New York Style Mat

Okay, today we are gonna do a pilates mat, the way I learned it in New York at a quick tempo. There are 22 exercises in the intermediate system. You wanna be very healthy. This isn't a class for you to move into each exercise or feel, get relaxing certain ones, it is for a great fluid movement where you feel like "ahh! I really got my blood pumping, I really worked out hard." You just feel very refreshed, cleansed, that's what you wanna feel. Energized after this.

So you definitely wanna come at it with that approach. Not a therapeutical, going to stretch out certain muscles, everything will stretching, everything will be working but you will be moving. Okay, if you need help, we just taped a class going over the transitions, the tutorial. You might wanna check that out first, to get comfortable with how do I move from one exercise to the next, so that you can keep up with this class. Alright, without any further ado.

We're gonna cross one arm over the other, lift your powerhouse in and up. Good, cross one foot in front of the other and lower yourself down to the mat keeping your energy up. You're gonna take your bottom back to the middle of the mat and lengthen out for the hundreds. So stretch out nice and long. And in one count lift your head, legs, and engaging that powerhouse, let's pump, inhale, two, three, four, five, exhale, two, three, four, five.

In with the air, back of the thighs squeezing down on those legs a little. Exhale, two, three, four, five. Go ahead and stretch that part out for me. Yeah! And exhale, two, three, four, five. You feel that upper belly holding these down?

Little lower with this for me. Good! And in, two, three, four, five. And exhale, two, three. Try to find a front line for you where your arches are pulling in your inner thighs and scooping in, yeah! Give me about two more. This is your only warm up.

Last one. And so, pull in, exhale, exhale, exhale, exhale. And lower your legs down to the mat, arms reaching up and back. And we're gonna go arms up, head, and you're gonna curl up and stretch forward. And rolling back like you're pulling back a heavy weight.

It's gonna be one continuous motion, so the breath is in with air and the head, and empty the lungs all the way forward. Inhale, rolling back. Exhale, all the way home. In with all the air to start the roll up. Exhale, to finish it as you stretch.

Inhale as you pull a big weight with the lower belly, exhaling all the way. Let's do four more. In with the air and exhale, stretching. Beautiful! Back of the thighs, squeezing your legs away. Good.

And three more. In with the air, feel the upper belly pull in and exhaling and rolling back, feel your inner thighs, pelvic floor, lower belly. Let's do two more. Arms, head, and scooping in. Good! Really make sure you get an upper back, keep moving, rolling back, an upper back stretch here.

You're gonna reach up and back. Arms lift, then your head. Last one, scooping in, reaching forward. You're thinking about the next exercise. Rolling.

So squeeze those legs straight, feeling, press 'em into the mat. We're gonna do single leg circle, the right leg goes right up and stretch it, pulling it, good. Arms press down by your side, and cross around up, cross around up, three more. Left leg is pressing into the mat. Do make sure your hips are square.

Last one and reverse. And stretch out that hip flexor. Yeah, reach it out. Good, get that sinking in. Two more.

Beautiful. Last one. Good, and to switch, it's right leg down, left up, and stretch, stretch, stretch. The right leg is now down the middle of your body, arms by your side, and cross around and up. Keep that leg high as you go.

And you're gonna cross around, two more. And stretch, around up. Last one. Cross around, reverse. Down, all the way up to your nose.

Down, the arms are really pressing into the mat. Two more. Reach around, scooping in. One last one. Kick me all the way over here.

Okay, left leg down, lift your head up with your powerhouse. And roll up to a seated position. Lift your bottom forward. Get ready for rolling like a ball. And we're gonna inhale, roll back.

Exhale, roll up, good. In with the air. And exhale. So there's four more reps. Your breath should always be at least able to do the hundred, which is inhaling for five counts, exhaling for five counts.

And rolling back. I lost count, how many more do we have? Is that already done? One more! And exhale, hold. Keep your lower belly in, head almost between those knees.

Rest your feet down on the mat. Lift your bottom back to the middle of the mat, and get ready for single leg stretch. Bringing the right knee with you, the left leg lifts to a 45 degree angle, and switch. And switch. It's right, and left.

Five more sets here. Squeeze that left cheek. Squeeze that right cheek. Scoop it in. Stretch that hip.

Yes, gorgeous! That's it. Three more sets. Right. And left. There we go.

Scoop. And last one, shoulders a little lower. And double leg stretch, bring in both knees. Grab both ankles and inhale. Reach.

And pull yourself together. And inhale, squeeze those legs. And exhale. Take those legs as low to the ground as you can hold your belly in. Exhale.

Slide 'em straight from the back of the thighs and seat, and in. Two more here. Reaching long. And in. One more and we'll do single straight leg.

