Class #934

BASI Mat Flow™

45 min - Class
96 likes

Description

Long time PA member Michelle Bruner surprises her friend (and fellow member) Joni Nichols, with a trip to Pilates Anytime to take class with her favorite instructor Meredith Rogers. We thought as long as she's here... let's film it! Meredith teaches an intermediate BASI Flow™ class incorporating creative uses of the Theraband. Click here to see the photos of the moment of surprise.
What You'll Need: Mat, Theraband

About This Video

Jan 16, 2013
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Transcript

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Okay. Okay, here we go. We're going to do the band. Today is a very special day. We have my friend Joni Mitchell, and maybe even more importantly we have my friend who I've known for a years and years and years and years. Ms Michelle Bruner who introduced my friend Joni Mitchell to me and she is taking all my classes and she's here as a surprise. So we're going to do a band class and we're both a little nervous, but that's okay. So stand on your band, so hold it so there's a little bit of tension in it and then just allow the band to assist you as you relax your shoulders. I don't need to push them down, I just want you to let the band pull on them.

We're going to start with a standing roll down, but before we do, let's just shift a little forward over the ankles or over the feet, leaning in and leaning back and just do that again. One more time. Leaning in and leaning back. And then just to assess when you're directly over the top of your feet and taking a deep breath in. And as you exhale, allow your head to draw forward around, down through the spine. The band as you roll down will lose its tension and that's fine. Just rolling down towards the floor, allowing the slack to happen.

Inhale as you lengthen the spine at the bottom, just looking for a little more in the next hill. Draw up through the abdominals, picking up the span, then picking up the tension. Feel the spine rise up. Allow the shoulders to do dropped back and down and inhale. Exhale. We feel the spine folding inwards into itself. Rounding down, rounding down, allowing the spine to just fold or cascade forward over the legs. Inhale and exhale to lift back up in the lifting. Happens from the front of the body.

Stacks the back of the body over the pelvis, the shoulders dry down and back. We'll go one more time in here and exhale head forward. Hey, even though that the arms are relaxing, try not to allow the shoulders to climb towards the years. Allow them to maintain a separateness from the ears of the next day as long in here, and exhale to Corolla. [inaudible] and when you get to the top, step out of your band and hold it in your hands. I'm going to a wide foot position. Trans hates me. Turn and face me. Yup. So we're just going to warm up our legs a little.

We're going to bend the knees and lift the band up. Go back down pretty low. So here, just feel that your body is directly over your pelvis and your shoulders are pulled down. And then stretch the band a little as you straighten your legs and stand up in how we bend the knees, keeping a nice long body and exos stretch the band a little as you stand up and inhale, bend and Xcel reached down and just make sure that you're not sitting in the spine in front of the pelvis. So depending on our flexibility, that's going to be different for all of us. Want the shoulders just over the tops of the hips and reaching forward? I'm gonna just do three more reaching, bending at the same time.

So the arms and the legs move simultaneously. Here's two, just tuck a little dead and reach forward. And last one holding here. I want you to do a little poles apart on your band and little lifts. So we pull from the back from the shoulder area and up and down, uh, keeping the head in line with the spine. Here's number four out of 10, three, two sand all the way up and reach into the ocean with your body in your band.

Take the bottom arm and pull down on the band, increasing the stretch. Let the bottom arm come up and now lift the body and reach up and over to the other side. Pull down on the bottom arm but keep that upper shoulder stable. Lift and pull with the top arm to bring you up. And one more time through reaching over. Bottom arm pulls, it increases your stretch, it lets go. The top arm pulls you up and then over bottom arm pulls it.

Release's top arm pulls us up and bring the arms down the friend. We're going to sit down to the mat facing inwards, taking the band, wrap it around your feet. It's best in my opinion, to keep the band relatively long, meaning to let it be really scrunchy. Keep it as flat as possible around your feet. So we'll start with the knees bent and now use a down and back pull on the band so slightly towards the floor and slightly backwards to lift the spine up. So go forward a little Joanie, two inches. There you go. And now reach the arms forward. And Now Ben the spine, letting the band assist you as you roll away from your feet, keeping the pell, keeping the shoulders down. Find the lower back flat on the ground in here. Little lower or yet an XL curling, curling.

