Building Block Flow

Hi, I'm Delia Buckmaster, welcome to Pilates Anytime. Today is class number four of level up series this summer and I'm here in Whitefish, Montana at my studio. Today you're gonna need a yoga block to do the majority of the exercises but if you don't have a yoga block, we could modify, don't worry about it. If you have a ball or a blanket nearby, then you'll be able to utilize that maybe between the vies for some of the exercises. So I'm gonna get started on my mat.

I'm gonna stand up. I have a high mat here. And I'm gonna hold a yoga block with the yoga block being long ways, so I decide. I'm gonna take my arms up towards the ceiling to stretch my shoulders and then with the yoga block, it's about a shoulder with a parcel, it's nice and comfortable here. As I elevate my arms to raise my shoulders to my ears and then lower my shoulders. So just an elevation and depression.

And I'll turn towards you so you can see my shoulders rise and lower and lift and make sure that those arms are in your peripheral vision so that you can maintain neutral. Now as my shoulders come down this time I'm going bend my elbows. So the block comes before my chest and I'm gonna round forward bringing the block towards the floor. From here I'll bend my knees and then roll myself all the way up one vertebrae at a time, bend the elbows, block to chest, arms reach up to the sky. I'll do that again.

Thrusting the palms into the blocks to activate the last, nod the chin flex forward reach the hands towards the floor, soften the knees and then go ahead and roll yourself all the way back up. Bend your elbows and reach the arms up to the sky. One more time. We'll roll down, hold it here with soft knees and then just swing that block from side to side. And again, if you don't have a block in your hands, then just swing your arms.

Relax the back of the neck, release any tension in your lower back and also pay attention to what your feet are doing here. I'm gonna take that block now and place it between my thighs and then I'll have to open up my legs just a little bit so I can have the same width as my knees with my feet. I'll roll up from here and I'll feel that I have that contact with a block between the legs so that my inner thighs are fire. Just a few squats here, taking your bottom down and then standing up. What I love about doing squats in the beginning of class is that it activates my glutes.

And so it makes me more aware of my neutral pelvis and also it gives me an indication of what my feet are gonna do for me today. Are they gonna turn in, turn out? And then you'll notice with the block between the legs if you have that that you'll get a little bit more glute engagement and it also helps to fire that pelvic floor one more time and then stand up. Now reach those arms up to the sky and then roll back down towards mat removing the block off the legs and then just placing the block out of your way here. So just right in front and then walk yourself out to a plank position and hold, shoulders are right over the wrist.

Feet are back, legs are strong. And then from here go ahead and lift up into a pike position and hold stretching the heels, taking a deep inhale breath and lift up to high heels and roll through the spine, pause and do that a couple of more times. We can just stretch and move. The pike, the plank is nice if you got the strength this morning because it pivots to the shoulder and it hinges the hips which we'll be doing quite a bit of in the hour and roll forward and then lift up and then maybe take the right leg up towards the ceiling to open up that hip if you'd like. And I'm not a big Yogi but these beginning exercises here really help with my Pilates practice.

And I'm gonna bring my right foot forward. When I bring my right foot forward, I'm gonna rest my knee on the mat and then my foot will rest on the yoga block. So it gives you a little bit of an imbalance there. So you have to work with that. Now bring those arms up with your low lunge and open up to the front body, that left foot rests on the yoga block.

The right knee is over the second and third toe and then bring the hands back towards the floor and then just step gently back into plank and then into your pike position and stretch the heels to the mat. Take the left leg up towards the ceiling and then shift that left foot forward and then adjust by bringing your right knee down, right foot on the block and then finding a nice low lunge. Deep inhale breath here, place those hands back onto the mat. Roll. Do that one more time on each side. Step quietly back into plank and then up into pike and then lift that right leg up towards the ceiling, then shift the foot forward.

Place the knee down, left foot rest, arms up towards the ceiling. Nice big stretch, hands back down. And of course this is your own practice. If you want to hold any of those positions then you can do so. Breathe, inhale breath and then I'm gonna go ahead and bring my left leg up.

Or did I just do that one? That's okay. Work with me. Work with my brain this morning. Maybe I did not know I didn't. Right foot comes down, arms come up towards the ceiling, open up through the chest.

