Seated Warm Up

Hi. I'm Maria. Let's begin with a seated warm up. Australia machine. I have my foot bar where I want it for footwork and just one heavy spring. Rest your hands on the bar. Take a moment to sit tall inhale here, exhale tuck the tailbone under and come into a gentle curve in the lumbar spine.

Just relaxing the shoulders, opening up the lumbar spine. Inhale. Lift the chest. I'm using my hands to pull my heart up to the ceiling. I'm arching my back. I'm opening my throat.

Exhale around the back again. Go ahead and let those shoulder blades slide forward. Taking a little stretch here in the rhomboids as well. Inhale lift the chest up, abdominals are still in. You just find something that feels good on your body.

Come right back center. Let's do a little head circle. Slowly around and back down and then reverse it. Back center. Lift yourself up. Take one arm straight up to the ceiling.

Make sure you're seated nice and tall up on the sit bones. The tendency here is for everybody to tip forward onto the pubic bone. Create length in that side body, and now we side men up and over. Pause here and really imprint your opposite foot and opposite sit bone down to the carriage. That makes a big difference. Now let's take one big inhale into the top rib cage.

Feel the ribs expand and exhale. And now circle that arm back and over your head. Nothing forceful. Just easy breezy. Allowing that shoulder to open all the way up. The other arm comes straight up creating length through that side body.

We go up and over. Then pressing the opposite foot, imprinting the opposite sit Leone, circling the arm back, and up, and circling back, and the breath is still flowing. Last time here, and come all the way up. Rotate one direction. Use your hands, one on the shoulder block, one on the foot bar, lengthen the spine, and then rotate using your hands to gently assist in that rotation turning the head as far as comfortable.

And let's come to the other side. And come back center. Bring your 2 feet here onto the ledge. One leg goes out straight. And you might wanna even use your hand here to assist to bring your foot up to the foot bar.

The leg is nice and parallel. So this is half of a happy baby. The foot is flexed. Use your hands here on the foot bar. To lift your chest and pull your belly button towards the foot bar.

Now this leg is not turning out. It's hugging in right to the outside of my shoulder. The sit bones are still nice and heavy, and you should feel a nice stretch in the lower back. And let's do that on the other side as well. So maybe using your hand, bring the in step onto the bar, grab hold of the bar, sit yourself tall, and then use your hands to take your belly button towards the foot bar.

And, again, this leg is parallel. Now you can repeat that right and left or come to 2 feet on the bar. Nice parallel lines, grab hold of the foot bar. The carriage might move here a little bit. That's fine.

And just lengthen your spine. Keep your sit bones grounded. Keep feeling as if the knees are being pulled past your shoulder joints. Bring your hands behind you. Slowly stretch your legs straight.

Come down to the balls of the feet and let the heal sink and lift. And, again, the heal sink. And lift. Last time here. And lift, walk your feet together. Bend your knees.

Come on in. Reach for the bar and just drop your head and take a moment here. And then any amount. Just begin to stretch the legs. And that's not make this too much of a hamstring stretch right now. Keep everything just kinda nice and gentle, and let's take 3 deep breaths into the back and the sides of your rib cage, inhaling and exhaling. Again, inhaling and exhaling.

Last time here, bring yourself in, and now you're ready for your practice.