Magic Circle Exploration

Welcome to Pilates Anytime. I'm Elizabeth Larkam, delighted to be back with you in now my seventh year, which is surely an indication that the practice of pilates makes you younger. We're filming in early January of 2018, and the Southern California fires, the Thomas fire, is just barely contained, so we'd like to send heartfelt wishes for well-being to all the people affected by the fires. Today's class uses the ring. It uses just one ring, but I wanted to point out to you that rings now come in different sizes, so if you feel more comfortable on some exercises with a smaller ring, by all means use it.

I'll be using the standard size ring, and I'll be using just one ring, recognizing that, of course if you have two, you can combine them on some of the exercises and I'll point out to you when that's the case. Here you are, lying on your back on the mat, and put the ring around the outside of your knees, have your heels in line with your greater trochanter, and your arms on the ground, either palms down or palms up as it suits you, with the idea that your sacrum, the convex aspect of your sacrum is heavy on the mat. Rest your lungs toward the back of your rib basket, and sending your knees away, lift off in a neutral bridge, lengthening the length of your back along the ground. Land this and we'll take three more of these, sending your knee away, it's a neutral bridge, and coming down. Have the idea that the front of your hip joints are opened to see the ceiling above you.

This time you'll come up and stay up. While you are up, lift one heel up and put it down. Other heel up and down. Keeping your pelvis and ribs in the same arrangement, not letting your pelvis wobble both heels up and down and, up and, each time your heels lift, intensify the connection of your ribs to your pelvis. Stay up in dorsi flexion, lift up one forefoot, F-O-R-E foot, and the other.

Whoops, just one foot at a time, don't jump ahead, no, don't jump ahead. Now, lift up both heels and all toes. Both heels up and toes up. Twice more, heels up, and toes up, and heels up. While you are up, alternate in a reciprocal motion, one heel and the other forefoot, for the moment, keeping up pelvis level and steady.

Now, turn your pelvis, rotate in the direction that your forefoot is lifting. Turn and turn your pelvis, turn your navel. When you turn to the right, send your left knee away. When you turn to the left, send your right knee away. Four more of these, rotate, collecting your lower ribs toward your pelvis, on the diagonal.

Land your pelvis. Inhale to prepare. As you exhale, send your knees away, come up in a neutral bridge and now it's a lateral translation. Shift your pelvis to one side and shift to the other. Lengthen the side of the waist to which you were going.

You can envision a parallelogram, so that the pelvis slides to the left of the ribs, the pelvis slides to the right of the ribs. Lengthen the side of the waist to which you were going. Now, we'll have lateral translation and rotation. Lateral translation and rotation. Shift, rotate, shift, rotate, twice more, shift, rotate, shift, rotate.

This has been rotation towards the ground. Now we'll take rotation towards the ceiling. Shift, turn your ASIS in an arc up to the ceiling. In order to help this out, I like to lift my eyebrows, open my eyes wider so after you do this exercise, you just might need more Botox. I haven't had any, okay, come down now.

Now we'll take a figure eight for which we've been preparing. It's a neutral bridge, rotate, translate, come up. Rotate, translate, arc. Shift, rotate, come up, rotate, translate. Twice more, down, around and up, down around and up.

And over curve up over and down, up over and down. Rotate to go into extension and rotation. Twice more of these. Land your pelvis in neutral. And now it's a single leg neutral bridge.

Stand firmly on two feet and two shoulders as you exhale, one leg lifts. Exhale, other end. Twice more. Now fortunate for us, our arms are on the ground, providing additional stability. That was then and this is now.

Press your palms against each other. As you send your heels outward, lift your pelvis up in a bridge, good luck to us. Preparing to lift your left leg, press your right hand to the left. That will provide some additional stability. Preparing to lift your right foot, press your left hand into your right had.

Anchor your right foot, send your right hand to the left, lift your left foot, anchor your left foot, send your left hand to the right, and land your pelvis. Lateral translation with single leg lift. Lift your pelvis up, shift to the right, stay on the right, and lift your inside leg, your left foot. Shift more to the right, stand on your left foot and lift your outside leg. Shift to the left, lift your inside legs, shift more to the left and lift your left leg.

