Cherry on Top Wunda

Hi. I am Lara Hanlon here with a combo chair, ready to lead you through a fun kind of little x extra class on this piece of equipment, which happens to be one of my favorites. We'll start standing facing the chair. Palms can rest on to these handles. Make sure they're at a height that works best for you. I have 2 springs on one top, one bottom. Again, do what works best for you.

We'll start with those feet right underneath our sit bones here as zip through the inner thighs, a lift through the waist engaged in the whole body, draw that right knee up and in, and then place the toes, the ball, the foot onto the pedal. Do so without adjusting or sitting into either hip, keeping that left glutes strong from the back of the right leg to lower the pedal down towards the floor as you inhale and exhale zip up through the waist, lift the pedal back up, inhale to lower. And exhale to lift. I have my fingertips, my palms gently resting on these handles for support. Do what you need to make sure you're stable here.

And if you feel solid, maybe you begin to hover those hands off, again, making sure the pelvis stays square. I'm squeezing my glutes together to stabilize using my abdominals to lift and lower this leg for 3. Exhale up. For 2 and bring it up with control, resist against that spring one more time. And lift to stay. Lower your hands back onto those handles for support.

Start to hover your left heel. Same thing with our balance challenge here pressing the pedal down on the inhale, resisting it up on the exhale. Those knees stay both of them pointing straight forward parallel legs here, proper alignment, inhaling, and exhaling once again. If you want a little bit more of a challenge, maybe you hover those hands working that balance today, inhaled down. Zip up through the waist, exhale to lift. Whoo.

Makes it a little bit harder here. Press and resist 2 more times. Inhale. And exhale once more press. Resist. Oh, take those handles.

Press the pedal all the way down to stay. I'm gonna drive my right ball, the foot into the pedal, into the floor, and then bring my left foot up onto the top of the chair. The knee reaches straightforward over the middle toe, pelvis stays square, press into those palms for support as you lift all the way up. Bringing the pedal to rest here. Adjust that back foot a little.

If you need, so you can really press it down into the left heel. From here, we lowered down just a little bit on the inhale. Press right back up into that step up on the exhale inhale to lower. Axale to press right away, fire up in your left glue and hamstring. Press into your left heel, keeping that knee straight forward over the middle toe. If you feel solid on that alignment, arms reach forward for 4.

Press it up for 3. Shoulders and hips stay square, lengthening through the crown of the head for 2. One more time inhale. Zip up through the waist exhale left, lower, ideally left thigh parallel to the floor. Hands to eye dream of gini position, bend your right knee in on the inhale, exhale press it back down. We bend and press.

Inhale, belly up and in, toes press down for 5. Reach away. 4 shoulders back. Belly lifted. 3. 2. Last one.

Straighten your right leg. Lift all the way back up up up. Stay here. Find your balance. Can you float your arms up by your ears and hold. Deep breath in.

Axel lower all the way down with control. Take those handles if and when you need, place your left foot carefully back onto the mat. Onto the floor and bring the pedal back up with control. We have our second side. That right foot steps down next to the left take a moment to reset here.

Zip up through the waistline. Left toes come up onto the pedal. Deep breath in, press the pedal down. Wake up those springs, exhale, wake up the body, lift it back up, inhale to lower. Exale to left.

Thinking about my whole body here. Yes. My left leg is the one that's moving. I'm pressing the pedal down from my glute and my hand string. I feel my ankle, my calf engaged, my thigh engaged working that alignment, but I'm also working on my standing supporting leg here so I don't sit into that hip. My glute is awake. My core is engaged.

Maybe you float those palms away from the petals, away from the handles here. Inhale. And exhale ribs draw together belly back in and once more press and lift. Fine. In our balance, hands down, zip through the waist, squeeze the seat tight, inhale to lower. Axale resist against the springs to left inhaling, deepening the belly exhaling.

Maybe you start to hover those hands. Working on the balance. The pedal doesn't have to go all the way down. Work within your own range of motion here. Working our alignment, waking up those legs, resist to lift, 2 more.

