Class #1858

Mat on the Tower

30 min - Class
92 likes

Description

Find the lift in your body in this Tower workout with MeJo Wiggin. She takes the order of the Mat exercises and incorporates the springs from the Tower, when appropriate, to add a little more work for your powerhouse. She also plays with the tempo of each exercise to make sure you keep a good flow throughout the class. You will enjoy all of the variations she includes, especially the Chest Expansion with a Squat!
What You'll Need: Tower

About This Video

Oct 15, 2014
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I made you out with holidays anytime. Thank you for joining us. We are going to take a tower class today. Um, I always enjoy teaching a tower class. There's so many variations you can do. Um, it's wonderful to just bring in new ideas to your class. Um, in terms of keeping it classical, I know that Joe really didn't teach tower classes, so this is something fairly new to us. Um, so in terms of keeping it more in the classical realm, I like to keep some kind of an order to my class, um, yet keep a flow going. So tower is really a half Cadillac and a mat. Now we do have an order on the mat, but in the classical system, there's really not an order to the Cadillac.

You do the exercises that your specific body would need. So when a tower class, what I'm gonna do is I'm gonna take the order from our mat and then bring in the tower here and there. Uh, so we still have some kind of an order going on. Okay. So before I start the class, I like to make sure all of our springs are in place. We are using a yellow arm spring on the second to bottom hook. We've got a purple leg spring and we hook it up so it's just about hip height. And then we've got our rollback bar, um, just higher than my shoulder, not quite all the way up.

And then we're going to just keep our push through bar down for now. Okay, so let's all take a mat. Here we go. You're going to turn and face your tower stand. Nice and tall, nice Palladio stance and cross your legs, Cross your arms and feel your body getting very tall as you come up onto your toes, draw your abdominals deep in and up and you resist your body coming down to the mat. Think give yourself getting taller. You're working in two directions. As you go down, you actually get taller. Control yourself to the mat and take a hold of those arms springs. Now Scoot back. So we've got tension on the arms springs. So you want to go way back on your mat.

You can go back a little more there Lindsey, and then draw your knees deep in the chest. We're going to take the hundred so chest up, holding your stomach and lengthen out your legs. Okay, now don't swing those springs control hundred and with the air out with the air and you feel it a lot more in your powerhouse. When you add that spring, don't you and your back should be grounded in the mat. Control, smooth in the air. And as you exhale, you draw your powerhouse even deeper. Constant tension on the spring. Don't swing it, control it steady. So you can't pump as vigorous as if you didn't have a spring in your hand. You've got to control it.

Breathing in air and scoop in the air. Exhale, scoping those abdominals. Nice. You're back. Stays grounded in that mat. Nice. Pilati stance. Long loose legs. One more breath in. I finished. Get all the air out of your body. Bring your knees in and rest your head.

Now lengthen out your legs and take a roll up so we can drop off your spring's peel forward. And let's take your feet under the strap. So when your feet are under the strap, you'll be able to work deeper into your powerhouse, get good tension and roll one vertebrae at a time into the mat and reach back, but don't collapse and in with the air up. Smooth. Exhale, stretch forward, reach, reach, reach, reach. But then you lift a roll back. Shoulders anchor one vertebrae at a time and you resist in the air up.

Exhale, stretch forward with the stays with May. Go, go golden z. And then you lift your powerhouse to roll back down one vertebrae at a time. Dropping your shoulders and reaching smooth each time. Try not to skip any vertebras roll through your body and then lift and roll back down. Anchoring your shoulders. One more easy backup. Scoop it in. Exhale, reach beyond those toes. Get the air out, and then you lift to roll back. Yeah, take your right leg up, give it a good stretch length and that leg hold your ribs in and your left foot is pushing. Reach through that. He'll make it long.

Now take your hands at your mat. Now imagine I stick a marble on your belly button. Don't let that marble roll off. Hold it steady as your leg circle. Cross and back up one, hold that marble over and exhale up. Scoop and exhale back up, cross and then up. One more.

