Centering Reformer Flow

Hi everyone here for a reformer workout today. All we'll need as a small ball for the prop no box today on balanced body. I'm setting us up for foot work. I have three red and a blue. So go ahead and set what you'd like to set yourself up with. We'll use the ball right away for some, um, really a ball today for feedback in midline connection. So the, you'll see it a lot of exercises between the ankle and between the knee and also between the high inner thigh. Okay.

So really just wanting to bring us into our center, our midline, and hopefully off of the outer line of her quads and our hip flexors. So let's start actually with heels parallel. Look up and make sure that your feet are parallel and the ball is right there between the ankles and give it a con a squeeze, a hug, if you will, and use that from your sit bones just a little bit and your inner thighs. All right, so let's take a deep breath and I'm going to exhale today as we push little check and bring it in. We'll take our 10 yeah, man. Soon as you're working the ball and the feedback of it, do you try to keep it steady? It'll move a little bit of course, because it's round and press and think. Get a lifting those shins right there.

Lifting the shins. Nine okay. And 10 and then we'll come on in. Step right down to the balls of the feet. Try to feel the spreading of the balls of the feet. Take a quick peak. You're all in parallel. And then continue and press.

Try and, and keep those heals in one height so you're not letting them drop or pick them up too much higher than they are now. Neutral pelvis in your alignment, their shoulders easy and back. Seven Kelly spreading the toes. Okay. Nine when I haven't. Stay out on this. Next one, 10 and then simply take your heels down right now without turning your leg bones in on one another. So I've got a little feeling of this wrap area, the back of the upper thigh contracting underneath the leg, and then just hold that calf stretch.

I'm gonna peak up and make sure that my feet haven't changed their a layman either and most just do eight little up and down. Rise the heels, lower rise and lower three and for five and six as you're holding in ball, see if you can keep the work also happening way up at the high inner thigh. Last one, lift the heels, your knees halfway in. Hold the halfway. We'll pulse here. Eight, seven, six you're still in parallel, but see if you can connect those adductors again way up high and seven last one, eight all the way back out. One more calf stretch. Pick up both heels, bend both knees and come in as we don't need the ball for [inaudible] v so just pick it up places. Feed your in your Palladia stance and continue for 10 okay, well your calves are a little warm for this three. You can get a little more length now out of those add doctors, five, six and eight last too, we'll take it out into second position.

Next on our heels. So come all the way in. Doc, that reformer step up if you want to pick. Make sure your alignment is even, and then before you push away, let's add up the inner thighs. Here we go. An one. Okay, and too, and keep that pelvis nice and neutral here. Three four was evenly with both legs. Six, seven and eight. Nine last one in 10. We'll also do balls of feet wide.

No prop there. Again, just right on up. Bring your feet just a little bit narrower. Elevate the heels. Whoa there. And then extended. Use Your twats. Feel your quadricep muscles. Kind of pick up those knees there and down. In times we kind of forget to ask of those muscles on the legs.

We're so focused on hamstring so much, but we need our quads to right by our knees to pull those legs up and five and six, seven. It helps to anchor the big toe a little bit. Big Toe, second toe. Okay, eight and you get a little longer in your mid section nine last time and 10 okay. We'll come back into the middle. A little walk in place. Press yourself out and just take a brisk 20 changes and two and three, four and five right? Go ahead. 10 more. One, two, three and four. Five, six, seven and eight. Nine a whole number 10 hole.

That stretch. Okay. And change it over to the other side. Just hold that stretch. Lift both and come all the way in. Now let's just do one little like lower ab thing. Before we get going too much further with your ball, just tuck that right in between the back of the knees. Put your hands right down by the side of your mat. Pick up your hips.

I have the head rest up. It's only because we're about to just only lift our, our base here. So I'm squeezing the ball and trying to pick up my hips and just hold and down strong. Exhale everybody. Here we go and hold and lower three more. So making sure your collarbone stays really wide as you try to pick up your pelvis. It'd be easy to curl those shoulders in. So trying to keep that wide last too. Okay.

You don't see a lot of movement. That's okay, but it's really deeply connecting that lower center. That's all. Okay, so come on up. We won't do single leg today, so we'll just going to come up and change our attention down for some single arm work. Or excuse me for some arm work, we don't need the ball. So just tuck that down. I've got a red and a blue now. I think that'll be perfect for our homework. So placing your hands in your straps, make sure you have a little space between your shoulder and here.