Shoulders stay away from the ears. If those arms are reaching forward, can you think of pressing your palms down onto a tabletop work with control here? Enhance. Perese all the way down, hands back to those handles, press into the left foot. Right leg draws right up onto the chair. Shift your weight forward.

I like to think of a long diagonal line through that standing leg out through the crown of the head. Use the hands to start here, drive right heel into the chair to press our way up, pelvis is square, really lift from your low abs, inhale to lower down, exhale, feel that link through the front of that left thigh as you press up and away, right heel into the chair, working to engage that posterior chain of the body, using that right glute and hamstring, inhale, exhale up. Once you find it, if you can, we reach forward for 4. And lift. For 3, draw the ribs together. Find your balance.

Keep it controlled. Inhale lower. Pull the belly up and in right knee stays straight forward. Exhale lift one more time lower. Lift, find it, hold it, deep breath here, lower halfway down. If you can, right side parallel or as close as you can to the floor, elbows bend, opposite arm on top inhale left knee bends, exhale extend moving a little bit quicker here for climbing mountain, keeping that upper half totally stable, squeezing that seat for 4.

3. 2. Last one. Press all the way up. Reach the arms up.

Ears to biceps and deep breath in with control, lower all the way down. Take your time here. Hands back to those handles. Right foot matches the left on the pedal from here. Select turnout Pilates stance, heels together, knees, and toes apart.

Zip up through your waist, shift your shoulders forward slightly, hug those elbows in. We'll press into our hands deep breath in. Excel, make your way all the way up using your arms, using your back, see if you can maybe adjust the feet a little bit, find a little more length here, lift the chin off the chest keep inner thighs and glutes engaged. We'd be on the elbows back, inhale lower to your point of control, exhale press it right back up, keeping it moving here lower. Axle to press only lower as far as you can without letting those shoulders lift. Keep them pulling away from your ears the whole time. Inhale to bend.

Exale press it up 4 more times. 3. Zip up through the low belly so we don't arch into that low back, but stay tight, last one. Hold at the top. Lift up 1 more inch.

Lift your heart into this hyper extension backbend. Lift your gaze. Take a deep breath in. Excel come back to that long diagonal, lower all the way down with control. So will the feet parallel, let your heels release down. Make sure you're still holding on your toes are firmly pressed into that pedal.

Always really cautious when there's a lot of weight from those springs, we never wanna fly up with the pedal without holding on to it. Maybe give your feet a little pedal here. Shake out those legs. Carefully turn around. I have this split pedal.

Some have a platform here, so be cautious as you turn. Bringing toes into that same Pilates stance first position. We have our press up here with our arms in the reverse position, heels together, knees, and toes apart. Zip up through your waist. A little tuck of that tail, pelvis forward belly back, shift back, deep breath in, exhale, press yourself all the way up to get situated here. Find your alignment. Shoulders pull back, hard lifts, button squeeze tight.

We bend the elbows back on the inhale, press right back up as you exhale, lower and lift. Think about your whole body and this beautiful long diagonal line zipping through that waist for 3. 2. Last one. Once again, hold. Can you lift a little higher? Lift your heart, lift your gaze, deep breath in.

Find that beautiful stretch across the chest back to the diagonal and lower all the way down with control trying to keep it really quiet from here. Swivel those feet parallel. We'll carefully sit all the way down for a moment bringing that pedal up with control. Alright. From here, I'm going to step off and remove the handles. Make sure you do so with care.

If you need to keep them on, you actually can throughout this class. It just becomes a little awkward with alignment purposes. So I'm choosing to remove mine. You could do pretty much everything we've done so far without the handles other than the press up. So do what you have.

We'll sit right back down. Spring stay the same for now. We're moving into our pelvic lift. So the toes are back into that Pilates dance first position, hands are to the back corner of the chair, try and keep your, pedal lifted, press into your palms, open up across the collar bones, take a deep breath in, and then begin to tuck and curl the hips up. I like to think of stirring from my pubic bone and from my heart lifting everything up towards the ceiling, squeeze the shoulder blades, and glutes together. Hold on the inhale.