Find a rounded spine. Shoulders over the pelvis. We pull down and back on the band, lifting the body up. Take the arms, four, keep the arms straight so it's more of like a d. And then arms go forward and the spine goes back. So even as our spine is rounding down, we keep the shoulders pinned down, away from the ears. Inhale and the lower back. And exhale, bend yourself forward, forward, forward, pull down on the band to lift. The body up and reach forward and Xcel to curl.

Okay, an inhale and exhale. We curl to the top and we pull down on the band to lift the body up. Nice. And we'll do one more. Rounding the spine. Pause. Okay. Starting the XL before the body starts moving and use the breath to assist you as you move forward. And then less and arms forward and the mini roll-up. So we go down to the shoulder blades all the way down. Keep the feet reaching into the band.

Pause when you're just off your shoulders. And now just the tiniest little curl forward and down and forward, sinking the abdominals down into the spine and press down into the feet as you curl the spine. And so, so you're just working on working through no man's land, right? That place in our bodies where we have to really fight to get to. So allowing the band to assist us enough so that we can really challenge the work in that area. Last too, number one, we're coming all the way up now and we're going to sit up. Now we're going to do a row.

So you're reaching the palms of the hands up and pulled backwards on the band lead. Oh, didn't break. He just lost it. And then pulling back, lifting the chest up, you got it. And forward. If it's not enough tension for you, hold on closer to your feet and pull. And it's just as much about the extension of the spine. So I want you to work your arms strongly, but I would like for you to try to feel that your spine is easy.

It's easily straight. Last three arms, strong spine, easy, definitely straight. Just easy light contraction in the abdominals to support the spinal muscles. Last one. And now we reach forward and now we're going to roll down again. So we tilt the tailbone under, sliding to the base of this pelvis again, or just down towards the shoulder blades. Everybody rotate in my direction.

So the outside band is just over that, that far away knee and now we pull curling up and rolling back. So again, just working deeply to find that area of our back. Keep your arms straight. Both. That's it. So you're just using the abdominals. It's not about the arms at this point.

The band's giving us a little bit of assistance last too. It's hot up here at girls. Last one back to center. Just checking to see if anyone else's as hot as me, but no, no. Just me. Just me. And now we do the raw so we build back and reach forward and the arms pulled back in.

The spine rises each time and forward and three more reaching back, lifting effortlessly and last one and then we'll do the other side. So taking the arms back straight, start to bend the spine under, curling down, curling down. Find the low back. Find yourself [inaudible] just off your shoulders so you could almost relax here, but you won't. And now up that side of the spine and just did the dip of the shoulder blade and bend inwards. So it's a tiny little movement. We're not lifting off of our lower back. We're trying to imprint the lower back into the mat as we lift. I suppose they it, it does come off a teeny bit.

So here's our last five and for C, two and one fine center. Roll all the way back up. Lift the spine long and tall. Five pulse. Reaching forward. Every time your arms bend, your spine gets a little longer. Every time your body gets a little closer to your thighs, your feet are flex and level with one another. Good. One more time and back and forward.

Take the band off your feet. Plant your feet down on the mat. Continue sitting tall and then rolling down towards the Mat. Just give the band a little pod. My hands are tired, so I'm now I'm just hooking with my thumbs so we find our way all the way down onto the mat. I'm just moving because I didn't have enough space behind me. Feel that you're pretty close into your feet. Band is just over the shoulders.

The arms are parallel to each other and the chest. Inhale, as we exhale, press down for a pelvic crow so we feel the spine flatten. We roller. Find your way to the top of your [inaudible]. Hello the curl, and then press down on your legs. Wrap the band around your legs. Press up into the bandwidth, your legs down to the floor with your arms. Let the band just rebound off the legs as you roll yourself down.

So there's our pattern in here. As you exhale, lifting your pelvis, see that the ribs dropping below it has your rolling yourself up. Wrapping the boundary around the size we pull down and lift up and inhale to exhale enrolled. Yeah, and let's do that again. Inhale, exhale, rolling. Pubic bone higher than ribcage. Nice. I love it. Reaching down and lifting up. To roll down just two more.

So let's make them count and rolling up. Lifting, lifting, feeling the backsides of the legs working. We're at the dam. Lift the hips. Let the band release and peel the spine down. Here's number one. We're going to do a little pulsing contraction at the top, so find your way to the top again. Take the band over your legs, reach your arms down, almost off, almost on the ground. And now push up into band with your legs and down into the floor with your arms to things working more than two. The ABS are working, the inner size are working to hold the legs parallel to one another. We lift, um, lift, handle lift and five, four, three, two, one.

