Sculpt + Conditioning Flow

Hi. I'm Courtney Miller. And today, I have Sydney with me. My fellow Pilates instructor and friend at Pilates Republic, and we have a challenging class, which is gonna blend some traditional Pilates, some yoga fusion on the machine, and some challenging fitness moves. She requested that last part. So blame her. We're gonna get started with 1 red spring on. That's for later, kneeling on the carriage and facing back knees right up against the shoulder blocks, hands onto the rails.

You'll wanna walk your hands a bit forward of your shoulders. You can either wrap your hands, or you can have fingers forward. If you're on the allegro too and you've got those wide rails, you might want fingers forward your call. Croil your toes underneath you, raise into a downward facing dog, and settle in. Take that dog for a walk, walking one heel down, and then the other. Let gravity do what it does, which is pulling your head neck and shoulders down. Hips are back and chest is towards thighs.

But from here, lift both heels nice and high. Take your right leg straight up to the sky. Find that three legged dog, open, open, open, gonna go into a little vinyasa flow, lean forward into a plank, right knee draws towards the chin. You can round your spine and even scoop while you're here, and then push back into that three legged dog five times. If you feel like this is a challenging move on your wrists, we're not gonna be here very long for lean forward and then lean back.

And the more you lean back, the more you de load those risks 3, get ready to step through and 2. Big kick up. Let that hip open. Gorgeous. One more time. Knee comes forward. Kick it back. Find that three legged dog.

That triangle shape. Now kick it forward, step forward, and freeze before you let go of the rails, bend into your standing knee quite a lot and lift your back leg up. I want you to find a capital letter key position with your body. Nice. In the three legged dog, I wasn't too picky about the hips rotating. I wanted her to feel open, but in this exercise, let's keep the hips square, flex the back foot internally that rotate that leg and then reach your arms forward. Good. So you're seeing that long line. This is very much like a plank position in the body.

Now bend and straighten your standing leg. We'll do 8. See if you can straighten it all the way, Sydney. 7. Good. 6. This is core work standing up. 5 drop the chest a little bit lower, but lift the arms a little bit higher. Good. 4, we got a big stretch coming up.

In 3, That's 2. And now go down and hold. Place your hands onto the rails again and lower your back leg between the shoulder blocks. Uncurl the foot and let the whole leg settle in and rest down. Got the machine is supporting the lunge in this position. Lift the arms, lift the chest, and lift the gaze. Good.

The more lift we get into the chest and upper body, the more you're gonna feel the front of that hip open. Keep that shape and lean forward abs stay strong and then lift back up. Let's do five here. Big lift. 5 strengthening the back body, waking up that back body for pull your right hip back. Yep. 3.

Nice into the twist. We go into She's doing a great job framing her face with her arms. 1, lean forward, left hand goes down, right arm goes up to the sky. Good. So it's the opposite hand to leg. Bend your back knee in towards you. This is just an option.

You can reach back. Grab the foot if you can reach it. Give yourself a big squeeze. Let those hips settle in and down and breathe. Look up at the ceiling so your neck is getting that rotation as well.

One more big breath in. Big breath out, release the foot, place the hands onto the rails. We're going back into our dog, but here's how you do it. So curl your toes underneath you, lift the back knee. Good. You'll wanna lean forward so that this foot doesn't hit the headrest.

So bring your knee to your chest, heel to booty. Find that scoop, and then back into the 3 legged dog. And you can practice that a few times at home, downward facing dog, keep the down dog, settle into it, and take that dog for a walk. It's really common to kick the headrest with your heel as you learn that move, but the secret to not kick is that lean forward and that scoop. Okay. Heels are lifted. Good. Take your opposite leg up to the sky.

Left leg. Big lift. Open it up. Lean forward into your plank. Shoulders over wrist need to nose, and then you can find that round back scoop, kick it back five times. Kick and then lean forward and scoop. Good.

Kick and scoop. And remember, if your wrists are getting tired, it's a short series, but this will help to build strength. And endurance in the wrist as well. Need a nose and kick. And then the next time the knee comes forward, place the foot onto the ground, and freeze. Okay. Bend a lot into your standing leg, settle in, lift the back leg up. And then here's where we most common have to drop that hip down.

Internally rotating at the leg helps to drop the hip too. Flexing the foot reminds us to fire up through that whole back body, reaching the arms forward, everything is working here. This is a very active position head down a bit arms up, and then the standing leg is gonna bend and straighten for 8. Good. Yep. That's okay to take those balance challenge. Yep. All the way up and down. So bean wobbly is a good thing.

It's teaching you recovery. This is a lot of work for your standing glute, knee, and ankle on that side, but there's a big reward coming in that stretch. The stronger you are in the core, the more stable you'll feel in your body. Last three? Good. Fire up that back leg too. Yeah.

2. Good job. One hands go down. Leg goes down uncurl and just relax that leg. Get as low as you can. So before you get started, This is the hip on that leg that's forward that you wanna pull back.

