Feel-Good Mat

This evening. The map work I've been going to be doing is really just one of those times where I'm just doing math work to make me feel good. I feel that it will relieve tension, it will challenge my control and I mixing and matching movements to make mice to make the body wake up. So starting in a [inaudible] sense, standing inspired by the Mermaid, lengthening the right side up and reaching way over to open up the side body and then taking the other hand and reaching it up, lengthening the side body and stretching it over. Now this time taking the arm in front. So there's these two opposing qualities, opening the chest to the ceiling, closing the chest in, reaching a little bit further and then other side stretching out, reaching both arms like a bow and arrow feeling, opening the chest a little bit further, closing the chest in, back to the side, opening a little bit deeper into that side body and bringing the arms down, bringing the arms in front and spreading my shoulder blades to broaden in the back and feel that lovely stretch across the back of my body.

And then all opening the chest, way out, closing and opening. Right now the palms are together. Now the palms are facing up again, keeping my arms long, stretching the shoulder blades and then opening up and back without allowing the ribs to open. Really getting those shoulder blades to work, closing and opening now with the palms down and opening so every time it's working a little bit differently into the deltoid muscles at the same time and checking that my neck is long and that the ribs are stable in the last one back at the palms together. Nice lift of the spine and it's like I'm pushing something away and pushing something away and pushing something away. And last one, pushing something away. Hands to the side, pressing the palms up, pressing the palms down and in pressing the palms up, pressing the palms down in, in, pressing the palms up, pressing the palms down in, in and pressing the palms up and pressing the palms down and in and this hand across the ribs, stretching my neck, turning the chin to the floor, rolling up other side. This hand across the waist and the shoulders down as I stretch the side of the neck. Curl the head down.

Same thing again. Now the hand is behind. So I'm placing the elbow right under the shoulder looking to keep the shoulder wide, but keeping the elbow still hanging straight down again, stretching the neck, stretching the chin downwards, other side, shoulders, downtime. Were you aware that I have this straight collarbone line stretching the side of the neck, turning the head down and coming back to a straight position. And now with the legs long rolling down onto the mat, articulating the spine. So a lot of tension builds into the spine. I want to make sure that my back is nice and long and stretching the arms over the head.

So deepening the ribs down and just lifting the head and chest up and lowering back and lifting and lifting a little bit higher and lowering back and again even higher and lowering back and now rolling all the way up, peeling off the mat, deepening into the powerhouse, getting those shoulders nice and broad in the back and slightly contracting the arms towards each other. So I can feel the movement in the pecs and re getting this oppositions stretch happening. Then rolling up to an upright position, bringing the hands back with the shoulders wide and seeing if I can float the legs up. Float the legs down, keep the chest law, lift the hips up, lower the hips down and row back to the mat. So rolling up, reaching forward, sitting up tall, floating the legs up, floating the legs down, lifting the hips up, lift, lowering the hips, Dow and rounding back two more times like this. Rolling up and over, bringing the hands back, floating the legs up, floating the legs down, lifting the hips up, lowering the hips down and deepening through the spy.

Last one of this variation. Rolling up, bending forward. Kind of like inspired by boomerang but not quite. Lifting the hips, lowering the hips down and the punning rounding through all the way to the math with the arms and law, making sure that the hips and the trunk are stable. Lifting the legs up, deepening through the powerhouse. Lowing the legs down with control.

[inaudible] lengthening the head out, checking that. I feel long through the crown. Lifting the legs up, grouping to contract the front body, lowering the legs down, lowering the head, contracting the hips to bring the legs up, deepening into the powerhouse, lowering the legs down, lowering the crown back. And last one, lifting the legs, Zap, deepening into the powerhouse, lowering the legs down. Loring the back, bringing one leg in inspired by single leg stretches, checking that the back is long, softening into the hip. Other leg comes in again, pulling the knee in, lengthening the back, deepening into the powerhouse and down. This time coming in, pulling the leg in, lifting the head and chest. How high can I go? Lowering back, lowering down. Other leg comes in, deepening into that powerhouse. How high can I get?