We let the band reach all the way overhead and now we rolled down all the way through the spine. As your pelvis comes to the bottom, take the arms just over the chest again. Lift one way, lift the other leg, holding the legs together. Yep they had can stay down. I'm just having a look in yellow. As you tilt both knees over to one side, keep the arms still use both arms, can pull the band but they stay still and Xcel to come. Center and inhale as you go across and as you're using the band with your arms, I want you to feel that the shoulder blades are flat on the mat. And exhale, we draw backwards and inhale, so resist as you come through. Center the urge to push with your legs, pull with your center, allow the legs to work as a weight and heel across and exhale to come back and inhale across and exos or come back.

Last one. Inhale across and exhale to come back. And now we take the legs out straight and we curl the chest up. Little, uh, just a little forward with your chest. That's the end. Now inhale, lift the band. One, two, three, four or five XL. Put the band up. If you need to put the band down and hold your neck. You may inhale two, three.

You don't have to go that far back. So what I want you to do with your body, this is like the a hundred breathing, right? We want to just decide where we can bring the band without having to alter the position of our bodies and back. And in two, three, four, five and out. Two, three, curl higher into three, four. Don't let the body fall down. Exhale, two, three, curl higher. Two more to go and forward.

Last time for now and forward. Bend your knees, lower your spine down. Put the band just above you where you can reach back and pick it up when you need it. Take your hands behind your size, curl using your abdominal as your head and chest up. So find a nice solid position. Check that your pelvis is neutral, then let go and put your hands behind your head. So now we reach the toes away.

Just decide where they can go without the low back coming up and then lift and any other toes. Reach away. And as we pull in, we push the chest or let the chest float towards the legs. Inhale, exhale. And in your Damn Nice. Don't take the body down. Just keep the chest forth. It's not like a crunch. Just the legs moving. That's it. You got it. And up and now hold. We're going to just keep the legs right there and we're going to [inaudible] towards me and stay lifted in center and two with the other way and center two west and center and twist. Now here's the next thing. We go towards me. Hold that position. Take the legs away, live the legs back up and find center. Go the other way.

Take the legs away. Lift the body of the leg, come back up and find center. One more turn. Take the legs away. All the legs in the body together. Find Center. Go the other way. Take the legs away, pool the legs back, find center. Turn one more time towards me and hold that side with the opposite hand. Pull up a little higher. Take that arm and stretch it out straight.

And now just [inaudible] little less for 32 one the hand comes behind the head as we find center. Grab on hold, reestablish your connection. Good. It's the opposite leg. That's it. And now let go and reach out. Up, up, up, up, up. Come to center. Stay as lifted as you can and all the way down now. And now, stretching the legs out all the way. Reach overhead and grab your band and your hands.

So take the head and chest off the mat. Curl. Can we make it? Maybe? Yes, all the way. Wrap the band around your feet again. It's best if it's not scrunchie have it just as as long. Good. And then lift the body up nice and tall.

Okay, lean a little forward. Okay, so Jay, here we go. We're going to bend the arm closest to me and we're going to reach open. Just pull down a little bit on the arm that's not pulling and find center and go the other way. Pull lifting up and across and find center and Paul and everybody. Keep the arm that you're not bending. Wow, that doesn't make sense. The arm that's you're turning towards Benz, the other arm stays straight and just pulls down a little and that'll help you twist and find center and go the other way. Ben. Joanie, lean three inches forward.

Go ahead and center and rotate it. Nice and center and rotate. I love it. And Center. So you totally upright. We've got one more to each side, only and center at Roti. [inaudible] okay. Bend over yourself. Put the band down, put your hands behind you. Point your feet heading into the back. Support.

So we straighten the arms all the way. Good. Michelle, your hands are good. Just not too far backwards. It just abs like definitely to the sides of you. Okay, here we go. So we engage the legs. That's the trick. We push up from the hips, reaching the toes into the floor, lengthening through the spine. Nice, Nice. And then as you sit down, lift up out of your arms. Nice.

Nice. Nice. Don't round Joanie. Just arch arch down and up again. So as you're coming down, you don't want around. You want to lead with your tailbone. Uh Huh. You got it. And here we go again. Three more times. Push up and calm down and to we lift up, breaching the toes, doors the floor.