It feels like you're retracting the femur into the hip socket. And then reaching the arms forward, lifting the chest, lifting the gaze, hold. The more extension you get, the more lift more you're gonna be opening through the front of the hip on the leg that's back. Keep the shape and lean forward, and then lift up and find the breathing that really works for you might be an inhale forward and an exhale up or switch it up. When you're leaning forward, pull the abdominals in, Yes. Because everything we're doing is core work. One more time, big stretch forward find the length, lift up, and then lean forward and put the right hand down on the floor, left arm up to the sky.

So see how it's the opposite hand to leg that's on the floor. Push into the floor to find that rotation. Bend your back knee in towards you, option to grab the foot. Some days you can do it. Some days you can't. Grab around this side that that's gonna open the shoulder.

Look up at the ceiling. Breathe and hold. Try to pull that hip back. Hold and breathe. 4. Push down into the floor more. Good.

3. The rotation is coming from here, from your ribs. 2. One more big inhale. Big exhale, release the foot, hands go on to the rails. Here's how you get back into that dog.

You'll have to practice it a few times, curl your toes underneath you, lift the back knee, Good. Try not to lean back. I know you think down dog is leaning back, but first, you have to go into your plank, lean forward, knee to nose, heal the butt, Find that scoop. Then into the 3 legged dog, you go chest to thighs, breathe it out, downward facing dog, Good. Drop those heels low, settle into it, and take your knees down to the mat. Nicely done. Okay. From here, we're gonna get off the machine.

Come on off to one side. Just a little reminder, you've got that one red bring on turn around and face the front. We have a lunge series. So your inside foot goes against the shoulder blocks, outside foot on the floor, start with your hands on the hips. And when you're ready, I want you to drop into the lunge, kicking that carriage back and leaning forward.

So stay here for a second, Sydney. This is not that different than that warrior 3 we were in, see if you can get your chest a little bit lower. The purpose of the resistance and the care just to relief fire into that glute. So see if you can feel it. Rise all the way up. And then let's do it again.

Low lunge, and this knee wants to come forward. More forward. More forward. Yes. And then rise to come up. Yep. So in a lunge, we're working a lot of ankle mobility, bend into that knee knee forward knee forward knee forward nice and then rise to come up, do it again, finding that oppositional length, driving your heel down into the floor, heel back into that shoulder block, One more time like this, low lunge, course tight, and then rise come up, place your hands to your head or behind your head, we're gonna add the twist. Press out into that lunge position, leaning the chest forward.

Now this time, hold, add a rotation in the spine towards that front knee, rotate back through center, and then rise all the way up to vertical. Well done. Do it again. So press out into the lunge. Knee comes forward. You wanna get low. Rotate.

Rotate back through center and then rise to come up, pressing down into those heels. Good. 3 more. So we're working right around 5 repetitions here. Unravel and then rise 2 more. Chast is gonna lean forward a lot. Weight up that glute.

Rotate in the spine. Look up. Rotate down to the floor and then rise. Last time like this, big press out. Front knee goes forward back leg back opposition. Rotate.

Through center and then rise to come up. Awesome. Press back into the lunge and hold. Both hands can go down onto the foot bar. Thumbs are wrapped over. So what I want you to feel now is that your weight is shifted back over your lower body.

Pretty much. Right? Now I want you to bring your weight forward so your shoulders are over your wrists. As soon as you do that, bring your knee up to touch the same elbow. So if it's right knee, it's right elbow. So weight is forward, spine is scooped, land back into the lunge and lean back. Do that a few more times.

So forward, knee to the same. Good. When you come forward, you're looking for those shoulders right over the bar. Yes. And when you land toe ball, heel, Good. One more time like this.

Back leg's staying fired up the whole time, and landed this time, the knee's gonna come across. So lean forward, knee to the opposite elbow hold. What you're feeling here is like a little twist or rotation, and then landed. Good. Let's do that again. Strong arms, fingers wrapped, keep going.

Try to avoid feeling like you're pushing your hands down into the bar. And instead wrap your fingers and feel like you're pulling your fingers up into the bar. This is gonna take a lot of load out of the wrist, and you'll feel more work in your back. Last time like this, Now that you know the two movements, we're gonna put them together in what's called TikTok, and you're just gonna be staying up there a little bit longer. So it's a bit of endurance. Go ahead and lean your chest forward.

Knee goes to same. Now hold this position. Knee goes to opposite. Knee goes back to same. And then you land it. Good.

Do it again. Need a same. Little side cinch. Need a opposite, rotation, knee back to same. Land it. Good. 3 more like this. Chest forward. Need the same tick, talk, and land 2 to go. Nice.

Elbows just a little bit soft. Keep the lift in the sternum. Ready. Glean forward. Push your chest bone up. Need a sing. Need a opposite, need a same, land it, bring that carriage all the way in, keep your hands on to the bar. Step both feet onto the carriage for chair pose.

So feet together, legs together sit deep and low and stay here. I'll often use the bar to kind of leaning back a bit, so I feel more weight into my heels. You got your legs squeezed together, lift your arms, lift your chest, lift your gaze, and hold. This is one of those exercises where there's not a lot of movement, but there is a lot of work. I want you to think of this as a grounding and a bit of a recovery move. Shoulders are down, ribs are wrapped, and you're breathing, weight into the heels, breathing for 4.