Come down from here now. If you note that you are winding your way headward onto the mat, it's nothing wrong with you, remember just blame the environment. It's just the fact that your ground forces through your feet are pressing you up towards your head and if you're going to stay center under your overhead mirror at home, you need to get with the program. Okay now, I'm putting one ring, putting the ring on the sole of the ball of your foot. Having your palms toward you.

Here you are in a neutral single leg bridge, and while you are up, rotate your pelvis and your leg will turn an external rotation. Rotate your pelvis to internal rotation. Turn your pelvis to the left, turn your toes, your knee to the left, turn your pelvis toward the right, your knee to the right. Rotate, turning your pelvis around the head of your femur. Twice more, turn and, turn and, turn and, change.

Take the ring on the new foot, the sole of the ball of your foot. Make sure your palms are towards you. If your palms are, let's see, if your hands are on top, fingers pointing down, that will bring your shoulders up. If you turn your palms fingernails aiming towards you, that will help to keep your shoulders down. Lift your pelvis straight up in a neutral bridge.

Externally rotate toes to the right, knees to the right, and rotate to the left. So your sacrum, your navel, your toes and your knees face to the right. Your sacrum, your navel, your knee, your toes aim to the left. Turning your pelvis around the head of your supporting femur, aiming your sitting bone toward your inner ankle bottom. Hours of entertainment in neutral bridging, let's go now to putting the ring behind the base of your skull.

Elbows wide to the side. Inhale to prepare, as you exhale, widen between your shoulder blades, bring your gaze down, your nose down, your tongue into your lower lip and roll your head, neck and shoulders up, bringing your gaze to your knees, towards your pelvis, towards your inner thighs. As you roll down, sustain a neutral spine, and elbows wide to the side. Inhale to prepare, as you exhale, widen between the shoulder blades, eyes down, nose down, tongue down, roll your head, neck and shoulders up. While you're up, turning, rotating to the light from your chest bone, aims towards the right.

Rotating so the light from your chest bone aims toward the left. Twice more, putting weight on the back of your left pelvis as you turn to the right, and having your eyes lead the way, and your lung follows to the left, putting weight on the back of your right pelvis. Come to the center, roll your shoulders, ribs, shoulders, neck and head down. Put the ring now between your inner thighs, wiping your heels outwards and your toes towards each other. Inhale to prepare.

As you exhale, aim your inner knees towards each other, broaden across the back of your pelvis, and articulating in a posterior pelvic tilt, let's find flexion, come on up. Rest the back of your lungs to the back of your ribs and roll down your spine, each rib, ring, and each vertebrae getting its own turn. Inhale to prepare. As you exhale, aim your sitting bones in the direction of the back of your knees, the back of your ribs, the back of your lungs are heavy. Rolling up your spine.

While you're up, rotate, turning your pelvis with a slight posterior pelvic tilt and spine flexion. Adding the articulation of your ankles as if your pelvis, I was gonna say as if your pelvis were taking a walk, but don't be thinking about walking holding a ring in between your inner thighs, I don't think so. Roll your spine down. Interlace your fingers and cradle the back of your head, the back of your neck. Inhale to prepare.

As you exhale, peel your pelvis and spine up, standing high between your shoulder blades. While you are up, nod your nose downward, and as your head, neck and shoulders come up, you replace to the ground the back of your ribs, the back of your lungs, the back of your waist, the back of your pelvis. While you are up, peel your pelvis and spine up as your hips come up, your ribs, shoulders, neck and head come down. Again, starting your head, shoulders, neck up. So both ends are up, or one end is up.

But at no time are both ends down. You could, by the way, do this with one ring behind your head and one between your inner thighs. Now, as you roll your head, neck and shoulders up to the right, turn your pelvis to the left and come down. As your pelvis comes up, rotating to the left, the shoulders, neck and head come down to the right. As you rotate your upper body towards the left, you turn your pelvis towards the right, maintaining your pelvis to the right, your shoulders, neck and head come down.