Really Cross. And then take the reverse in. But then Xcel, cross your body. Yep, cross and try to reach me all the way over here in the corner. Cross it over and cross that leg one more. Cross it and give it a good stretch. Reach for your ankle. Lift your head, but your ribs are going to stay in the mat. And then switch legs length on the left. Give it a good stretch.

It feels good this morning. Push your other leg long and flex through your feet. Make it long. And then take your hands at your side again. Watch the marvel and crust up one. Smooth up to lengthen up. Nothing wiggles.

Stay in your mat one more and then reverse it. Exhale back up. Nice, long neck up. Scoop it up. Exhale, back up. One more. Stretch that leg. Reach for the ankle, hold those abdominals deep inside you. And then take your feet down under that strap and peel up again, one vertebrae at a time. And notice as we keep doing these roll-ups, they get easier. You should be able to roll through your spine better.

Let's roll like a ball. So grab those angles and get really tiny. Drop your head and go into the air. Xcelerate back up and smooth. Inhale, no thuds roll through that little flat spot in your low back. Really draw your stomach in and exhale the air and inhale scoop and exhale back up. Last breath in with the air. Exhale up. Good.

Now you're going to turn sideways for the stomach series. So turn to your right and lie on your mat, cause your matches get a lot smaller. So bring your right knee into the chest. Lengthen the left. Go change and change. Schooled in and pull. Pull it in one hand on the knee, one hand on the ankle. Reach Scoop, not low, but long. Lengthen, reach and scoop into your doubles. Grab your ankles, get nice and tiny. Now. Inhale, stretch and hold it. Open the arms and exhale.

Get the air out of you. Breathe in and keep it open and, and blow out that air. Inhale, fill your lungs and exhale the air out. One more. Let's hold that stomach. Open the arms and let scissor go. Change Change. Okay. Change scope, length and long straight knees. Reach and lengthen your legs and stoop and take the doubles hands behind your head. Now smooth in with the air you hold, but then exhale back up. Oh, it's hard on the map this way, isn't it? That Matt got a lot smaller and you have to work 10 times harder, don't you?

One more breath and crisscross. Big Twists. Whole the twist and change. Try to touch your knee. Come on, we're pulling edu change. Bring the knee across to you, change, rub it around you, and then reach it, and then you can rest. Nice. Sit yourself up for spine. Stretch forward. So feed on the blocks and get really tall. Reach the arms in front of you. Nice flex feet. Shoulders are angered.

Now draw your stomach and give me a teeny waistline. Dall lift up off that C and drop your head and roll forward. Exhale, exhale. Exhale, exhale, stretch. Now Scoot back up. One Vertebrae at a time. Lift and lift and try to land taller than you started and up off your seat.

Drop Your Chin and go round forward. Exhaling, go Lindsay, go forward. Go forward. Come on, reach across the room as I pull you here. Now stack it back up tall. Lift up, and again, up off the seat. Drop your head. Let's go.

Push the air out and reach and reach and reach. Now scoop to come back up. Get Nice and tall for me. Get ready for an open leg rocker. So keep that gorgeous lift you have. Draw your navel back, roll to the back of your sits bones and your legs right up to your hands. Hold here. Tall, lifted long legs. Straight arms.

Here we go. Breathe it in. Now come right back up and hold your balance and control in and right up and hold your balance and stay there. Can you reach an inch higher on your legs? Uh Huh. Hang on to it. Now. Go Scoop in your center and exhale all the way up, lift and one more scoop. Come up and hold your balance. Now Zip those inner thighs tight together. Long beautiful legs.

Reach up and touch the ceiling for me. And then smooth roll down one vertebrae at a time for the corkscrew. So long arms again, beautiful [inaudible] stance. Reach those legs up and you scoop into your nose. Rotate over on the right hip, but then a good exhale around the left to come back to center in overtake a full exhale. Good, and I don't let those shoulders Shimmy, scoop work those abdominals in and out.

Make it look easy. Nothing moves from your ribs up. Stay grounded. One more over. Take it around. Now lower your feet down to the mat and take another roll up. Here we go.