3, can you go chin up eyes up? 2, yeah, more extension. And one, forward fold, hands go to the bar. Take a moment. You can straighten your legs just for a moment. Not mean. And now bend back into your chair pose. K. Are Shiva squats. So take your right knee and cross it behind your left. Yep.

And you're low. There's a little rotation here. Then I want you to kick that right leg up. Allow the hips to open and then take it back into your squat. Instead of kicking to the side, kick straight back behind you. Just back behind you. Good.

And I want you looking at the foot bar the whole time. Less rotation in the spine and the shoulders. It's okay for those hips to open, but try to keep your shoulders square. It's gonna remind you of your elephant and arrow basket, if that's an exercise you do. Good. One more time like this. Inhale, bend, and cross.

Exhale lift and kick now step this back leg forward onto the platform in front of you. And then take your leg that's on the carriage back against the shoulder block. You want the heel lifted high for crescent lunge, so turn forward. Yeah. Don't let go until you're in the position. So get low in your lunge, crescent lunge.

You'll want your shin to be against that bar for stability. Iner thighs squeezing in and hips tucking under. Keep the lower body steady. Lift your arms up to the sky. Good. Cactus your arms and then bend your back knee. So it touches the mat, exhale everything up. 10 hips tucked under, inner thighs at 9.

Keep that cured steady. 8. Good. 7. Now if you need more tension, add another spring on here. More tension will make the exercise feel more supportive, less challenging, last 4, last 3, you're almost there.

That's 2, One more time. One forward fold hands go on to the bar, but you're not done yet. That front foot on the platform step down onto the ground in between the spring, spend it deeply so you're in your lunge. Good. We're going into another variation of our cardio lunges. This time, it's a pike. So get as low as you can first.

And then on an exhale, hips go up head goes down. You wanna keep that leg straight and try to kick it slightly forward. Land it. Good. Do it again. Exhale. Hips go up. Head goes down. Big lift. Good. Land it.

So your goal is to get your foot higher than the carriage. There you go. Yeah. Land it. 8 in total. We've got 4 more to do. Keep that back leg strong.

Big left push down to scoop up. Last two, Now the next time you're up, stay up. Take that front foot back to the wooden platform. Bend deeply into the front knee and pivot your back foot to face side. In preparation for your warrior. Now don't let go with your arms until you feel steady in your legs.

So you've got your foot turned to the side foot against the shoulder block, front foot turned forward shin against the foot bar. Take your right hand and put it onto the foot bar to the inside of your knee, take your left arm up to the sky. So finding kind of that triangle shape, your base or your lower body is gonna stay as it is. Stay strong in your spine and your upper body is what's gonna move. From here, I want left arm down to the thigh, right arm overhead, and then go back into your right angle, go all the way over right angle. Right, angle.

Keep going. Good. Do it again. So let's call this movement wind meal. You wanna move the spine and move the arms as much as you can. 5. Good. Try to open this knee.

Toes point forward. Yes. 4. Like doing side bends on the short box. 3 up and over. Nice, Sydney. 2.

Go into that big reach. Open the chest. Open the chest. One more time. Left arm down, right arm up. And now as the arms go down, I want you to place them onto the bar wider than the knee, pivot your back heel so it's up against the shoulder block. Stepping your right leg back so you're in a plank position, hold, and breathe. Soft elbows, press straight back.

Big pushback, long stretch. Exhale forward. Good. Now this is a long stretch modified because the feet are apart. You could also do this with your knees down on the carriage. If you're looking to amplify and add in that upper body, 1 Chaturanga push up while you're here, chest down, chest up, and press. Nice. 3 more.

Pushing into the heels is key finding that opposition so important. Good. Big push. And pull one more time. Stay strong in that back body. You're gonna add the Chaturanga?

We're thinking about it. One more. Yes. And rest. Step off to the other side of your machine. Good. And let's do our lunges on this side.

So you're facing the foot bar. You've got your foot against the shoulder block. Good. Hands are on your hip. And we're starting with our lunges. So pressing back, push through the heel, bend deeply into the front knee pause, lean the chest forward a lot, and get that knee to travel towards the pose.

Good rise all the way up and then do it again. Good. So hands are on the hips. You can feel that the pelvis is stained square, rise to come up. Do it again. As you press back, drop that right hip down, pull that left hip back, and rise. Almost there.

Two more like this. We're gonna add in that rotation one more time. Big press out. Front knee comes forward forward forward. And rise to come all the way up. Hands are gonna go behind the head, press into that same lunge that you practice, lean forward, and hold.

Now rotate your upper body towards that forward knee, rotate back towards center, rise to come all the way up for more like this. So that hold and that rotation is really gonna challenge your stability and balance. Pushing into your back leg will help. Lean forward, find the line, rotate, center, and rise. If you're able to rotate towards an ocean view, I highly commend it. Lean, twist, and last time like this, get low.