This time you're just going to place your hands on the floor and then lower both knees to the mat and then shift that block forward so you could place your hands on top of the block resting your head between your shoulders and stretch. Take a deep inhale and exhale breath, one more and then slowly coming up to a seated position. So we're gonna be using the block for a little emphasis on the inner thighs. I'm going to place the block between my knees, feet are flat and make sure that you're not putting a lot of pressure onto the bony part of your knees. So adjust the block and you never wanna overly squeeze the block.

It's just there for emphasis. Arms are gonna be out in front, shoulders nice and wide. Let's take a little half roll back exhale breath. Once you find your half roll back, bring your feet maybe a little closer to you so that you can come into that perfect C curve and then sit up nice and tall. And again, and exhale breath.

Now, here is a place if you had just a ball or sweatshirt or a blanket. You can place that, roll it up, place it between the legs. And what that'll do is feel like you're a little bit more stable in the hips 'cause your emphasis is from the knees all the way up to the hips. Lower back one more time as you exhale to roll back and then inhale to sit all the way back up. Now roll yourself back again and pause.

And then you can take your lower back down to the mat if you'd like or you can stay up a little bit higher on the back of your sits bones. So whatever works best for you this morning, I'm gonna roll myself back and maybe rotate my upper body slightly to the right and just lift up an inch down, an inch into the obliques too and exhale three. And I want you to think about that left shoulder moving further away from the right shoulder one more time. Without resting I'm just gonna shift my body to the left and lift up an inch down an inch one. And up and two, three, four, five and six.

Come to the center, grab those hamstrings, roll yourself up to a nice seated position and then extend your legs out. Take that yoga block and place it now between the feet. So I've got it up and down long ways, the length of my feet. And I'm gonna go into my spine twist here. So pressing the insides of your feet into the box activity in the inner thighs, getting a connection from the foot to the sits bones and then the sits bones to the head.

Arms out to the side, let's turn the palms up. Nice rotation to the right with two pulses, inhale, inhale, exhale back to the center. And then take it over to the other side. Inhale, inhale and back. I love the inhale on my twist because I move a little bit further.

Because of the inhale those ribs expand a little bit more. My palms are facing up so that I can remind myself to keep the arms nice and still at the shoulder joint. So pretend you're holding onto two glasses with water here. Inhale, inhale, exhale. We'll do two more.

This is your last one. Inhale, inhale, exhale and then flex forward and stretch for your feet. While we are here sit up nice and tall, bring the arms out in front of you. Palms face each other. Continue to squeeze that block between the legs going into your spine stretch.

Nod your chin, flex your spine and reach forward towards your feet. Make sure the lower back is reaching behind you as your shoulders are reaching towards the toes. Sit up nice and tall. Inhale the top, exhale to peel off that wall reach. Inhale the whole, exhale and sit up.

I like to imagine my knees as the edge of a building as I'm flexing forward. This reminds me to keep my bottom and my lower back behind me and flex. And then up. One more time flex that spine forward, now pause. Then we lead with the thumbs to the ceiling, lift the eyes and look past the block.

Round forward over the legs and then sit up nice and tall, hold. Let's do that again. Flex the upper spine, extend, flex and then sit up. And I actually really like the block between the theater ball between the feet. It reminds me to keep my lower body active.

You get so focused on the torso movement that we forget that the energy needs to come out of those heels and relax and then sit all the way back up. I'm gonna transfer that block again and place that block between the thighs. Line on your back, so supine. Bringing your legs up towards the ceiling, so in a tabletop position and we're gonna try some supine spine twist here. So the blocks between my legs, ankle perpendicular to the knees, hands are by your side.

take the body or the lower half of the body towards your right. You're coming into a little twist rotation. Pause here for a moment, eyes to the ceiling, left shoulder down and then bring the legs back to center. And then you'll do on the other side. It is important that the rotation happens at the ribs.

Otherwise you're gonna be rotating in the lower back and then you're not actually gaining that mobility in the middle of your spine or most of us are stiff. Inhale as you lean to one side, exhale squeezing that block between the legs to come to the center. Inhale to the left, exhale back to center one more on each side and then the other, and then hold. Let's keep the legs where they are reaching the arms behind. Arms are nice and long, palms face the ceiling, arms in your virtual vision.