Now slowly think of articulating through your spine, lowering those hips back down onto the chair that pedal stays as still as possible. Again, deep breath in, press down into the palms, curl your hips up. Pull the belly button down as you lift your high. My knees stay open, not too wide, not too narrow. Listen to your body. Inhale, press the pedal down, exhale, lift the pedal up, squeeze those glutes for 4.

Squeeze and lift. 3. 2. Last one. Hold at the top. Lift the hips up 1 more inch. Take a breath there.

Axale lower all the way down with control. Get those hips back. Feet stay the same. Hands come to the front edge of the chair. Think of a little lift of your elbows.

Feel those triceps engage. Your shoulders pull down your core zip up. Simple leg press. Inhale down, exhale resist to lift, inhale, and exhale. I'm thinking about my whole body here. Gives us a moment to reset.

Our shoulders are down. Our spine is lifted. In hell press, exhale resists the pedal as the knees lift in inhaling and exhaling using that breath. 3. 2. 1 more.

And up from here. Press the pedal all the way down. Shift weight into your toes. Hand stay at the front. Again, make sure those feet are secure. We're moving into our tendon stretch.

Palms press into the front of the chair, head drops to the knees, take a deep breath, and exhale start to press the chair away as you lift the pedal, lift the body, inhale to lower to hover, exhale try and keep that head dropped forehead to the knees 3 more times we lower. Lift from the waist to pike the hips up with control using the core. One more inhale. Exo belly pulls you up up up and hold. Lower all the way down. Let those hips release.

Roll those shoulders back. Lift the pedal up. Take the wrist out. Whatever you need here. Again, always listening to your body. Take a break if necessary.

We're gonna face the chair. Springs stay the same. Carefully mount by holding on to the edges of the chair, press the pedal down with either foot does not matter. We're gonna place both feet on again in our pilates stance. Toes are about 5th distance apart.

Heels are together. Hands come down to that front edge front corner. I like to kinda go on a diagonal here as we move into our abdominal pull up, shoulders shift forward over the elbows, over the rest Let your head tuck down gaze towards your thighs. If we're here, we start to kinda use the shoulders, try and drop down and really round up to use your core instead deep breath in Exel start to lift that pedal up, up, up, up, up, inhale lower to hover, exhale lift a little higher, down on the inhale. Up on the exhale. Use the breath. Use the belly to pike the hips high for 3 and lift for 2.

Keep that gaze down, shin over the chest. Head stays relaxed hold at the top. Can you zip up and lift one more inch? Excel slowly lower all the way down with control. Once again, swivel the feet.

Let the heels release. Take a moment to stretch out the back of those legs. We'll do the same exercise for the obliques version. I like to bring left hand towards middle of that side of the chair right hand towards middle or edge here. And then I'll place my right foot firmly in the middle of the pedal. Left foot behind, zip up through those inner thighs.

Think of your snake twist position in the legs and the bottom half from the reformer. Pressing down once again, shifting slightly forward, deep breath, and gaze stays back. Excel use the left oblique to pike the hips up lower. And lift. Inhale and exhale for 3.

Lift it up. Stay twisted through those hips to Last one, we pause and we hold at the top, take another sip of air, lift the pelvis and the hips a little higher, and then lower all the way down with control. Transitioning right over to our other side, left foot in the center of the pedal, switch those hands, right hand to the center, left hand towards that other corner, right foot hooks behind, You could do this in front as well. I like this back connection to feel my inner thighs really squeezing to help me here, deep breath, and to prepare. Axle start to lift, press the floor away. Let that head release down.

Pull up from your right oblique. Inhale to lower, exhale to lift. Take it down with control, lifting up a little higher each time for 3. For 2, Last one. Lift all the way up up up and hold.