Head reaches forward. He'll reach his back, rotate, good, and rise to come up. Nice hands go on to the foot bar, finding that low lunge position. Back leg straight, fingers wrapped. So let's do our knee to same first.

So first lean forward, Sydney, so your shoulders over your wrists then bring left knee to left elbow and hold. So there's a little side cinch happening here. Land it and shift back when you do. Do it again. Same side. Same move. That's 4. Good.

I think of crow pose when I do this, getting the knee nice and high towards the tricep. 3. Good. Shoulder, staying right over those wrists in this position to And one. Okay. So now we're gonna do knee to opposite when you're ready. Lean forward, knee comes across. Pause.

There's a twist. That's what makes us different. That rotation. Land it. Back leg stays strong. Twist.

And land at 3 more to go. This is a great series because you get to play between weight into the lower body here in the lunge, and then the stability and upper body challenge when you're here forward over the bar in the plank. So now that you know both positions, we put them together in TikTok with that a little hold. So lean forward knee goes to the same. TikTok, you go opposite, same, land it. Nice. Do it again.

As you go forward and he comes up to same side, opposite side, same side, land it. Good. 3 more. Not just strength and coordination, but endurance. Right? You're here for a long time. Training those muscles through endurance so important and challenging need the same, need the opposite, need the same last time like this, and then we get to take a break and chair pose. You know, it's a tough class when that is your break.

Bring the carriage all the way in. Keep your hands on the bar and step both feet to the center of the carriage. Knees together. What I was suggesting is sort of use that bar to help you feel like you can sit or lean back a little bit into your heels. Knees together. Good. See how low her thighs are almost parallel to the ground.

That's awesome. Lift your arms. Lift your chest. Even lift your gaze. Right? So I do want all these back muscles firing up and working, pulling the shoulders down and back, hold and breathe, breathe and hold for 4. 3. Think of your 100 right now. Those long exhales full and complete breath pattern one more time.

Forward fold, hands go to the bar straight, and your legs for a moment into the Shiva squats. We go. Bend the knees again. So now you're gonna take left knee behind. Good. And there is can you do it right behind? Yeah. So see that knee cross? There is rotation in the pelvis.

And then kick up and pause for a second. Shoulders are pretty square. Gazes down. Hips are opening like that arrow esque position. An elephant. Go ahead and bend, and then exhale as you kick. 5. Good.

Bend and down. That hip can drop and rotate. 4. A little less weight on the arms if you can. 3. Good. Keeping this into the lower body. 2. Nice. Do one more.

Bend it down and in. Kick it back all the way. Now this leg, that's back steps forward onto the platform in front of you. The foot that's on the carriage goes against the shoulder block. We're going to crescent lunge, so sit deep and low and pause.

You don't wanna let go until the spring is pulled tight. Because that's where the stability is gonna come from. Also, your inner thighs and your glutes, feeling like you're holding yourself up from your core. When you're ready, lift your arms, lift your gaze, palms forward. We're gonna do those knee taps.

When you're ready, bend the elbows, drop the back knee, and then push up 10. Notice how the carriage is barely moving. That's so good. 9. 8. Keep tucking those hips under. Think hip bones, pulling forward, and up towards the ribs.

Down and up. 5 more. You can always add more resistance. It'll make you feel more supported in the exercise. Last two. And there's a break in the transition.

Hands go down. Foot goes down in between the rails. And sit as low as you can into the lunge. Good. Again, finding that long oppositional stretch head from heel. You're ready to go? Exhale hips go up. Carriage closes. You gotta lean back. Inhale land it.

We're doing 8. Bend that front knee forward in that lunge landing. Yeah. Big lift. Good. You feel like you're pushing down into your arms. You definitely feel like you're about to spring up into a handstand. There's there's momentum happening. It's like you're leaping up off the ground on that front leg leaning back. Yeah. Do you see how that gave her a little bit more pep in the step? Little leap to come up. Cool.

And just lean back more if you can. Think hips towards heels. There it is. Yes. This pike shape is a round back elephant. So if these elephant references are not, jiving, you might wanna go back to some of the traditional Pilates classes, arabesque elephant, round back elephant.

It helps you with this kind of work. The next time you're up, Sydney, stay up and take that front foot onto the wooden platform again and find your lunge just like you did. So get really low. Yeah. And don't let go. So the back foot needs to rotate. Point your toes to the sides.

The shoulder block will stop the foot from sliding, and you're pushing into the the baby toe, that little pinky toe side of the foot. Take your left hand to the inside of the knee and kinda squeeze your forearm and your thigh together, and then take your right arm to the sky. So here's kind of your triangle. Arm is going up. Your legs are your base, hips are open.

The base or the foundation isn't going to move. From here, right arm goes down to the thigh, left hand goes overhead, big stretch, and then left hand goes down, right arm goes all the way over into that right angle pose. Do it again. Yes. So nice. All the way over.

Try to open up your chest. Think about doing side bends on the box. That's what I do. That little side cinch, creating that same sensation here standing. You got it.