Arms come up, head and shoulders come up, flex the spine, lower yourself back. So you're going into a 100 prep. Exhale and inhale. And continue with one breath pattern flexing the spine, opening up the back body at the same time, warming up those ups. And the timing of the arms is important here.

So as the arms come past the face, so to nod the chin and that'll bring your weight up and forward. One more time, pause at the top, take the block, transfer it to the feet, okay? And see if you can secure it at the feet and then lower your head and shoulders back. We're gonna go into the 100 and you can keep that block between the knees or at the feet, it's gonna be a little bit more challenging. So arms up, head and shoulders up, extend the legs out and pump the arms.

Inhale two, three, four, five. Exhale two, four, five inhale and exhale. You could choose to bend the knees on your inhale as well and then extend the legs on the exhale. Inhale two, three, four, five. Exhale two, four, 40.

Inhale two, three, four, five. Exhale two, four, 50. Keep going, halfway there inhale two, three, four, five. Exhale, two, three, four, 70, inhale. Exhale two, three, four, 80.

Inhale. Exhale two, three, four, 90. Inhale one more. Exhale two, three, four, 100, hold. Knees to chest, head and shoulders down and release.

Grab that block between the feet extend the legs nice and long. Now take that block between the hands. So it's wide between the hands about shoulder width, point through your feet and come up into a roll up. So now the chin roll up and reach past your toes. And we'll continue with a few of these to move through the spine.

So arms up on your inhale. Now the chin on your exhale. And what's nice about the block when you have it in your hands for this exercise is that it keeps you aware on your shoulders. Sometimes we get really into the spinal movement and then forget about those shoulder blades. And don't be afraid to reach for the feet.

That'll stretch the shoulders a bit. Just make sure that this isn't just a hamstring stretch and a lower back stretch. One more time, roll it all the way up and let's hold it at the top. Bend those knees and we are going to attempt rolling like a ball which I always think is risky on a high mat but we're gonna do it today. So, hands around the front, holding onto the block.

Till the pelvis back and find the back of your sits bones. We're gonna do this two different ways. Feet come up to balance, block goes up against the shins. Shoulders are wide, but rounded forward. Now roll back to your shoulder blades, roll back up balance and see if you keep that block up against the shins, inhale breath.

Now this makes it easier in my book. Inhale to lower back and then exhale. Make sure that you are leading with the lower back as you come into that rolling like a ball. One more time, inhale to roll back and then exhale back up. Now let's make it more challenging.

I'm gonna take that block and press it behind me against my calves. This time I'm going to actually let go of my legs and just tighten the calves to the thighs, arms out in front. Roll back, roll up. And make sure that you don't lose that block. So inhale to roll back.

Come up and hold. Lead with that lower back. So most people like to kick their feet up when they do the rolling like a ball. So this is a great way to give you that awareness. You feel more like you're tight like a ball shape here.

And up one more time, inhale breath and then exhale. Just sit up nice and tall. Moving on to shoulder bridge, we're gonna place the block. It's longways here on the side. So when you lie down, it'll be next to my right foot, okay?

So lying on your back, your right foot on the block, left foot should be in alignment. It may not be perfect but you'll know here in a second. Arms long, find your bridge. Once you find your bridge position, just pause. You've got your right foot on the block.

So there will be a tendency to maybe lift one hip higher. What I love about this is that it actually opens up the hip a little bit more. So you'll feel that stretch and then just try a few lower lifts or hip lifts, just hinging at the hips. And can you put the emphasis on your block foot? So if you put the emphasis on your block foot then you'll get a little bit more of a stretch.

Lift it up and then lower down. Your breath is what's gonna work for you. So I like to inhale normally when I open up that front body and then exhale. Now let's stay up in that bridge position. Hold shoulders are nice and wide, a little balance challenge.

Can you take your left leg off of the mat, the table top. Now you've got that right foot right on top of that block and then lower that foot down. You can rest it all the way, we can toe touch and then bring that leg back up. Inhale lift, exhale lower. So you really feel that glute fire.