Try to get the feet all the way on the ground. And last one lifts up. Hold there. Now Bend your knees, do a little hamstring curl. Pull yourself forward to get a nice shoulder. Stretch my shoulder stretch. Keep Lifting, Huh? Lifting up. Reach out, straightening the knees and come all the way down. And I reach for your band, separating your feet as you go.

I'll dry off while you find your band. Okay. All right, so feet separate now. Feet separate. Knees, straight, arms, straight, spine, straight. We start the spine stretch by inhaling [inaudible] and excelling. Allow the head to go forward as you go forward through your spine. Allow your elbows to bent so you're using your arms. Bend in your elbows out to the side to pull your body further than you think that you can go.

Inhale there and now exhale as you just start restacking the body, allowing the arms to just stretch out in front of you. As you sit all the way up. Inhale at the top. Exhale as we go, we roll down allowing the elbows to bend, bend, bend, and in here [inaudible] and as we peel up or restack, we just allow the arms to just gently straight so they're active on the way down, not so much on the way out. Again, exhale as you round them a change at this time. So here we're going to take the arms out straight. We're going to lift the body on a high diagonal, lifting through the chest.

Good. Keep those arms out and then just sit up to bring the arms forward and inhale and exhale as we fold forward, allowing me elbows to bend to our sides. Still focusing on the rounding of the spine. Start pressing what? Oh, okay. I thought someone was talking to me. Press out. Reach out through your chest, out through your chest. Lift, lift. Good. Find a nice flat back and come up.

We're going two more times. Here we go. Rolling down, bending the elbows, reaching the band out, reaching the spine. Now hold that right there with a flat back. Yep. Yep. Lift your chest staph, right like that. And now pulse with your arms back, back, back, back, back, and just sit up. [inaudible] Sydney. I've never felt so easy. And again, one more time. Rolling down, bending your arms, allowing a band, reaching out out through this spy, through the back. Nice and pulse. Pulse, pulse, pulse, pulse. Reach all the way over. Let the band go at your feet.

Bring your legs together, Bend your knees, hold your ankles, sliding your legs in close. Nice and close. Allow the feet to lift deep in the curvature of the spine. And then we just rock walking the spine back and balancing at the top and rocking the spine back and balancing at the top. And again, nice and easy. So the ones you create, this rounded spine shape, it doesn't change. It just rocks and rolls on the Mat. We're going two more times and last one and now separate your legs. Hold your legs, lift your body off and then see if you can either keep your legs here or you can go for the full position with your hands on your ankles, lifting through your spine. And now we rock rounding.

Just the lower back and ruling. Finding our balance at the top and rolling back then. Rolling. No, don't worry if you don't make it every time it's easier with bent knees it's fine and rocking back. I don't make it every time. I'm not nearly. Let's do two more. [inaudible] sometimes just have to find, make it easier in your brain with structure your body and to making it easy in your body. One more time.

I lied and all the way up. Bend your knees to the side. Put your feet and knees open. Lift your hands behind your head. Lift your spine tall. We're turning towards me.

I want you to take that outside elbow and a reach all the way. Pass that forward French and the link. Thin your spine back all the way up on the diagonal and find center in heel, pressing the head into the hands as we turn. Exhale, feel the rotation and the flection of the spine as we go across. Then build the spine on the diagonal, lifting up and find center at a rotate, nice and easy and dye forward and build the spinal long and find center and rotate and reach across and reach out. Nice and sent your last one. We've got a lot to do and not much time reach out and center and across and down and up. And as we become centered, the knees come together, holding onto the knees, lifting the feet off the floor, pushing the knees into the hands. Start to with control.

Lower your body to the ground. He's over hips, hands on, nations' parallel to the floor for the double leg stretch. Take it all the way out and around and he inhaled unreached and ax, halted. Deeply potent. Inhale and reach. So here's another place that the upper body doesn't change at all. It's just the arms and the upper body and moving.

The chest stays curled forward. And around. Keep curling up. Keep that height and two more times and one more. Stay here please. Put both hands on your left knee. Stretch your right leg out. Now I want you to push down on your knee and pull your body up more. Keep that and switch. Push down.

So you want you low back to be on the ground, but you don't want to be struggling down here where you've got a lot of tension in your neck. You want to be nice and high in that solid curl. Use your arms to help you pull yourself there. Pull yourself there and while you're pulling yourself there, push your leg into an imaginary something. So there's lots of different energies happening here. Reach and reach. Not Too many more.