Do one more. Left arm down, right arm overhead, right arm down, left arm overhead, Now, windmill the arms and take the hands wide. Good. Pivot the back foot so the heel comes up. Get ready to step back into the plank, round 2, Step the leg back, keep the core tight, long stretch, modified big press back, and then big pull forward options to take the knees down If you're gonna get a higher quality of movement or you're gonna be able to go through it without taking a long break, take the knees down. Adding Chaturanga, I won't make you do it. You already demonstrated it, but if you want 2, Chaturanga is that narrow elbow bend.

Elbows into the sides. Be careful when you're adding Chaturanga that your shoulders are not coming up and forward. Instead, staying down and back. One more time, Sydney, big push all the way out and then bring the carriage all the way in to keeping the knees down and sitting back for a moment in child's pose, if that feels right for you, pushing the carriage back, dropping the head. Awesome. Okay. Let's give those wrists a break.

Stay on your knees and turn your whole body around to the other side. And come down onto your elbows and forearms. Now for this setup, I want you to be flat palms like this with your thumb sort of wrapping around the shoulder blocks. Just like Sydney showing you, curl your toes onto the wood platform, and then raise knees up and press out into a plank. Good. Squeeze your heels together.

Make sure your feet are feeling nice and stable. Nice long alignment. Good. From here, pushing the elbows forward as far as you can. And then pulling the elbows back. Now this is a great place to stay. So if you need a break for your wrist or you wanna keep this level, just stay right here.

But Sydney's our model for the day. So she's gonna at least show you a couple of the next variation push forward as far as you can lift the elbows off the mat. Good. Keep your arms straight as you bring the hands underneath you. Push forward as far as you can drop the elbows down. Keep the elbows down as the carriage comes in. 3 more. Push and lift.

Stay lifted as you close. Yeah? Push and drop. Stay dropped as you bring them back under. Push forward to lift The big secret is the push forward. If you're having a hard time getting those elbows down or up, try pushing forward more. Looking so strong, bring it all the way in, and take your knees down. Yeah.

She would have done one more. That's tough. Okay. So straddle, facing back, and you can take a seat for a second. A lot of those exercises we were doing were pushing exercise. So now we're going into a pull series. This will feel really long through your wrist.

Grab a hold of your loops. If you choose to hold the longer, it should be a little bit lighter if you choose the shorter, a little bit heavier. Rise up to a straddle position. If you ever have a hard time coming up to straddle, use the shoulder blocks. And if this position doesn't work for you, you can do it off the side of the machine.

You don't have to be straddling. Legs are low, one wide elbow row, and then stretch, and then one narrow elbow row. And then stretch. Good. So lower body set up. Squeeze the calf muscles as close to the frame of the machine as you can and roll the knees and toes open.

Yeah. If you want more tensions step backwards towards the foot bar, less tension step forward, and then try to get those thighs even closer to the ground. So the thighs parallel. Keep going. I think of the seam, the inseam of my pants spiraling up when I do this pose. One wide, 1 narrow. Can you do one more of each? Stretch all the way. Wides squeeze. Last time, narrow squeeze. Make sure the carriage is underneath you, take a seat onto the mat, scooch a little closer to the middle, good hook up your loops, or you can wrap them over the shoulder blocks boat pose.

Hands go onto the mat behind you. Legs come up to table. Squeeze the knees together when you're re ready. Release the arms. So one of the differences between boat and teaser, palms are up in boat.

Good. Extend the legs to amplify feet are flexed. Nice. Holding and breathing. We still wanna feel the sensation of the shoulders pulling down. Again, one of those movements where they're isn't doesn't appear to be a lot happening, but there's a lot of work involved for the hold. Last three, last two, and back to the straddle you go. This time, keep the hands on the shoulder blocks, hover the hips, lean the chest forward so you're back to that parallel to the ground position, and go into your overhead presses, push and bend.

As the elbow extends and the arm straightens, the shoulder blades themselves stay down away from the ears. So your neck stays long. In fact, your neck feels like it's getting longer as you go through the movements. Big push forward. See if you can lift your tail feathers a little bit higher. Good. So hip bones pressing up and wide. 3, ribs closed and connected.

2, and then one more Ford press. Bring the carriage in. Sitting down towards the middle, boat pose round 2, hands go back, legs come up, find the position first, release the arms, palms up, extend the legs, option to flex the feet, hold and breathe. 5, shoulders pulling down. 4, you're almost there.

3. Those holds are no joke, especially if you're a type a person who has to move all the time, 2. Put your hands onto the carriage behind you. I'm not insinuating that's you. Swing your legs off to one side. Good. And I'm gonna do a spring change.

So we were on one red. That entire flow. I'm dropping the tension down to a blue. This is an upper body exercise, so make the right choice for you. Let's come into mermaid legs with your right shin against the shoulder block, left shin up onto the carriage.

And then grab the strap that's closest to you long or short. Short will be a little bit heavier. I'll let you choose. Oh, okay. Arms go up like a t. So the goal is to keep the lower body pretty anchored and pretty stable. That might mean that your right hip may not be on the carriage Just keep it exactly as it is and focus on moving the upper body, exhale as you hug your tree, and then inhale as you open. Good.