Lowering the body down, bringing the light back first I comes in again and floating the leg up. So now I'm anchoring my waist in and I'm starting to do the traditional single leg stretches. [inaudible] working just with the knee at this point, keeping my shoulders broad and then extending the leg, lifting it, lowering it down. Switch. Lift, lower switch, lift, lower switch, lift lower, bring legs in, deepening into the powerhouse, floating the head and chest down into the mat and no hands behind the head, curling into the chest area, extending the legs. Thou bringing one leg in, one leg in both legs, out, lifting up, lowering back. One leg, one leg in, extending out, lifting up, lowering down one leg, one leg in, articulating up and down in the last one, one leg in, one leg in articulating up and lowering everything down to the mat. Going into scissors first of all with the leg lifted, stretching one leg, flexing, pointing just for a change. The arms are over the head.

I'll bring my hands behind my head. The elbows are wide and lowering the leg down. We're looking to keep the head and the upper body from becoming short. Other leg comes up, giving the leg a nice little stretch, flexing the foot, pointing the foot, hands behind the head, getting even longer with the spine so the head is going in one direction. The legs are going in the other, deepening into the powerhouse, floating both legs up and the left leg goes long. Double Pulse, Double Paltz, double pals, double pouts, double pouts, double poets, double pulse, double pulse legs are up. Oh, laying up.

[inaudible] laying down, rolling up, rural, laying down. I'm working my trunk and last one down, down, down to the mat. Oh my goodness. Now bringing the legs in for inspirational form of corkscrew. I'm sorry not caught you crisscross. What am I saying?

So lakeside to table top position, curling up and stretching the right leg up. The left hand comes over and I'm stretching in that direction and back, stretching and back. So I'm working my own leaks and back. Now I'm adding the elbow and the elbow and the elbow and the elbow and the elbow and other side. The other leg comes up, crawling up.

The right arm comes across the left leg. Stretch and stretch and stretch and stretch. So definitely I'm walking from my waist to my hips. Nothing is moving and stretch. Now both makes out along one, two, three and lower down other leg, one, two, three.

And we're down first sight and one, two, three and lower down. Last one and one, two, three and down. Oh my goodness. Nice stretch through the fingers. Nice length in the spine and peeling up and over the legs. Rolling up to an upright position and stretching the arms back and stretching the arms back.

So I'm watching to keep my shoulders down away from my ears, trying not to crunch into my neck and really get the ribs to start to be born. Mobile and the spine up in the upper back, all opening and opening the legs for the equivalent of spine. Stretch forward. I like to have my toes pointed. Big Lift through the spine in the hands are shoulder width and diving the head down, pulling weight back in the waist, stretching, wave for the hands and working up, up, up and lift the legs. Float them down and round. Going through, rolling up, gliding the shoulders down, lifting the legs, floating them back, rounding down, rolling up, lifting the legs and down.

Last one of this variation. Rounding forward, coming up, lifting and down legs are together, lifting the arms way up and again way up and again way up. So every time I'm looking to get more lengths in the side. Body side. Body is a hard area to feel. Getting the waist to open. Get the side of each rib to separate at the same time with the shoulders down and then bringing the right arm to the floor or to the, in my case it's to the bed or move a little bit over and this arm is way up. Now I'm wrapping this hand behind attempting to touch the shoulder, pressing my head back into the arm to open the shoulder a little bit more and stretching to the side again to get that side body moving.

Other side, this arm comes up. I'm bending it behind as best I can, pressing my head back into the arm. This starts a stretch and open the armpit and the shoulder a little bit more and stretching way over to the side. First side again, stretching. I'm going to turn to the front. You can see what I'm doing from here. My legs are still out.

Now I'm taking the elbow or even lower and attempting to lift even further up. So there's a huge stretch in the shoulders. And then, Oh yes, it starts to get deep into the intercostal muscles with this extra support to stretch even deeper, I'm pressing back with my head and other side. The arm comes right up and over. The other arm will grab behind either the elbow or wiggling further down to really get the whole arm bone to lift and I can feel all the attachments into the shoulder and the connection into the lats and the sides of the rib. Cate, fabulous, fabulous stretch in there to get that really vertical open sensation in the chest. Now just to open the hips a little bit, going to bend my knees, get a nice lift with the spine and then bend forward. Round back and lift. [inaudible] bend over, roll back and lift Ben.

