Energizing and Precise Mat

Hi, I'm Laura Hanlon, here to lead you through an energizing, quick, short, fun mat class. I hope you have some fun with the movement. We'll start standing at the back edge of the mat. Let's start parallel today. Legs together, inner thighs, nice and zipped.

Just taking a comfortable stance and a few deep breaths together. The mind, the body, everything as one. We'll reach those arms all the way up overhead. Take your gaze up, look up. Deep breath in. (inhales) Exhale, open those arms, gazing all the way back down towards your toes, letting the crown of the head release one more nice deep breath like so. Inhale, opening up through the body, waking up.

Exhale, take it back down. (exhales) Once more. This time, we'll keep those arms lifted. Deep breath in. (inhales) This time, flip the palms forward. Lead with the fingertips in the crown of the head, rolling down through the spine, vertebra by vertebra. Keeping that weight forward into the toes, taking our time, staying lifted in those abdominals. We'll crawl our hands out about four to six hand steps, we meet in a plank position.

Zipping up through those inner thighs, reaching back through the heels, along through the crown of the head. Taking three deep breaths here. Inhale through the nose. (inhales) Exhale, press the floor away, keeping that lift in the chest in the sternum. Another deep breath. Inhale. (inhales) Exhale, zipping up through those inner thighs, all the way up to the belly button. One more deep breath here. Inhaling. (inhales) Exhale, knitting the ribs together, warming up through those abdominals.

Nice and strong planks. With control, we'll lower the knees all the way to the mat. And sit back into a brief child's pose. For a child's pose here, knees can always be together or apart, whatever feels best on your joints. Just taking a moment to release into the low back.

Get off those wrists. Inhale. (inhales) And exhale, sinking the seat towards the heels, crawling those fingertips along in opposition. From there, we'll come up onto all fours. Shoulders once again stacked over the wrists. Hips in line with the knees. Continuing to warm up the spine with some cat-cows.

Press the floor away, round into your back. Let the crown of the head drop down, maybe giving it a little shake, yes and no side to side. Getting those wiggles out, and then begin to drop the belly down. Pull the heart in the chest forward, reaching the sit bone, tailbone back. Look up, deep breath in (inhales) and exhale, press the floor away, rounding up through that waistline.

Once more like this. Opening up, drawing heart and chest forward, collarbones wide, deep breath in (inhales) and exhale to round up and in. (exhales) From here, we'll meet with a long spine, beautiful flat back, lengthening through the crown of the head, back through that tail. Begin to float the right leg straight back behind you, keeping those shoulders and hips really square, keeping that lift in the low belly, right where that seatbelt would lie in the car to support our low back. If you're feeling solid here, extend that left arm forward. Palm facing inward, framing ear to bicep.

You always have the option to stay on both hands or hold this position. Moving on for a little challenge, we'll lift the arm and leg up a little higher. Deep breath in. (inhales) Exhale, round the spine, connecting the elbow and the knee towards the nose, right underneath that belly button. Again, inhale to lengthen, reaching through the fingers and the toes. Exhale to round and contract that same cat shape, lifting in the waist.

Two more times. Inhale to reach through the arm and the leg. Exhale to curl, even pressure into this right palm, left shin, left top of the foot. Really solid base of support. One more time reaching out a little bit longer. And exhale, lifting up a little bit higher into that waist. (exhales) Reach all the way back long to hold.

Lower the left palm right underneath your shoulder. Flex back through that right heel. We'll lower the toes to the mat and meet back into that plank position we were in earlier. Although this time, the feet will be hip distance apart. Reaching back through the heels.

Again, pressing into those palm. Staying for just one brief. Breath here, inhale (inhales) and exhale. (exhales) Starting to feel that body really warm up. Now, with control, we'll lower the right knee, pressing that right shin, top of the foot into the floor, and reach that left leg back. Finding our second side here, keeping that lift in the abdominals, ribs knitting tight, right arm reaching forward.

Inhale, arm and leg lift a little higher. (inhales) Exhale round and contract. Let the head hang heavy here. No tension in the neck. We wanna lift out of those abdominals. Inhale, reaching shoulder blades pulling away from the ears. Crown of the head reaching long.

Exhale, curl up and in belly button up towards that spine. Twice more. Inhale to lengthen a little longer. (inhales) And exhale to lift up a little bit higher. (inhales) One more inhale to reach (inhales) and exhale, deep contraction. Think of lifting in the low belly, squeezing the glutes together to really help the body stay square and stable here. Find that beautiful long length. Right palm lowers right underneath that right shoulder.

Once again, flexing back through the left heel, lowering the toes to the mat, pressing into the palms in the left ball of the foot. Right leg extends back once again. Staying for a deep breath here in our plank. Now that we've been here a couple times, hopefully feeling a little bit stronger, a little more awake, take a breath in. (inhales) Lifting the low belly, press the floor away, and gently lower those knees. Taking another moment in child's pose.

Hips towards the heels. Crawling those fingertips long, letting the head and the chest release. Maybe a little wiggle of those hips side to side. Taking a breath in (inhales) and exhale to let it go. (exhales) From there, we'll crawl our hands in. Spin around to sit on the mat, facing either direction here.