Ex heal as you hug the tree. So this is just a little variation on your kneeling arms facing side. The mermaid legs are gonna create a little bit different a challenge with the legs. So holding the legs in this position, kind of stimulating those muscles in the hips, getting some blood flow and circulation, And then it allows us some additional exercise opportunities, which you'll see coming up in a second. Of course, if this doesn't work for your lower body, crisscross applesauce or sitting in another position or doing this in your high meal, just as good. Okay. Rotate, interlace your fingers.

Hold Keep your hands in line with your chest, and then we're gonna rotate the whole body to the foot bar and rotate as far back in the opposite direction as you can. Good. I like adding maximum rotation. So I go all the way over to the other side, even if I lose a lot of attention, I just think rotation is like medicine for the spine. It feels so good, especially when you can get that length when you twist. As you rotate towards the foot bar, just be mindful that your shoulder stays down away from your ear. So level through the shoulders. Good.

2 more like this. Inhale towards me, exhale towards the foot bar one more time. Nice. Now open the arms like a letter t, and then take the ham that doesn't have the strap and put it onto the mat behind your booty. Here's where things can get a little fun because you're in the mermaid sit.

Bending your right elbow, push down into your backhand, hip, come off, push into your front knee and reach overhead. Nice to hear for a second. The purpose is to get those hips forward and feel really open through the front body. And then take it all the way down, bending the elbow, and extending the arm. Do it again. Bend first like a bicep curl, push reach. If you can bring that arm back behind you more, really opening through the chest, hip goes forward, and then take it all the way down. Good.

We'll do 8 in total. So that was 2. Push down, lift up. Lots of stability in that lower shoulder. Good. Push down into the front knee to drive those hips forward. Well done.

Then the elbow into the truck into the bicep curl overhead press. Last two. Good. I think this one starts a little bit light in the beginning, and then you get towards the end and you're like, okay. That's the right tension. And last one. Good.

Bring your feet forward in front of you, hook up that strap, and then cross your left ankle over your right thigh, making that figure four shape, flex the foot, Lengthen the spine, lean forward, and widen the hips. If just taking a moment to stretch feels right for your body, then go ahead and stay here. Otherwise, hands go down onto the carriage for tricep dips in figure 4. Bring the hips forward just off the carriage, chest stays wide, down and up, we go for 10 pointing the elbows straight back. 9, 8. Drive that heel down on that lower leg and try to press the knee away from your shoulder gently. Just using your own strength. Last four, last three. We've got our figure 4 squats coming up in 2.

And one. Take a seat onto the mat, hands into prayer. This is a commitment when your hands are up into prayer. You can always keep them down if you think you might need them. Here's my secret trick. Lean forward so your weights and your toes rise up to standing come all the way up.

First one's always the hardest. Then lean back the weights in your heels and commit to the sit. Go all the way down. Yeah. It's okay if there's a little kerplunk there. Lean forward weights.

Your toes rise. And then lean back into the sit. Yes. 6 more to go, 8 in total. Push. Good.

Those little secrets of leaning to your toes or leaning to your heels make such a big difference. Tendon stretches when those exercises. Last three. Good. Press a lot into your hands and really power up that upper body in your back. Last two. Yes.

One more time. One and take a seat. Bravo. Okay. Swivel yourself around. We have mermaid legs facing the other direction. So left shin is gonna be against the shoulder block.

She decided to use the short loop on the last one, so she has to use it again. Arms go out like a tee. And then you might notice when you sit this way, your hips don't feel the same. Don't sweat it. Just think that your pelvis is pretty much anchored in space. And all this movement will come from the upper body, hug in and open.

Hug in and open. The shoulder blade is staying down. Shoulders are staying level. And you might notice the longer you kinda sit into the z sit, the more your hips will settle in, it might feel easier to get that left hip lower. Spine is staying long, neck is staying long.

Well done. It's like you've done this before. Last two, make that circle really, really big. Yeah. And then open it up. And the next time you connect the fingers, interlace for a rotation, rotate towards the foot bar, and then rotate all the way over to the risers. Yep.

Big twist. Nice. Here's another reason why I associated from the upper body. There's not a whole lot of movement that can happen when the legs are like this. So I know that her rotation is coming from that mid spine.

X tells you rotate. Last two. And then one more time. So rotate all the over to the risers, rotate all the way over to the foot bar, and then open the arms up wide. And then the loop hand stays.

The opposite hand goes onto the map by the hip. Bicep curl, hips go up, push into the front knee hold. Hips come forward, but the chest goes back. You could even look up if that helped you to open your chest more. Yeah. And then take it all the way down, come through the bicep curl and repeat curl in, push into the arm, push into the knee lift up, Good. And then take it down.

We did 8 last time. So you've got 6 more here. Big push. And down. Nice. Bicep curl.

Knee down, shoulders strong. And sit and release. What a great preparatory movement in the upper body if you're adding side planks into your work. Whether it's star or your side plank series on the mat, it really is teaching that shoulder down and back position. So you're ready to support your weight in a side plank. 1 more?

1 or 2? 8 in total. One more. Nice. And take a break.