Reach. And pull it in. Right leg up, left leg forward. And switch. And switch.

Heads up, yes. Switch. And switch. Find the back of those thighs again. Switch.

Good and right. And left. And right. And left. Two more.

Right. And left, last set. Double straight leg here. Both legs up, hands behind your head. And lengthen those legs out of your waist.

And scoop it in. And reach. And scoop it in. And from here, stretch those hips. And in.

And squeeze down and scoop it in. Two more. Lengthen, feel the hips, feel the back legs. Up. One more.

Use your upper belly to push your head into your hands. Hold and bend the right knee, twist, two, three, and switch. Come up as high as you can for me, Brianna. And switch. Curl up, up, up.

Good effort. Last time. And hug both knees into your chest. Quickly assume spine stretch forward. Up we go, arms up, and (inhaling) and exhale down.

(exhaling) Like I said your breathing should be like the hundred. Inhaling up, two, three, four, five. Inhaling right and exhale down, two, three, four, five. And inhale. And exhale down.

So you don't need an extra breath at this tempo once you're up there. And inhaling up, two, three, four, and exhale down. One vertebra at a time and inhaling up. And exhale down. And last time, inhaling up.

Try to keep pulling into your-- Pull back. Good, dear, get that lower belly, yes! Transition into open leg rocker. You rock back in your pelvis, legs float. Right up and rocking back, inhale roll back, exhale right on up. Keep trying to pull in and up.

Onto those sit bones if you can. Inhale roll back, exhale upper stomach and then keep using your lower belly to pull in and up, up, up. And look down at your lower belly to roll, good! Exhaling up, pull in, sorry. That's better, and pull away from me to roll back. Beautiful! And up we go, keep it in, use it, excellent! Two more.

In with the air. Exhale, scoop it in. Just came over, threw you off balance. (laughing) One more. In with the air.

And let me see it, come on girls, all the way up as much as you can on those sit bones. Beautiful! Squeeze your legs together and you're ready for corkscrew. Leave the legs there. Roll your back down. Bring the legs up to 90 degree right there.

And let's circle to the right. Around and left. And to the left, around. Good, find the back of the thighs and the hips. Big circle! We want to at some time get advanced, so hold your belly in and drop your legs far right.

Far down. Far left and center. And far left, far right. Good, and sit up quickly for saw. You go "fooop!" Arms out.

And twist to your right. Always keep your powerhouse. Exhaling and down. Look at your belly, pull it in. Pull it in, pull it in.

Inhale, stacking up your spine. Twist to your left. Keep weight on both hips as you exhale down. Keep weight on your right hip for me. Pull in right there, there you go.

And inhaling, up, twist. And exhaling. Good, okay, cracking your shoulder now. And rolling up, beautiful. And twist.

Much nicer here, Julianna, love it! And up. And that's three, I believe or one more set? And going down, (laughing) no one's saying anything. And roll up. Twist, go taller if you can.

And exhale, scoop it in. Look at your belly and make it pull back. Roll on up and one count, you're gonna bring your legs together and flip onto your belly with your hands under your shoulders. We're ready for neck roll. And we're gonna roll up our head, lengthening our spine from our powerhouse and look over your right shoulder.

Circle the head down to your left and look forward. Look to your left, around, to your right and look forward with your bottom engaged and belly in, lengthen your spine, down. Now that position is great for some people, but we're gonna make your hands go a little forward, Brianna, yup, and same with you, Julianna. A little forward and a little out. Okay, and squeeze your bottom.

Scoop your belly in and we're gonna come up. Lifting your chest, good. And lifting, go as straight as you want, doesn't have to come all the way but these are where I want your shoulders. Look left first. Down, around.

Right and look forward. You're good. And look right. Around, lift up your chest more than your shoulders. And lengthen down.

That looked better. Single leg kick. Bring those elbows forward, knuckles together. And your right leg is kicking one, two, left two. Press your pubic bone down into the mat, make your belly lift.

Right two. Left two. Try to lift the thigh and the knee up off the mat as you kick your head. One more set. Right two.

Lift up out of your chest more. And double leg kick. Right cheek on the mat, both legs are squeezing up. And kicking, one, two, three. Legs are down, body's up, up, up.

And switch cheeks, kick. Two, three, and legs are down, body's up, up, up. And switch cheeks, lift, two elbows down. And there we go, good! And one more side, and kick. Lift those thighs up and knees, good for you! And legs down, nice! You get a little rest, round your back, sit on your heels.

It's not one of the 22 exercises, so we'll just add this as the 23rd. We're gonna do neck pull. You're gonna flip over quickly, lie on your back with your hands behind your head. Legs are parallel, hip width apart. Feet flexed.