We keep coming back to this roll up. Peel in the air school for the saw. Take your feet on the boxes. Lift your back as tall as you can. We have a straight line fingertip to fingertip and the head. Give me a beautiful lift. Nice, powerful position here.

Pull the ribs in a little more. Anchor the shoulders. Aha. Now we're going to twist to the right, so stay tall as you twist and twist and twist. Now send your left hip back. As you stretch, reach, scoop up, pull up and reach, and then come all the way back up to your position. Now stay tall. As you twist left. Don't look down. Lift, lift, lift. Now dive down and stretch.

Reach and reach and reach and come right back up and lift. Twist to the right stretch. Reach forward one. Reached more to saw off that little toe and then back up and again, twist left and go. Stretch, reach. And the back arm is lifting and lengthening and energy back up. Give me two more twists, right. Exhale, reach beyond that little toe, a long, beautiful arms. Make them longer. Reach through them and everything up.

Last breath, go left. Exhale, reach one. Flex the feet to reach three and sit straight. Good. Turn on your stomach. Let's take a neck roll. So you're going to turn onto your stomach and take your fists in the Mat, Zip your inner thighs together and draw your abdominals in an up, off your mat with those inner thighs together. Lift your days. Okay. Keep that gaze lifted and nothing moves in your body as you look right.

Drop the Chin Down, release your neck and look left. Come Center, reverse. Look left. Drop the chin down and look right and look. Center now strong. Press your fists in the Mat and lift your belly deeper. Single leg kicks. Goal kick, sharp kick knees together, stomach up. Pull, pull, kick, kick, kick, kick, [inaudible] kick, kick, kick, kick, kick, kick and release. Good hands behind your back. Turn your head.

Take your hands way up on that back reach way up here and let the elbows fall. Three kicks and one, two, three. No smooth lift and lift and lift more and let it go. And kick one, two, three and pull. Lift up legs together.

They're planted in your mat and let it go. And kick. One, two, three, smooth. Stretch your arms high up off your seat. Look up there. Yes. One more little kick. One, two, three. Zip your thighs in left. Get this up.

[inaudible] and sit back on your heels and get nice and round. Draw your abdominals in and up to the ceiling. Really pull that power house in. Roll up and turn around. Let's use our strap for a neck pull. So flex your feet and we want to keep those feet open. Hip Width.

Push energy out through your heels. Sit very tall. [inaudible] get up off that seat. Pull the ribs in and roll one vertebrae at a time in your math slow. Take your time going down, but energy up. Inhale up. Exhale, stretch forward. Now lift up and sit straight. All right. Take your time. Slow one vertebrae at a time and inhale up.

Exhale forward and sit. Lift now tight seat. Control it. Take your time. Lindsay. Get your sake room slow like you don't want to come down. Yeah, beautiful. Control it. Inhale up. Exhale, stretch. Give me a good lift. Now take your time, Tate seat.

Drop the chin and roll one vertebrae at a time. Last breath. Inhale up. Exhale, stretch forward. Sit Straight. Oh right into short box. Look at this. Everybody up, tall, powerhouse in. Use that strap lift and we get longer and exhale the hair up. Hold the breath and the next hill forward, but don't go forward, back, forward, back. I need to see the up. Then go longer.

And exhale. Show me the lift. Long up off that seat and reach for your toes. Stretch with your belly pulled in an up, side to side, hands behind your head, no collapsing. Lift and get [inaudible] long up over to the right. Don't look down and bring it home up. Lengthen up over to the left. Pull on your right foot to help you and up and left. And as you go right below on that left foot like the saw and up, one more up, grounded the right hip, big reach, and then stretch for your toes. Draw those abdominals in and up. And let's take a twist. So get tension on that strap.

Lift your power house up, twist your waistline and you get a lot long. Reach out to the mat and exhale back up again. Lift and twist now length and all the way out here. And then exhale your air. Breathe in and make your body long. Good. Now don't look down up with a twist. Now look out there. Yeah, never look down. Energy up. Two more. Up with a twist. Lengthen.