Right about in the middle, feet will walk towards the front edge of the mat, so they're not too close to you and we'll take hold behind the hamstrings here, behind that knee crease. Similar to how we were going into our cat-cow shape, working into some extension, we'll lift the chest, lift the heart open up across the collarbones. Take a deep breath in. (inhales) And then exhale to round the spine, scooping out from the low belly, hanging back away from those legs, opening up across the upper back and the shoulder blades. Again, pull the heart and the chest forward. Lifting up, looking up. Deep breath in. (inhales) Exhale to round and contract back.

Zipping up through that low belly, bringing some more awareness to our core. Once more, pulling the heart and the chest forward. Shoulders back, look up, deep inhale. (inhales) And exhale to round and contract. This time, we'll stay back here. Make sure those heels are firmly planted on the mat.

That scoop really connected to the low back or to the low belly to support our low back. Arms reach forward. Deep breath in. (inhales) Exhale, perhaps you lower one inch further towards the floor. We hold it here as we pull the elbows back towards the ribs on the inhale. And exhale, belly button pulls back, fingertips reaching long. Four more times. Inhale.

Shoulder blades pull down into the back. Exhale, belly button scooping back in, in for three. (inhales) Think of the ribs knitting a little bit tighter, that corset around the waist, feeling for two. (inhales) And reach one more time. Inhale. (inhales) And exhale to hold. Taking a moment here. Deep breath in. (inhales) We slowly make our way down onto the mat. Maybe you walk those hands down the back of the legs. You roll down with control using those abdominals no matter what.

And you reach the arms back overhead. Palms will flip up to the ceiling. Walk your feet in a little bit closer towards your sit bones. Here, we have that nice neutral pelvis, tailbone, sit bones reaching in one direction. Crown of the head, fingertips were reaching in the other.

Begin to float the arms up towards the ceiling over the shoulders. Shoulder blades pulling down into the back, breathing in. (inhales) And then, exhale. We'll curl up to the tips of the shoulder blades, keeping that seatbelt, feeling that neutral pelvis, palms lower to hover right off the mat by the hips. Head and arms reach back, framing ears with biceps. Inhale. Exhale, curl up.

Reach up right to the tips of those shoulder blades. Inhale, take it back. (inhales) And exhale, reach up and over the ribs, pulling that belly button deeper towards the spine. Chin hovering right over that chest. Once more, inhale, take it back. (inhales) And exhale, curl up and forward. (exhales) Hold it here for another breath and (inhales) pull the belly a little bit deeper. See if you can curl up a little bit higher.

And then, lower the head back and the palms flat to the mat. Keeping that length through the fingertips. Open chest and neck. Deep breath in. (inhales) And then, exhale. We'll draw the right leg to tabletop and the left leg up to meet it, keeping them hip distance apart, keeping that pelvis really neutral here. So important that we don't tuck our pelvis and endanger our low back or grip in the hips.

We want our tailbone and sit bones reaching long, so we can work into that low belly, diminishing any space in the middle of the back by really pulling that belly button towards the spine. Should feel your body working here. I know I do. We'll go into some toe taps. Start by lowering the right leg, keeping the 90 degree bend. Toes maybe hover or tap the mat on the inhale.

Exhale, pull that belly button to the spine as you lift the leg back up, slow and controlled. Inhale to lower. (inhales) Exhale, think of that corset tying tighter around the waist to lift. I see people all the time rushing through this. Well, that makes it easier. Of course they do that. The slower you go, the more challenging it is.

Use the breath. Inhale. (inhales) Exhale, think of that zipper all the way up towards your belly button. Zipping up to lift the leg back up and in. One more time each side. Inhale to lower. Staying relaxed through the head, neck, and shoulders. Exhale deep in the belly to lift.

One more time. Inhale to lower the left and exhale to lift. From there, we'll hug the knees all the way into the chest, giving them a nice gentle squeeze. Maybe a little rock back and forth, side to side. From here, bring those knees together. Take a deep breath in. (inhales) Exhale to peel the head, neck, and shoulders back up.

Forehead to the knees. Palms lower to hover off the mat, legs extend nice and straight on a diagonal. We breathe in fives for our hundreds. Inhale, two, three, four, five, and exhale, two, three, four, five. Thinking of all that abdominal work we started this class with, really setting us up for a successful set of hundreds.

Inhaling through the nose (inhales) and exhale out. (exhales) Maybe you begin to lower those legs a little bit further, keeping length through the fingers and the toes. Of course, if you need to rest your head and neck or bend your knees, do what your body is craving in this moment. Inhale (inhales) and exhale out, two, three, four, five. Four more breaths. (inhales) Can we curl up a little higher? Pull that belly button a little bit deeper for three. (inhales) And exhale out. (exhales) Last two (inhales) and exhale out.

Two, three, four, five. One more breath. Inhale (inhales) and exhale out, two, three, four, five. Stay, hold, pull the belly deep. Reach up one more inch. With control, lower the feet all the way to the mat.

Always using those hands if you need. Letting the head release and arms reach overhead. We'll take a moment here to hold onto one wrist with the opposite hand. Give the body a pull here. Let your shoulders lift. Reach to the fingers, the toes.

