the waistline in, reach over for Jack Knife and then we'll place the palms behind the hips. Lift to the scar. And an image that I want you to try to use is maybe make your body like a j. So you've got that nice scoop in the upper belly. Look, middle belly, lower belly, and then trying to keep one leg straight up. One leg will go forward for a stretch and there's still a sense of reach. So here I've got fans above me. I can go for that stretch without letting my pelvis drop.

So I'm still gonna stay connected. [inaudible] and into a bicycle. Same idea and then reverse and try and get some stretch for the front of that thigh. Wow. Oh that we started with our single, like with our Dublin, with our our stretch. He can flip the hands, bend at the knees, keep the stomachs and a little one too will reach one foot and the other foot. And then you can try to get a little more of your palm planted under your hips.

Get that nice long stretch for the pelvis. Press energy down into the feet. Drop the stomach for your shoulder bridge. Left heel is going to press down. Right leg is going to stretch long. It'll kick and stretch. Long reach and lengthen away and down and up and down and up and reach and right lego stretch. Left leg will go with length. So again, one of the nice things about kind of taking your time is just stretch.

Find Out, can that ride have get a little more stretch? Will my left leg stretch a little longer? Can my tummy deepen? Where can it get stronger? Where can I find more range of motion and then massage the spine down into the spine. Stretch her spine to a sorry. So if he flexed bottom, pinching strong shoulders on the back and for me cause my or shoulder blades like to wing a lot. I have to really expand my arms away from one another.

So keeping a strong center, strong ribs, I'm going to turn and turn more and turn the most and face friend and keeping the bottom strong. Lift even taller if you can. [inaudible] and again. Oh again, three is the magic number. Keeping the arms long and stretching.

Yeah. And then into a jackknife. So keeping that stretch long through the body reach. Think of that Jay, think of your Arrow head stretch, lift. [inaudible] oh position on the way down. Last one.

Yeah, for some side kicks. Oh my right wrist is funny. I keep feeling it. All right, so elbow, shoulder and hip on one edge of your match or wherever you're laying legs forward. This hand I like to bring into my upper tummy cause that's my ruby section that I like to, I have to think about extra and we'll start simple reaching like front and back and again, all that connection, that stretch we found on our backs. We'll now take it even laying side, all that strength we had on the single leg. Stretch her single leg circle to keep our body still.

Just move a leg. Once again is repeated here. I think I'm on like five or six who do five more for good luck. Yeah, and you see I do a little pulse so I first like a stretch as far as they can. And my second one, I'm going to go further and same thing to the back reach and then reach stronger. Okay.

And we'll do two more. The second one is us for the [inaudible]. Yeah. Lays together five times to the side, rotating out the Lego lift and down. Now today I'm just going to do three variations on the sidekicks.

There are a lot of variations, right? So maybe if you repeat this x or this workout again, you could substitute some of your favorites. Yes. And then we'll stress circles. So I like circles around, we don't get to swing our legs around and work those hips that way much.

So take advantage. Yeah. And then the reverse. So see nothing completely different or unique about this workout. Just taking their time, thinking about the things we're meant to be thinking about, taking time to work your technique, work your exercises and start just move.

Sometimes I know that I'm not performing things okay. A number one, but I always feel like I'm never going to get stronger or improve or do more if I just sit and think about it. I got to keep moving five times. Oh, the two more center. Strong leg long and one more. Okay.

And Mike's together and rotating out the Lego lift and stretch. Yeah. I talked to my clients about cobwebs in the body. So this kind of workout also just helps me get all the cobwebs out. [inaudible] I think that's fashion more.

That just gets all bunched up. Five of these circles. Okay. Wow. Keep that bottom like also stretching away and then reversed.

Okay. One thing I always ask my clients is, you know, are you feeling your hip? Is your hip working or is your back working? If your back ends up feeling crummy after your sidekicks, you were moving your back. So you've got to work smaller range of motion and just move the leg and then into teaser.

So slightly different teaser sitting up. So this supposedly was Joe plot. He's idea of teaser. So sitting up, I gave you guys that little teaser earlier with um, the open leg rocker. So if you stretch again like we talked about down through that arrowhead out long through the legs too much and reach into the teaser and then we'll just simply rural back to the rips [inaudible] and roll up again. Huh?

After having two kids, this kind of gets me right where I need it. Oh Wow. Keep the energy out long through the legs, out through the fingertips. We started that even with our hundred work and then keep your connections. Don't throw it away to lower the legs.

Insert again. And you can see how this is going to feed into more exercises as we go. If you're familiar with the work cause next is coming, our legs, circles and our boomerang and all that good stuff. So it makes sense to me that [inaudible] Joel like this one. Keep reaching and keep stretching. Connect. Connect.

Right? Cause if I tell him I send her to do it. The listen one more time. Stretch. Go Center, go, go, go gadget stomach. Okay, so I'm shaking. Are you okay? [inaudible] oh let's see their arms back and see. Connected to circle small and we'll read and keep your middle still working.

And this is the best part about being selfish. You can get to stretch one, two. You're telling me let's go into swimming. Huh? Okay, good. So your centers there, you know that much stretch long. Again, we're going to reach from wall to wall and the opposite arm and leg and stretch. And this is one of those things again where if your hands and feet do funny things, take the time and stretch. [inaudible]. That's again where you feel those limitations of that Fascia pulling back on you. Tell it to something different and then your age.

Nice. And we'll sit back for a moment. Breathing and go into a leg bowl. Stretch yourself long so that stomach is strong. That bottom just got worked here. Center should be solid. Let's pick up a leg just from your seat and push the other foot back. Three on each leg and then we'll, I'm going to put my right hand under my left, my right foot in front.