This is it. Make it a good one up. Big Twists. Look out there and stretch for your toes. Round yourself forward. And let's take some sidekicks. Let's lie right onto your right side. [inaudible] feet. Come front right onto the box and you want to make sure you're lined up on the back of your mats or draw the elbow back. Top leg lifts up only hip height and we swing to the front kick.

Now long back and front kick. Lengthen. Good. Try to take your hands behind your head and control it. Front both hands behind the head. Front kick. Reach back up. Kick Butt length and behind front kick. Good.

No turning in to the front. Turn out slightly. Don't let that hit. Roll in and then reach front little notes. There you go. And one more up, up, and everything together. Your hand down. Lift your chest. Don't look down at the feet. Give me a lifted body. Kick up now. Make it long down.

Kick up one of your flex and push through your heel down this time. Point flex. Make it long. One more up. Flex recheck. Point your toe and lets circle one to circle, circle, circle, and reverse. What about back? I don't see anybody going back back. Don't forget back there. Reach. Reach for me back here, Lindsay.

Way Back. Yes, reach back, back and then your legs come together. Draw those legs together. They're both gonna lift right off the mat and let them go. Did your feet fall back? They should still be forward on the box. So scoop your powerhouse in first and then go lift those legs and let them go. One more scoop lift and let it go. Good.

Turn on your stomach. One Hand on top of the other. Draw your shoulders down. We're going to lengthen the legs and lift them up and there'll be two, three, four, long and straight. Try not to wiggle on the mat. Take tight seat long, long legs and let it go. Good. Roll to your other side. Feet to the front, powerhouse in. There's them on the box. Align your elbow back more. Chin high, hands behind your head.

We go to the front. Kick to the back. Long Up, up. Reach, back front kick. Reach, back, reach back. Front kick. If you can take your hands behind your head. Length up, up. Reach behind. One more front. Kick everything together. Little turnout. Kick up now flex and make it long down. Kick high, but Lang's in your leg up. Your leg is light as a feather. It kicks up.

But then reach to get down. One more. Up and hold. Hand on the Mat. Circle Front. Go back and front and go back. Yeah. Smooth and back. One more front. Reach back with it.

Reverse. Good. Chin high. Still try not to drop your head. Lift smooth. Circle up. One more. Reach and feet together. Hold your legs in a Pilati stance that Oman down. Draw your powerhouse in and your legs now float right up and let it go.

Scoop first and float and let it go. One more powerhouse. First lift and release it. Good. Let's take our arms springs for a teaser. So really sit back. We want to make sure you've got tension on those springs to help you.

So scoot back more, Lindsey, your head is almost on the edge of the mat there. Now extend your right leg long, but draw your inner thighs tight together. Okay. You know the roll up by now. Pull your ribs in and scoop one vertebrae at a time where too high. Stay back. There you go. Hold your powerhouse in.

Enroll one vertebrae at a time. Back in the mat. You constantly have tension on the spring and you're poor. Have Power House doesn't get arrest. Here we go. Chin to the chest. Scoopin and hold there. Now draw your powerhouse deeper and find your waistband on that mat.

And then the rest is easy to go down. [inaudible] one more scoopin right there you hold. Come on up a little more, Rachel, right there. Stay there. No, don't move your spine as you press down on them at one and press strong. Arms two and press three and this time, keep it. Now. Keep pressing as you roll back down. How do you feel that in your center?

Switch your feet. Good length in your other leg. Make sure your ribs are down on the mat when you start and scoop to come up. Peel yourself with control. Make it look easy. Now smooth. Get your waistband on the mat to roll you back down one vertebrae at a time and scooping to come forward and up. Deep powerhouse.

Now control. Get your waistband again and your legs shouldn't move. Yeah. Here we go. We're going to add a pump scooping to come up and up and stay there. A little higher. Rachel, up up right there. Now go press one or use your stomach. Bore us to.