Give them a little wiggle like you're waking up all over again. Feeling length already into the body. Pull the shoulder blades back away from the ears. Flex all 10 toes to the ceiling. Reach all 10 fingers to the ceiling. Deep inhale. (inhales) Exhale to round and roll up.

Chin over the chest, that scoop from the belly. We use the breath in the belly to roll up versus momentum here. Nice open back. Crown of the head, release down. Deep breath in. (inhales) And exhale to round and roll down vertebra by vertebra. Imagine the soles of your feet pressing into a side wall in the other direction as your head and your arms reach back.

Inhale, arms float up. Exhale round and roll up. (exhales) Think of like a wheel. We keep it moving. Try not to pause. Continuing to reach a little further without plopping over. And then, exhale. That wheel reverses rolling down. The movement never stops.

The breath is continuous, fluid movement, one of your Pilates principles. Inhale, exhale, round, and roll up. Zipping up through those inner thighs, reaching those heels a little longer, fingertips past the toes. Deep breath in (inhales) and exhale to roll down bone by bone, opening up through the low back and getting into the back of the pelvis, the middle back. Again, how slow can you go here?

Once more, inhale, arms float up. Exhale round and roll up. (exhales) Use the breath. Inhale, reach forward one more inch (inhales) and exhale to roll down vertebra by vertebra. We take our time. We zip up from the heels through the knees, through the inner thighs, all the way back to the belly button and lengthen through the arms.

Circle the arms. From here, we'll hug the right knee into the chest, taking a moment to stretch out those legs. Right hip stays anchored, right knee pulls in nice and close. Point or flex the feet, maybe somewhere in between. Whatever feels good for you here.

Right arm opens to the side. Taking a breath in (inhales) and exhale. Float that leg across the body. (exhales) Taking a gentle stretch here. Maybe your gaze goes over to the right. Again, pointing or flexing those feet and draw the leg back to center.

Right ankle over the left thigh. I like to take a moment to let gravity do some of the work here. Let that knee open, keeping those hips square, enjoying this moment, opening up across the hips and the pelvis. Maybe this is enough for you when you stay here. If you want a little bit more, flex those feet, begin to bend that left knee in.

Maybe you pause here with the foot firmly planted on the mat. Maybe you hug all the way in for that figure four, pressing the right knee gently away, staying relaxed in the shoulders. Take a breath in (inhales) and exhale. (exhales) Once more, inhaling (inhales) and exhaling. (exhales) From there, lowering the feet, extending that right leg long, maybe peeking up. Make sure it's in line with that hip. Left knee draws into the chest, relaxing through the shoulders, releasing through the front of both hips and thighs.

We'll open that left arm to the side and take the left leg across the body. Enjoying this moment. Deep breath in. (inhales) Exhale, trying to keep that left shoulder anchored to the floor, maybe taking your gaze to the left. A gentle twist, never forcing it. Using the breath to deepen and ease into it. And we bring the leg back to center.

Left ankle over that right thigh. Again, letting those hips open, both the front and the back. Taking a second here. And maybe you stay here, maybe you choose to deepen, flexing those feet, bending the right knee in. Keeping those hips square.

Really important to flex that top foot here to protect our knee joint, our ankle joint, our hip joint, all the joints. Maybe you hug in for that full figure four, pulling the shoulder blades down, staying relaxed through the head, neck, and shoulders. Once again, deep breath in (inhales) and exhale. (exhales) One more breath here. Inhaling (inhales) and exhaling. (exhales) Feels so good, I think. From here, we'll lower those feet down.

Walk the legs out nice and long on the mat. Once again, reach the fingertips long, firmly pressing into the palms, flexing through the heels. We'll draw that right knee back into the chest, reaching the leg long to the ceiling, taking a breath here at the top to prepare. (inhales) And then, exhale. Begin to circle that right leg across the body, down around and straight back up to the ceiling. Inhaling at the top.

Exhale to circle, drawing a nice even circle on the ceiling with those toes. Inhale and exhale. Thinking about our seatbelt, thinking about those low abdominals really connected to keep that pelvis square as we open up in this hip joint. Once more in this direction, lengthen and lift at the top. Inhale, exhale to reverse, out, down, across.

Lengthen that outer thigh, keeping that hip anchored to the mat. Low back anchored to the mat. Low belly doing the work here. Inhale, exhale, circle, and lift. Last two. Ribs knit a little bit tighter. Toes lift a little higher. One more time around.

Lengthen and hold. Flex up through that heel. And with control, lower the leg all the way down, keeping that right leg long. Left leg draws in and up. Deep breath to prepare. (inhales) Exhale, circle across, down, out. Belly deepens, toes lift at the top, around. Chin stays lifted here.

Pressing down into those palms to help us stabilize. Really use the whole body, full body exercise. Circle, lengthen, and lift. Inhale. One more around, belly deepens, toes lift up, hold. We reverse. Out, down, across.

Lengthen that outer thigh and IT band. Inhale at the top, exhale to circle. Belly deepens a little further like lifts a little higher for three (inhales) and up. (exhales) And two (inhales) and lift. One more time. Circle, lift, and stay. Flex up through that left heel and lower the leg all the way down with control.