Well, what role back and lift. Now I'm going to add here, roll back and lift the chest stops so the arms are staying behind me to get that extra opening of the chest. Okay. Lifting the chest up one more time like this and lifting the chest way, way, way up, stretching the legs out and saw just to get the, get more connection to the side body. So shoulders are down. I'm taking a deep twist, really working this.

This arm comes behind and I'm feeling like a bow and arrow. I'm just taking my time, stretching the whole sides of the ribs, pulling this arm away back, seeing if I can go a little deeper, a little deeper, a little deeper and pulling my left hip way, way, way back. Going to the other side, lengthening up. I'm anchoring both hips first and then working into the shoulders to stretch forward one forward one back, checking that the shoulders are parallel to the floor and then going deeper and deeper and deeper. Really working to get the side body law and coming back up to an upright position and crossing my legs, Indian style. As I place my cross, I'm really looking to get the shinbones crossing over. Usually the ankles, cross eas easily and flexing my feet. It's not quite as comfortable and I'm checking that both hips are even, but I want to get into the restriction in the hips here. So with a nice lift, I'm lengthening up my spy and then keeping the feet very active so I'm kind of pushing them this way across.

I'm starting to lengthen forward and I can feel the pull into the hip and into the it band. It's a beautiful stretch to release tension all across the hips, working the length out, coming back up, and then taking my right hand on the left knee and getting a little bit of a twist, taking the shoulders and widening them. I'm making sure that both hips are nicely grounded, changing the legs over so the other legs are crossed. Again, crossing in the center of the Shinbone, keeping the feet nicely, flax, getting a nice lift through the spine and then crawling my way forward, deepening through the hips and taking my time. It really doesn't matter as much how far. Now my hips are beginning to release, coming back up, so it's not important to go low.

It's important to get this beautiful opening in the joints and all along this band of muscle around here. Big lift through the chest in the spine, broadening across the collarbones and looking to get the rotation mostly in the ribs. Interestingly enough, the hips stay grounded. But how much can I open up this whole ribcage area? The waist naturally moves. Usually we under explore what's available in the ribs. Oh, that felt so, so lovely. So with the knees bent, now leaning back, creating a connection between my pubic bone and the solar plexus area, seeing if I can lower down. Having that as my leavers.

I can feel the spine literally draw as I moved down onto my back. Spine feels nice and long now. And I'll move onto my stomach to get a little bit of back extension happening. So my hands are quite in line with my ears. I'll start with the legs hip with the part.

So just for a minute I'm going to bend the heels back in order to connect the hamstring muscle muscles in the cab. These areas I want active and then lengthen the leg out, making sure they're engaged and then extending the toes, keeping the engagement in the hamstrings. I'm starting to lift the whole spine up and I get a beautiful stretch in the whole front part of the body and coming back down if I'm getting, if you get the hamstrings really connected up properly, the ballots will not be quite as grippy. It actually allows for more space. There we go. Now I can feel my sacrum really sinking, but the pelvis widening so I can eat, elongate out of my lower back and really get more length and stretching my stomach, which is what I'm looking for and coming back down one more time the same way.

Now I'm checking as I go up. Is it real my back muscles that are lifting me or is it my hands? I want the muscles of my trunk to do the work on the hamstrings and legs to stabilize air. We go so even though the hands are helping, it's really strengthening the trunk, which is what I'm looking for now. Lengthening the face upwards and then coming back down.

Bringing the legs hip with the part, going to bend the left leg and just reach back with my left hand and again find the hamstring engagement, check that both hip bones around the mat and then see if I can lift and lower this leg a few times. With the purpose of getting the hip flexor to start the free up. Now I'm going to lift and see if I can also lift with my hands to the thigh is pulling back and up and down. [inaudible] same thing with the other leg, so I'm bending, making sure my hamstring is nicely engaged and then lifting the thigh, this is my looser leg. Reaching it up, activating that makes suit, pulls out of the socket and the third time lifting the leg up and now seeing if I can lift the chest as well. So there's a nice opening across the chest and rib cage and now going into bow pose or the beginning stage of rock king, we, I'm having both feet bent in finding those hamstrings first rolling into the shoulders that they've already warmed up and then seeing how far I can pull up with the legs to open the chest a little bit further and expand across the shoulder blades.