Don't let your spine move and this time press keep it now. Slow. Roll one vertebrae at a time. Beautiful teasers. Lengthen your legs down on the Mat. Roll your body to come up. We're going to drop off the spring and live for a swan, so take your hands on the bar. We're going to go swan into swimming, but let's get that upper back warmed up a little so the arms are long and straight. Legs or zip tight together. And with shoulders drawing back, you're gonna lift your head and lift your chest. Look up and hold. Now keep your bottom ribs still down on that mat.

So it's literally just a thoracic. We're extending here. And then easy to come back down and draw your shoulders into your back. Lift your head, lift your chest. And as you draw your shoulders further in the black, the bar might come towards you slightly. That's right. Anchor those shoulders. And then easy control it down. Here we go. This is it. Warm up that back.

Draw your shoulders, lift your head, lift your chest and hold that gorgeous lift here. Let's swim from here. Up off that bar. Go. Let's, let's no, don't touch that bar. Read in. Push out the air. Nice straight legs here, Cathy. Lengths and those legs going to mom and straight. And then sit back on your heels. Beautiful round. Stretch your arms. Draw your stomach in, roll-up for the seal. So now massage out your back again.

Draw those hands around your ankles, holding your powerhouse. And we rock down and up. Scoop down, clap, clap. Smooth. Up. So what's going on here is your powerhouse is very deep and hollow holding it in, but your legs should be free to move. Smooth Anna, deep stomach, smooth. Clap those legs. And on two more. You're going to roll right up into stand. So give me one more roll down on and then crossed your feet. Reach to stand. You got it? Let's take some warm. So let's take the springs and you, the ideal height would be just slightly higher than your shoulder.

So we're going to take them here and you're going to turn to face me, and I want you to stay in a nice, tall, Palati stance. Reach your arms, and let's just catch our shoulders. So the shoulders, where do we want them? Okay, you're going to take those shoulders and want you to lift them up to your ears. Draw them down, draw them to the back wall, and then down your back is where they're going to stay. Okay? That's the position. Hold the [inaudible] stance. Nice tight thighs. You're going to lean forward as you hug. Keep your body there as you open.

Yeah, tight seat. We need a Pilati stance here more than ever to hold you stable your whole body working school open deep and your stomach. Beautiful school. And one more. Keep it. Turn your palms to the floor. Go boxing. But when you box, try not to wiggle. Yeah. Good. Keep your box. Dead. Square, gorgeous. Nothing moves. Zip those size. Draw your abdominals in and up. Try not to move those shoulders. Yes.

Bull in your bower house. Hold it steady. Good. There it is. Now both arms reach forward. Turn them in now can you come back? Open your arms and come back on your feet without banging. Love it. Let's do it again. Come forward and hug and open and hug.

Stay forward and stay there as your arms move. That's it. This time together. Hold. Let's take it behind your head and dry shaving. Now don't look at the floor energy up scoop. Don't look down at the dust on the floor. There you go. Reach. So we're going up here. Fingers pressed together. Work your arms to squeeze that. Those hands are pressing into each other.

Work your arm. One more reach. They're open to the side and open the arms to come back on your heels. Beautiful control. Good. Turn yourself around. Let's take chest expansion so long again. Long legs. Draw your powerhouse in and up. Keep your neck lifted.

Anchor down and straight. Arms and heel. Press back. Look right, look left. Look, center and release and Bre us back and look left. Look right. Center. Yeah. Strong arms. Press the back wall and look and look. Good. Their shoulders steady and release. One more. Give it a good press and look and look and center.

Good. Good. This time come up on your toes and balance on chest expansion. So hold on, come back down on your heels. You press and come up on your toes at the same time and look and look and easy. Let it go. And this time I want you to be able to press and have your hands behind you. So if you have to come forward a little, go ahead and shift forward.

[inaudible] now let's go Relevate up on your toes. Press the back wall, press it, hold it there and easy down. Rachel, I need you forward more because I want your hands way behind you here and you'll see why in a second. Do you have that Pilati stance? Tight zip thighs and then easy release. Okay, this time you're going to come up on those toes. Press the back wall and keep it. Keep it as you squat down. Tension on the springs the whole time. Open your knees, don't look down. Nice long arms go, go, go and easy.

