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Hi, thanks for being here with me today we're going to play with some creative and fun variations on um, the tower reformer combo. So how I have this setup is I have my foot bar set up for foot work. I have a blue spring connected to the reformer over here on the tower end. I have some short yellow arms springs set up about level to my own shoulders and I have some legs springs that are on the one two, three marker up. So I think that's all you need to know for now.
We'll do some shifting around reformer, some tower, some, a combination of both sometimes as well. So here we go. Okay. So we'll just stand at the far end of the reformer towards the foot bar end and we'll start by taking their arms out and up. And as the arms lift, you feel the stretch across the chest. We feel the openness in the heart. We reach up and back with the arms, take the arms out to the side and down to the body and inhale. And we're rolling the body down, taking the hands over the top of the foot bar and letting them arrest on the carriage. From there, inhale Cin, the spine out long, really drawing the abdominals in and up towards the spine.
Roll Down w/ Spinal Extension
And then as we exhale, curling back in, drawing the shoulder blades towards the pelvis and the pelvis coming towards the shoulder blades and in neo stretching out, lifting the abdominals to support the spine and exhale, curling back in. And inhale, reaching out. Nice long positioning in the spine. I have to remind myself not to get too ruby, meaning not to hyperextend through the mid back. So if you're like me, maybe that's something to think about. Okay.
And let's do two more. Reaching out, sending the head out through the center of the arms, lifting the sitting bones and spreading them wide. And then exhale, rolling back in. Just one more time for today. [inaudible] Ilan Gate an exhale, come back and once you feel the carriage come to a stop, roll all the way back up onto your feet. Keep that same blue spring. Come and collect the handles with the arm springs. Attach. Now you just have to be a little careful with the reformer tower combo exercises, keeping in mind that the carriage is being loaded from now both ends.
Okay, so I said I have my feet on the headdress. I'm Lillian slightly back with a flat back. I'm gonna bring my arms wide, pulling the spring on the reformer and pulling the arms springs, and then as my arms straighten, we're going to flex the spine and begin to take the body back onto the carrot. You'll feel the carriage floating underneath you. It's kind of an interesting and nice sensation. XL. Roll the spine back up.
Roll Back w/Arm Row
Find shoulders over pelvis, lift the back and pull the carriage forward or towards the tower. Reach the arms, round the spine, roll the body back, keeping the eyes reaching out in front of us, pressing down a little bit on the springs. Inhale and then exhale as we roll Baca up, up, up, up, and listening back, pulling that spring on the reformer and stretching the arms forwards and rounding and inhale. Exhale, resisting the pool of those springs. Finding ease and elongation in the spine. As we stretch the spine up and bend the elbows.
We'll do two more XL two round. Keeping the eyes just over the horizon. I like to trace my eyes up and down that safety strap. And then now those lifting the back arms reaching forwards. Exhale, rolling back.
Okay. And in here and yeah, and bending the arms and reaching. And now exhale, take the body back down. Keep applying just a little pressure down on the springs. Inhale as you exhale, lift the left knee and press the spring down in here. Can you stay perfectly centered as you now lift the right leg and push down on the springs. So alternating from side to side using the press of the springs to deepen into that abdominal curl.
Half Roll Back w/Leg Lifts
We'll just do that one more time. Pressing down and up and down. And now both legs down on the reformer. We're going to curl the spine forward and back. Now an interesting challenge my friends is to see if you can do this spinal movement without actually allowing the carriage to move. It's possible, I promise. Okay.
Abdominal Curl
And back. Okay. And back and back. Three more deep. Any working to maintain the most neutral pelvis as we can, but also keeping in mind that the lower back should touch the carriage and roll all the way up from here. Now the carriage moves as we bend the elbows.
Now the carriage moves again. We take the arms back straight and when you go down again from the low position will rotate and lift up that side and out and lift. Again, attempting to keep that reformer nice and still. So we're just attempting again to deepen into the curl of the spine. Last for working the springs in both directions. Three [inaudible] two and one. We go down that side, find center, roll up and center all the way.
Abdominal Curl w/ Rotation
Bend the elbows, pull the arms back, stretch the arms forwards. Exhale, articulate down. [inaudible] keep the knees centered. Rotate the spine looking just outside the line of my leg. The one I'm rotating towards, try and very much to stabilize that carrot. [inaudible] breathing in both directions.
[inaudible] last two. Okay. And last time come into the center and all the way up last time here at it, bend the elbows and lift the back and then take the arms back out again. Take the handles into both hands. Step to the side. Be careful as you bring the carriage all the way back to the stopper.