Keep those legs long, arms float up. Deep breath in (inhales) and exhale to round and roll (exhales) all the way back up to a tall seat. We'll make sure we're in the middle of the mat, maybe a little closer to the front, hugging those knees in. Hands come to the lower part of the shins or ankles. We'll squeeze the inner thighs together.

Tuck the chin over the chest, and then press into the feet until those toes hover just an inch or two off the mat. Keeping this really tight ball shape, we pull the belly deeper, gaze down to that belly button, and then we rock back just to the tips of those shoulder blades. Inhale, chin stays tucked over the chest, toes stay hovering off the mat. Keeping the heels as close to the sit bones as we can. We're in as tight of a ball shape as we can. Three more.

Inhale, massaging the sides of the spine. Exhale to lift. And two. (inhales) And up. (exhales) Once more, inhale. (inhales) Exhale, lift, and stay. From here, lengthen up through your spine. Change your hand position to behind your legs and float those shins to tabletop parallel to the floor. Option to stay holding on or go right to reaching forward.

We take a deep breath in. (inhales) We begin to roll down just to the tips of those shoulder blades. Vertebra by vertebra, getting into the back of the pelvis. How slow can you go? How deep can you work into your core? We arrive at the tips of the shoulder blades. Right knee draws close, left leg extends long, opposite hand to knee, other by hand by the ankle.

Curl up a little higher, pull the belly deeper, draw that knee and inhale. (inhales) Exhale, switch left leg and right leg long. (exhales) We switch right and left. Continuing to switch opposite hand to knee. Other hand by that ankle, keeping our hips, our shoulders nice and square. Our placement is so important here. Feeling that leg lengthening longer to the opposite side of the room as if the toes are gonna touch.

Inhale (inhales) and exhale (exhales) for three (deep breathes) and two. Pulling that belly deeper. Once more, both knees all the way into the nose. Release the head all the way back for a moment. Relax the shoulders. Inhale. (inhales) Exhale. Curl right back up. (exhales) Belly deepens, forehead to the knees.

Float your arms straight up to the ceiling. Float your legs as straight as they can be to the ceiling without lifting your hips. From here, reach higher through your fingertips, and then maybe you start to float the arms back by your ears, but not if you're dropping down. We stay lifted. Ribs knit together, hovering off those shoulder blades.

Now, begin to lower your legs as low as they can go. This is the challenge. We hold our bodies here in the inhale. Exhale, circle knees to nose, tight ball. Now, reach right back to that position.

Stay hovering off the shoulder blades. Take a breath in. (inhales) Exhale, circle hug. Belly button pulls deeper to the floor. Three more times, lengthen out and back. Exhale, circle and hug (exhales) for two. (inhales) Circle and hug. (exhales) Once more, reach, (inhales) hug it in, (exhales) and release the head down. We'll bring the hands behind the head for a little more support for the head, neck, and shoulders here today.

Fingertips press into the base of the skull. Deep breath here. (inhales) Exhale, curl back up. (exhales) Forehead, we're reaching to the knees. Once again, we extend those legs as straight as we can without tucking the pelvis, so maybe the legs are slightly bent. Maybe they're a little bit lower. If anything, that's more challenging on your core.

Take another breath here. Curl up a little higher. Knit the ribs together. We'll start by lowering the right leg to hover off the mat. Inhale, deepen the belly, lift it right back up to meet the left. Inhale, lower the left. Exhale, curl a little higher.

Those elbows stay wide, collarbones nice and open. Chin hovering over the chest. Really using our hands here to support that head. One more time each side, right. Inhale, deep in the belly, lift, left. (inhales) Exhale up. (exhales) Option to continue one leg at a time or both legs lower for four.

Zipping up through those inner thighs through the waist for three. (inhales) Exhale to lift (exhales). And two (inhales) and up. (exhales) One more time. Inhale lower. (inhales) Deepen the belly, legs lift. Bend the knees to tabletop and hold them there. Let the head lower into the hands towards the mat for a deep breath in. (inhales) Exhale, we curl right back up. (exhales) Inhale, prepare. (inhales) Exhale, keep the legs where they are. Twist to the right, pull that right leg a little further back.

I'm sorry, right elbow a little further back. Curl up a little higher as you come to center. Inhale. (inhales) Lift and twist over to the left, left elbow further back. Center, maybe you stick with this. Maybe you extend that left leg long opposite elbow to thigh.

Inhale, center. As you twist to the left, maybe that left knee pulls a little closer. Maybe you make that connection. Tapping elbow to leg. Inhale. Exhale, lift, and twist to the right. (exhales) We inhale, center. (inhales) Exhale, lift, and twist to the left. Staying slow and controlled. One more each side.

Inhale. Exhale to twist. (exhales) Last time, center. (inhales) And twist, come back to center. Deep breath in. (inhales) Exhale, curl up. One more inch, pull that belly a little deeper to the mat and hug the knees in to rest. Whew. If you weren't warm yet, you are now, I would think. We'll take a gentle rock back and all the way up to a nice tall seat.

Extend those legs out long. Continuing to open up through our spines here. Flex the heels forward. Reach the arms forward. Plug those shoulder blades down. Think of a beautiful tall spine has zipped through the waist as if your back is against a flat wall.