Say One more time on both legs. Now hands behind your head. We come across for the criss, cross and steady across elbows, y and center or other side. Hannah, cross across nice and high. Up to go over. Take the opposite here on the one that's coming with you and reach and reach it. We'll help you lift. Try to get up past your elbow, up and over, up and over, up in, over, up and over. Two more there. And then last one here and here.

Bend both knees. Take your hands behind your thighs, walk yourself up, pick up your band, ma. How are we going to get there? Just hold your legs again. Bring your band with you and roar off. Back Down. Placing the feet down on the mat. Arms above the shoulders. Inhale, prepare. As we exhale, we curl up into our pelvic curl. Listening nice and high. The ribs are adamantly below the pelvis. Good, good, beautiful position, Michelle. I love it.

Lift the left leg up and now take the left leg away from you and try to hit, come back and touch the bit. You might have to move your band a little forward, but touch and touch and touch. And last four, reaching down three, reaching down to reaching down. Oh and all the way back. Touch, happy and bend and set that foot down. And then we pick up the other leg, stretch it all the way up. Reach and touch the bandwidth it. And then take the leg down and all the way up each time.

And uh, keeping the lead time, keeping the opposite sigh, working inwards. We're going four more times here. One to touching the band every time. Three and four. Bet. Hold. Lift a little higher. Take the band, reaching it over your head, let it be there. Just put it down and then lift the arm so they're just hovering off the ground. And as you exhale, roll down slowly and without that, a lot of excess work, right?

So can we just melt down into the floor and then all the way down with the arms rollover or not? That's what's coming. Is the roll over then exercise. So we've got our legs up. We're going to do three rollers, three rollovers, and three Jack. Nice. So we're going to stretch the legs out. Gonna keep the shoulders down and lift the legs that don't change the angle between your legs and your pelvis. So as you roll yourself over from there, flex the feet, separate the feet and rolling down bone by bone through the spine, coming all the way to the mat. Point the toes. Circle the legs to touch. Inhale up and exhale to rollover. Rolling this line over.

Yeah. Nice. You got it. Flex separate and roll down. Yeah. Point, circle, touch and lift. Last one. Rollover. Flex. Separate roles. Yeah. And point. Circle, touch and lift. Xcel to go over any other legs. Go towards the floor and up into the air. Lifting, keeping the head still.

And now Dan, slowly, slowly, slowly massaging the spine into the mat. Being careful with your neck. Lower lift over. Exhale in here. The fico down then up and we rolled down down town. Yeah. Yeah. And take the like stem. Nice. Beautifully done. Lifts up. Last one. Rollover.

Take the legs down, float into the air and then once you get as high as you can by floating and let the back muscle start to work a little with the leg muscles. Start to work a little and then refold the spy and come all the way down and then catch your legs with your hands and rock yourself. That's really hot. Yeah, they really high. Okay. Come on. 28th that's right. Do you need another pad? Michelle? Face this way. Take your arms like this. How could we do this at the band night? Let's try, let's see.

So let's just take the band. I would just maybe hook with the thumbs a little and just reach out. So you're not going to be using the band a lot, but just keep that long straight line with it. Joanie, lean a little forward towards me with just your upper body. So do what it feels like a sit up towards me. That's it. That straight. And then go over to the side. Inhale. So the arms don't change at all.

An exhale. I Dunno, I've never done this one before. It we'll find out if it works. What do you think Tim? You like? Yup. And it's going to work on over. So you use the band to feel that the arms aren't changing. Rapid behind your back. So let it come across your shoulder blades like that.

Good. Keep the head in line with the spine. Get ready for the side kick. That's what's coming up. Are you ready? No, no. Here we go. Lift hand goes down. The other arm is reaching straight up. Lift that leg up. Nice and high. Nice, Nice. Flex and go forward. Point and go back. So how do we know if we're moving? Ours is our upper arm moving. Good. Keep the legs straight as it goes back. Squeeze from your bum, not your foot.

Forward and back. Nice forward. Nice, nice shoulder stability, Michelle. Great. Watch that you're not leaning back until it goes back. Better last for no, that's enough. Go down to the ground. Go all the way up and touch friend. Jump off the floor and reach behind you. Touch, touch up and forward. So you lift your leg up as high as you can, as high as you can each time. Good trend. Good.