Hips go, excuse me, sweet feet go forward, so sweep them forward. And then cross your right leg over your left ankle, flex the foot, lean forward and go into that stretch and feel free to stay here. So you don't have to add this next part in if it's not driving with you. If you want more movement, you have your, triceps in figure 4. So hands to the mat, hips go forward, bending the elbows down and up ten times one.

2, I do love this move, though, because you're strengthening that back body well, opening through the front. So you're getting that double benefit. Try to get your hips to be directly underneath your shoulders on this one. This is an upper body challenge because of your weight against gravity. So the more you can lean your hips back, the more you're gonna load those triceps in your upper body.

Into the squats when you're ready, booty goes down, palms to prayer. That's the option. Lean forward shift your weight to the toes, and then rise to come up to standing. Good. And then you commit to the sit, shift your weight to your heels, take it all the way down. Yep. Believe it or not, the more you press into your hands, and pull your shoulders down and feel your back muscles engage the easier it is to come into the lift and the easier it is to balance at the top.

So we have connection from those lats and twirl bleaks coming up and sitting down. Good job keeping that foot flexed. Almost there. Good. Let's do 3 more.

Shift and rise. Sitting all the way down. Now I have heard this is a lot more challenging to do if you're taller. So I've not experienced that. One more big lift up, and you can stay right up to standing feet done onto the ground.

Nicely done. Okay. For our next move, for our next trick, sounded like we're in the circus. We're going to be doing sci, excuse me, 4 point kneeling leg sweeps on the long box. So you're on a blue. I feel like you could do on a blue or a red, you get to choose, pick your poison, I'll put the box on.

No action. Okay. She's doing it on a blue. I'm also gonna place the foot bar down. We don't need it. And then when you come on to the box, hands go on to the front and knees go on towards the back and find that 4 point kneeling position. Yeah.

So we have to create this tripod. Where we have one knee underneath our pelvis and the hands are wide. So walk the knees a bit over to one side. Yeah. And then extend the opposite leg back behind you. That's a tripod.

So the hips are in line with the shoulders, but we've got this sort of triangular shape stabilizing the body. Grab the strap that's in front of you. I got you said, and place your foot in the long or short loop. Because she's on a blue, I'm gonna make her do the short loop. Swing that leg down. I got you. And then the foot goes in the loop.

Nice. If you don't have an assistant, it can be tricky to get the foot in. But you can do it. Pause the video, get the foot in, and we're ready to go. Extend that leg straight back behind you and hold. Okay. So if the strap is really rubbing against your wrist, it's likely that you're leaning a bit too much towards your stabilizing side.

So keep your hips in line with your shoulders. When the leg is lifted, we want that foot to be at least the height of the hip, if not higher, swing it down, down, down. And as the leg swings down, the hip stays lifted, So the pelvis stays level and then swing it up ten times. Good. Inhale low.

Length through the sides of the body, exhale high. It's really common to cinch this side. Sydney's doing it just a little bit. So if you're cinching your shoulder to your hip on this side, you want to counter that. Try cinching the shoulder to the hip on the other side. Yeah. So as she's engaging through this opposite side and pulling her shoulder to hip, it's keeping her sweeping side longer.

I'm not sure if you can feel that in your own body. Hips leaning more towards a sweeping leg. 3. Good. 2.

And one more time like this, big sweep up, up, up, up. Here's how I get out of this move. I lower my leg as low as I can. As low as I can, so it's barely intention. Then I shake my foot, and I just let the strap fall into the floor.

That's how I finish it. You might have another way. Before we do the other side, lay down onto your stomach for swimming. Reach your arms forward. Reach your legs back.

Good? Yes. Got a nice base of support with that box, opposite arm and leg lift up, and then switch switch switch switch switch. This back body exercise is so good for strengthening the core, the booty, the shoulders, improving posture. It's an exercise I think we should all do more often. I also love the cross diaginal challenge and the coordination challenge. If you were doing this on a mat on the floor, you would have to lift your arms and chest really high.

So work to get that lift, 5, 4, 3. Nice job. 2 and 1. Good. Press yourself back up to 4 point kneeling. If you wanna take a cat stretch or whatever you need, go for it. Wap the knees a little bit over to the other side and find that tripod. So sweep your opposite leg back just to make sure you feel pretty good about the alignment.

It looks good to me. And then grab the strap, foot can go into the loop, long or short, recreate the same thing hit on the other side, sweep that leg back nice and high, and hold. So I want you to be in hip extension. Drop the hips of the pelvis is level, but work to get that leg nice and high. You're working glute maximus that's mat muscle with a name like that is meant to do some big things.

Look at that leg up. Inhale as the leg swings down as low as you can. You're looking for hamstring length. And then exhale up. Good. Keep going, Sydney.

You're going for 10 here. So what I was talking about on the other side is the sweeping leg will often get sort of cinched on that side, right, as the leg sweeps. So to counter that cinch on that side, you're gonna kinda cinch the other side. And you're gonna find that it'll level out. It'll balance out.

