Focus Spine Mobility

Hi, Tracy Mallett. We are going into a warm up. I get asked this a lot by instructors like, how do we start a class? And because now we form a classes in the Pilates, field has become so popular that typically usually when I started a class, I would always start with mat work on the floor. Obviously, that's not attainable in a lot of studios.

Now they walk straight on to the reformer. So we wanted to give you some kind of ideas how to start the class, feel good, to get ready to get onto the machine. This flow is going to start with a light spring, like a yellow or a blue spring, gonna work with rotation, opening up your hips, getting a little bit of spinal articulation, breathing to get ready for our fantastic class. So we're gonna be sideways, to your reformer, we're gonna start in a parallel position, toes are pointing forwards. And from here, we're gonna reach the hands behind the head, and we're gonna go into a squat.

So we're pushing our hips back and then fours. We're gonna do about 4 of these drawing the abdominals in, lengthen through the crown of the head, and let's do one more. Holdy here. So I'm positioning myself right kind of pubic bone towards the actual shoulder rest here, place the outside hand. I've got my right hand here, and I'm gonna rotate and push. Now before you push away, think of setting a scapula down into those little imaginary pockets underneath your scapula and draw your shoulder away from your ear and just rotate Heart center rotating.

Maybe go a little bit further and breathe. Come back to center. Lift all the way up. Reach the hands out. External rotation. Plea down and up.

Just to open up those hips, knees over toes, maybe do 4 of these. Let's do one more. Hold that position hands behind their head, incline forwards from the hips, take the right hand again, and rotate. You're in that external rotation of your hip joint and you're rotating sternum rotates to the side. Do as many as you want.

So you usually do about 4 of those. And then we come back, hands on your head, lift all the way up, and release. Let's come around. Let's go to the other side. Position yourself, pubic bone, kinda level with the shoulder rests.

Hands behind your head, parallel squat. And let's do a couple more hips at back just to get those hips moving. And get the blood circulating around the body. Holding there. Opposite hands.

You're ready push and rotate. Push and rotate. Feel so good. Keep the hips as steady as you can and rotate from your torso. Alright. One more. Come back, hands behind your head, lift up, reach the hands out to the side, certainly rotate at your hips into 2nd position your pli a down and up, and just a couple more.

Shoulders stacked over your hips. Hold the pli a hands behind your head hinge forward. Your hips are back. And ready to push and rotate. Breathe as we rotate.

Get that beautiful rotation. Keep your hips facing forwards if you can and rotate through the torso. One more for good look. Brewing it back, hold that position, hands behind the head, and lift up. Let's bring your legs somewhat together, and we're gonna turn around. We start with a roll down, shin to chest, roll down, touch your toes, inhale here, think of your abdominals, lifting you up as we stack each vertebra 1 by 1.

Now I feel very refreshed. I've opened up my class. I've set a tone for the class. I've got them breathing. I've got them rotating.

I've got them opened up in the hips, and now we're ready to commence the class wherever you would like to go. Usually, I used to start with footwork. Thank you so much. Let's do this again.