Keep fighting for that. That's awesome. And up just two more up then over up and over. K I'm going to make a change. Here we go. I'm going to go up and over. I'm going to turn around towards the floor. Keep that leg reaching up on the diagonal.

Might want to undo the band in your hands. Just leave it where it is. And now we're just going [inaudible] up and back with that top way up and back. Up and back. Up and back. Up and back. Now turn so that you're facing your arms. Put your leg in the air down. Slide your other leg back.

So you're now in a plank position, holding your plank position. We're going to do five pushups. One good. Only going as low as you can control the lift up with your body. Three, two, one. Stay there. Put the knee closest to me. Back down onto the ground. Rotate your body back. Open and lift your, so you're coming towards me again. You put the, the same leg in the air. So do you want to go the other way?

So we're going back the way we came. Sorry. That was a really tricky transition. I thought it was gonna work. Uh, so here we are. Let's give it a stretch. So sit down on that hip. Okay. So leave the band. We're going to come across to the opposite side. So your legs shift over to, um, the other direction. So now if we were just, if I was just on my left hand, I'm going to be on my right. [inaudible] we're going to do the Ben and then we'll do the whole thing to the other side. Just switching arms, just switching arms a little. Here we go.

Lift up through your waist. Take your opposite arm on your leg. Good shoulder stability. Pull up with the ribs. And here we go. We lift into a side plank position. Nice. And now we lift lifts through the bottom. Waist, lift through the bottom, waist. The top arm reaches up and over. Find your way back to center.

Now we're going to bend our knees. What? We're not going to touch the floor. We're not? Nope. We're just going to hover and now we're going to go back up again. Entering in a recap. If you need to touch the floor, you can oh, but enjoy the stretch there. And um, and no, we have very good hover, hover, hover and up. Last one and up and over. [inaudible].

Okay, so here's how we're going to get out of this. Bend your bottom leg. Bend your top, lay lift off the floor with your upper oh bleak. Reach over, pick up your band. Here we are again. Okay.

Sometimes you just gotta make it up. Okay. So Deb, go a little techie. Yeah. Good. Yeah. Here we go. So let's go over this way for us. Just a couple, just a couple of keep those arms nice and long. And then back. I don't know that I'm crazy about the on tier, but you like it. You like it. Okay, I'll do just about anything free to. So here we go. Reaching, reaching, reach out through the arms. Oh, there's an idea.

Pull the band apart. Stretch it. Okay. I've now I'm with you. Dumb. I'm more into it and back. Just hadn't gotten there with myself yet and right. And Ah, okay. So here we go. We're going over, we're lifting up the top, like keep stretching the band away from itself. Flex your foot, swing forward and back. Keep your back against the band forward so you know that your body is not moving.

Keep your leg straight and back and forward and back and forward and back on. One more forward and back. Now here we go. Down into the floor, we come up and around, touch, up and around. Touch, back up in, around touch. Front up in, around, touch back. You've got three to go higher each time. Higher. So that's it. Last two and two. Here's number one. Up and back. Now take the band over your head. Put it down on the mat. Now take that leg just little lifts up.

Little lifts up, kind of easy on the arms. Okay, so remember, I don't know. Now I'm lost. Last two. Now we're going to turn the hip. Put that upper leg on the ground. This is the leg that's gonna come back up. The one that you just put on the floor straight. Take the other leg up. Ruined five pushups here. Ready? Go One.

Keep the head in line with this spine at my pace too. I'm still on two, three, four. Number five, stretch up. Put the leg back down. So I'm now turning back the way I just, okay. Would be easier. Yes, yes, we've got it. We've got it. I lifted my leg up nice and high. Nice and high. Bend the knee, sit on it, reaching the opposite arm across. I am now to get into the side.

Then we just shift onto the hip that we're stretching and bring the legs across. Yes, we're all together. Good. Top leg on top of the bottom. Straight arm to our side. [inaudible] Yup. Good shoulder stability please. And maybe a little bit further out with your arm. Okay.

So basically you want to figure out where your bent knees are gonna be straight and that's how far your shoulder has to come. So here we go. Straight up over the arm, lift the bottom, waste reached the top. I'm overhead, looked down just a little and then come back. So we're going to bend the knees and we're just going to reach down. We're going to hover. We're not lifting, we're not sitting down. And now we reach out and there's a little legs there and up and over and back and down. Good, good, good, good, good. Shoulders. This is it. Up in, over to here. And now. Turnover points. Your right foot lifted straight up. Five, four, three.