And then last time coming back up into the beginning stage of Swan, I can go a whole lot more up because I loosen up the back and loosen up all the ligaments in the spine and then moving back, rounding to stretch the back in the opposite direction. So the spine is long timing onto my hands and knees and just to stretch across the very high part of the spinal column. I'm taking my hand way out in front of me so my hips are almost a little bit in front of my knees and I'm starting to press my chest and my my chin down to see if I can get that area right between the shoulder blades right below the neck, the Thai part of the spine in the ribs to start to move and release. That's an area that gets very calcified and stuck. So I'll just take a few breaths here and then come down.

Let my belly relax for a pull my shoulders back just to kind of release the spine in the opposite direction. Coming back on the hands and knees, just rounding and again, making sure the spine gets nice and loose and juicy. Feeling and pulling back into child's pose. One more time and now on the side, bringing the foot up and lifting and lowering the lower leg to work into the inner thigh and now pressing both legs out. I'm bringing the hand up now. I had a plan for this one. Let me see how was it?

Because I w oh here we go. I wanted from here to lift up onto the the forearm and then lift the hips up and lift the other hand up and then see if I can lift and lower this underneath lay, which is a lot more challenging this way. Coming onto my forearms and just doing a form balanced. It's strong in my trunk. C getting into my heels again and then going on to the other side.

I've just moved my mic back so I can lie on the side. Yeah, we are. So first of all, with the leg bent up, lifting and lowering this leg, working into the inner thigh, bringing the hand down. I'm bringing the elbow a little closer in and pulling my ribs in so I can hold my whole trunk lifting up, bringing the hand up. So I'm balancing in a side plank, bending the leg in and again, lifting that inner thigh. Okay. And one more time.

Extending the leg out and coming into an elbow plank and just holding it to create strength and stability in the truck. Hi name again. Stretching back. One, two, one. Nice stretch. Lengthening. Walking the hands to the right. So I'm getting a stretch along the left side of the rib cage. Walking the hands the opposite direction.

Rolling up clasping the hands behind and stretching and opening. I'm allowing the ribs to pop forward for four minute just to get this lovely stretch across the chest. Rounding back and then from here sitting and lifting the hips up. I'm opening the knees a little bit. This is a big chest opener and the first time I'll have the toes curled under me. So big lift of the ribs up.

I'm literally pulling the whole rib cage up away from the hips, placing my hands behind on my sacred [inaudible] and rolling the shoulders open from here. Big Lift of the chest to the ceiling and I'm leaning back a little bit to open the chest. Just practicing. How much strength do I have in my back muscles to support me with the legs, hugging towards the midline and then as I feel that I have the control, I love the strat because it allows the chest to open so far up towards the ceiling. I'm opening my chest, opening my shoulders, lifting up out to my lower back and then one hand in, one hand coming back and now we'll reverse stretch in the spine, holding the heels very much like an extreme spine stretch forward. I'm bringing my head to the mat and stretching, wave forward to open up the ribs, spread between the shoulder blades and get deep into the sacred rolling up and then coming from here into a mermaid again where we started at the beginning, stretching the side body and reverse. And again, all I'm interested in is opening up the ribs and one more time opening up the side ribs, crawling in, curling out and the other side, opening up the side ribs and over again, opening up the side ribs and over and last one opening up and over and then just to integrate everything to finish rolling like a ball. This time, I'm keeping my knees together, finding that beautiful scoop in the lower spy feeling as though I'm tractioning my back, even though I'm rounded and rolling back and forth on the spine, looking to even out the right and left side because it's been a lot of stretching, a lot of opening, and I want to make sure that my right and left side and I sleep balanced and coming up and that was it.

That was my fun practice. I hope you enjoy it too. Thank you.