Flowing Tower Variations

Thanks for joining today. We're going to work on the tower, so I have my push to buy set up. We're going to use that in a second, but before we do, we're going to just step back from the push through bar, giving a little bit of space between your body and the bar and then just taking a moment to organize oneself. So maybe a moment with the eyes closed, feeling the feet on the mat, aligning the knees above the feet, feeling as the spine lifts towards upwards. The arms are hanging heavily down where it's at in relationship to that. The head is lifting up towards the sky.

Inhaling here, taking the arms out and up. Create energy through the arms. Reach all the way and then press the arms back out to your sides. Creating space across the front of the chest. Let the arms come down to the sides of the body and inhale on the exhale. Allow the head to travel forward.

I feel that following the head comes this spine and as the spine travels down into the mat, towards the Mat, the abdominals are tunneling, lifting up towards the spine. Creating support. Pause at the bottom to inhale. Exhale as we roll this spine up, lifting, feeling the bones in the body, align and stack, letting the head be the last thing to come up and inhale. Lift the arms. Looking up at the arms. This time we take the back into a slight extension. The arms press back open and come to the sides of the body.

Inhale here, XL, allowing the head to reach forward. Contracting, controlling, drawing up, just creating a resistance that controlled descent as we make our way down into the mat. Inhale and exhale. Building the spine. Baca, drawing in deeply, feeling the pelvis shift forward, the hamstrings, lightly engaged and coming all the way back up onto our feet again. For one more. Inhale to reach. Exhale to press out wide. Take the head down, round the spine, forward rolling down, reaching down, pausing here. We're going to bend the knees. Inhale, stretch the legs. Exhale, take another inhale and exhale.

We roll the spine all the way back, so stepping forward close enough to the bar to take it in your straight arms. Inhale tall, create downward pressure on the spring and then fold the spine forward again. This time we again pike the spine up trying to keep the pelvis just over the feet. We reach out with the spine, lifting the tailbone, lifting through the spine, creating a nice flat table like surface, and then exhale as we curl the spine back in, controlling that rounding, lifting and coming all the way to uprights. Inhale again. Exhale, we roll the spine down, pressing down, keeping the shoulders well connected to the back of the body. When you can't round anymore, that's when you start to elongate and lengthen.

Reaching the tailbone and the top of the head away from one another in space. Take another breath in here and then exhale, draw in, deepening the abdominals, curling the spine back up, stacking the body, aligning the head. Three more. Inhale, rounding the spine down, taking that flection into extension from the pelvis through the top of the head. Press down a little further, trying to take the spine on a low diagonal. Then lift up to neutral or flat.

Then curl through the spy, drawing up away from the springs and bringing the body up and inhale and rounding down Halloween, focusing inwards, using this as not just a spinal warmup but an opportunity. Now taking the body lower to create elongated lines. Lift the body to neutral or flat and roll the spine all the way all the way back up again, taking, letting go of the bar. We're going to come onto our backs now. Reach back for the hand, the Poles with your arms, settling the head, finding alignment through the spine.

Draw inward through the abdominal slide the feet close enough to you so that you can just pick them up off the mat without any spinal change. And from here the spine twist. We inhale as we take the knees over in one direction and exhale z drop holing back to center and any other as we take the knees across the opposite way and exhale, feeling the shoulder blade connect to the ribs, connect to the space between the ribs and the pelvis. Inhale as we reach over that shoulder blade stays heavy, the opposite shoulder blade heavy on the mat. And then feel the drawing down of that Scapula, sliding into the ribs on that slide side and bringing the pelvis back across and inhale to reach over and exhale to come back.

As you reach to the side, feel that the opposite ribs are trying to stay connected. They may not say all the way connected, but they're resisting that outward movement of the knees. Last one. Inhaling to reach over and exhale to come back. Coming back through center and lift up and grab your bar. Holding the bar in the hands, pressing the legs together, feet flat on the floor. We're going to lift the head and chest, but let the pelvis remain in a neutral position.