Make sure that you're not falling into your left shoulder. The back of your head is pressing into the mat. One more time as you lift that leg up, place that foot down. Slowly lower the spine down to the mat. Now we're gonna add on, arms are long.

Let's layer it one more time. Lift the hips. This time I'm gonna take my left foot to the tabletop and hold. Then I'm gonna lower my bottom up and down. So I'm working with one glute, that left side of my body is working hard. The obliques to keep that hip nice and stable, the multifidus muscles.

One more lifted up, hold, lower the foot, lower your spine down and release. So just switch it. You'll just have to move with your feet, move a block over and then don't worry if it's not perfect. Just start over and fix the block, okay? Arms are long by your side.

Let's go back to just lifting the one-time. So you're lifting up now. You'll see my other side and the camera. You won't see the block side as much but you'll see my right hip. Now from here just a little lower and lift.

A couple of great cues here or sometimes I put my thumbs on my ribs and my fingers on my hip, my longer finger. And I just lower and lift. And then I could see whether or not I moving from my lower back or essentially through my hips which that's what I want is my hips. So let's lift up, pause. Let's lift that right, like up to tabletop.

There's your challenge. And then you can lower it all the way and rest it or you could just toe touch, depending on how you feel during your workout right now. And also pay attention to what this does to that left inner thigh. And hopefully the more we use the block for emphasis on your inner thighs, the more they will fire on their own without you having to think about it. It's really good for hip stabilization.

Then I'm gonna place my foot down, lower my spine down and then go to the next level. My hips are gonna come up. My right leg will go up the tabletop and then I'm gonna lower and lift just with my left hip. And funny enough, this is my strong side but it feels a little bit weaker this morning. Inhale, exhale, lift, watch your lower back.

This is a hip exercise. Two more, one more. Hold the top, place the foot down, roll your spine down and then just push the block forward and out of the way, tucking the knees to the chest so that you can rock all the way up to your seat and then shift yourself onto all fours, like a Quadro Pet, okay? So the blocks should be easy to grab, it's nearby. And I'm gonna take that block now and I a place in between the legs.

And it's gonna feel different for everyone. You don't wanna go too high or too low. Just find a good spot. Hands are underneath the shoulders, curl your toes and you'll feel that nice stretch all 10 toes here. And then just give me a few cat cows around the spine and then extend the spine.

We are gonna be lifting our knees just as a warning but this is a really great way to see where your flexion is. You want that flexion to be at your lower part of your abdominals and you want the extension to be exaggerated at the upper part of your back. Now let's find a nice flat back, shoulders wide here. Toes are still curled under, knees lift to a hover. Tighten that block gently between the legs and then lower the knees back down.

This can be done without your block. So just lift and lower and lift. I like to imagine my tailbone having a little rope on it. I just pull that rope up towards the ceiling and that'll help me stabilize the upper part of my body. And dissociate that from the moving part which is the knee and hip.

One more time, hold that hover, pause, breathe in through the nose, out through the mouth for a challenge and then lower the knees down. Now find your flexion. So now this time when you find flexion, you should be feeling a lot of this more into that rectus muscle, your six pack muscle in there. So lift the knees up in a rounded spine, squeeze the thighs gently and lower the knees down and do it again. Stay rounded.

So don't go from flexion to extension and then try best to look at your thighs and make sure that you're looking your thighs because you are a consistent in flexion. From your chin or top of your neck down to your tailbone. Inhale to lift, exhale to lower. Just two more. One more, lower the knees, relax the feet and pause.

Now we're gonna go into a little challenge, lifting one foot up at a time. So inhale through the nose here. On your exhale, you're gonna curl those toes under and then lift the knees up. Starting with a flat back lift the right foot off the mat, point the toe, lower lift the left. Alternate trying to keep the body really steady.

Pointing and flexing of the foot is something that I do. I like to mobilize my ankle. It also keeps me present because I have just one more gesture thing I have to think about. One more on each side and then lower the knees to the mat. And you can try that with a rounded spine.

