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Hi, thanks for joining me today. We're going to play with some creative variations on the tower today and just some regular tower work as well. So let's get started. Um, I'm set up with two red springs on the top, two short yellow arms springs with handles just about level with my own shoulders while I'm on my knees. Now that's going to be different for everyone because we're all different sizes, but do your best. Um, and then I have two purple legs springs set, just slightly higher than my pelvis. Again, we're all a little different. So do what works for you. I think those are going to be the only springs that we need to do today, although we'll shift them a little bit as well.
But that being said, let's get started and see how we go. So I'm gonna pick up my handles with my hands.
Kneeling Spine Stretch Forward
I'm using that abdominals using the front of the body to come back up into a straight back so it's not a full roll down, but it is a spinal stretch. Inhale, exhale, round forward. Lean into the springs. Feel that with your shoulder blade you're trying to push the springs away from you. Inhale there and then exhale. You have to resist letting the springs push you back up and that's where the work from the front of the body becomes apparent. In here, Xcel rounding through Chin is drawing in. It's like a chest. Lift this sensation. Inhale and exhale, lifting back up, up. We'll do two more.Exhale, roll forward and reach in here. Exhale, lift Baca. Who? One more time. Inhale. Exhale, roll forward and reach and in here and exhale to stack back up again. Put those springs away. Comments, face the tower and hook the two red springs to the push through bar.
Come down onto the mat on your back and grab the push you bar and wrap the knees over the top of it. Now I'm far enough in that I can almost press the feet down, but I'm not pressing my feet out. I'm just letting my feet float in space. Arms down. Take a minute to get settled in your spine and take an inhale. As you exhale, imagine the springs lifting you up as you roll, letting the pelvis unfurl, letting the spine becomes straight, using the back of the legs to press up. Inhale, exhale. Use the front of the body to pull the springs back down so we control that coming all the way down into a neutral alignment with the hips. Inhale, exhale.
Bridge w/ Push Through Bar
Lower Spine flattens pelvis lifts that find the long straight line in the spine and in hand, and then can we feel that the front of the body can be used to mobilize and facilitate stretch in the back of the body. We're going three more times. Inhale, exhale, lift in him. It's a nice, easy or nice free way to get some early spinal articulation work coming down. You've gotta control the Spring and on this one shoulder that wants so on to help me by arching up towards the ear on that side. I'm trying to organize around that. So just a reminder for everyone to check in with the shoulders and the arms.Make sure they just stay. Still. Feel the arms are reaching. As the spine comes down, feel the top of the head reaching back. It's an interesting sensation. This one, it's the spring tension changes and different places, so we have to kind of reorganize as we're moving. Hold an inhale. Exhale, roll down, lift the head and chest. Lift the legs, bring them out from underneath the bar. Sit Up, take one red spring away. Turn around and lie down on your back.
Taking the arms to the sides of the tower or just out to the sides. Inhale for the spine twist, taking the body over and XL to come back.
Spinal Twist
Exhale back. We'll do a couple more to each side in yeah, and access. And in here and Exelon. This last one, we'll take it over to the side. We'll stretch the top leg out, take the body a little further, ribbon the knee and come back to center.So like use it to take you further. Then the knee and come back to center. Placing the feet down. Reach up for the tower bar. Hold onto it with the hands. Let's bring the legs all the way together. We'll lift the head and chest. So I w lie myself up so that once I'm inflection, the bar comes straight up from my shoulders. Inhale here on the exhale, lifting forward with the spine.
Supine Spinal Curl
So we're flexing or challenging the flection of the spine. And again, exhale, crawl forward and back.I'm definitely not lifting my shoulders into my ears and we'll do about four more and back. Three more. Think of pushing the bar down and forward with the hands. Two more. And last time from there, come down, flip one hand around, take the opposite hand behind the head. Rotate towards the hand, behind the head looking just past the outside of that sigh. Keeping the head heavy in the hand, keeping the shoulder blade down.