I'm going to push off and flip all the way around and then we'll go the hands around and again, press down through the heels. Nice chest, scoop your tummy, reach a lag and stretch it down. And again, think of that Arrowhead reaching long down and out through the legs. One more and let's bend that. Any push off and rise up and stretch. So all this beautiful work, long transitions through everything.

Stretching and connecting. We'll do two more of your sidekick kneeling and last one and stretch out just side to side and small circles. Working that hip, staying tall on top of the right knee, three each way to stretch and rise up and then we'll do the other side. Think I'm okay on my mat here. Keep the lift through the body strong, shoulders down, your back, other handle, reach, other lego stretch and lengthen out and reach. So this is sometimes one of those exercises people will leave out, not so familiar, didn't quite get to it in math class yet.

Look at it. You could maybe lay on your side and repeat to some sidekicks and then try the next time around to stretch and rise up for the sideband. Sit down. Keep the long line through the body. I'm going to go ahead and keep my feet together today. My handle, just rest again, thinking about two sides, my body fitting through window pane. I'm going to push down on the side of my right foot, down into my right hand, down into my shoulder to rise up and lengthen who way and keep center strong to come down.

Sometimes sweaty are slippery and then again rise up. Oh, that was better. And use your energy. And for a little addition we can look over that hand, not quite rest the hit and push back up again to stretch and use your center to come down and we'll flip the legs around and do the other side. So again, little tidy wipe if you need to. Again, connect everything left shoulder down in the back, right arm, long left foot active, push down to rise up and stretch. If you made it this far, you might feel the second one that I feel right now.

And once again we'll go up and reach and then not quite to the hip. Keep your strength shoulder on your back. Two panes of glass to lift again and stretch away and keep your center to come down onto the boomerang. So all that nifty stretching we did for our open like rocker and teaser comes to help us out here so long the leg stretch open. Close your legs, come to your tease or catch the position. You've got that stretch, you've got the scoop, the arms reach back, they're going to press you up. Keep the connection to the ribs, lift the arms and hold the ribs in even as you circle around and stretched to waist or hatch to start again. Reach through the legs. Everything is long arms, long legs and long.

Waist is deep and stretch away and arms will reach and keep your connection and lift and I'm going to be quiet. How am I going to do two more with rhythm and it will grow and go open, close and stretch. Keep your connections. Try not to draw one more to go and then keep your strength and the arms can bend. The knees can bend. We can wrap the arms in between the legs. Wrap around and grab the backs of the feet. Again, use the opposition you found in your teas or in your open like rockers, her rock and clap. One, two, three, one, two, three.

We'll just do two more. Keep the connection. Sometimes people just throw away the crap, the song seal, but the next one is the crab. So we want to keep the connections. We'll take the hands, put them on tops of the feet. Let your feet rest. Let your knees go down. Tuck the head. Her Mama said if you do the full mat workout, this is the one that gets that top.

What do you call it? Shocker point. So keep that connection. We're to open the thighs to come forward and do it on the other side. So each time you roll back, try to open the thighs and cross the other leg in front here in the front. When our heads are down, lift the waist to the sky and then try to draw the feet into you. [inaudible] set up a nice challenge to give you momentum to do your work.

Yeah. And then we'll stretch the legs long and spin around for the rocking. So [inaudible] a little Dab will do ya. Stretching out, reaching long arms and legs. Attempt for me to stretch back and grab the feet at the same time. Tricky, tricky, tricky. Again, all that energy we established in our open, their Grok or our teaser in that other shape we want to establish here.

So push the ankles into the hand. Keep that energy. Lift the belly and Rock, huh? And let's come out of it the same way. Okay. At least with control, and let's sit back and stretch, spin around and we'll go into the balance control.

So this is the last exercise we're going to do before we rise up into our pushups. So keeping all the length along, we'll stretch out. One leg can remain down on the mat. You could keep your arms flat and try again for that nice j position in the belly and the hips and stretching that leg. Now along the leg to the sky, I'm going to try to fix my right wrist while we're at and change and and change. Now, if you're back here and those legs are trying to stretch back here, you're going to be on your neck. So attempt to reach that up or tummy that direction.

Get off that neck, get into your upper center and strong, strong, strong, because then you can challenge yourself to take the hands back and still work your center to that opposite wall strong. That's what happens through Straw. I, we'll take the down. I'm all roll up crossing one ankle over the other to rise up. Okay, so standing tall, draw the stomach in and up. Whatever foot is in front.

Continue to turn in that opposite direction. Heels together. Let's connect the arms. Connect the center. Let's start to again almost make that j from the top. Now scooping in and up in the belly. Let's place the hands down right in front of your toe tips.

So even if your flexibility means you have to bend your knees, you can still put your hands down and keep lifting in the back. Strong feet down, strong, hands down, lift up in your tummy. Then we'll walk forward into a push up. A little variation I was shown I like very much is to keep my hands closer to my ribs and only go for that like 90 degree angle with the elbow and press. So again, all that strength and length from your center to lift.

Keep it strong. Walk back up. Once again, plant the feet and the hands. Lift the waist, lift the back and let's roll up and lower the arms and begin. Once again, arms reach and scoop and stretch. Find your opposition. Keep the center. We'll do three. Okay. And lift again up in your center school. One more time, if you like, you could try it up on your toes and keep the lift, Eh, [inaudible] and walking out and try three more and left strong and try to keep the heels lifted and work from your middle.

Oh. To rise up and lower down. Uh, thank you.