So let's flex the spine, hold. Elbows point backwards here, curl the toes under lift the knees and then same thing. But you're in a rounded spine. As soon as you start to get, for lack of a better word, lazy with the spine, then I need you to just go ahead and put the knees down 'cause you've lost the block there. One more, lower the knees and then release.

And then for an added stretch to my shoulders I take the block out of my legs. I place it out in front. And then you gonna put your hands on there and then drop your head between your shoulders. And then roll yourself back up. So from here we're gonna be doing some extension.

So, I'm gonna stay in all fours. I'm gonna take the block and place my right hand on the block. And then my left hand on the mat, okay? So my right elbow is gonna have to bend just a little bit. Otherwise I'm gonna be turning to my right because I'm elevated with one arm.

So with my right elbow bent and my left hand down on the mat side by side, I'm gonna go ahead and take my left leg back. So the leg that's reaching behind you is not the one that the hand is on or is block. From here just lower and lift that leg up and down, up and down. So you're going a little hip extension. Now from here, pause, lift the leg up, hold that reach and then bend your elbows so that you tilt your body towards the mat and then press up keeping that left leg in line with your hip.

So a little challenge for stability of the shoulder. One arm is gonna be working a little harder than the other because of a block, one more and then come back up and then lower the knee down. Let's transfer over to the other side. Right hand on the mat, left-hand on the block, right leg reaches behind. Find a nice long line as you lower and lift that leg.

So continuing on with this hip mobility and left elbow bent a little bit just as a reminder and then make sure all of your weight isn't on your right arm. Now hold that right leg up for reach. Bend the elbows if you can evenly lower to the math and then as you lower keeping that hip extension so the knee doesn't move the ankle. The hip stays or the femur stays fixed to the hip. One more and then go ahead and lower the knees back down.

So I'm gonna come to tall knees and I'm gonna face you guys for just a moment for just a quick thigh stretch. So two ways we're gonna do this. You're gonna place the block between the thighs for emphasis on the inner thighs or maybe I will turn so that you could see the side view as I lean. So pelvis and a front of your pelvis and your back of your pelvis should be level. So ASIS and PSIS are in line for neutral.

Arms down by your side, reach the arms out in front of you as you lean back and stretch the thighs. And they come back up bringing the arms past the hips into a little chest expansion. Inhale as you lean and then exhale as you come up. So if this is starting to bother your knees because the block's too narrow for your hips, then please remove the block out from under your legs and then I'm gonna show you another option. One more time, inhale and then exhale.

Now let's grab that block, place it between the hands and then do it from here. So lean back on your inhale breath and then exhale, arms just reach out in front. Inhale and then exhale. One more time as you inhale breath now this time pause. Pull the block towards you by pressing into the palms of your hand and give me a slight extension of the upper back and middle back.

Reach the arms out in front of you at shoulder height. Find a long line need ahead and then come back up. So imagine you're on the Cadillac. You have a hold of the roll down bar and you're pulling that roll down bar towards your chest. And then you're extending as though your arms are in resistance and then back towards tall knees.

Twice more inhale and then extend, exhale, squeeze those shoulder blades together and then reach the arms forward line up that body. One more time, inhale, bend those elbows, extend. Reach the arms forward and then come all the way back up. Now I am gonna turn towards you. Yes we're gonna go into some sideline work with the legs.

So I'm gonna take the block, I'm placing it on my right side. It's not gonna be in the perfect position right away. You're gonna have to fix it and I'll show you why. So arms around to the side in airplane wings, then you gotta take your hand that's closest to the block and place it on the block and then take your leg up to the side. Now if it's not right, scoot it over and then place your hand comfortably.

This actually makes it a little bit easier on the upper part of your body to have your hand on that block. So it takes the weight towards the center. So lift that leg as high as you can get it about the height of your hip. Take your free hand behind your head and let's move into some kicks. Flex the ankle, bring it forward and then point that toe and bring that leg back.

You're moving through your hips. So you're reaching forward exhale and then inhale bringing that leg back, good. Exhale forward and then inhale back. So again the goal with this block, if you have wrist issues this is a great way for you to do this series. If you are having shoulder issues, it takes away that tension into the shoulders and you can focus more on the lower half of the body.