Okay. Put the handles back. I'm going to change the spring to get ready for some footwork. I like three reds in a blue. That's my preference. But you can of course make your own choice coming down all the way onto the back. Heels on the bar, head down on the headrest. Inhale and pressing down into the feet.
Exhale, lifting the body and in here and yeah, using this movement to help center the spine on the carriage and in here, keeping the carriage on the stopper. Exhale, lifting, fill that the arms can be energetic in a reaching type of way and also soft and tailbone drops an inhale and exhale. Feeling equality of weight over both feet. Nice and soft through the back of the neck and okay, we'll just do one more. Yeah. Okay. Lifting, stretching the knees forward.
Bridge
Imagine the knees are being pulled forward. As you lay your spine down just to decelerate that movement. Maybe get a little bit more stretched to the back. As the tail comes down, we Dorsey flex the fee press out and Ben. Yeah.
Heels
And in feeling again, the weight of the body on the carriage, the weight of the arms, the soft and energetic arm. Okay. Remembering to start from the back of the leg. Finished with the front of the leg as we fully extend the knee. Yeah, we'll just do three more here.
Okay. And two more and last time coming all the way in, moving onto the toes, lining the feet up with the sitting bones pressing at the out position. The heels are lifted and as we come in they stay where they are as the springs are losing tension. Feel that the spine is lengthening back towards the tower creating work and both directions. Well, just do four more here.
Toes Parallel
Out and back. And uh, and back last two and one more and then coming all the way in, coming into a small v shape with the feet. And wrapping from the back of it, like reaching out and pulling back or reaching out and pulling back for the connection from the heels all the way up through the inseams of the lengths. The tailbone is heavy on the mat at the back of the skull is heavy on the headrest. That area in between is perhaps a little lighter but also connected to the work coming from the front of the body and we'll do three and then two and then last time [inaudible] stepping out to the outside of the foot bar. Now feeling an energetic inward pull through the inner thighs as we stretch the legs and bend and stretch slings and Ben.
Pilates Stance
I sometimes like to just feel with my hands on the front of my pelvis if my pelvis is sitting nice and straight across, checking in with all the parts, the shoulders, the arms, the abdominals. Twice more. And then last time coming onto the bar on the toast. Yeah. Pressing. Yeah and [inaudible]. Yeah, coming into the breath.
Second Position Heels
Okay. Last two. Last time. Yeah. Moving the toes back to the center of the bar, connecting through the back of the leg as we straighten the knees and then a lower and lift the heels all the way under a the way.
Second Position Toes
Yeah, creating a rhythm for that movement. Feeling that the body is nice and I don't know. Rest for on the carrot. I imagine mine floating on the carriage floating and heavy at the same time. If that's possible, I think that anything is possible in your imagination.
Tendon Stretch
All right, and then we alternate meeting in the middle, pressing up and meeting in the middle and one foot goes down and the other foot pushes into the foot bar. Okay, we'll do four and four, three and three, two and two. One and take a stretch and take a stretch and lift up and come in and reach the fiber. Are the knees over the foot bar. Scoot a little fort so that you can hold the foot bar with your knees.
Running
Lift your arms. Okay. Lift your head if you need to hold the foot bar with your knees and Pulley, you may in a row up. Lift up, holding the foot bar to lift the chest? No. Okay, so we're going to reach down and change the spring. We're going to use one red, one blue spring.
We're going to reach the arms forward. Squeeze the knees together. As we roll back, as the body comes back, we pick up the straps. The place where you've scooched to away from the shoulder blocks is just the perfect place to be. But your feet on the foot bar. Take the arms just over the shoulders. Put a little tension on the springs and then lift the legs. Inhale there.
Exhale, lift the sternum, pressing the arms forward towards the foot bar and reach back. Yeah, feel that that movement isn't initiated by the hands, but instead initiated with the abdominals lifting the body into flection. Two more. Last time. Stay here. Stretch the legs out.
Chest Lift w/ Arms Reaching Forward
Lift them up and stretch up. Push a little further through the arms. Up and bend, Pusha lift up and and two more. Keep reaching the arms. Lift up and bend Pusha. Lift that rivers down. Bend, stretch up, down. Keep lifting the body, Ben, lift higher.
Double Leg Bicycle
Stretch up and stretch up last two. Okay. Okay. And up one more. Stretch the legs up now. A little curl and a little curl and fill out as the palace is crawling, the arms are reaching past the pelvis and yeah, and yeah, and keep the body lifted as the knees bend and take the body down. Placing this drops back once again, reaching the knees down over the foot bar, holding onto the foot bar with the knees, lifting the head and chest.