Deep breath in. (inhales) Exhale, begin to tuck the chin over the chest, rounding the crown of the head down, fingertips forward. Imagine draping a cape over those shoulder blades, and then scoop to the spine, lifting all the way tall. Inhale (inhales) and exhale. Round and reach curling over a big beach ball here since we're by the ocean. (inhales) And lengthen to lift. Shoulder blades plugged down into the back.

Strong arms. Once more, inhale. (inhales) Exhale round and reach up and over. Belly button scoops back, heels and fingertips reach forward. And then, lengthen all the way back up tall. Bring those hands behind the head today. Again, that gentle pressure between the fingertips and the base of the skull really lifted out of the crown of the head.

We lift out of the hips to twist to the right. Deep breath in, (inhales) and then take your left hand towards your right pinky toe. Reaching forward if you can, maybe you use it to open up a little bit more. Lengthen out the sides of that waist. Coming back up, hands behind the head and center.

Inhale, lift, and twist. (inhales) Exhale, reaching up and over towards that left pinky toe. Left elbow a little higher to the sky. Coming back up tall. (inhales) And through center, hug and lift and twist. Inhale. (inhales) Exhale to reach up and over. Knitting those ribs together, really opening up through that right waist.

Coming back up (inhales) and center. (exhales) Lift and twist. Inhale. (inhales) Now, use your obliques here. Pull back in that left waist as you reach, and then take that moment to lengthen it out. Shoulder blades down and open. Lifting back up tall (inhales) and center and relax. Give those shoulders maybe a moment to roll.

Make sure your hips are still in the middle of your mat. We'll keep those feet about hip distance apart. Pretty much how we started our roll down here with those hands behind the legs, those shoulders down into the back. Take a beautiful deep breath in as you lengthen tall and then exhale. Rounding, contract not quite as far this time, just finding a little bit of a balance between our tailbone and our sit bones.

We'll bring the right leg to tabletop and the left leg up to meet it. Keeping those knees about shoulder width, hip width apart, round your spine, gazing down into the belly. We'll rock like this three times. Chin stays tucked to protect that head and neck. Press hands into the legs, legs into the hand.

Find that lift. Pulling back in the waistline, inhale. (inhales) Exhale, lift, gazing towards that belly button, towards that space between your thighs. Once more, inhale. (inhales) Exhale, lift, and hold. From here, lengthen up through your spine. Lengthen up through your right leg, maybe a little bit or all the way straight.

Deep breath in. (inhales) Bend it in. Resist. Use your arms, use your legs here. Again, use your whole body. Lift leg maybe a little bit, maybe all the way straight. Zip up through that low waist, both legs together.

Inhale, lengthen a little bit all the way. Exhale to bend. One more time. Challenging that balance. Inhale, (inhales) exhale to bend. We have three more open leg rocker here.

Maybe you stay, maybe you extend your legs, maybe you hold on behind. Do what your body needs. Tuck that chin. Protect the head and neck. We roll for three. Inhale. (inhales) See if we can stick the landing at the top. Exhale, find it.

Keep that chin tucked for two. (inhales) Pull that belly button back. Exhale to lift. Once more, inhale to rock. Deepen the belly to lift and stay. From here, squeeze your inner thighs together. Lengthen up through your spine.

Option to continue holding onto your legs, bent or straight, or reach forward for our first teaser of at least my morning. Take a breath in. (inhales) Slowly roll down bone by bone. Thinking of that tight zipper. We're working into our articulation today. How straight can we roll? How slow can we go?

Palms press to the mat. Toes reach to the sky. Head releases down. Zip up through those inner thighs. I like a slight Pilates stance turnout today. Feel free to be parallel or with slightly bent knees.

Small corkscrew. Starting to the right, inhale. Sweep those legs down over to the left and straight back up. Inhale at the top. Exhale, legs go left, down around, right back up. Inhale. (inhales) Exhale to the right, maybe a little bit bigger.

Zipping up through the inner thighs in the waist, pressing into those palms to lift. Last time, legs go left. Deep breath in. (inhales) Exhale, sweep it down and around. Pull the belly deep, lift and hold. Either bend the knees to tabletop or lower to a 45 degree angle. Float those arms to the ceiling or hold on behind your thighs.

Prepare with a deep breath in. (inhales) We curl right back up to where we left off. Zip up through the waist. Pull the belly button back, floating all the way up, up, up. Inhale. (inhales) Exhale, reach up one more inch and let everything rest for a moment. Woo. I feel my legs, letting your body relax for a second.

We will meet facing the other side of the room. Flip on around here, extending those legs straight back behind you. Once again, inner thighs are zipped up tight. We'll start our swan, some swan prep today with the hands crossed over one another. Fingertips to wrist here.

Pressing the tops of the feet, that shoelace side of the foot down onto the mat. Really important to feel the legs engage. Supporting the low back by squeezing the buns tight and staying connected in the abdominals. The forehead will rest on the top hand and we keep that connection the whole time. We'll inhale here at the bottom to prepare, (inhales) and then exhale.

Begin to hover your hands, your forearms, your chest, and heart away from the floor. Keep those feet down. Maybe lift your back one more inch. Inhale. (inhales) Exhale, belly button pulls away from the floor as you lower back down with control. Inhaling at the bottom. (inhales) Exhale, think of lengthening out and up to lift. (exhales) Squeezing between the glutes and shoulder blades. Pressing that top hand into the forehead, lifting another inch, (inhales) and exhale to lower, deepening in the waistline.

