Spine Corrector Essentials

Hi. I am Lara Hanlon here on the spine corrector small barrel to lead you through a few exercises that I enjoy practicing myself and offering to clients on this piece of apparatus. Before we get started, I do have a mat underneath for when we roll towards the end back onto the floor. You wanna make sure you're not just on hardwood. And then I also have started with a little sticky pad here underneath my sit bones so I don't slide off either direction. We'll set ourselves up with our feet a comfortable distance away from us, not too close, not fully extended.

And then those sit bones are really off the edge where my tailbone is kind of back. So you'll feel that slight kind of shift where, again, little bit of extra padding does help if you're a little bony down there. You don't wanna be sinking too far back or, of course, too far forward in placement is so important here. Reach those arms forward. Take a deep breath in.

And then begin with a small tuck of that tail. So those sit bones kind of reach forward, our low transverse abdominals pull back. And then we control ourselves to curl right back up starting with a really small contraction. Deep breath in. Exhale.

I always hate to say it. It's like you got punched in the gut. You pull your pelvic floor, your transverse abdominals, back, back, back, and curl back forward shoulders over the hips. Feel those sit bones reach back down. You reach taller through the crown of the head.

Great low belly warm up here, inhale. Exhale scoop and contract. Maybe you start to challenge yourself and go a little further curling back forward. Make sure you can get back up, sitting up tall. It's all always more challenging than we think. Inhale.

Exhale, scoop from the waist. Get a little bit further. Pull your waist back. Curl yourself up. Sit up tall. Deep breath.

And this time, we go all the way back where is that barrel? Your back is going to find it for a gentle touch and then scoop and curl right back up shoulders. Pull down. Chin is lifted. Exhale. Pull your waist back. Scoop that belly button back and in. Ribs knit together, find the back of the barrel, curl yourself back up, dig those feet down.

If you find that you get stuck back there, that those feet are flying up, you might not have the strength to do this. You might need a little distance. Maybe you have your teacher holding your fingertips, giving you a little gentle assistance, and pull to lift you back up. You could always hold on to a weighted bar here. One more like this. Inhale.

Exhale abdominals draw back in and beautiful curvature of that spine rounding, rounding, rounding, rounding, find it for that split second, curl yourself back up, and lift. That might be the most challenging thing we do today. I'm gonna remove this pad. And then scoot my sit bones all the way back now so my back is more in the crevasse or crevice. A little bit more supportive here.

Same thing. Feed a comfortable distance in front of us. Arms reach forward. Deep breath in at the top. Excel. Now I'm gonna wrap my spine further over here. I feel my belly scoop back. I'll lift my chin up towards the ceiling, my fingertips towards the ceiling, deep breath it, and exhale curl back up from here, knit the ribs together, pull your waistline back, shoulders over those hips before we lengthen to that vertical spine, deep breath. And, again, just like that rounding and contracting back feet press into the floor, chin and chest lift to the sky, deep breath in, exhale. Feel that low belly pull back towards the arc of the barrel before stacking up tall.

We'll add on this time, breathe in. Excel roll back to where we left off. I think I'm almost lying my head flat. So my upper half here is horizontal at the floor parallel to the floor. Open the arms to a t axle to close. Inhale to open, feel that expansion, exhale to close. Yes.

I'm working my neck muscles, holding my head lifted here. We're not here long. It's good for us to work and find that alignment once more inhale, exhale, close stay. Ax. I'll round back up. So I need that gorgeous extension and lift.

This time taking it even further. If you need more support underneath your head or your neck as you go into this full extension hyper extension, you could always put a pillow back there. Let those arms float back. Inhale. They reach up. Exhale chin over the chest ribs draw together belly button pulls back in, and we've around forward before stacking up tall, again, like that inhale.

Exale and join these moments, opening up through the spine, lengthening through the chest, opening through the sides of the waist, the armpits, through the fingertips, inhale, and exhale. Lifting up, breathing in. Ax hell, breathing out. We lower all the way back down. This time to stay, adding some arm circles.