Pelvic Curl
If you don't have a lockdown foot bar with like me, good luck. Hurrah. Oh, and lifting the back again. Okay, so now we're going to shift to one red spring, and I'm choosing deliberately the red spring that's in the middle. So if you have that option, maybe choose that with me to get into the lakes springs, we're going to actually come and pick them up from the back. It's just a, for me, feels the safest way to get in holding the straps in your hands. I'm going to take the body onto our back. Wow.
Once you get down on your back and you feel nice and supported and we're going to place the feed in. So here's another interesting place of being loaded in both directions and having to organize, organize around the shifting of gravity. Okay. Not so much in the frogs. Maybe a little, but definitely when we get into the circles. Yeah, definitely here too. So when spring is pulling you in one direction, the other springs are pulling you in the other direction and you just have to figure out or try to be as even in your movements as possible.
Frog
That's another place where there's like a floating sensation on the reformer. Just could you do this last one? Hold here. Push down, out, up. Control, control, control, control together. Press down. Ah, it's keeping the carriage still. As you open control, control, control that spring, pulling you from the bottom and press open, uh, together and press oh Ben, uh, together. Let's take that twice more. Press Open up together. My circles feel a little bit more rectangular here as I'm trying at the bottom to hold the carriage. Still I allow the carriage to move. And then again, I try to hold it semi still still as I can anyway. We're reversing open press town. It's a whole different ballgame in this direction and lift.
Circles
You'll feel what I mean? Open. Press down. Stabilize the spy and lift. Open press. Yeah, and lift the legs. Going to go three more times. Open. Okay. And up.
Okay. I really liked this feeling. That's I'm smiling. Does that three? I think if it wasn't, we'll do one more and if it was, we'll do one more anyway and then. Then the knees carefully remove the straps from your feet. Come in, transfer the straps to one. Oh, actually, let's just, let's see. I might make a little bit of noise. Sorry.
What is? Drop the straps back. Reached the knees over the foot bar again. Take the arms on the shoulder blocks. Slide out. Wiggle out. This is why I wanted the center spring. Step up onto the foot bar. Lift the pelvis in here and XL. Roll down. Yeah, into the well onto the spring. Press out. Stay on the spring.
Semi Circle
Lift the spine Baca and think of lifting the pelvis as you bend your knees and roll down. Press out, curl and bend one more in that direction. Keeping the feet nice and stationary. I like to think of wrapping my shoulder blades towards the ceiling, not pressing them back into the carrots or they stay broad. And then, and now we reverse. We go back, roll the spine down, keeping the elbows straight, bending, articulate up with the hips. Roll down.
Ben didn't articulate up with the hips. We'll do two more. Yeah, last time. And then coming up to the top again. Take your hands off of the shoulder blocks, try to walk in, see if you can grab your foot bar. Press up with the pole is, take that Nice, beautiful stretch to the front of the lengths. You're welcome. And then reach the knees back over the bar. Wiggle back onto the carrot, Rola and lifts the back.
So let's swing the legs around. We're going to go from a red spring to a blue. I'm going to take the foot bar down. Be careful with yourself here. Come up onto your hands and knees. Placing the forearms on the carriage.
Take one leg out to straight so that you're sure that you can stabilize. And then take the other leg out to straight from here. Exhale to send the arms forward and back forward and back. Forward and back. Two more and back. Last one, forward and back. Now lift the left leg and take the arms forward and back forward and back.
Forearm Plank w/Arm Press
One more time. Forward now from your ground and bring the elbows into the knee and reach a rounding. Reach out, rounding. Step onto the frame. Lift the right leg and ah, up. Holding onto the abdominals to, here's our last one. Here's where we round the spine.
Forearm Plank w/Leg Lift
Knee to the elbows and back and back and back. Stepping down, I couldn't find frame. Lifting the pelvis up, bending the knees in and bringing the carriage all the way in. Helping US set ourselves up. I'm going to come to here. Are we going to reach forward for this bar and to come out into a nice long back and the arms. Pull the reformer towards the pushed through bar. Elbows drop, arms straighten, bend the arms pull.
Forearm Plank w/Knee to Chest
Elvis come down, arms straighten, pull down, arms straighten paws down. Arms straighten last time, pull arms straight. And let's reverse that. Pull with the arms, elbows down, lift the arms, reach out and pull with the elbows down. Lift the arms in reach. Ah, right. One more.