So you're working evenly in both sides of the waist. Big lift up. Push your chest bone up more, up more. Good. 3 more like this. A blue spring after a class like this really adds up to And one more time.

Swing it down. Swing it up as high as you can. Lift, lift, lift, lift, lift, hold. Drop the hip. Drop the hip. Not the leg. And then take it all the way down, and then you can shake the foot out. Good. Let's do one more extension series. So on to the stomach again, into a prone position.

This time fingertips underneath the forehead, chest nice and high, legs, high legs apart. The legs are gonna lift up. Come together, apart, drop an inch, up together, open down, up together, open down. Yes. So the lift, the work is happening from the glutes. Low back is staying long. When you do this exercise, I want you to think about your pelvis, like a triangle pushing down into the box, right and left hip bone and pubic bone pushing down.

Chastain lifted. You've got 5 together open down. 4. Good. 3, there's a reason why we're really getting into these glute muscles. 2, One more time, Sydney. Look how straight her legs are.

That's so challenging. That's so good and rest. Gut, you can come off the box. So Sydney's got a superpower. She can do this amazing exercise called wheel pose.

Let's do it. But you really need a lot of glutes when you do wheel. I've switched the box into a short box position, and I'm adding more resistance onto the carriage it doesn't go wiggling around all over the place. Take a seat onto the box, face front. Your feet will go underneath your foot strap. And then can you walk your feet forward a little bit so your toes touch this this foot bar?

Yeah. Knees are bent. You can scooch back a little bit. So the booty's right in the middle of the box, I'll start with some preparatory movements in the event that you don't wanna go upside down. Reach your arms forward. Keep your knees bent. Yeah.

On an exhale roll your hips back. Find your c scoop position. Hold. Arms go up and down. 5. Try to keep the gaze down. 4, when you come up from an inversion, you have to tuck your chin and look towards your belly button. So this gaze down is helping you kind of learn that choreography.

One more time, the arms go up. Stay here. So I'm just gonna say it one more time. When you come up from an inversion, tuck your chin, look down. You have to come into this, like, scooped position and then exhale. You go all the way up. Rebuild the spine, sit nice and tall. Good.

If you don't wanna go backwards, do that same move again and again and again. Otherwise, follow along with us. We're gonna exhale roll back This time, continue to roll back until your head touches the headrest behind you, reach your arms back. The hands can go wide or narrow, whatever intuitive to you. Now start by lifting your arms and tucking your chin, looking towards your belly button, exhale as you roll all the way up over your legs. Reaching the arms for pulling the ribs back.

So when you come up, come to your scoop position, less of a stretch for the hamstrings, more of a stretch for the back, sit up really tall, And let's do that one more time. X, he'll roll the pelvis back, drop the head, reach the arms, to come up from an inversion, arms first, Tuck the chin, look towards the belly button. Glide the ribs towards the hips all the way up and over. You go. There's a c scoop, shoulders down. You're gonna scoop a little bit more. Yeah. And then sit up nice and tall.

And if that feels challenging and good, keep working on that. She's gonna do another version. So roll back into that same position, that extension. Yeah. Letting the arms go back. Good. Now from here, place the hands onto the rails, and you wanna try to get your hands as close to underneath your shoulders as you can.

See how she walked him back. Leave your arms. Now take your feet out of the foot strap and she's feeling with her heels to make sure that her heels are right up against the box. Using the power of her lower body, she's gonna press her hips up to the sky, chest is pushing forward towards the rails. So go ahead and drop the head. Drop the head this way. Yes.

It's a bit disorienting. Keep leaning, leaning, leaning nice. Now lean, forward towards the foot bar, sit the hips back down onto the box, and then extend the legs forward. And you can usually feel for that strap, if not ask for an assistant to help. Reach your arms back, lift your arms, tuck your chin, exhale all the way up and over. You go.

Yep. You good. Keep stretching forward. Good. And then rebuild the spine. Yeah. And then if you're wanting to add even more for, you know, the in program post roll back. No. Don't do that. Don't do it for social media, folks. Drop your arms back.

Good. Bend your elbows. Place your hands onto the rail. And then bring your feet against the, the box. If you're looking to add more because it's exciting for you to continue to grow and progress and you think working in unilateral position, is a great challenge you wanna do today. Here's an opportunity for you. Hips go up. Use the lower body.

Walk your knees in a bit, Sydney. Feet in a bit. There you go. So you want that bridge position. Chest is shining forward to the risers. One leg comes through tabletop and extends up to the ceiling. Good.

Bend the knee. Place the foot down. It's very much preper reception spatial awareness, draw the other leg, extend it up to the ceiling, good, bend the knee, place it down, sit the hips, feel for the box, down, down, down, good. Extend the legs. You're gonna feel that foot strap. Remember to lift the arms, tuck the chin towards the chest, and x, he'll go all the way over the thighs.

Awesome. Stay here and relax. Rest your hands down, and just take a few deep breaths That was a very challenging class. We took you through a lot of yoga sculpt kind of exercises, nice whole body workout with a lot of athletic conditioning in there. I hope you feel great. You did an awesome job.

I'll see you guys for the next one.