Lower all the way down to rest for a moment. Bring those feet back on. Stay holding on here. Let the heels release. Step one foot off carefully Stay holding on with your hands. Bring that pedal up with control.

I am so cautious with this pedal always. I don't wanna see a broken tilt or toenail. We'll walk around. We're gonna switch to one spring. So you could use a top spring and maybe some middle spring here.

I'm gonna change my low one and just leave this top one as is for now. We'll move into some chest opening, some upper body work. So start by lowering your pelvis down to the top of the chair and then press the pedal all the way down to the floor to begin. I like to set up kind of as if I was in a plank with my shoulders over my wrists. If you don't have super long arms, you might feel like you're rounding forward.

So maybe you start and then you readjust. Squeeze your inner thighs and glutes hover the pedal so you're in a long line from toes to the crown of the head. Pull those shoulders away from the ears. Start by lifting your heart up and forward, open across the collar bones to get deep breath in, exhale. Pull your belly button up and in away from the floor, knit those ribs together, really use your core, so your abs don't just sink down to the floor inhale to lift. As you lift the upper body, the lower body stays lifted as well.

The legs don't drop. Excel, zip up a tighter three year low waist. Squeeze your glutes a little tighter to lower. Inhale, opening up through the shoulders. Exhale drawing that waistline a little tighter to the midline once more inhale to lift.

Exhale to lower to hover, finding a nice, long horizontal line for your body. Bend your elbows into your ribs, inhale. Press the pedal down as you exhale. Resist to bend. Pull the belly up and in as your palms press back down for 3.

Press away. 2. Stay really lifted here. It'd be really easy to sink into that low back. Instead, can you pull your belly button up higher to your spine as you press your palms down to hold? Turn your fingertips slightly inward and get like a wide diamond shape. We'll move into one arm at a time.

My left palm stays down. My right arm reaches out to a tee. Even pressure into both hip bones here. Keep your chest square, your hips square, then left elbow out, inhale. Press it down, exhale.

Pull that belly up and in for 4. For 3. Keep lengthening through the toes, lengthening through the crown of the head. Last time, press and hold. Right hand down matches the left, even pressure into both hips, belly pulls up and in left arm wide, inhale bend, exhale press.

Bend and reach for 3 belly up and in. 2. Last one. Both hands back down fingertips forward. One more straight lift, a beautiful swan, that beautiful extension, hyper extension of mind, shoulders pull back belly lifts up and lower all the way down with control. Whoo. Let the legs lift.

I'm sorry. Let the legs drop. They've been lifted. Let your legs now press all the way back. Bend your elbows. Bring your body up.

That was so graceful. Should really feel the back of your legs working there. Yeah. Alright. We do a little side lift. Access those obliques. My right hand will start down.

Same ideas before I like to start with, like, a side plank idea. So as I press the pedal down, I really wanna press into the ground to lift out of my right shoulder. That way I'm not kind of sinking here. So roll the right shoulder back. Almost imagine your bottom palm, your right palm's at a doorknob, and you're opening it to the outside.

Lift your legs up. We're in a straight line of the body. Zip up through your waist. Left fingertips reach high. Take a breath to prepare here.

Now, Excel, use your left obliques to lift the body. We stay released square. I like to use my toaster analogy here. So if you were a piece of toast in the toaster oven, You don't want your chest or your booty to get burned. It's an even toast, so we don't shift forward.

We don't shift back. Our legs stay right in line with our spine, one straight line. Inhale down, exhale up. 2 more. Think of your left fingertips reaching the sky.

So it's a more lift straight up versus that way. One more lower. Shoulder stays down. Exale lift up up up up up. Stay Bend your knees come all the way up and in.

We'll transition to our other side. Start by pressing that left hand all the way down. Make sure your shoulder's over your wrist. You're not gonna cart wheel off to the side. That top hip, we don't want it to sink back.

Press it forward and then press your legs back. Zip up in that bottom oblique shoulder blades pull down right fingertips reach high. Take a breath in to prepare. Exhale to lift, inhale to lower. Keep pulling both shoulders down away from the ears.