Forearm Plank w/Leg Lift
Okay. Facing the bar back again. I feel the safest way to pick up these springs is to just come and get them. So we're using our arms springs again, be careful. Come onto their carriage.
Forearm Plank w/Knee to Chest
Okay. Up onto the knees, bringing the arms just in front of the body. And so again, we're having to control the movement of the springs from both directions. Having to manage the orientation of the shoulder blades, keeping them why apart and gently down. We'll do that about four more times.
Kneeling Arms w/Rotation
One more. And to come in, take the handles in one hand, scoop back. Yeah, come into the thigh stretch or into the fast rich position. Anyway, I've hooked my feet around the back of the um, carriage and our have been ending and we get to challenge that Essenture contraction. Yeah. So that's the benefit of having the, one of the benefits of having the springs from both directions is we both work the East centric and the calm center contractions. Yeah.
Arm Press Back
Using the springs to resist that lengthening contraction. Okay. Yeah. New get the carriage floating underneath us, which is kind of fun. Okay. Feels differently to just working off the reformer.
Bicep Curl
Okay. Tomorrow, last time. And then take the handles. I'm gonna let the springs go and then just sit back onto the feet, reaching the arms out along the frame of the reformer, finding a nice stretch to the spine through the shoulders. And then we'll come up to our feet for some arm circles. Okay, so let's come up. Step off, step inside of the frame, take a hold of the handles, find a position that you feel that you can be in control of this spring and of your body and of your scapula.
Child's Pose
And take the arms forward and open. When I do hug a tree, I always like to link it into that idea of expansion, of breath and contraction of the muscles of the trunk. Just reminding me of that open and contracted nature of the what? The trunk. I just said that, but that's all right. I'll say it again. Okay. Pausing here. We're going into circles. Lifting [inaudible] open. My whole body's leaning forward at my ankle joint on the diagonal.
Hug A Tree
Uh Oh. Then and forward lifting up, feeling the shoulder blades rotate up and under. Out and through. Uh, ah, and through. Let's do one more. Ah, put it in the Scapula and down all the way up and around and pressed down. Three more.
Arm Circles
Okay. Last one. Bending the arm, feminist. Step for it a little bit and taking one arm forward and alternate. Keeping the body still in space.
Boxing
[inaudible] now let's add some trunk rotation. Think about upper body rotation. Lower body fairly still. Okay. Pointing towards the center. Last one, taking the arms back out in.
How's we laterally flex XL? Top arm comes up over the top of the head. The bottom arm comes back and in reaching back, finding the lateral flection and coming up to center. Inhale. Exhale up in, over, in, up, in, back, back and center. And in here. Okay. And in here.
Butterfly
I had a last time. Yeah. Okay. Let's grab a box. Okay, so we're going to grab these arms springs again. Again, a reminder, just be careful with yourself. You've got to move in carriage here. So you're going to come and get onto the box with your body.
Orient the chest just at the end of the box. Reach the arms forward, allowing the springs to pull the arms, energize you, the back of the leg. Press down into the spring and lift. Just make it baby right now and back. Press down and pulling the reformer just a few inches and back one more like that. And now let's make it a little bigger. So we press if you want lifting the spine into the spring, controlling it down. Yeah.
Pulling Straps
One more. [inaudible]. Yeah. And not take the arms out in the high v. Bring the arms back and lift the body up and all the way back. Bring the arms back.
T-Pull
Okay. Lift the body up and back and one way good. Come all the way down. Take a hold of the frame walkup so that you can put the handles away and grab this bar and from here pull the scapulae down, just making a little baby back extension and okay. The big back extensions and then the big back extensions are nice, but sometimes I have just feel the best working in through my thoracic spine are going to come up. I'm going to hold, we're going to pull and release. Okay.
Swan
Pull and release. Pull and release and lower the body all the way down. Hold the frame. Put the bar away. Come all the way in. Step off to the side of the box. Exactly.
Arm Pull
Come back around to the friend. Still on a blue spring here. Taking a breath in as we lift the arms. Exhaling as he takes the arms down to the box. Inhale as we go back out into that back extension. Same when we started with exhale as we round back in. Yeah.
Roll Down w/ Spinal Extension
Take the right hand to the left. Go out and across. Towards the left and back in. Yeah. Take the hands to the right. Go out across to the right.
Pulling the left pelvis back and back in both hands. One on each side out. One more time through the center. Nice and low. Okay. The hackathon. Oh, there we are, allowing the arms to continue as a continuation of the spine.
Nice light and open the chest. And thank you.