Come back up and then take the hands forward and come back on your feet. One more. Lift up on the toes, tension on the spring. Go Bend your knees open and try to go all the way down to the floor. Keep the tension. Beautiful. Control it all the way up and release.

Beautiful. Let's take our roll back bar. Let's take a thigh stretch after that. So you're going to kneel down, bring your body straight and let's do a little bit of stretching. So your hands again are shoulder with and we start. I want you to think of the short box. We're not going back. We're going, AH, yeah. In with the year lift to go back. You drop your Chin and make sure those ribs are in, hold those ribs and then easy float to come back up.

But I want the lift in with the air up. Hold your ribs. Go hold it together. Drop your chin, hold it together. Hold it together. All in one piece. It feels beautiful. Again, lift. Hold the breath. Drop only your Chin and stretch and stretch and stretch and easy.

One more lift. Scoop to go. Chin down. Pull those rooms, hold those ribs and easy to come up. Go ahead. Let's sit for the roll back. Take your feet on the polls. Hold onto that bar with long legs. I want you to give me some nice straight arms and try to dry your heels forward as you slowly roll down one vertebrae at a time right there.

Good. So your sacrum is down, but the base of the shoulder blades are not. Hold it there. Stay there. Take the bar, pull to your chest one and stay there with your powerhouse to you from your powerhouse and scoop three and one more. Pull it in and now slow to come up one vertebrae at a time. Yeah, take it again. Dry Your powerhouse in and roll down into your sacrum and that's it.

You're basically your shoulder blades. Don't touch again. Scoopin good. Go to your Chin this time. Way Up. Yes, and Paul. That's it. Deep Power House pool, and then slow to roll up one vertebrae at a time. Go ahead. This time, let's roll all the way down. Take your time, scoop in and truly take your time. Don't rush your back one vertebrae at a time. Land your head and feel your back in the mat. Now smooth to come up.

Close Your Chin. Close your chest. Now take your time here. Draw your ribs in and roll your body up and again, scoop into rollback. Take your time. The shoulders are down. Feel each vertebra. Go down in the mat one at a time. Try not to skip any, land your head and stay there. Okay, let's take that bar. We're going up to the chin. Pull up one and hold it. Are you still in your mat?

Hold that powerhouse in the mat. Straighten your arms. The one more pull up scooping. Good. Now Roll your body up. One Vertebrae at a time and release. Beautiful. Good work. Thank you guys.

Comments

2 people like this.
Nice session maybe should be listed as more mat than tower....regardless got some great "stuff" from this one. as simple as move to width of mat which is great tactile cue for series of 5....Would have loved more tower exercises here but I expect Mejo will return...as all the good ones do! Thank you
Barbi Smole
I have to agree with the previous comment. This needs to be billed as a Mat class. 13minutes into it and only 1 tower exercise...100. I like the way she teaches though. Just wish more tower.
excellent class
Love this Mejo!
1 person likes this.
Thanks! I just shot another class, it's going to be a killer Tower class.....Advanced Tower with Andrea Maida.
Excellent class, love Mejo's cues and drive - thank u.
Great class! Illustrates the mat and the flow of that work with the power of the Tower. Loved the variations on the Roll Back. Excellent cueing, energy and pace. As you pointed out in the beginning of the class, framing the Tower class within context of the mat is a natural flow. For me, the brilliance of pilates is in the original work. Enhancing exercises or modifying them through choreography is offered for different reasons...the level of the client, contraindications etc. I thought this was a great quick class! Thank you, Mejo and PA!
Great class! I really enjoyed all the roll ups. That is an exercise I am pretty weak at but by the last one I felt strong. Enjoyed the mix of mat and tower, more of a mat class with a little tower mixed in 😀
Great cues, love the energy. Thank you!
Robin S
enjoyed using the tower as a mat class. loved the energy of the teacher! I will for sure look for more of her classes 
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