Switching the hand that's on top. We'll do this two more times. Inhale at the bottom. (inhales) Exhale to lift. (exhales) Keep long through the back of the neck. Shoulder blades away from the ears. Lifting a little higher on the inhale, (inhales) lowering back down as we exhale. (exhales) Thinking about that corset feeling around the waist.

Last time, inhale. (inhales) And exhale to lift. (exhales) Holding it here, keeping that upper back lifted. Pull the elbows in by your waist. Press down into your palms. Neck stays in line with the spine, take a breath in. Exhale, begin to lift up a little bit higher. (exhales) Opening up our back into a little bit deeper extension, hyperextension, whatever that means for your body.

Taking a breath here, pulling the shoulder blades down, opening up across the chest, beautiful stretch. (inhales) Exhale deep in the belly. Zip up through the waist to lower all the way back down with control. We'll keep these palms firmly pressing down underneath the shoulders. If the legs have separated, zip them back together and tuck the toes underneath you, so you feel those toes and palms pressing into the mat. Now, we will now will meet in a plank position.

Please use those knees if you need a little more support. Regardless, you will use your abdominals. Take a breath in to prepare. (inhales) Exhale, press the floor away and meet me there, nice and strong. We've done a few planks in this class. Let's hold it. Taking a breath here. (inhales) Pull that belly button a little higher towards the spine.

Squeeze those buns a little bit tighter towards one another. One more breath to stay. Inhale. (inhales) Exhale where you are. (exhales) Gently lower those knees. We'll take a child's pose from here. Again, letting those knees may be open, maybe keeping them together. Fingertips crawling towards one edge of the mat.

Hips reaching back in opposition. Enjoying a moment (exhales) to stretch it out here. Inhale (inhales) and exhale. (exhales) From here, we'll crawl forward into a forearm plank. One hand into a nice tight fist. Other hand wraps around that fist for a strong base of support.

Shoulders slightly forward of the elbows and firmly pressing those forearms into the mat. One leg and the other extend back behind us. Now, tuck that tailbone underneath you. Squeeze your glutes, so we have this beautiful long line from the heels, out the crown of the head, not looking up. Not too far down. Deep breath to prepare. (inhales) Exhale to press the floor away.

Lift your heart between the shoulder blades. Lift the belly button to the spine. Now, feel free to hold this position. If you'd like a little added challenge, we'll try balancing on the left leg as we hover those right toes an inch or two from the mat. Taking a breath in there (inhales) and exhale to lower the toes down.

Thinking of that zipper in the inner thighs in the low belly. Left foot hovers. Deep breath in. (inhales) Nothing else should move. Exhale to lower. Again, right foot hovers, inhaling. (inhales) Exhale to lower. (exhales) One more time, left. (inhales) Deepen the belly up, lower the toes down and stay. Inhale here. (inhales) Exhale, press the ground away, lifting in the waist. (exhales) And once again, lower the knees and sit back into a child's pose. Knees together or apart, whatever you need.

Maybe taking a moment to crawl those fingertips a little further forward. Let the seat sink back a little bit further behind you. Taking a breath in (inhales) and exhale, let it out. (exhales) From here, we'll come up for a brief sideline series today. Hips towards the back edge of your mat, right elbow towards the back edge of your mat, making sure that forearm is parallel to that other side. I'm all about the angles here.

It sets our body up for success. The toes will reach towards the front edge of your mat. So, if you think about it, if I flipped onto my back, I'd be at a hundreds position with my legs around eye level, maybe a little higher. Now, press the floor away. Lifting your right waistline.

Using that back, using those obliques. We'll start with our hand resting on the mat. Working into that outer left thigh, we lift the leg up to about hip height. From there, let's lift a little higher on the inhale. (inhales) Lower back down. Just a hip height, it hovers off the bottom line.

As we exhale, inhale to lift. (inhales) Press the ground away, zip up through the waist. Inhale, lift, and exhale, lower. Feeling energy out through the heel. (inhales) And lower. (exhales) Once more, lift, (inhales) lower to hip height and stay. Option to keep this hand here, maybe on the hip to feel that stability, maybe for a challenge behind the head. We kick it forward on the inhale, point and press back and zip up through the waist to exhale forward. (inhales) Deep in the belly, point and press (exhales) for three (inhales) and back.

Knit those ribs tight. Two, (inhales) nothing else moves. Just hinging from that hip forward (inhales) and back. Top leg hovers over the bottom leg. Press the ground away. Reach through the heel. Small circles forward around and back for five.

Lifting in the waist for four, (inhales) three, (exhales) two, (inhales) and one. Reverse, backing around for five. Nice small circle, four. Doesn't have to be big, three. I'd rather see it even, two. Should feel that leg working.

One. Lower it down. We'll come all the way up and spin right around for our other side. I'm gonna stay facing you. That same setup, left elbow towards the back edge, left hips towards the back, toes towards the front. Setting up for success here. Pressing the floor away.