Taking your upper body in one direction, and your lower body in the other. Lower body keeping that direction, upper body coming back to the middle. Rotate, rotate. Rotate, rotate. Roll your shoulders, neck and head down.

Roll your hips down, let go of the ring, and just recenter on the mat. Your next section, we'll be using the ring to facilitate hamstrings stretches. So put the ring on the sole, the ball of your foot, the sole of your toes, aiming your palms towards you. You could start with your outstretched leg bent. Bend your knee, drawing your thigh towards you and then send both heels away from you.

As you inhale, you bend both knees, a little bit of neural flossing, as you exhale, you straighten out both legs. Using the weight of your hands, the weight of your arms to draw the ring, enhance your foot, your leg closer to you. Aiming your sitting bone towards the opposite ankle bone. Now, crossing over the midline, you have adduction, A-D-duction. Use this arm for a counter balance.

Inhale to bend, exhale to extend. Still aiming this sitting bone towards the opposite ankle bone. Have the idea that you could pull the little toe side of your foot in the direction of your ear. I can't hear you, my toe is in my ear. Now change, change arms, carry the ring away from center into abduction, counter balancing with your arm here.

Inhale to bend both knees, exhale to extend. Inhale to bend. You could continue with that variation or take your arm high above your head, inhale to bend. Exhale to extend. Inhale to bend.

Change to the new side now, lasso your new foot. Palms towards you, fingernails aiming down. Inhale to bend, as you exhale, send your heels away from each other, still aiming your sitting bone towards the opposite ankle bone. Crossing over the midline. Counter balancing with one arm.

And then change arms, change to abduction, carrying away from the midline, inhale to bend. Exhale to extend. Take your arm up off the top of your head, and bend here, carry on, and bend here. Come to the center, and now roll to either side and make your way up to sitting. Here you are seated.

Let's take on the spine twist. Put the ring at the bottom of your ribcage, the bottom of your sternum, so the ring is on bone but not on belly. Aim your fingernails towards each other. You could have the idea that you're holding the ring with the little finger side of your hand, your arm, and the little finger side of your shoulder blade. So your shoulder blades are down as opposed to up, okay.

Anchoring your left sitting bone as you inhale, turn the ring, turn your lungs, turn your ribs to face in the direction of your right toes. Come back to center, anchor your right sitting bone, press down with your right sitting bone, and as you inhale, turn your right lung in front to the left, your left lung behind you to the right. Come back to the middle as you anchor your left sitting bone, move your gaze to the right so you rotate around your central axis and come back to center. Inhale, anchoring your right sitting bone and you turn your gaze to the left corner of your eye sockets. Now as you turn your ribs and your ring to the right, turn your head, neck and eyes to the left.

As you turn your lung, your ribs, your ring to the left, turn your head, neck and eyes to the right. Anchor your left sitting bone, turn your chest bone, your ribs to the right, turn your head, neck and eyes to the left, come back to the middle. As you anchor your right sitting bone, turn your lung, your ribs, your ring to the left. Your head, neck and eyes to the right. We'll continue with the saw.

As you inhale, anchor your left sitting bone, turn your ribs, shoulders, head, neck and eyes to the right. As you exhale, have the idea that your left cheekbone is going to come towards your right hip joint. Your left ear listens in the direction of your right knee. Come up to center, anchor your right sitting bone, turn your ribs, shoulders, head, neck and eyes to the left and now bring your right ear to listen towards your left knee, the right cheekbone of your face towards your left hip joint. Inhale, anchor your left sitting bone, turn to the right.