One more time, bring it to the side and then just lower and lift that leg up and down one, and up two. I don't always have to have the hand behind the head. You can bring the hand to the thigh, we did this last week. And it gives your arm something to do. And then hold that leg up there, hold.

And then I'm gonna place my hand back behind my head and do small circles. They come from the hip, not the ankle. Inhale, exhale. Let's reverse it. Glute to the front of the hip.

So make sure you get that full range of motion and don't stop halfway. Three, two, and then one and then come all the way up. Take that block, transition it to the other side. Arms are out to a T. Let's take the handout to the block and then take that leg out.

I'm doing a pretty good job placing that block down. Place the hand behind the head, lift that leg up to the height of your hip and let's flex that ankle forward. Two that I've talked about in the past is placing that head up against your hand while lying up your spine a bit. So if my head starts to fatigue in this position, if I put my hand behind my head, just lines my neck back up it feels better and then bring it back. Inhale and exhale.

I love this exercise or this series because I feel like I get so much done. Hip stability, hip mobility, pelvic stability, range of motion. Glutes, obliques, name everything, arm. It's all working. Now hold that leg to the side and just lower and lift that leg up.

And then again you could have the arm do the same thing with a little bit more emphasis on that internal oblique for a three, two, one, hold and circles forward. Circle, circle, circle, four, three, two. Now reverse. Smile. It always helps when it burns too much. And it's short-term.

In just a little bit you'll be done with this. Three, two and one. You're gonna come back up the tall knees and then I'm gonna turn back to all fours. And then this time I'm gonna turn the block so that way the side is facing down so that I can actually get a good grip. My left hand will go back onto the mat, my right hand is holding the block and I'm gonna take my left leg straight behind me.

So the hip is square. So same thing as before but this time I'm gonna take my block out in front and then I'm gonna lower and lift the block and the toe to the mat and a modified swimming. And lift and lift. And I know that the blonde doesn't weigh much and it's not about that. But what it does is it gives you a little bit of awareness because your fingers are gripping.

Your hands have a lot of nerve endings, so do your feet. So it's nice to make that connection. Now, lift it up and hold. Then take that block round your spine and bring the block to your knee, pause. Maybe even press that block up against the knee to feel that oblique and then extend out.

And again, ax here. A little emphasis. Watch that left shoulder. It's very easy to forget about that arm as you're trying to coordinate the other extensors and your spine. One more time press, reach and release.

Let's switch it. So my left hand is now on the block. My right hand is on mat. I'm gonna reach that opposite leg. Then I'm gonna reach that opposite arm and I'm gonna lower and lift.

And I've got a good grip on the block. So I feel those fingers working sending a message all the way to my toe. Inhale, exhale. Make sure that head is in line with the spine and your eyes are forward of your fingers. Let's hold it on the next one.

Round the spine, bring the inside of that block to the inside of the knee. A little emphasis on that oblique and reach away. You're actually touching. So you can feel that cross connection almost like you're making half of your X here and out. And in.

And reach. Let's go two more since I didn't count on the other side. The last one, reach away and then go ahead and rest. Let's place the block on the mat. So it's long wide, so you can place both hands on there and let's continue with some back body work.

So what we call tone anatomically. Let's place the hands on the blocks side by side, nice and long. Legs are behind, shoulders are wide and then you're gonna press the palms into the block so maybe it sets those shoulders a little bit. So I could feel the shoulder tension away from the ears and the little connection down to the last. I'm gonna float legs up.

From here I'll just swing my legs up and down, up and down. With my left hand on the block, I'm gonna take my right hand off and I'm gonna bring that right arm over to the hip looking over that right shoulder. Don't be in a hurry, just stay here. With the block a little bit higher, it's forcing my upper body to set a little higher. So if I'm somebody that has a hard time staying in place here in extension, this is a really great prop.

Let's bring the hand to the block and then just switch it to the other side. And if you can get up a little higher, great. If you can't, then just stay there. Make sure you're not falling into that right shoulder. You're pressing the palm down and remember making that connection with the nerve endings of your hand.

And then we're gonna switch it to the other side again. Inhale, two, three, four, five. Let's go to the other side. And again, inhale two, three, four, five. One more, take it to the other side.