I'm feeling my left lat, my left oblique super engaged. Shoulder blades pulled down, chin lifted off the chest. Begin to hover that right leg, reaching out through the heel and then up. Inhale. (inhales) Exhale, lower. (exhales) Inhale to lift. (inhales) Shoulder blades away from the ears. Belly button pulling up and in.

Lift the leg, lower the leg for two. Imagine you're moving through molasses here. You don't need a weight. I feel my legs working. Last one. (inhales) Pause at hip height. Maybe hand stays here for support.

Maybe the hip, maybe behind the head. Kick it forward. Inhale, point the toes. Press to that back diagonal of the mat as you exhale. With this hand behind my head, I'm thinking about that position we were in earlier. My fingertips pressing into the base of the skull and vice versa.

I feel that connection engaging in my back. Point and press. Once more, inhale. (inhales) Deep in the belly, point and press. Flex through the heel, hover the top leg. Small circles forward around and back for five. For four. (inhales) Keep breathing.

Three, (exhales) two, (inhales) and one. (exhales) Reverse, back and around for five and four. Press the ground away, lifting the waistline. Three. Last two, last one, and lower. Once again, we'll press ourself up here, and then spin right back around. Leaving out some mermaid, some side stretching.

We'll get into it later. Walk those feet forward as we have done so often here today. Setting ourselves up here at the middle of the mat. Knees bent, hip width apart, shoulders down, tall spine, beautiful lift, deep breath in. (inhales) Exhale, begin to round and contract back. Maybe walking those hands down the legs, maybe challenging the core, reaching those arms forward.

Rolling bone by bone, arriving flat on the mat. Palms pressed to the floor. Walk your feet in a little bit closer. Imagine crawling your fingertips towards your heels here, finding that length through the back of the neck. Feet will stay hip distance apart.

We take a breath here with this nice neutral pelvis, long spine. Inhaling. (inhales) Exhale. Begin to tuck and curl the hips just to hover an inch or two off the mat. See if you can do this not using your glutes or legs that we just worked, but just using that low belly, feeling those ribs connect, that ice cream scooper feeling from your core. Roll back down, elongating through the tail, through the crown of the head.

Deep breath in. (inhales) Exhale, pelvic tuck here. Small to start. Back of the rib stay heavy on the mat. Low belly scooping out. Inhale to lengthen one more time. (inhales) Exhale, small pelvic tuck and scoop. (exhales) Pause here. Take another breath in. (inhales) As you exhale, begin to squeeze your sit bones and butt cheeks together. Press into the heels. Press into the palms.

Boosting those hips up a little bit higher. Now, we are aiming for a straight diagonal from the knees to the hips to the shoulders. Ribs stay tight. Buns stay tight. Belly pulling down as we continue to lift the pelvis a little higher. We're going to go back to some balancing work, similar to how we worked in a forearm plank today.

The hips, the body does not move. We hover the left toes, the left heel. Just an inch off the mat, I'm staying square. Maybe you even bring your hands here to your hips for support, and then you lower that left foot down. Press into your left heel. Hover the right foot.

Again, nothing else moves. Deep breath in. (inhales) Exhale to lower. (exhales) One more time each side, left foot hovers. Breathe in. (inhales) Exhale to lower it down. Pull the belly deep. Lift the pelvis up. Right foot hovers. Inhale. (inhales) Exhale to lower. (exhales) Make sure glutes, buns are tight. Lift them a little higher if they've dropped.

This time, we hover the left foot and hold. Maybe you challenge your balance staying here. You should really feel that right seat working. Moving on, we draw the left leg to tabletop, and then imagine planting the left sole of the foot right onto your ceiling. See if you can press into it a little bit higher as you press down into that right foot.

Lower the hips an inch, inhale. Press into that right foot. Squeeze that right cheek. Lift the hips a little higher. Inhale down. (inhales) Exhale up. (exhales) Two more times. Lower an inch (inhales) and lift an inch. (exhales) Once more, lower, (inhales) lift and stay. Slowly bend that left knee. Place that foot back down.

If your hips have dropped, lift them back up. Press into that left foot. Hover the right. Maybe you stay. Maybe you add on drawing that right leg to tabletop. Plant that right sole of the foot high onto your ceiling.

Reach it up a little bit higher, pressing down into the left foot. Inhale, lower the hips an inch. Exhale, boost them up. Squeeze that left cheek. Inhale, lower an inch. Chin stays lifted away from the chest. Press down into the palms for two. (inhales) Exhale up. (exhales) Once more, lower. (inhales) Lift and stay.

Slowly bend that right knee, place that foot back down with control. Give those hips one more high boost. Take a deep breath here at the top (inhales) and exhale to melt slowly down onto that mat, bone by bone through the upper back, through the middle back. This part should feel good. Massage for the spine, low back.

Release the hips at the bottom. Extend those legs out long. Give them a little shake up and down side to side. Float those arms all the way back overhead. Taking that long, full body stretch.

See if you can remember to grab the opposite wrist this time, letting those shoulders lift. Reach to the fingertips and the toes. Keep the inner thighs zipped, toes pointed. Plug those shoulder blades back down into your back. Begin to reach the arms up to the ceiling.

Take a deep breath in, (inhales) and then exhale to roll all the way up. Belly button pulls back. We think about our articulation here. We roll up, shoulders over the hips. We lengthen into a tall spine. Inhale at the top. (inhales) Exhale. Begin to roll back down. (exhales) Hopefully a little warmer, a little more aware of how we're moving our bodies here today.