So you've got a little gap. Knees up in tabletop and first student. Let's just bring the arms down right on down, almost touching the mat but not quite okay. From here I want us to externally rotate arms. We'll start with open and close for eight repetitions. The first four with the head down, the second four with the head up, just simple, consistent. Here's three.

And for take your arms open, pick up your head, keep it up there for four and one too. And we'll take four more after this one. With the legs going into extension on a diagonal as our arms come in. So it kind of looks like the a hundred in a way. So there's just one. Keep the legs out there. Two nice parallels strong with those legs. Last one in four. Keep the arms in, knees in, head down.

I want us to bend the elbows now put your elbows on the mat, everybody and just rep kind of rest for a moment. But notice if your shoulders dropped, kind of sloped forward. They may have, it's no big deal, but let's just keep them back because what I want us to do next with the arms, forearms, angle your forearms out away from you. So I've kind of pivoted on my elbow bones on the mat and then the forearm is going to make a circular movement kind of in the air so you can hopefully see what's happening here. Cracky so I want you to keep your shoulders as wide as you can. If this bothers you on a red and blue, it's too heavy for you.

He'll come up and make a spring change. Lighten it up. Work on the movement pattern. Okay, XL, I'm going to have this go for more this direction for total of eight really working kind of external rotation of upper arms kind of a lot. And eight now reversing the for our movement pathway eight times. So down out, there's that external rotation around in forward to. So elbows on the mat with shoulders wide should be filling your triceps by now for see if you're known to be a rib popper in your movement patterns.

See if you can adjust those ribs. Seven an eight. Okay. Just pause for a moment. Put your feet on the bar, lift your arms, kind of shake him out. And then we're about to do regular arms circles four times. So knees up, just basic arm circles. Nothing fancy, bigger gesture. Hold that cared still those the arms come up. That detail really does matter for your scapula. Stability three, four. And then we'll take four the opposite way.

Keeping the carrots still as you open. Exhale. Yeah. And after these four we'll take our cheerleader, our more alternating arm swing. I've done it many times in classes, so you'll probably recognize it. So we'll keep the arms down. Okay. We'll do both arms for just as moment.

So palms face down, pick one of your arms to go out to a t. The other one comes straight up to the ceiling. I'll do it kind of slow. The first one. Okay, so from there you have t tension on those straps and bring both arms down, palms down. Now you'll just op do the opposite side, other arm to a t, the opposite arm straight to the ceiling. Okay, now we have it. Let's flow through. I'll exhale down. Inhale up eight times. Here's the first one in the set one. We won't count the first two a re we pull in your strength into your center. Four.

I straight up to the ceiling. Enjoy the feeling in your arms. Seven last time and eight. Okay. Bend your elbows, place your down and then shake your hands out of those straps. Come on up. And for another spring change. So that was a red and a blue. I want us to go to two red now. No blue.

So just to read now we'll use this ball again for feed and straps. But how we'll get in first lie on your back, put your feet on your bar and then this has to go underneath your sacrum. Okay. And just find your seat. Put yourself here for a moment and just notice how easy it is to just kind of slope into or kind of sink back into kind of a resting position. And that's okay. That's okay now, but when we're putting the feet in the straps in this next sequence, I want us to get more of a neutral alignment of the pelvis on that ball.

So your back actually kind of stiffens up a little bit. Your lumbar, those ligaments and tendons structures to kind of stabilize back there. What I don't want us to do is just do the whole circle pattern with your hips relaxed and can your back relax. So keep some awareness. Now I am a believer that we should put both feet in at the same time. I don't, I don't like this thing because I, for me, it makes my SEI joints kind of crooked right there. So I want to have you, this is actually very tricky with the ball, but put your straps a little closer to your knees. You can do it step both feet in at the same time.

See now your hips are even when you go, it's not the prettiest setup, but you're even now. Okay, start in a frog. Yeah, and then let's just check in. Have you kind of hung back in that posterior tilt or can you get more of your neutral? That's where I want us to go. Eight frogs, maybe six. Actually guys, we don't eat aide here. Just go six, two and three. I have my heels really from initiate that extension of your legs from your hips. One more here. Six. Okay. Now Open. Closed for six.

See if we can keep the carriage relatively still. Well, the stability open close. Then a contraction of inner thighs and stretch of inner thighs. See how stable you can be up on that ball? Three.

I have to look in and see if my legs are traveling at the same rate for five and six. Okay. Now for lakes circles, let's go ahead and come to parallel. Legs come up to 90 without going into posterior tilt. So I've actually got to use those lumbar extensors a little bit to keep the pelvis in neutral. And here we go for circles. Down externally rotate. Now go for more of a movement of the carrots right there.