From there we hollow again. Highlight the the idea of a tunnel through the waist as we roll the spine up just to the bottom side of the pelvis and then back down to the bottoms of the shoulder blades. XL, think of the body going forward, but not the head going forward. The head stays back behind the arms. Inhale to come down the tailbone as you exhale and lift stays connected in a neutral position. All the time and inhale down and drawing and so we deep and we find that deep curl, that deep abdominal work and inhale to come down and exhale drawing and Andy in. He'll say, come down. We'll do three more. Excellent drawing and and back and to XO, curling and back and last one. Exhale, curling forward and coming all the way down from here. We'll take the right hand, we'll flip it around on the bar.

Bring the left hand behind the head curl that had in chest up through center first taking care not to push the head forward. Then rotate the body towards the left, sliding the left rib cage towards the center of the spine. Then we curl the body up, working very deeply through the waist, challenging our pelvic position. It stays in neutral and it stays level in healing as we go down the arm. Holding the bar is trying to stay straight, so take care of that.

You're not pulling up with your bicep or bending your elbow to lift, but instead that all the work is focused right around the mid section of the body. We're going to do three more. They're exhaling up and inhaling back and exhaling up such challenging yet simple work and yeah, and exhaling up and yeah, coming all the way back to the mat. Changing hands, right hand behind the head, left hand holding the bar, curl the head and chest up. The head presses backwards into the hand. We that rotate towards the right side, sliding those right ribs towards the center of the spine. And from that place, exhale and inhale back and exhale up. Looking just past the outside of the leg that you're rotating towards. Excelling to lift, keeping the head heavy in, hand the shoulders away from the ears, the elbow wide and back for more exhaling up and, and just keeping the gaze ride past that knee. Looking where you're going.

Last too. And one more. Lifting up. Come all the way back down. Rotate through, center in a, stretch the legs up out. We're gonna roll ourselves up all the way and let go of the bar. So we're going to set up to do some footwork. We'll need our safety strap.

So unhooking the push through bar, taking the safety strap, wrap it around the bar I've used, I use my red spring, that can be used for footwork as well. So I'm going to bring that spring with me. I'm gonna Hook it to the bottom, pull it through, connecting both spring to the push to bar from the bottom coming down onto our backs. Again, I'm gonna slide myself right back to the very end cause I know that for my flexibility range, I need that much space. Bringing the feet up underneath the bar, placing the heels of the feet on the bar and then aligning the body and the pelvis into a neutral position. Flexing through the feet, stretching through the legs, feel equally weighted on the backsides of the pelvis. Inhale, allow the knees to bend and exhale. Press the pelvis down and stretch the legs up. Inhale, allow the knees to bend and press the pelvis down.

So in my mind as the bar lift, it's not lifting cause I'm pushing through the front of my legs. It's lifting because my pelvis is dropping and I'm almost relaxing my legs up from there. I do get a little quad squeeze right at the top and then, but that drawing down that heaviness in the pelvis is what we want to look for all the time. Inhaling to bend and drawing and impressing backup. Just do one more bend and press down to stretcher. From there we'll move to the toes and then here we're looking for up to maintain the plantar flection in the fee.

I'm going to bend the knees, hold the feet stable, press the pelvis down to stretch the legs. Inhale as the knees Ben watching here for good foot alignment, so we see that the ankle joints line up straight, that the knees face straight ahead or go back or facing the body. They're not turned out in here that the feet are equally pressing into the bar and I also find it interesting to watch and see if one leg likes to straighten first. Often time one will then in my body anyway in my experience and press and we'll do two more like that. Pressing the pelvis down to stretch, feeling the spine long and the arms pressing back into the mat. We stretch the legs up. We externally rotate in the hip joints, bringing the heels together. Inhale, allowing the knees to bend and press the pelvis down and let the legs come all the way together to touch in here.

The foot position stays consistent are the ankle joint stays consistent and the movement of the bar happens from the hip joint and the knee joint. Inhale, bend, drive deeply down through the center of the body and then stretch. Inhale, bend. Press the pelvis down to stretch the leg through space and we'll do four more reaching a three, keeping the toes relaxed against the bar. Two pressing a and last one reaching up.