As you exhale, side bend, rotate, come a little closer to your pelvis, anchor your right sitting bone, turn left, and then bring your ear to listen towards your sitting bone. With your thumbs on the inside of the ring and your fingers on the outside, take the ring high above the back top of your head, as you anchor your left sitting bone, turn your ribs, shoulders, head, neck and eyes, eyes moving up and to the right, ring moving up and back behind you, center, anchoring your right sitting bone, turning your ribs, your lungs to the left, turning your eyes up and to the left also. Turn your palms so they face outward, palms out, shoulders down. As you inhale, rotate. Standing or sitting a little bit taller through your spine, anchoring your right sitting bone, rotating up and around to the left, bring the ring high above the back top of your head.

Having your thumbs pulling outwards, inhale to rotate. As you exhale, turn your cheekbone, your ear to listen towards your right knee, bring the ring in the direction of your right foot, thumbs pull outward, you rotate. As you exhale, listen towards your knee, rotate, and lasso your left foot. Inhale to rotate, exhale. Rotation more and side bending and flexion.

Anchor your right sitting bone, turn left, exhale. And come up. Come now to lie on your side. Come to lie on your side with the ring on the outside of your knees, pressing your knees outward into the ring and while you're here, send your heels towards the ceiling and then heels towards the ground. As your heels go to the ceiling, press your shoulder into the mat, lift up your ribs and lift up your waist.

Pressing your shoulder so you're rotating at your hip joints. Internal and external rotation. While your heels go to the ceiling, lift your ribs to the ceiling and when your heels go to the ground, lift your ribs off the floor, so you have this caterpillar-like motion inside, lying. Change now to the new side. Put the ring on the outside of your knees, come to lie on your side.

Interlacing your fingers, palms together, fingers interlaced, press the floor hand up towards the ceiling, internal rotation and external rotation, heels towards the ceiling and heels towards the ground. Accompany this with the motion of your ribs, ribs down, heels up, ribs up, heels down. Ribs down, heels up, ribs up, heels down. All the while pressing your floor hand up to the ceiling hand. Now on the first side again, this time the ring will go between your shins just above your ankles.

Come to lie on your side. Press your palms together, fingers interlaced, in line with the bottom of your chest bone. While you're here, press your shoulder into the mat so you lift up your ribs and lift up your waist. Bring your feet a little forward in hip flexion. Point your feet, take your legs a little bit back.

Exhale to come forward, inhale to come back. Exhale, forward, inhale, back. Exhale, forward, collect from pubic bone up underneath your chest bone. Now keeping your floor arm steady, flex those feet, lift both legs and slide your fingers towards your knee. Side bending from the top down and from the bottom up.

Change to the new side. The ring goes between your shins just above your ankles. And you come to lie on your side. Wear your mic box if you're wearing your mic box today. Press your palms, your lower palm into your upper palm and bring your legs a little forward in hip flexion and a little back in hip extension.

Heels lead the way forward, toes lead the way back. Heels forward, toes back. Heels forward, toes back. Now, flex both feet, lift your legs, lift your torso, and come down. Lift your legs, lift your torso, and down, twice more.

Come onto your front now and you'll have the ring in your hands, very close to the top of your head, as if you had your own submarine window. So here you are. Looking out at the world, the ring is very near the top of your head but not behind your head. You could tuck your toes under or not. As you inhale, lift your elbows up.

As you exhale, aim your elbows towards the ground, push the thumbs down into the handles and use the assistance of your arms to come up, up, up in the direction of thoracic extension. And bring yourself down. Inhaling, feet point, elbows wide. As you exhale, dorsal flex your feet, come up and up and up and up. While you are up, turn the ring and yourself to one side.

Turn the ring and yourself to the other side. Come to the center, come a little bit higher and bring yourself down. Inhaling, elbows wide. As you exhale, lift your lower ribs, middle ribs, upper ribs, push your thumbs down, bend one knee, turn the ring so you look over your shoulder to see your foot waving at you. Come down.

Inhaling, elbows wide. As you exhale, elbows narrow, bending one knee, turning your ribs and the ring. Where is that foot? Sometimes you need a rear-view mirror. Come down, inhaling, elbows wide.