Again, maybe you'll hold some weights in your hands here. We circle around towards the hips. Trying to keep the tension out of the neck and reach those arms back. Inhale. Feel the collar bones, the shoulders opening, the chest opening, one more this direction. Abdominals stay connected to support the spine, hips stay heavy into that crevice. Reverse around and back. I'm still using my low belly to support my low spine here so I don't sink into that curve inhale.

And exhale around last time, reach and circle, reach your arms up, breathe in, exhale to round and roll all the way up. Never staying down there for too long. We don't wanna get dizzy, but that should feel like a really nice shoulder opening. We're gonna do a little waste side opening work. That front leg comes in front.

I like to bring my foot into a little bit of a relevay kind of seated 4th position here. Outside leg extends. You could be turned out or parallel kind of depending on your hip alignment, how you were taught, and what works for you. We're gonna stay parallel today. We'll reach those arms to a tee.

Roll your shoulder blades down and back feel that gorgeous extension and length energy through the fingertips. Similar to how we began, small reach, maybe the ribs, hover or tap, and then use your obliques to lift you up. Again, reach up and over and lift feel those obliques activating, taking it a little further. We reach without collapsing. Arms frame the face. Reach back out. Palms slip down as you lift.

Again, take it over. Palms and arms frame the head. Reach out why use the waist to lift you up. This time we reach all the way up and over, find that frame, and then lower all the way down for that stretch. I like to gaze up into my elbow crease And then when you're ready, reach the arm up and lift the body all the way up with control. Same thing on other side.

Simple here, but a lovely exercise to open up the sides of the waist to work those obliques. Arms reach out, shoulders roll back. Inhale. We lean. Hover the ribs. Exhale.

Use the right oblique to lift you back up, leaning over inhale. Lifting up as you exhale, adding the arms to port a bra. Reach a little further through the fingertips. Frame the face. Open the arms.

Lift from the waistline. Again, like that, Halleen. And reach. Let's bring it up. Last time we reach frame the face. Lower all the way down.

Let that bottom arm release to the floor. Take your gaze up. Feel length through the fingers and toes. Inhale, and exhale come up with control. I'm gonna continue turning over that shoulder and find my pelvis carefully placed on the top of this arc.

Gonna maybe have to adjust for your alignment here. My hands come underneath my shoulders, and then I'll allow my back to drape over. I'm gonna move into a little bit of our Swan prep here. Squeeze your legs together. Keep the legs down to start, but still active.

Press into your palms, begin to lift your chest up, hugging those elbows in, and shoulder blades back and down, breathe in, and then exhaling of pulling your belly away from the barrel, draping your body over with control forehead hovers off the mat. Inhale, lift the chest up, pull the shoulder blades back, draw the heart forward, and exhale to lower down. One more time, inhale pressing the body up. This time lowering down. Elbows hugging to the waist.

Find activation in your triceps, and my forehead stays hovering off the mat a little higher this time. So my upper body's horizontal. Start to lift your legs up. Maybe you find that long, full line from the toes to the crown of the head, lower the legs down with control. Fire up those glutes and hamstrings as you lift the legs up, up, up, deep breath, and keep pulling your belly up and away from the lip of that barrel as you lower.

Two more we lift. We lower. Squeeze that backside lift and lower adding on. Legs lift up. Squeeze the seat tight.

Press the mat away. The legs will lower as the body lifts moving into our swan dive inhale. Excel bendurobas tight to your ribs, legs lift forehead hovers off the mat, diving up on the inhale, and down into the water as you exhale. 2 more slow and controlled here, lift through the chest. Squeeze into the backside, elbows hugging tight to the waist.

Last time we lift up up up, up, exhale diving down, pulling the ribs together, belly, up to hold, and then lift up one last time through the chest, through the heart, breathe it. Exhale drape your body over the barrel. Feels so nice over this, I find. We have nice padding with this barrel for the pelvis, especially. Alright. Continuing to open up that back of the body.