Keep it still as you close. You want that stability while you're on that ball, we'll do six each direction. Okay, so enjoy that stretch and joy. The work in your thighs here and three rolling. Adding a little variable such as this ball is a nice feedback loop for deeper connection. I think you're probably feeling that too. I got to keep our body surprised, right? Can always do the same thing.

Here's that last one, six reps and then you'll change it. So when you open, try to keep the carriage still. You can externally rotate your femurs as you go parallel. However, as you come up that midline neutral pelvis, and here's two and three easy neck and shoulders for, I am almost done with this one and six. So last pattern, we'll go into our bow and arrow. It's one of my favorites. It's really nice on the ball. If you have a a pelvis that you know you rotate more to just when you're flat, you're really gonna notice it here. So it said great opportunity to stabilize.

And again, we'll do two, six. That's three. Each leg have a little fun with this one. Ooh, yeah, three and for and fine and six. It's going to feel really fun to come up off the ball, so just bend those knees, lift your hips, come on down. Ah, take your ball off to the side. We'll get back to it in a moment. How about a few short spines will feel pretty good. Take that head rest down. You're ready to go. Take your legs extended.

We'll do three short spine wants you to dock the carriage all the way in and that really luscious mobility as you roll up your back, getting nice and lifted collects at those tips. Gibbs, the feed right above the vase and roll away. How much can you get down on the mat before you have to bend your knees? Bring your heels to your hamstrings and two more. Go for that nice stretch. Let it go. Peel. Wow.

Oh God, that feels so good. I just said to one of my classes this morning, aren't we lucky that we know how good this feels? You know, it was some other exercise, but aren't we lucky? It feels so good on our body. So healthy that we can bring to this place often. Ah, it's such a feeling of appreciation. Okay, so then time to keep working. I got a little on the head. That's good.

Come on up. Now we'll take it down everybody to one blue spring. I think it's completely fine off with the two red, just one blue that's get that ball again and we'll face the back of the reformer headrest up. And again, I'm just using the ball today for this exercise, for the connection of that midline adductors, maybe some of the deeper rotators in with those abs for reverse abdominals. Okay, so hands out on the frame and then first started in your neutral spine. Get as long as you can between your pelvis, your rib cage, and then let's focus first and just the ad duction maybe the work of those deep rotators and flexing mainly your lumbar spine. Okay, not your thoracic. Let's see if we can just really keep it low five times. Maybe exhale five or six and flex.

Now as you take it back, don't go all the way to that stopper. Keep the work going. Exhale, pull it in. And three, I'm going to go for six. Four. Yeah, 5:00 AM six and hands to one side without the meeting.

The stop or six times. One, two, three for easy neck five. Keep it out there. Six snot all the way to the stop or switch those hands. Hopefully you're not too sweaty either and six times in one. Okay? To see if he can keep us contraction of your inner thighs against that ball.

We'll probably feel those abs more. Last two, five and six. Okay. Let the carriage fade back. Take your ball away. Just set it right down on the floor. You don't need it, but just stretch here. We're going to turn around and do a tricep shoulder. Press a one red for this. And I remember learning this from Karen clipping her so long ago and I couldn't just, I couldn't even do it. It was a workshop. I felt so silly.

I couldn't do it. Looking around. Everyone else had a great time. Um, I've learned a lot about my own shoulder function now, so I think I can do a little bit better. But uh, what it is, I want you to put your hand nice and gripped around your bar just in line with your shoulder with let's not go too wide. So just right in line and then get challenge yourself. And some of you are going to, this'll be completely so easy or wonder what the heck it is. But I want you to get down. Okay. Imagine the jump board was here. Something like that that your forearm gets right up against.

So that action for me, I'm still a little limited. It's just there's a shortness around this part of my anatomy. It's fine, but I'm trying to get more mobility in the tricep and lat and Terry's groups right there. Okay. So that's it. I'm still on a red and that as we push away, try not to go into like elevating the chest. That's easy. See if he can stay nice and low. So chest low. The further we go, the more that stretch on those muscle groups are. And you should feel that some of us here, okay, eight times lighter spring would be easier, but I'm not going to make the change in the muscles that I want today in the work. So seeding, recreate that elbow forward position way down in there. So what might this look like?