Supine Spinal Curl Variation
Bull shoulder blades down. We now lift up that sigh and come back down. Lift up.
Knees right in the center and up that side and back, back and that side. Feel the shoulder blades wrapping around the front of the body. Creating a sense of a cradle for the head.
Heels Parallel
Make sure that you're able to find a neutral position of, of the pelvis or tailbone down. If that doesn't work for you on the tower, just turn yourself around the other way in, you know, let the tower come down or bend the knees. Exhale, press the pelvis down, stretch the legs. Inhale, bend working. Arrange or finding a working range that feels that where you can keep the knees aligned with one another. I think all the time of pushing the bar away from me as I'm bending and straightening my legs. We'll do four here
Toes Parallel
Bend the knees straight in the knees. Think, I dunno. I feel very lopsided in my pelvis. I think it's not uncommon. So if you feel that one side of your pelvis is heavier than the other, it's a good idea just to mentally heavy up the side. That feels lighter, right? Making sure the pelvis sits straight across to the best of our ability.Bend and stretch. We'll do two more and stretch one more. Bend and stretch. Bring the heels together and pull the bar in here. I can go a little lower and press, drag the bar, keep the pelvis down, but find the stretch at the bottom and stretch.
Pilates Stance
Inhale. Every time we exhale, we feel the commitment to the front of the body, the commitment to the abdominals, the commitment to working in an oppositional direction from the center of the body out through the fee. Yeah, and we'll do that four more times. Uh, and Ben and I and bend and two and Ben, if you're tight like me, who might get that tower a little trembly. I don't mind sharing that with you. Take the fee to the outside of the bar. Bend the knees and stretch so that the inner thighs are always working here. Always working. They bend and push away.
Second Position Heels
Heavying up in the hips in here and pressing away. Coming down into that hip stretch, pressing the pelvis down and stretch. We'll do about four more here and three and to [inaudible] it looks like there's an earthquake. There is not. That's just me and one stretch from a straight leg position coming back onto the toes. Keeping the toes in that rotational position or the hips.
Second Position Toes
Really in the rotational position. Ben and press in. Yeah, keeping the feet just still position of the ankle stays nice and consistent. Keep feeling the work coming from the front of the body and we bend heavy up both sides of the pelvis. We'll do four.
Tendon Stretch
We Zip this, the springs with the fee push away. We'll do four more and lift three more and lift heavying up in the shoulders. Two more and left last time. Flax and point. Alternate the feet bend one. Lift. One change.
Running
Tower
Actively try dropping the tail as much as possible and in here as we exhale, keeping the knees straight. We're going to push the bar away and roll up towards our shoulders. Listing, listing, using the back extensors. Inhale, bend the knees. Keep the spine supported. Press up with the feet and out. Push forward into the borrows.We are particulate down feeling with ease in the neck. Ease as was stretching the back flex point. Push forward on the bar as you lift up, up, up, and bend. Support yourself with the front of the body stretch and then push the bar away as you laying fin down. All the way. I'm watching the alignment of my ankles and feet and flex and point and exhale.
Roll Up. Press and exhale. Lay the spine down. Do two more flax point. Press forward on that or on roll on.
Teaser Prep
Exhale left in your drop this fee. Exhale, curl. Push forward on the bar till your feet come all the way to touch. Now today we're gonna roll down, allowing the legs to straighten. Try to keep reaching them back. They'll slide up on the bar, bring them away and bend. Hinge away. XL, back feet. Drop, curl, touch. Start Rolling the pelvis away.Allow the shins to slide up the bar. As you drop the pelvis down. It's been like upside down pike or you're in a pike shape. Take the legs away and bend. I again hinge and back.
Draw Curl. Roll the way. Slide the legs. Ah. Now take the legs down. Lift the spine up, lower the spine down. Bend the knees and hinge.