Make your way back over the barrel to start here carefully. You'll hold on. You'll start to scoot yourself back, bring one foot up onto that ledge, and then mosey yourself back here carefully. You want your shoulder blades more on the mat here. Versus just your head and your neck. And then reach around. I have these ridges to hold on to. You might have some handles, but you really wanna think of pulling the barrel into your back here, keeping your shoulders and your chest open. So your low belly is pulling down.

And supporting you. From there, we'll draw those legs into tabletop and then extend them up to the ceiling, pointing through the toes, lifting the chin off the chest, starting with a slow scissor, right leg towards the face as the left leg lowers trying to find an even v, so we're not dropping one leg versus the other, and then come right back legs perpendicular. Left leg lowers towards the face. Right leg reaches an opposition and back to center. Again, nice and slow reach to the toes inhale. And exhale.

We're still working our low belly and our pelvic stability pulling that barrel to the back and abdominals to the barrel. Inhale scissor, exhale fine center. Switch and center will take it a little more fluidly here, breathing in. Scissor switch breathe out. We switch and switch.

Gazes up nice, open neck, and throat. Still actively pulling the barrel to the back and the belly towards the spine for a 4 and switch. I'm staying parallel here 3 and switch and hit the ribs a little tighter too. One more flex through the feet. We go for our bicycle. Press through that heel.

Switch and switch that top knee bends and then extends on the diagonal. There's a moment where both legs are straight one more time each side, then we reverse pull it in and up in and up again, keeping that gaze up, lengthening the legs up, really finding that beautiful stretch for the front of the thighs for the back of the hamstrings for 2. And one. Reach both legs up. Turning out, heels together, knees, and toes apart will point through the toes.

Lower the legs down on a diagonal, little more core work here, exhale pull the belly down, reach the toes back up, inhale legs lower. Think of a long diagonal of the body here, exhale abs, pull down legs reach up. 2 more. So and lift. One more time inhale.

Find that diagonal pull the waistline down. Reach the legs up, flex through the heels. Left leg comes back, right leg lowers down. Or taking our helicopter out to the sides, feel that split stretch without letting it collapse, and then we scissor and switch 1. And to reverse your helicopter out, lengthen through the heels, reach opposite leg over.

Find that even external rotation as you switch and switch. Open up and cross. Breathing in and out. Last time open. And close feel those inner thighs brush and brush. Point through the toes, reach both legs back up high.

We'll go back to parallel, bend those knees in, and carefully lower them back onto the ledge. From here. Find that lovely stretch through the front of the hips. You could have your palms down or continue holding on here. New one more little shoulder bridge exercise. Now that we have this gorgeous alignment, bringing the right knee in, you keep pressing into your left foot, and you keep your hip heavy onto that barrel for support. Right leg reaches up.

We flex and lower down size meet on the inhale, point and kick up as you exhale, flex to lower, lengthen to lift, really nice work for that pelvic stability here with the support of the barrel. One more time lower and lift, bend the knee in, place the foot down other side. Left leg draws in and up, flex to lower breathing in, point and kick deep and through your waist to lift, inhale down. Exhale up for 3 and lift. Last two.

And up one more time, lower, lengthen through that hamstring and through the toes. Bend journey in to rest. From here, carefully kind of wiggle worm, slide your way back onto your mat, or slide your barrel away from you. And then you get to land here with this lovely release for the back with the legs lifted. Maybe place one hand on your belly, one hand on your heart.

We'll take a deep breath in together. Exhale, letting it out. One more breath in. Exhale. Feel your body. Just sink a little deeper into the earth, releasing any remaining tension in both the mind and the body, letting it go. Hopefully, feeling good from that brief bit of movement.

I know I always enjoy it. Carefully roll yourself up. Thank you so much for joining me on the Spine Cracker.