As you exhale, bend both knees, cross your shins, cross your ankles, come up. Eyes up, gaze up, tongue up. Come on up. And come on down. Now, we'll take some more prone extension, but this time the ring will be off the ground.

Aiming your elbows wide and lifting up, push with your left foot, point your right foot, and go to the right. Push with your right foot, lift your left toes and go to the left. Left foot makes an anchor as you side bend to the right. Right foot makes an anchor as you side bend to the left. Aim your heels wide apart.

As you exhale, push, lift up the ring, aim both legs up and rotate and rotate. And rotate, and rotate. Put the ring down now and come on up onto all fours. Here you are on all fours with the ring around your elbows, so your elbows are pushing outward into the ring. Plant your right hand down and hover your left hand off the ground.

Plant your left hand down and hover your right hand. As your right hand makes the ground force, you bring your left lung in the direction of the ceiling. As your left hand makes a ground force, you bring your right hand, your right lung in the direction of the ceiling, so you take turns, a bit of thoracic rotation. Now, when you hover your right hand off, hover your left knee off. When you hover your left hand off, hover your right knee, so you take turns, right hand hovers, left knee hovers.

Left hand hovers, right knee hovers. Twice more, leading your PSISs upwards towards the ceiling. Last two, and last one. Now, put the ring around your knees. And here you are with the ring around your knees.

Planting your palms wide, your fingers spread, anchor your right kneecap and hover your left knee, left shin, left foot, and hover. Now you're turning your pelvis and your lumbar spine. Sacrum and navel towards the left, sacrum and navel towards the right. Plant your left hand, hover your left knee up. Plant your right hand, hover your right knee up.

As your pelvis turns to the left, hover your right hand, right lung up. As your pelvis turns to the right, hover your right knee, your left hand, rotate, turning your pelvis, and your thorax in opposite directions. Twice more, once each side. For the kneeling side leg kick, have the ring in one hand and reach the arm far away from you so you balance but lightly on the ring. Start with your knee flexed and ankle flexed.

Inhale to come forward, exhale to go back. Inhale to come forward, balancing primarily on just one knee. Fingers out, stretched, will help to give you a little bit more outreach in the space and can help to improve your balance. Now we'll take this kneeling side leg circles. Forward and back.

Reverse, point your foot to go back, flex it to come forward, point to go back, flex to come forward. Let's take this much to the new side. Reach the ring far to the side and cartwheel over the head of your femur, palm wide, fingers spread. Inhale to come forward in flexion, exhale to come back in extension. Forward and back and, and your circles.

Bent knee circles up and around, forward, up and around, and toes point to the back, dorsal flexion to come forth, toes point to the back and come forth. Now we'll take a straight leg kick, reach your arm out wide to the side, tilt over and with your foot flexed, and your knee straight, point forward as you take your leg to the back, draw your lowest front ribs in, forward and, and back and, leg circle, forward, up and around to the back. Forward, up and around to the back. Reverse back, up and around to the front. And back, up and around to the front.

Change to the new side. Reach out. Lift up your lower ribs, your waist, forward and, and back and, and forward and, and back. Leg circle, forward, up and around to the back. Forward, up and around.

Reverse, back to front. Sweep back to front. Come to lie on your back now. Here you are lying on your back with your heels in line with your sitting bones, and you'll have your thumbs on the inside of the ring for the roll-up. Take the ring towards the ceiling.

Anchor your shoulder blades in the direction of the ground. And now, as you inhale, pull outwards with your thumbs, settle the back of your low ribs, and take the ring high above your head. As you inhale, shrug your shoulders way up, hide your neck with your lifted shoulders. As you exhale, pull outwards with your thumbs, downwards with your shoulders. Sweep the ring forward in front of your chest bone.

Tongue up, tongue down, eyes down. Gaze down, nod your nose down and roll your head, neck and shoulders up, aiming your gaze to your toes, to your knees, to your pelvis. Take the ring forward of your feet. Inhale, or in the direction of your feet, as you exhale, come to vertical, thumbs pulling outward, shoulders drawing downward. Nod your nose downward and roll back, bringing your gaze across the wall in front of you across the floor, across your abdominals.