Inhale, two, three, four, five. And then one more. Inhale two, three, four and five. One more thing here in prone. You're gonna take that block and you gonna reach back and place it between your feet.

So the length of your feet or the length of the blocks. And if this is annoying or it's not working for you then just drop the blocks. So now, I'm gonna keep my head up for just a moment but I want you guys to place both hands on the mat and then place your forehead down on the mat, okay? Little heel squeeze thrown here. My knees are about the width of the blocks apart.

You can open them up wider if you need to. Press your pubic bone down into the mat and then just lift from the knee. A little extension. I'll drop my face down here for just a few, a little emphasis on those inner thighs. Two more, one more.

Now lift those knees up to hover. Can you extend your legs, reach your arms out in front and then bring them back behind you. So now you're at a hover count eight, seven, six, four, three, two and one and then release. I'm just gonna drop my block behind me and not pick it up and then push myself back into a little child's pose and breathe. Roll yourself up.

That was quite a bit of extension. But in a 24-hour day I gave you about two minutes of it. So, still probably not enough, but something that everyone needs to practice. I'm having to see it because I'm gonna burn out the abs just a little bit more. So feet are flat.

Let's place that block between the knees. We're gonna go into modify teaser. So I'm gonna have you lying on your back, feet flat and then the arms are gonna be overhead in your peripheral. The palms are facing up for me. The feet are further away than they would be for a bridge.

So just remember that. Arms will come up. I'm gonna start by grabbing the hamstrings and pulling myself to a seated position, arms out. So the arms should look like your teaser arms and your torso but the feet are flat. Roll back, arms come back.

And let's do it again. Now my palms are facing each other. So maybe that's where they need to be. And then roll back down. Now you're welcome to grab onto your hamstrings and pull yourself up to that sticky spot.

Just make sure that the teaser is a rolling through the spine and not a hinge. Now, let's go ahead and take one leg up. So my right leg is up and the leg is lined up with the hip. My arms are behind. I'm gonna lift up. Roll up, now I've got a one leg, a teaser and then roll back down.

And again, now the chin exhale to lift it up and hold and exhale to lower. We have two more. Chin out and lower. Feeling those inner thighs help support the lower back and then back down. And let's try the other side.

Left leg extends, arms up. Nod the chin and flex one and lower down. You'll notice one side might be easier than the other and roll through the spine and lower. I really do love the teaser, is why I'm smiling so much. One more time.

It's one of those where I'm like, oh, if I could do it, then I'm having a good day. Now, we have both legs. So, but this time I'm gonna take the block into my hands, holding the sides, roll myself down. Now my legs to table top, arms overhead, try one with me here at least arms up, roll yourself up. Reach the block towards the toes, roll yourself back down and then return to the mat.

And again, roll through the spine, teaser up and then roll back. Let's do two more. Why not. Roll up, arms and legs extend, roll it back down. Last one. Now if I put this between my legs it'll be way harder.

So I chose this one. Now stay. One more challenge, legs lower four times one. And up and two, three. One more, four, fall forward and stretch.

That's going pretty good there. So that was my showing off for the class. Alright, we're almost there. I'm gonna have you guys place the block down, hold. And then you're gonna go ahead and lie onto your back.

And then the block will now be between the feet. So I actually have it a little wider so it's actually flat. So I've got the size of the box. And then I'm gonna take my hands behind my head and we're gonna do the neck pull. Toes pointing up towards the ceiling, elbows in your peripheral vision.

Head and shoulders come up. Now I'm gonna try one with a little cheat. I'm gonna take my hands forward, push up against those blocks and then once I get up, I'm gonna place my hands behind my head and get my chest towards my thighs. Push the weight of your head into your hands to find the top posture, hinge back, roll yourself back keeping the block between the legs. And I'm gonna try without the hands here inhale.

Oh, I did it. Chest to the thighs, tow spine, hinge back. Roll it back. And again, now the chin. And flex.

Again you can always take those legs out or your arms out to assist you. We're gonna do this one more time and roll. Chest at thighs, sit all the way up and return. I'm gonna go down to my knees now and I'm gonna sit on my heels. If this doesn't work for you then please don't do that.