From here, we'll step the feet out. Wide heels of the bar, heels of the feet on the bar. The foot reaches out and comes underneath the metal. Stretching the legs all the way, bending the knees. Inhale again. Press the pelvis down and stretch from there. Inhale, bend, keeping the arms and shoulders relaxed against the mat.

The legs stretch and Ben Stretch and Ben and draw down every time concentrating on the work that's happening through the front of the body. We'll do fine and Beth Anne, four and three and Paul, ah, two Paul at one coming onto the toes. Quite challenging work for me. Inhale as the knees bend again, we look at that foot keeping the ankle and Plantar flection holding the ankle still as the knees change, as the knees come just outside the ribs, the tailbone presses down and through into the mat. Every once in awhile make it, make a check, check in with the arms, lightly pressing into the mat, checking with the elongation of the neck and stretch. Check in with the abdominals or if hey working and we'll do four and a reach fury, equal pressure against the fi two and lift one and lift. Walking the feet into the center of the bar.

We flex the feet, actively pulling into Dorsey flection and then we roll back. We pull the bar down rather than letting the springs, Paul again looking at the alignment of the ankles, looking for that front, that an anterior muscle of the Shin, the anterior to be Alice to a pole, the bar to pull beyond where the springs will pull. We'll do five and rural. So it's an active movement in both directions and rural and three and lift and belly button draws down as the toes lift up. And the last one we lift up.

And from there we alternate, pull, reach and pull. So both theater working one's pushing the bar up while at the same time the opposite leg opposite foot is pulling down on the bar. So the feet are doing oppositional movement. Yeah. And again, checking with the pelvis, is it still checking with the alignment of the spine and five lift and five feel that high position each time. Body scan, arms, lightness of the spine, tension free in the neck, abdominals, strong, [inaudible] and flex. Ah, and the last time here, Lyft and Lyft, bend the knees. Take the feet down. I'm gonna take one of my away.

I'm going to now lift the left foot back up under the bar and stretch the right leg down along the mat, flexing through the foot. We're going to inhale the knee bends and exhale. Press the bar. Inhale, important to work the body one side at a time, as well as working the body both legs at a time and reach and Ben and reach. And then last two, flexing the foot back and dropping the pelvis down to stretch the knee. Bend the left knee. Place the left heel under the bar. Organize the pelvis, bend the right knee, stretch the right leg out along the mat.

Bend the left knee. The right leg is reaching that supporting leg on the mat. Reaches an inhale. Draw down in. Stretch in here and pulling into left. And two more pooling into lift. And one more pulling into lift.

We're going to take the right foot and we're going to cross it across towards the left side of the bar. We're going to keep it on the toes. The left leg is going to stretch down onto the mat. And then from here we're going to roll the pelvis off the mat, lifting the hip up in here. Exhale, feel that righto bleak. Draw down and place the pelvis back down on the mat and inhale, roll the pelvis up, lift the hip off the mat and exhale. Feel the leg dropping down. That right hip, reaching down away from the right.

Rinse and roll up and back and rural and back and roll. Wait a little higher each time and then dropping down into that hip stretch last time. Rolling up and dropping all the way back. Lifting the left leg off the mat, cross it across towards the right side of the bar. Place it on the bar, dropping the left hip down. We don't change the Yanco as we roll the HIPPA, lifting that side of the pelvis and then drawing that leg back down, allowing the spring to give us a little pressure and roll the hip set and rolling back to and again, lifting up and reaching down. We'll do two more. Rolling up and reaching heavily down last time. Here we roll. We drop the hip back down and then bend the knee and find the bar with the hands.

I'm going to back myself up so the Occipital Ridge of my skull is right at the edge of the mat. Taking the hands on the bar, we're going to lift the head and chest. From there we roll the spine up, working the abdominals, but also working the back extensors and coming into an upright position. Inhale, bend the elbows and straighten and then exhale. Drawing ourselves back down, feeling the shoulders. Reach away from the ears. Feel that deep flection through the front of the body and allow the body to come all the way back down onto the mat in how bringing the head in Chester. Exhale, hollowing and lifting.