Prep for like the Cheddar Ranga. If we are in a yoga class or our plots, push up without our shoulders rounding forward. If you keep those shoulders back, it really puts the low load on the triceps. That's the last one. I think I gave us nine, no big deal. And then round herself to come up. Okay, let's go to knee. Stretch series wants you to do to red and yes, we're going to use that ball right between those knees again. So here we are.

Same idea. Get the feet really anchored, bend those toes, heels back. So in one of my classes I gave that cue of taking in the ball. It was a math class that you want to take that ball into your body this way. Can you kind of visualize how that shape is there in your back? Take that in, but now put that right between your knees and we'll add duct with that. Get that center connection. Here we go. Eight to 10 reps.

I'm going to go for 10 just to keep taking that ball in and add up. Use that center body and six and seven. Eight, nine. Hold it on. Number 10 extend without flaring the ribs. Open your chest. Here we go. For ten one, two, three and four.

Six your gaze is out. Your shoulders are back. Eight and nine and 10 go into round. I want you to push the carriage halfway out in your round spine. Move your body into extension while your springs are open and bring it in. Keep yourself in extension. Move the carriage halfway and come in round.

One more. Just a little variation. Really Nice. Where the hips last one. Okay, so coming into elephant, put that ball. Now everybody way up in the inner thigh, way up, way up high and flex your ankles. Get Your Hands Nice and firm on that bar. Toes up.

Now instead of having the hips back here and hyperextending the knees and kind of out of the work of the abdominals and lays, barring it in. See, I brought myself into my reformer and 10 little movements. Two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine and 10. Okay. Take the ball away. You've come, you're down on your knees because let the blood come out of your head. A single arm work. I'm going to do a blue. You guys can do whatever you need.

Okay, so come on. Yes, we're going to put that right between the knees again. So let's put the strap in the right hand. So I'm using my right hand and let's do our draw sword. Okay, before we go, have your fist nice and firm on that rope. The strap in your hand right out from your abdomen and before you pull on that strap, just remind yourself that it's not about the front of your shoulder initiating. Okay? It's about the back of the shoulder.

It's the back of the shoulder and that she would be much more empowering for your strength. Then your front arm doing all the work. Okay, so Adeq the ball he get in. We'll do five last to keeping the collarbone level if we can. Okay. Last time six. That was five by other hand. Here we go. Reaching for this guy again only as high as you can go. Keeping that collarbone level, shoulders level, duct that ball last two and then we'll do our own ORM overhead in this series. Okay, so switching hands again, then kneel your hand down. I'm going to move just a little bit away from the blocks and get that pelvis forward. Remember no hips back. Keep that lifted and arm overhead.

Take a moment and allow the stretch to occur. You might just be here today if you want to go ahead. I'm going to turn my hand the other way, like my palm up five times and pull. Okay. ADEC, that ball remembers the back of the shoulder and tricep that start this movement three.

Okay. Trying to keep that up arm relatively still for last one. Five so we're not quite done in this item of throw a little extra something in. Just take your hand, put this strap down, take the ball. You don't really need it. I'm just going to have you put it in your hand, but put your leg over that bar for a moment. Hold enough.

Maybe we'll just take our arm overhead for something to do, but focus on this outer hip line and lift your leg and can just lower. Let's just do eight so just so easy. Up and down. Throw a little mat exercise in there and four and five pelvis forward, six and seven last one and eight other side. So just tuck yourself in. Roll it around, ball between the knee. Okay, you're right against your shoulder. Rest. Start. Stabilize the shoulders. You're drawing a sword. Remember, start for a moment.

Just set yourself up. Contract the back of that shoulder and now pull the strap and control the return. Two, three using that ball. Keep those adductors in those lower glutes on. Open through the front of the hips. Here's your fifth one. Switching hands right into arm.

Reaching up can only as high as you can manage your love, the stability of your collarbone and your shoulders. Okay, your last one for five and then switching hands. Arm overhead. Neal away from the blocks a little bit. Take a moment to feel the setup that stretches so important. Press up, pelvis forward. Lengthen and lift your lumbar spine. Palm face up. Here we go for five, four, three. Do more. Really reach last one.

Yeah. Oh, I feel so good. And then down. Okay, strap down. You have one more on this leg. All right, let's go ahead and take our leg over the bar. We're almost ready to finish this class with semi-circle after this. That'll feel so good. But before we do lift that out or leg, we have eight of them. One flex that foot, parallel leg, two and three pelvis forward for um, Henri home with your leg over that bar. Six. You can't go too low.