Reaching those arms overhead. From here, we'll go into a single leg teaser, starting by reaching the arms to the ceiling. Take a breath in. (inhales) Peel the head, neck, and shoulders up just to the tips of the shoulder blades. Belly button pulls a little deeper to the spine. Now, maybe you continue with the rollup we just did.

Maybe you hover your right toes to eye level. Maybe that knee's bent and you're holding on, hopefully not for dear life. Take a breath here to prepare once again. (inhales) And then, exhale. Pull the belly button down to begin to lift the leg a little higher, the chest a little higher, fingertips reaching towards the toes on a beautiful high diagonal. Deep breath in. (inhales) Exhale, we lower again with that same control.

Thinking of squeezing the inner thighs together, even though they're not together, it'll help you roll evenly on your spine on the mat. Same thing with the other leg. Nice and controlled. Arms up. Inhale. (inhales) Exhale just to the tips of the shoulder blades. Belly pulls a little deeper. (exhales) Another breath in. (inhales) Left leg begins to hover from that zipper feeling in the core. Another breath here. (inhales) Maybe you stay. Maybe you lift a little higher.

Modification's always welcome. This is a great way to work into your teasers, finding that balance. Inhale. (inhales) Exhale to roll down with control bone by bone. Taking our time, pulling that belly a little deeper. Elongating out at the bottom.

We'll do this twice more, a little more fluidly. Maybe you do right leg, left leg, maybe both legs both times. Inhale, arms lift. Exhale, everything else floats up. Zip up through the waist, reach the chest and the heart. Reach for the toes. Inhale at the top.

Exhale to a lower. Taking our time in four. In three, hovering, deepening the belly. Two, lengthening it all the way long on one. Once more, make it your best one yet. Inhale (inhales) and exhale. (exhales) I like to think of little puppeteer strings, lifting my toes, reaching high.

Deep breath in, shoulder blades pulling down, heart lifted, and we lower bone by bone again in four. How slow can you go in three? Squeeze those heels tight. Hover them. Pull the belly deeper, two. And elongate down on one. Whew. I love some teasers. Who doesn't?

Flip over on your stomach. I know there are plenty of people. I'm just not one of them. We'll reach those fingertips long right in line with the shoulders. Legs in line with the hips here.

Once again, feeling that length through the body. As you inhale, lift your right arm and left leg and chest away from the mat (inhales) and exhale to lower back down. (exhales) Other side. Lengthen to lift. (inhales) Exhale to lower. (exhales) Once more each direction. Shoulder blades pull back, chest, heart, arm, leg lift and lower. (exhales) And second side, lengthen to lift (inhales) and lower. (exhales) We'll take a breath in at the bottom. (inhales) Exhale, lift both arms, both legs. (exhales) Superman, superwoman, we hold. From here, you go for a little swim, alternating arm and legs. We'll breathe in twos. Inhale and exhale. (deep breathes) Lifting the chest a little higher, squeezing the buns a little tighter.

Two more breaths. (deep breathes) And hold. Lift up, up, up. Squeeze those inner thighs together. Row those elbows back to your ribs once again, pressing the palms into the mat, tucking those toes underneath you towards the floor. We've been here before. Maybe you're feeling a little stronger.

Maybe you're tired and you use those knees. You take a breath to prepare. On the exhale, we meet in a plank position. (exhales) We hold for our final three breaths in plank, nice and strong. Reach back through those heels, along through the crown of the head. Inhale. (inhales) Exhale, press the floor away.

Lift it in the heart. Lift it in the waist for two. (inhales) Exhale. (exhales) Once more, inhaling (inhales) and exhaling. (exhales) With control, pike those hips all the way up and back to a downward dog. Just your hands, your feet, however you need here to enjoy a forward stretch. Shaking that head gently, yes and no side to side. Lift those heels up nice and high. Deep breath in. (inhales) And exhale, bend the right, pressing the left heel towards the floor. (exhales) Switching over to the other side, inhaling (inhales) and exhaling. (exhales) One more time each side, inhale. (inhales) Doing whatever you need here.

Enjoying a moment (exhales) to release that chest closer to the thighs, heels closer to the mat. We'll crawl the hands all the way back towards the toes. Meeting in a forward fold. Feet stay hip distance apart. Give those knees a generous bend. Let the chest drop towards the thighs, the head hang heavy.

Maybe hands behind the head for a neck stretch, maybe opposite hand to opposite elbow for a little rock and roll here. (exhales) One more deep breath at the bottom. (inhales) And exhale, letting any remaining tension in the mind in the body Just drip, drop out the heels, out the crown of the head. Let whatever arm position, release whatever sway you might've had still. Keeping those knees soft. We'll take a deep breath here (inhales) and take five counts to slowly roll up through the spine, pressing into the feet in five. Thinking of all that articulation we worked so beautifully today in four.

Bone by bone through the back. Three. (inhales) Shoulder blades pulling down away from the ears, two. And lifting tall through the crown of the head on one. Hopefully you are as sweaty and warm up, warmed up as I am, feeling good and enjoying the rest of whatever day you have.