Looking straight ahead of us as we rise up and find that flat spine. Bend the elbows. Keep the scapula broad, stretch the arms back up, and then roll the spine back down. Working in an oppositional resistance through the front of the body and allow the head to come down and inhale to lift and exhale to roll up. Reaching all the way. Pausing here as we come down, we're going to sly the knees in.

We'd get the lower back onto the mat. We're still pushing up on the bar. We listen, ease up, and we stretch the legs and pull and reach up and draw and reach. Ah, draw in and reach out and draw and reach a draw. And one more. Inhale and exhale. We set the feet down, they stretch out on the mat, and we take the head to the mat and inhale, bring the head up and rolling the spine up.

All the way reaching, finding that maximum back, extension, bend and stretch. And now as we Xcel, this time we're going to start to float the left leg. Float the left leg, bring the back down onto the mat, come down just off the shoulders that left. Leigh comes up to touch the bar and then goes away in here and lifts up. Press and in here. And we work those deep hip flexors and inhale and lift. Kick and in here, lift, kick.

And one more lift. Kick. Take the leg all the way down and lower the body all the way. And last time, lifting up, drawing in Halloween, deepening, finding their erect position. Bend and stretch. And then peel the spine down again. We're going to stop on the lower back. We're going to stop just above the shoulders.

We were meant to bring that right leg up, but there it is now and we take the right leg down and it kicks up and down and feel the front of the body stable and secure and in here. Lift up and are reaching. Now lift last two. Pulling into reach one pulling into reach, lowering the leg and lowering the body all the way. Taking the hands back to the vertical pulse, sliding the body out.

Find yourself all the way until your arms are straight and then reach up in place. The feedback underneath the bar, dropping down through the hips for the tower, pointing through the feet. Inhale and exhale. We lift up, rolling the spine up, lifting oh the weight in your bend. The knees control the springs. Stretch the legs back. Press forward on the bar, assuring yourself that you're helping control the springs with the hamstrings. Roll all the way down into a neutral pelvic position.

Flex the feet, point the feet on. Exhale to lift, rolling onto the shoulders. Inhale the knees bend and stretch. And we rolled out all the way drawing down, drawing down, seeing the knees facing straight ahead and flex and point roll up, reaching, reaching bend and stretch and her rolling down all the way Lauren, all the way down, right under the hips. Flex points and last one, rolling up, feeling the work in the back extensors, feeling the support through the front of the body. We then and stretch and are tickling fine all the way down. Reaching down, down, down, flexing the feet, reaching for the bar, giving ourselves just a little moment, a little stretch and bend the knees and take the feet down.

So we're going to take the spring off. We're going to take the bar down when you come back onto our back for some hip work. So lying down on the mat again, placing the feet into the straps, sliding out until the arms are straight again, pressing the arms against the Poles, bending the knees into a frog position. Tailbone is heavy. Ribs or heavy arms are actively pushing the bars. We stretch the legs out.

Exa and inhaling tobacco and feel that the fetus travel in a straight line. And then exhale, reach out. And Ben does the knees bend, tailbone reaches down between the legs, head press, and don't let the arms get lazy and press and the arms and the legs reach in the opposite direction from another. And then last one, you reach out. We pause there, separate the legs, keep the tailbone heavy as the legs come together at the top and touch and pressed down and open. Reaching out and around to touch and pressing to feel that before the legs start to move towards the Mat. The backside of the body is working, functioning.

Come all the way together and press and open and circle together. Touch, press and open and we'll do one more. Pressing down, reaching out and around and [inaudible] and then separate. Press down into together and lift through center arms strong, reaching away from the springs as we press down on the springs in hand, separate down [inaudible] together in here. Separate down and together, lifting up and open and Presta and in here and open and pressed down.

And we'll do three and open and reach chicken and lift and open and down. And C, gather last one here. Open down and together, bringing the legs up, bending the knees and taking the feet out of the springs, rolling to the side and coming up. So we're going to set up for some arm work. I've got my short yellow springs. I'm going to line them up as close as I can to level with my own shoulders.