Try not to let them roll forward. Lengthen through the fingertips, through the toes, through the crown of the head, inhale on the way down with control, exhale. Use that right oblique to lift. Left waist still working as we lower, exhale up, inhale down. Ax hail to lift. 2 more. We lower. We lift.

Once more, inhale. And exhale from here, bend those knees, and come all the way up. Nice work for those obliques. We'll get a little more into our abdominals here with some teasers. So make sure you are right at the edge.

If you are too far back It's back walk over time, which is not in our programming today. So little shift back, draw those legs in, hands firm pressing into the back of the hamstrings to start. That way we find as comfortable of a balance as we can on this nice little piece of equipment. Pull your chest and your heart forward. Elbows are wide biceps, hamstrings engaged.

Take a breath and pull your belly button back, begin to reach your arms forward. Find it. Bend your elbows in. Reach the fingertips back for the pedal. Squeeze your shoulder blades together.

Start to lower down. Find a nice strong grip here. Legs will stay solid at tabletop, and he'll lower the pedal down, exhale lift the chest up. Make sure you're at a comfortable distance for your hands here. And exhale draw the ribs together, pull the belly button back and into left for 3, exhale up. Think of that zipper low in your waistline.

For 2. And, keep pulling shoulders back lifting chin away from the chest one more time lower. Excel stay low, bend your elbows in, press it down, bend it up, inhale, press exhale bend 2 more times down and up once more. Extend and hold. Lyft the chest up.

Reach your arms forward. Find your balance. Hands behind your legs. Option always rest if you need. Lift through your heart.

Take a breath in. Exhale. Extend your right leg up. Hold it. Another breath in. Extend your left leg up to meet it. Slight turn out here.

Reach for your toes. Find your balance. Lift your gaze. Bend your elbows in. Once again, we reach back for the pedal inhale, start to lower body and legs down.

Can you find a long line from the head through the toes? Excel fold the body in half to left. And he'll take it down. Axcels zip through the inner thighs and waist to left for a 3. And up for 2 and left.

One more inhale. Exale stay low. Bend your elbows for 5. Press it down. 4. Finish strong here. Abs pulling down and in 3.

Can you keep your body low? 2, pull the shoulders back 1 more inhale and press. Lift the body all the way up, up, up, Find your balance. Zip up through your core. Reach those arms towards your toes. Think of nailing the landing, lift everything up one more inch.

Bend your knees, step all the way down. Woo hoo. Love a teaser on the chair. I mean, the pedal gives you a little bit of resistance and help. Nevertheless, It's always a challenge. Alright. We're gonna finish with little teaser twist here then a stretch. One of maybe the most challenging and fun in a way exercises on the chair for, at least.

I like to think of an x here. I'm gonna sit on this back corner. I often find teachers kinda get messed up with where they sit here. We're gonna roll, find our diagonal, on that diagonal line. So if you start here, you're rolling onto the floor.

Think about your setup. It's as important as anything. Right knee is going to come in. My left butt is kinda hanging off. So listen to your body here.

You might not be totally on the chair, which makes this balance a little more fun. Send your legs. If you can, they can always be bent. Top leg, right leg is on top because my right hand's coming to the pedal. Reach for your toes. Bend your right elbow in, reach for the pedal, take a deep breath in, start to press the pedal down, reach your left arm over your head, reach your toes back, Keep that inner thigh connection.

Find the diagonal line from fingertips and crown of the head back through those toes. Hold it. Shoulders away from the ears, lengthen through the waist to deep breath and exhale zip up through the inner thighs through the low belly. Fold your body up, up, up, up, inhale. And exhale. 2 breaths to lower. 2 breaths to lift.

Find the length, inhale, exhale lift. With control pull back in that left hip, back in that left oblique one more time. You got it fight for it, reach longer, through the limbs, pull the shoulders down, reach through the fingers and toes inhale, exhale pike all the way back up. Use the belly. Lift the legs. Can you find your balance? Reach for your toes and stay. Bend your knees in.