You just come to the colonies. We're all gonna try some side plank variations. So I'm going to keep the block. It's on my left side right now. So I'm gonna keep my block on my left side and I'm actually gonna put my forearm on that block versus my hand.

I'm gonna stack my legs on top of each other crossing the top leg over the bottom leg. And then I'm gonna turn my palm up towards the ceiling. Yeah, just like that. And then lift myself up a little forearm plank. Now once I'm here, I'm gonna pause.

Squeeze those inner thighs together and then take that free arm and twist it underneath. So now you're actually facing the floor or the mat with your forearm resting on the block. Then I'm gonna twist back towards you and then lower down. Now if you'd like, just do the side plank. But I'm gonna continue with this challenge.

Make sure that that block feels comfortable underneath your shoulder. Palm faces up. I'll lift myself up and hold. I'm going to twist and see if I can square my shoulders off to the mat. Now I'm in a plank position, knees pointing towards the mat.

I'm gonna rotate back and I'm gonna lower down. How about we just do one more. You can do as many as you want later. So I'll do one more. Sweet doesn't advice.

Rotate and twist. Hold, rotate back, hold. All about control and then roll yourself down. Lets go and take a little counter stretch to the other side. And for me to face you, I'm gonna move my block but you're welcome to just turn around to face the other direction.

So now I've got my block out, I'm gonna place my forearm down and then my left leg is crossed over my right. Left palm is facing up, and I'll lift myself up into that side plank. Make sure that it feels comfortable here. I'm gonna pause. Then I'm gonna take that free arm, open up my legs.

So now they're square to the floor and that plank. I'm gonna rotate back and then slowly lower the hips to the mat. That is challenging. Modify as you need to. Lift it up, hold, long arms, squeeze that gap between your legs, rotate toes pointing towards the mat. This is not for everyone's shoulders so be careful and then lower down.

But we'll only do one more. Ready? Inhale. Exhale, turn. Rotate back, hold and then lower back down. I'm gonna take my arm up towards the ceiling and then I'm gonna stretch to the other side, hold here and then return.

I have one more challenge for you today. So I'm actually gonna take that block and just make it so it's almost center. So I'm gonna actually do it long ways just like that. Then I'm gonna turn. And we're gonna do a little shuffle with plank today.

So you can do these on your forearm. You can do these on your hands. I'm gonna choose my hands. I'm gonna place my hands on the mat, hands under the shoulders. And then I'm gonna go into that plank.

And if you've watched the first class, I showed you how to get into a perfect plank. I'll show you right now. Hands under the shoulders, knees under the hips. Right foot comes back and hooks, left foot comes back and hooks. We're gonna do a little shuffle.

You're gonna take your right foot up to the block, technical difficulty, and then back down and then your left. So right foot on the block, left foot. Now, if you need to make any adjustments to your hands, please do so. But basically just giving me a little target side to side with emphasis on those inner thighs that hopefully we've woken up today. We're gonna go one more on each side and then you're gonna hold that plank with a little bit wider leg, lift up to that wider pike and then walk your hands back to your feet.

And now you'll have the block in your hands hopefully. And then you'll roll yourself all the way back up. And I'm gonna turn sideways and we're gonna do a little cool down. So stepping your right foot out to a lunge, holding the block with your hand that's on the opposite leg, and then you're gonna rest the forum on the bat knee, take that block overhead, hold. Take a deep inhale breath and then step back to center.

And then you'll go to the other side for a quick lunch stretch holding the yoga block, that's it. And then back to center. One more. On the other side, stretch, inhale and exhale. Last one, reach it out and over and then back to center.

Now taking that block and bringing it behind you. So I'm gonna turn. I'm holding the size of the block here. I'm just gonna reach the block behind me as I open up the chest and maybe pulling with my fingertips, trying to pull the block apart like it's stretchy. Hold here.

And then bring the arms out in front of the block, reach the arms up to the sky, open up through the chest here and then bringing those hands down, block to heart center. And you guys are all done today. I hope you enjoy the variations with the yoga block. And if you didn't have one, I hope you were able to follow along but I would love feedback on these exercises and if the block was beneficial or if it was just in your way, that would be good to know. Thank you so much for joining me.