Hold the body stable to one. Put that foot in. Pick up the other foot. Five, four, three, two, one. Put that foot down. Round your spine and drop your knees towards the ground. Old rests on them. Just touch the floor and straighten and round the side. Just touch and straight.

Don't back up away from your arms and knees. Come towards the risks towards the wrists and back. One more you reach and we straighten and one more. And let the knees rest and slide out onto your mat all the way down and stretch your arms out in front of you and separating your arms just a little bit. Flied your arms backwards into your shoulder joints through the, you're lifted a little bit up into back extension. Good, good.

Kindness kind of small though. It's still in the ribs. And then we lift the left arm. Nice and high and low, right leg. Lift the little and we switch right arm less, less like hovers. So if you're focusing on anything in terms of what to focus on, lifting high, it's the arms, it's the [inaudible]. It's not even the back cause if you keep your body slightly lifted in your arms, good. We'll bring your back with you. Good. The legs just hover. Yeah, we're going one more time like this. One more time.

Now hold that both legs and arms and alternating arms and legs. Inhale, two, three, four. Nice and controlled. Inhale two, three, four. Exhale. Two, three, four. Nice. Straight arms. Four, four. Exhale, two, three, four, five. Everything gets longer and we rest. Turn your face this way.

Bring your hands behind you and interlock your fingers that that small a is up your back kind of high. Then drop your elbows towards the floor. Hover the legs. We're going to kick in. One, two, three and we're going to s the arms and the legs away from one another. Good. And now we go the other way with our face. Kick the legs in one. They stay together and strong and lifted off the ground and breech. And again, this is our grand finale ladies.

So you make it feel then make it worth it. Stretch everything. One, two, 3:00 AM each last time both sides. One, elbows down on the ground. Reach last one. One, two, three. [inaudible] hold here. Lift the arms. Just the hands a little, just the arms. And now let the hands go. I'm bringing my hands to the ground and push off your arms and walk your way back so that you're sitting down on your feet. Hmm.

Just rest there. Take a breath. He's nice. Long in here. Really see intention from the body. And then as you're ready, slowly starts her roll yourself sitting on your feet. Yes, that's it.

Thank you guys for coming.

Comments

9 people like this.
I keep typing and erasing looking for the words to express my gratefulness. For my wondrous 40 year friendship with Michelle and Denise (who is at my side in the class), for my new and very special friendship with Meredith, for Michelle's insistence that I "try" Pilates Anytime in the summer of 2011, and for the world of discovery, satisfaction and well being that it has brought me. If I thought I was endorphin filled from the vbac birth I just came home from attending---taking this class (only my second live mat class ever) and reliving the fun and excitement has me endorphin SATURATED!
What fun meeting my video classmates Deb and Lisa for the first time and getting to learn from Meri firsthand. Kristi might not have been present but her warm spirit pervades the studio. If like me, you rely on PA as your sole pilates instruction, please be assured you have chosen well!
1 person likes this.
Thank you Meredith. I was looking for some elastic exercises. Love it!
Hugs
Joni,
You are, quite simply, a light in my life. I too thank Michelle for bringing us together. Thank you for your unbridled enthusiasm, your continuous support and your contagious positive energy. I feel lucky to know you.
All my love until we meet again,
Meredith
And Patricia...thank YOU! Hugs right back.
1 person likes this.
Meredith, thanks oh thank-you!! Had been replaying and playing your old flex band ones, now I have a new one. Loved the transitions so creative! Can't wait to try them out on my students. You are awesome.
Bringing inspiration from PA to very happy me in JAPAN.
1 person likes this.
WOW perfect Class as always!! Great Work out!!
1 person likes this.
Outstanding! Thank you!
Joni ~ For someone who has only taken two live Mat classes ever, you certainly seem to have a handle on the spirit of Pilates. Your dedication, discipline (apparent via your forum comments), enthusiasm, and palpable joy of life is something to admire as well as aspire to. Thank you for sharing so freely with us on PA. Though I wasn't there that Monday afternoon, I was thrilled to know what Michelle and Meredith were planning. We're all glad that you had a good time and hope you come again soon!




Thanks for the pics Kristi :)
3 people like this.
Meridith, you are one of my favorites. You always deliver an awesome challenging work-out with perfect cuing... I look forward to taking classes with you everytime!!!!
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