Teaser Variation
Unless drop the C Carota to touch. Roll down. Slide the shins up the bar. The arms are working hard. Take the legs away. Lift the head and chest. Articulate up into the teaser. Roll down from the teaser. As the head comes down the knees, Ben, we'll do one more hinge and come back.
Drop the seat. Lifts the body roll down.
Come back through to the center. Take both legs over to the other side.
We're going to come back down onto our backs. We're going to take the leg springs and put them on in the feet.
Diamond Variation
Going to bring the legs up in that diamond shape and I want us to take just like just one leg down and back control stable, the other leg downs or an external rotation. You take the leg down, we bring the leg up both legs down at the same time and uh, one leg down and the other leg down and back. Both legs down at the same time and off. One more time like that. One leg down and by the other leg down and back. Both legs down at the same time. Hold there, try to stretch the legs out to straight. Lift the legs back up straight and then find your diamond. Press your diamond down, stretch your legs out. Stray. Lift your straight legs up and find your diamond. One more time. Press down, stretch out. Lift. Aww. And diamond. Now press up, stretch out. Make a diamond at the bottom.Bring the diamond up. Stretch. Ah, press down. Make a diamond at the bottom. Bring the diamond up. One more. Stretch up. Press down, put in, lift. Ah, stretch the lengths. Take the legs together. Press the left leg down. The right leg stays. Take the legs all around in a helicopter until you're in the opposite scissor and back. Left leg down her right leg up.
Helicopter
Keep tension in both springs because we helicopter the legs and back. We'll do two more or one leg down. One leg, helicopter the legs and back. One more. Oh look, copter and back. So now let's reverse legs. I'm keeping a little tension on the springs. So we take one leg down, one leg up, reach to the side, opening up the hips, come around to the top and it's through same direction. Three more times our around our, around, back to center and through our, around all round, back to center and through two more down, all round, back to center and through last time around.So part mobility, part stability, come all the way up and then reached through. Take your feet out. You're going to stretch the legs out along the Mat. Reach our arms straight up over the shoulders. Lift the head and chest. Okay. Roll up all the way as you go. Flex your feet. Just bend forward over your leg, giving yourself a stretch.
Chest Expansion
Thigh Stretch
Scoot back a little bit so that when you have your arms out in front of you and you lean back away from the springs into that same thigh stretch position, you have a little spring tension from there up. That's too much for me. So from there we'll buy a set and by sa. So there's kind of a fine line between falling back, staying right here and letting the springs pull our bodies around. I have to find the place that works for, we'll do four [inaudible] to one. So I want this now to take one leg forward, one leg back, press forward into the pelvis. I'm going to scoot back a little bit cause I like these to be nice and heavy.
Biceps
One the leg that's at the front bear's way at the leg that's at the back finds a stretch. We bring the arms back and forward back and so right. Pull the elbows wide.
Arm Pull
All in one. Here we go. Pull back and push forward. I'm gonna back up a little back and reach forward.Like tuck the toes. Hovered. 10, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one. Bring the knee down, put the straps in, one hand, come back towards the front. Turn around, bring the arms out to the side. Had in some arm circles. So bringing the arms forward, leaning into the springs, taking the arms are open and through [inaudible] rotate. Keep always reaching forward with arms. Feel the rotation. Upward rotation of the Scapula. Ah, and to leaning into this spring.
Kneeling Arm Circles
Ah, AH, and through, we'll do three more in yeah.
Left Ya. Press the strings forward. Pulled back against the springs with the abdominals open. Reach around in a press down in [inaudible].
We'll do three more looking for stability, stabilization, and also mobilization of the Scapula of the shoulder. Joy last time.
What I'm going to do here is just remove the yellow arms springs so they're out of the way. We're going to finish with his shoulder stretch and a really nice yummy back extension. So we're going to take the spring and hook, get up onto the bar and then we're going to come down, bring the bar with you and be careful.