In with the air to lift your head. Empty your lungs as you roll all the way to kiss your toes. Inhale, roll up your spine, stacking it up. If you can keep straight, your belly in, hinge back and then curl the rest down. And in with the air.

And exhale all the way forward. Inhale lifting up from your belly. And going back squeezing, lifting, lifting, good, and curl the rest down. And in with the air. And exhaling forward scooping in all the way to kiss your knees.

And in with the air, up, keep inhaling as you go back. Pull this with you, squeezing from here. Yes, and curl the rest down. Excellent. Three more.

In with the air. Exhale, pull those toes back. All the way down. Inhale, sit up tall. Exhale, push those heels.

Try to touch each other with those heels, you're squeezing, pushing 'em from the heels. And two more. And in with the air. Exhale, pulling in your belly to stretch your back. Stack your spine up.

Find that seat and push your heels away as you would lengthen, curl the rest down. One last one, in with the air. Empty your lungs, all the way to kiss your knees. Inhale, roll up tall. And back of the thighs, scooping in, scoop more, yes! And curl.

Side kicks now. Onto your side, let's all face this way. Feet forward on your back elbow, lift the top leg. Let's bring your feet just a little forward. And reach it long and kick forward, and take it back.

And forward. And back. Let's do eight more. Julianna, can you keep your foot relaxed? And go, good.

And turn your knee towards the ceiling for me, thank you. And now use this as you go back, oh yes, and keep the knee up, thank you. And we're gonna keep the knee, yes! And as you go back, we're gonna scoop in more, oh good, and two more. I always lose count here, let's do one more. But now I loved how your hip changed there.

And we're gonna push up with here, and squeeze those inner thighs. And up. And squeezing. And up. And pulling in and up, up, up, yeah! Feel a great lower back stretch as your belly pulls in and up.

And two, and squeezing, and finding it. Yeah, one more. Reaching long. Hold and five circles. One, two, three, four, five.

Reverse it, watch that knee, Julianna. Three, longer leg, good! Alright, legs down. Lift the legs as you roll onto your belly and make a small pillow for your forehead, squeezing those legs up for inner thigh beats here we go. 20. One, two, three, four, five, Get those legs higher, squeeze your bottom into the mat.

Pull your belly in. Five, four, three, two, roll to your other side. Extend that elbow, feet are forward. Top leg lifts up, reaches out long, a little tilt of the knee up. Relaxed foot, and here we go.

Kick it forward. And back of the thigh and seat. Good! And forward. Both of you are lifting your leg up as you go back. Try to keep it at the same level as your hip, and taking it back.

That's it! And forward. And from here instead, yes! And five, and taking it back. Beautiful! And four. Yeah, love it! Three. Turning the knee up just a tiny, yes! And two.

Good, last time. And pulling in and legs are together. Outer thigh pushes up, inner thigh squeezes down. And up, pull your belly in and up, so you really feel long spine. Up, and lengthen the leg longer than your bottom one.

Yes, and up. And squeezing it down, let's do two more. Bottom, yes, one more time. It's up and every, two different energies and hold. Five little circles, one, two, three, four, five, reverse.

Put a little zip into it, yeah! And relax. Lie onto your back, hug your knees into your chest. You're getting ready for the teaser. Pulling in your belly into your back, your legs are gonna extend straight out to a 45 degree angle, arms reach back. Really scoop in your belly, inhale, lift your head and roll on up.

Good and roll, scoop, scoop, yes! I'm gonna let you find your own balance. Two more. Scoop it in. Touch my shoulders. Use your belly.

I love it! Roll on down. Fantastic, one more ladies. Exhale, exhale, keep trying to touch your feet. And roll down, hug your knees into your chest. Good.

Put your feet on the mat, slide your legs straight, and you're gonna pull your belly in to lift your head up. Roll up to a seated position, lift your bottom forward. And we're gonna end with six seals and then stand up. Slide back just a little, thank you. And arms between your legs, hands under the ankles.

Clap, two, three. Inhale, roll back, clap, two, three. Exhale, roll up, try to keep your eyes on your lower belly as you roll back, feet almost to the mat. A little looser, yes! Four more. Lower back first.

And exhaling up. Pull this back into the ahh! And forward. Feet lower, lower, and rolling back. And up. And this is your last one, rolling back.

Let go of your ankles, cross your ankles and roll to a standing position. Great! Step down on to the floor. Good, and you're gonna reach your arms up to the ceiling. Get your pilates stance and exhale. Exhale all your air, turn your palms out.

Press the earth away as you inhale, lift through your body. And exhale. And walk away with beauty and grace because you're all done! Nice job, ladies! Good work, thank you!