One more side. Left hip onto that chair. Now you can see my right hip slightly off, and that's okay. I'm thinking about my diagonal right away. I bring my knees in to start. Find your balance. Left leg on top because my left hand's coming onto the pedal. Reach up through your toes.

Squeeze your inner thighs and ankles together. Reach with your arms, bend the left elbow in, take the hand to the pedal, start to press it down. Use your back here. Keep your shoulders really connected so we're not rolling forward. We keep that engagement. Reach fingertips over the head all the way out on the diagonal.

Deep breath in. Exhale, sweep the legs around and up, reach for your toes, anchor that right hip back down, inhale, and exhale. Lengthen away inhale. Pull that right oblique back belly button back and into lift. Try and get those hips to square off at the bottom. Inhale length and find your diagonal.

Pull that belly button back in and lift all the way up, up, up, nail the landing, left fingertips towards your toes, reach, bend, and rest. Should feel your whole body. We're gonna take a stretch. Right leg comes up onto the top of the chair. Think of like a pigeon in yoga.

Figure 4 stretch, flex this top foot. So we're cautious of our alignment, maybe adjust hips should be square here, left heels pressing back knee in really a precocious position here. So do make sure that foot's flexed, modify if you need. Hands come to the pedal. Take a breath and and exhale start to ease down into the stretch.

The spring, the support here should allow you to feel supported as you stretch versus just plopping over the leg. Let your head hang heavy. Take a breath and exhale. Maybe let it go a little further. Inhale. Exhale lift up slightly, lifted from your abdominals, lower back down.

Axle lift back up. 2, Mark, can you drive your back heel further to the floor? Keep pressing that left hip forward, dropping that right hip down square off through the pelvis one more time, inhale down. Max, so pull the belly up to lift the pedal up and then bring your hands back onto the chair, thinking about that squareness across the hips. We'll switch sides. Right foot down. Left foot up. Flex through the heel.

Make sure your knee is in a position that feels okay in your body. Squaring off as best as we can. No two sides or even even in my body, especially in my body. Use your breath inhale square it off. Start to lower down.

Use into the stretch. Breathe into the stretch. Shake it out. Take a breath at the bottom, open up through the neck and shoulders, exhale lifting your belly button to lift the pedal slightly up. And how is your lower breathing with that spring sinking deeper into the stretch?

So I'll pull the belly up to lift the pedal up two more times. Once more inhale down. Opening up the back of that left glute Exel to come up. Hands walk back up onto the chair. Feel that squareness in the hips.

Structure the front of the right hip back of that left glute and then step on off. We'll walk around to face the other direction. Final thing here, a little roll down washer woman. We find our pilates stance zip through the waist. Reach those arms all the way up by the ears.

Shoulder blades slide down the back, think of a beautiful lifted posture, deep breath, and flip the palms forward, and roll it all the way down. Hands come to the pedal. Press the pedal down. Continue to roll down once you arrive at the bottom close to the bottom, depending on your flexibility here, make sure the weights over the toes, bring those hands into a diamond shape, head releases down, lift in the knees and thighs, lift in the waist, deep breath, and exhale bend the elbows wide open up across the back. Inhale press.

Exelt to bend. 3 more. And pull the pedal up. Lift the belly up too. Once more.

Puroress it down. Flip those fingertips back forward. Weight stays in the toes. Take a breath here. Shake it up.

X. I'll begin to roll up till that pedal becomes rest position. Weight stays over your toes. Think of tucking your tailbone underneath you deep breath and and then roll the rest of the way up. Those arms come with you in line with your ears. Zip up through your waist.

Pull the belly button back. Lift the chin off the chest. Reach through your fingertips. Take a deep breath in. Grow taller through your spine and exhale open those arms all the way out and down.

We are all done. I hope you had fun with me on the chair today, and, I think you'll be feeling that as well.