Taking the roll down, bar off, setting up with some handles, holding the handles in the hands. We walked back. Creating as much or as little tension as we feel like will be a challenge for us. We're going to reach the arms towards the floor, find the alignment in the body and then the arms reach down and back and forward as the arms keep tension on the spring. All the time we feel as they go back the spine, lifting, traveling up and pressing back. Your arms are reaching down in space and pressing back arms, reaching down and in here and exhale, lifting long and tall through the body and reaching forward. And we'll do four and back.

And on the last three we press back first. We lift the heels rising up, we lower the heels down, but keep the head in so we stretch the whole spine. We get longer and taller and then we take the arms forward and again, exhale, press back, lifting the heels, reaching down and back all the time. Heels come down, head stays where it is. Spiny long gates, abdominals so poor and reaching forward. Last one. Don't lose your tension on your springs. Reach up.

It's a full body experience, a mental and physical connection all the time. I now we take the arms forward, exchange this handles. Bring the arms out to the side. Lean forward slightly into the springs. Find your tension. Inhale and exhale, bringing the arms across the front of the body and inhale, open, keeping the scapula abroad. Exhale, I like to think about being at the top of a cliff, a precipice we're reaching and just leaning off into the wind edge of a mountain on skis, about to take a flying leap and oh crap. Oppositionally or resisting or contracting.

As the springs come across front of the body, the abdominals pull back, the heels, anchor the body in place. We'll do two more pressing in and opening. And one pressing in front here. We'll lift the arms, reaching, feeling the whole spine, elongate, rotate in the Scapula, bringing the arms to the sides and bring the arms across the front of the body. And inhale, reaching up. Oh, open and exhale to come across and reaching up. Lengthen and lift. Open coming across reaching.

Oh, ah, oh. And feeling that beautiful work through the upper back. Last time. Lifting. Yeah. Roti and together. And now we take it in the reverse. We open, we lean through the hands as the arms reach all the way. And then you press forward and rotate and reaching long through the spine and pressing down and inhale and ah, and press in. Yeah.

And uh, and press three more times, lengthening through the chest, feeling the whiteness of the Scapula, but that natural beautiful rotational movement to reaching Ah, and last one, reaching and up and, and we bring the arms to the sides and we lean to the left. We take the top arm and reach over as that back spring reaches down. Keep it close to the by. Inhale. As we unwind back to lateral flection and exhale, coming home and inhale to rotate the by and exhale, spiraling knee arms, keeping both arms active, both springs active and then reaching around and coming back to center and inhale over and exhale, rotate. Get that deep reflection with rotation and unwind and find center and in. Yeah, and reaching around opening.

This is one of my very favorite exercises of stabilizing through the shoulders. One arm goes up and over. One arm comes up in back in how last time. Exhale, we reach around in how we come back and Xcel. We find center coming back up, right? We're going to take those arms springs off.

I'm to reach down and find my rent spring again. No, hook it to the bar. I'm on the second to the top of my choices of health. About to do a little balance work. We'll see how well I do. Good luck. So the arms are straight. A spine is straight. I'd like for us to take our right leg behind us and press down on the springs and lean slightly forward from that place.

The left leg is gonna lift. We're going to reach down with the bar, lift up through the lay pausing there, finding that standing scissor bed straight and then oral the knee into the chest. As the bar comes into the body, they come right in on top of the bar and then we reach the leg out. The bar goes down, down, down, inhale, bend and stretch. Keep that back leg active and exhale drawing in. If lifts up over the bar, we pike through the waist and then the bar goes back down and the whole leg stretches out an app reaching nice and high and we've been keeping the shoulders squared and stretch and Kurt tumor reaching, getting that nice high lift through the leg bet and stretch and round and a one more Yuri chat. We find the long line bend, stretch, curl, reach back out one last time, find that straight line and then hinge the body back up and step in. Woo. I'm pretty excited about my performance there.

I hope you did as well. We'll see what happens on the second side is always a different game. Always, always. Here we go. Right leg lifts. You reached down into that Bar, right? Legs, high pelvis is squared. We bet and stretch and [inaudible] around the spine. Knee coming up over the springs and reach back out.