Scapular Glide
Then position yourself towards the outside of the Mat and your hand can be as far away from you as you need it to be. Mine's just a little bit in front of my shoulder. Gonna roll the shoulder open, so we're having a stretch. Then we're going to start turning the arm and as we turn the arm, we're going to take the scapula out to bring the bar down. Then we're going to take the scapula in. We're going to start rotating the arm back around in its socket so the arm rotates first.Then the shoulder blade moves down and out. Then the shoulder blade moves in towards the spine, allowing the arm to have freedom to rotate. Shoulder arm rotates for a shoulder blade, moves down and away. Shoulder moves in. Arm does rotation land to arm, shoulder blade, shoulder blade.
All right. Careful as you lift yourself up. Out of that, I'm going to move over to the opposite side of the Mat. Take the bar in my hand, bring my hand down onto my forehead, and then we're gonna. So I start in this nice open position. Then I rotate the arm down towards the Mat. Taking the scatter. You lie down and wide. Bring the Scapula in to allow the arm to rotate.
Rotate the arm first. Bring the shoulder blade down and out. Bring the shoulder blade in to allow the arm to rotate again. Upper arm, her rotates shoulder blade goes down, shoulder blade comes in, upper arm rotates too, or upper arm rotate. Slide the scapula down. Side the Scapula into allow movement for the arm. And one more time down in and around.
Careful with the bar. Reposition yourself so you're more centered on the mat. Take the bar in the first hand. The hand can rest on the, are they the forehead again? Can rest on the hand they had will turn and move in space. And depending on the flexibility of the shoulders, it may actually lift up off the hand.
What we're gonna do here is we're gonna bend the elbow. Keep the elbow in your periphery, look at it as you rotate. Allowing that time to straighten so my head has come off. Totally fine. Ben. Knee, elbow and press the arm through. Bend the elbow wide right here. As the bar starts to lift, we want to take the elbow slightly forward. Then stretch the arm.
Single Arm Extension
The body's lifting and rotating. Bend and push through. We'll do two more. BendBend and reach through him. Switch hands. Elbow bends first. You keep it in your line of sight as you. Oh, pin the arm out to the side. Benny Elba. Press the arm through Benny of Ciaran. Watch the elbow say slightly forward of the hand bend and reach through. We'll do chew more. Bend allowing the spine to roads. Neat.
Wowing that shoulder to get a nice stretch. Bend through. One more time. Ben, to open bend. Close both hands on the bar. Ben, both arms. Let the elbows stay just in the line of vision. Let the springs take the body on. Keep the head lower than the arms. There's just opening and stretching through the chest.
Cobra
Take the arms down, hold the bar with one hand. The other hand comes up. Help yourself up onto your knees and come up in a kneeling position. Gonna press the arms down. We're going to articulate the spine down. Articulate this spine out.
Cat Stretch
Side Bend
We're going to stretch to the side. I'm going to take that arm around the front of the body, bring it back around to the side, and uh, that hand comes down as the other end lifts up. Lean over Ben Hale, BA, go into forward rotation.Pilates with Meri Rogers: Tower and Cadillac Workouts
Mention
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Meredith Rogers (Teacher) |
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Lori M |
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Malu Satyro |
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Jonathan |
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April K |
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Laila |
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Emma B |
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Terri Battenburg |
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Clemencia Puerta |
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Michael Mary S |
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Caitlyn T |
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Sheila Ray |
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Elizabeth D |
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Nihan |
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Debra B |
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Gina M |
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Adi S |
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Tara E |
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Tova A |
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Whitney V |
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Claire R |
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Lisa B |
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Melissa S |
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Michele M |
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Elizabeth S |
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Hillary Burks Younan |
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Jennifer S |
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Dorit T |
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Brigitte P |
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Season E |
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Patti S |
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Adriana B |
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Z A |
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Amy V |
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Lisa G |
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Rachel P |
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Lauren M |
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Jackie D |
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Christina P |
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David Carroll |
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