You've got to go up last one and up. Okay. Meanie Minie have me take this down. We don't need that anymore. Let's finish. Two more exercises. Actually. We've got our semi-circle, really luscious articulated exercise and then a good quad stretch. Okay. Headdress down. I'm going to go to red. I just like the two red and your bar height. So if you know your semi-circle well, make your discretion right now what you'd like. High Bar, low bar or no bar.

I can also just be flat. I'm going to go high today. I just feel like I want to see if I can get that nice height in the position. Okay, so let's start this way. Loop your knees over your bar. There are several ways to get into a semicircle that I've learned. This one is seems pretty organic and kind of clean entry knees here.

Then your hands can sneak onto the shoulder rest if you're sweaty like I am, you might have to juggle a couple of things and just get yourself back. Okay? And this is really a luscious exercise to get that sense of real solid long spine and abdominal muscles of back extensors. Okay? Now you've got to put these feet up. So now one foot does have to go right. So just like I said, with feet and straps. So be mindful when you put weight on this foot. Really concentrate on not torquing your hips so that that's a standing leg exercise. Actually, we could do a whole thing on that mount, but step in with consciousness that you're not twisting your pelvis or your SEI joint. Okay?

Just my soapbox moment for us here so we're up. Oh, settle in. Give yourself time to find those lines. Your knees shouldn't be too wide. Keep those narrow. Now if you're ready, settle the ribs a little bit. All right, two each direction. Today we're going to melt.

We're melting down. You're going to just take our time. It's worth the time. Just now, right about here. Instead of just plugging your booty down in that, the spring length in yourself to them length, and you've got to work for that extension, you've got to work for that link. Okay, now even pressure on the bar. Push yourself not all the way to straight knees cause I really want you to stabilize there and turn that pelvis over. Those femur heads. Turn it, turn, turn, turn. Then you come up into that bridge can resist those springs to come home.

And again, taking your time [inaudible] I melted chocolate last night to dip some strawberries in. It took a little while to melt the chocolate. So melt the chocolate here. Take your time. Oh my gosh. It's worth it. And press and curl. Okay, and left. Now to the other way, press take your time. Your Chin is away from your chest.

Now again, you're not here to go into just compliant. You're gonna reach, lengthen. Work for that extension. Stretch your abs coming in. Curlier yourself up. Use those strong arms to help you feel that length. And last one, everybody. Then there, we're going to finish with a really nice quad stretch.

No, you deserve it. Okay. Finished in that bridge. Okay. Slither out. Oh, a very sweaty. Good. Come on up. And then we can just do a red and a blue spring.

I think for this there'll be perfect. Come on up. No prop. Choose either leg. You're going to step one foot up on your foot. Bar. Ball of the foot. Yeah, it's slightly off from center. Back foot is parallel. Take a peek there, your heels in.

That's something about your hip flexibility and pattern. So see if you can start training yourself. Getting a little discipline to keep that foot parallel back there, keeping that hip square. Okay, so first everybody round your upper body. Yeah, let the weight of that head come down. You keep lifting up. Who is taking nice breath.

Oh, I'm sure you're all feeling it already already here. That's where it's at. Okay. We could do lots of things with the front leg, but we're not going to, I wanted it to be in the quad and they sit flexors, so if you can come up into more of an upright spine, you can have your hands on this knee. If you're not there yet, please don't challenge yourself for sure, but don't feel unsteady. You can also keep your hands here. Okay, but I'm going to go ahead and just take the arms up. Okay. I'm just going to hold the stretch now, not sinking down into it.

I want to think of lifting up into it. Arms go out to a t and then just right back in front and we're going to change legs and just bow down. Hello. Now down to the stretch. Okay, other side. We're winding down. Everybody. Great workout today. Organize that foot nice and parallel. Okay. Same as we did on the first side. Weight of the head down the knee. That's down. Those glutes are slightly contracted to help stabilize that stretch in the front of the hip. Nice. One more deep breath there. Wow.

Oh we go. Might help to focus on something right in front of you can lift. You can hold here or join me for that balance. Challenge with the arms up. He feels so good today. Yeah. And as you lower the arms, you're rising higher in your spine.

Taking in the space around you. Yeah. Pitching your arms forward. Okay. Oh man, that feels good.

And then just take your hands down and take this foot down. Let's all finish with the standing roll down. So step off, your reformer does wiggle those legs. They might feel kind of jelly. Soften those knees. And here we go. We'll just finish a thank you to oneself for thank you to us to join each other for class. Thank you for playing with me and thanks for pull out is anytime for letting me continue to teach and do what I love to do for all of us. Till next time.