Keep that back like very strong. Very lifted Ben and stretch and around the spine. Shoulder blades dropping and reaching back. Lay High, high, high bet. [inaudible] stretch. Curl, curl, curl to reaching out.

Lifting. Hi. Yeah. Stretch of dominoes into the spine and around the back. Shoulder blades down deep. Flection through the spine. Whole this level last time. Reach out. Oh, this is exciting. Bend and stretch.

Keep that back leg strong and around and reach out. Last one. Oh, he got that nice high leg hinge back up and step in. I'm going to sit down. He come up against the pulse, lifting the spine up for the side reach. Inhale here. Exhale, we roll the spine back. Deep Tuck, deep posterior rotation of the pelvis. Take the right arm off the bar, keep that roundness in the spine and reach to the side. Reaching out, reaching out, pressing through that right leg. XLF by Neil bleaks. As you come through center.

We're gonna pause and center and lift the sternum arching through the spine and we're going to lift the bar in here. Exhale round the spy. Think about the roundness happening. The lower spine more than the upper spine. The left arm leaves the bar, it reaches around going, going, going. That left leg is actively pressing into the bar. We exhale to come back and finds the bar. We're gonna press down on the springs and Jelly through the spy. Lift and look, and then lift the bar up.

One more time through round the lower spine chest stays lifted. Inhale that right on lift. Keep the pelvis steady this time. Take the right arm and reach around over the left arm. Reach back out to the side, come back to the bar and the left and right and left arm leave. Stretches. Left leg presses that left or reaches over the left year.

Cross the right side of the body across the right arm. It reaches back out again. It comes back to the bar. We lift up and home. Couple more exercise. Are you going to finish with some back extension? Take that Bar, lie on your front. [inaudible] bringing the forehead to the mat.

So we start by just lifting the head as the head lifts. Feel the shoulder blades slide down the back, feel that beautiful, reverse articulation of the spine. Keep the legs a little bit from a little bit from the back of the body, and then release the spine forward. And again, allow the head to left press like you're pressing a marble with the tip of your nose along the mat in front of you. Slide the arms backwards into the shoulder sockets. So we feel that the arms are lying, but the spring almost helps us up.

And then we take the bar down. I don't do that one more time. Had less spine follows eyes. Look in front of us in a whole this high lift of the body. We're going to bend the knees and he's lifting the back. Stretch the legs back out, lower the body down.

Now we bend the elbows, we start to stretch through the arms. The body starts to lift, but not all the way. We try to wait until the arms straighten all the way. And then lift the body up, reaching all the way up into that nice open stretch to the front of the body. We take the head through the arms, dropping the head. My name is stretched to the neck and we then the elbows wide to press the bar back forward in hilly Elvis.

Bet The arms street in the spine. Fall ups, lifting, lifting, lifting. We dropped back down, dropping the head, bending the arms and reaching through. We'll just do that one more time. Bend the elbows, stretch the arms. Leave your head behind. Once the arms are straight, the head comes.

We follow with the rest of the body. Strong legs. We're going to hold here. We're going to bend the knees again. Oh, it's a much bigger bend. Feel the whole front of the body opening. Bend the knees a little more, a little more. Stretch the legs back out. Draw up through the arms. Bend the elbows wide and lower the body down.

Take the bar in one hand, carefully release the spring. Press yourself up and then back toward your heels. Finding is stretch a well-deserved stretch at that and then tucking the toes under behind us. We'll press over our toes, reaching our energy down through our heels. We'll press the legs down and lift the hips up and roll the spine up. Heavy lifting all the way, reaching around and taking the arms up. Looking on.

Press the arms wide, opening the front of the body. Feel the reach through all of the the arms come down. We roll the spine down. Exhale, deepening through the center of the body for ending that Nice Pike like position. Trying not to, trying not to lean back at all in here and exhale your eyes back. Gotcha. Rising up and we are each a Lyft and open the oats I had around the spine. Rolling down, softening the knees this time, sweating the back, fully relax, fully release and rolling back up, allowing the legs to stretch. He near arms out and up, reaching for the sky and then opening and bringing the arms all the way down.

Then we're done.