Inhaling, pulling outwards with your thumbs. As you exhale, cross your right ankle over your left ankle and turn your torso towards the right. So your pelvis is aiming towards the left, and your chest bone is aiming towards the right and you bring the ring towards the outside of your feet, to the right side of your feet. Come to vertical and then roll down, eyes down, nose down, tongue down, pulling outwards with the ring. Change to the new side, cross your left ankle on top of your right ankle.

As you exhale, turn your pelvis to the right, your ribs to the left. Roll your head, neck and shoulders up. Taking the ring to the left side of your feet. Come up, turn a little bit more and roll down your spine. Bending both knees, put the ring on the inside of your ankles, arms by your sides, inhale to prepare.

As you exhale, dorsiflex your feet. Lead up and back with your heels, doing a roll over, stand wide between your shoulder blades, and then turning your arms palms up, fingers towards the ceiling, roll down your spine. Vertebrae gets its own turn. At this juncture you could bend your knees, point your feet and then reach your legs out long. Inhale to prepare.

As you exhale, take the ring towards the ceiling, palms up, sitting bones up, roll up to stand high between your shoulder blades, bend your elbows, bring your fingers towards the ceiling. Have the idea of internally rotating, aiming your toes towards the midline and make your way down from here, roll your head, neck and shoulders up and make your way all the way up to sitting. Let's come to standing now. In standing now, you'll have the ring just above your ankles between your shins. Have the idea that the tops of your inner thighs could come closer towards each other and you have a little bit more weight on the big toe side of your foot, definitely not to the little toe side of your foot.

Collect towards the midline and up. Bend both knees now, steering your knees forward over your third toes and then send the back top of your head towards the ceiling. Inhale to bend. As you exhale, draw the tops of your inner thighs towards each other. Now exhale to lower, inhale to rise.

And pressing your inner thighs towards each other, continue going up and up and up. Exhale to lower. Inhale to rise. Bringing the tops of your thighs towards the midline, coming right out through the back top of your head. As you bend both knees, rotate, turn, your knees are going forward but your pelvis, rib, shoulders, neck, head and eyes were rotating.

You come through the middle, as your knees go forward, pelvis, rib, shoulders, neck, head and eyes are turning. As your knees go forward, turn your pelvis, ribs, shoulders, knees, head and eyes, come back through the middle and then rise to your toes. The top of your head keeps going up, as you lower and bend your knees forward. Come through the middle, rise, the back top of your head goes up, and it keeps going up as you lower. Take the ring now and place the ring against the outside of your pelvis against your greater trochanter.

Shift your pelvis towards the right, pushing your pelvis into the ring and hover your left foot off the ground. Again, inhale to shift, exhale to hover. This time, shift to the right, hover your left heel and hover the right heel also up and down. But don't cheat with that left big toe. Keep your tongue up, maybe that'll help.

Maybe. Put the ring to the outside of your left greater trochanter. Push inwards with your hand, shift your pelvis lateral translation to the left, and hover your right foot. Come back to the middle, left shoulder comes down towards your left fingers, hover your right foot. Inhale to shift, exhale to anchor and lift, and you might need a little help from your right foot, but then again, you might not.

Put the ring on its handle, and put your left foot, the sole of your ball of your left foot on the ring handle. Here you are, bending your right knee, aiming your left sitting bone toward your right ankle. Let's get focused now, shall we? Okay, so, hover above the ring. That's right.

And then hover your right heel a little bit up, a little bit up, a little bit up, and a little bit up. Change to the new side, plant the sole of the ball of your right foot onto the ring and press down on the ring just a little bit to remind your right leg that it has some life in it and your left leg has to be responsible for its balance. And then perhaps you hover your left foot a little bit up. Just your left heel, a little bit up. Thank you so much for joining us.

Thanks for living through this with me. Thank you so much to Pilates Anytime. I'll look forward to being with you the next time. Bye!