Hi there. I'm Amy. I'm going to give us a reformer session today and what I've done is I've taken a few of the mat exercises and put them up on the reformer. I'm also involving a few different props today. We're going to use a magic circle for a few things. I have our standing platform that I'm not seeing use too often, so that I'd bring that in and along box, which we'll do a few things on there.
You'll probably also want a couple of our foam pads for support for your wrists and elbows and possibly a little sticky mat to secure that you won't slip. So I'm just going to move these things a little out of the way for now. And the thought here with some of these props, um, especially the magic circle actually for ball and socket work through the shoulder. And I do a lot of that in my mat classes. You know, this kind of thing. I want to start lubricating my joints here. Um, I'm gonna use that actually doing footwork though, lying supine, of course. And My warmup is not going to be with foot work. We're going to start with the abdominal section and I just chose to look at this a little differently today.
Things that normally would face the foot bar I'm going to face this way. Things that might be done prone, I've kind of flipped over and done some things the opposite way. Just thinking outside the traditional box a little bit and just play with how that feels in your body. That's what brought me some curiosity to do that to this morning for this class. Um, you know, change it up a little bit.
So I'm on a red spring amount of balanced body reformer and you certainly can go heavier with the spring if you want the support from the reformer. If you want a little more challenge in your abdominals right from the beginning, you can certainly go lighter. And the way I'm approaching the springs is, um, to be reminded that we are working together. Uh, the w us and the reformer this spring should support us and give us a little challenge. Um, I know want to fight those springs ever. I want an nice tandem between the resistance and assistance. So certain exercises I might need more spring to help me. Certain things I might need to not need as much.
And same with you so you can play, uh, lighten up if you want and go heavier if you want. So where we're going to begin, I'm quite forward. I have my uh, heels on the headrest. I'm just gonna start with my hands back behind my knees, but a lot my knees open up a little bit toward the shoulder rest as well. I don't want to feel even in the beginning sitting a breathing work that I'm held in my hip flexor. So I'm going to let my knees open up cause I pull on my, the back of my knees. I want to pull with my arms a little bit, activate the center of the back, bring awareness to the sides of the ribs, the front of the ribs, the back of the ribs. We're going to take a nice breath in and on the exhale. Just a very slow, deep pelvic curl or pelvic tilt. Rather.
Feel the movement, the pelvis. Inhaling, Huh. And exhale. This is your chance to get in deep with those abdominal muscles. And some of you who watch my classes, uh,
So I'm going to my sake
Feel free to experiment linkedin in your legs if you'd like to.
I'm going to move a teeny bit more forward so I have more space behind me here. Rolling back again to the Sacrum, just a little bit more toward the base of my rib cage. Now breathing in here. So I want to keep my rib anchors nice and f down, meaning the last couple of on my back, and just bring the legs into a tabletop position. So once again, I'm feeling the support of ropes helping me stay curled forward. I'm going to open my arms a little bit, bending my elbows a slight bit. I want to concentrate on the breadth of my back. Just holding that feeling, the width of the lats, feeling the width of the back on the reformer.
Another breath in tall, starting to warm up, feeling deeper circulation, a little more body heat. Rolling back down to the base of the ribs again, one knee second me. I'm going to go with single leg stretch, so I'm reaching and
Inhale and exhale full place. The feed down, bring the arms in closer to the body. Again, agreed to let the springs help you Rola sitting tall, breathing in again. So this sequencing is definitely a bringing me into the center of my body. I wanted to warm up through my core first before my legs. Inhale the leg out. So a single leg teaser three times pressing the knees together, helping that quality of connecting into the center line. Second leg up.
Inhale, I'm using the exhale on both the up and the down.
I'm trying to feel the breadth of my lats and close pulling the knees in, flexing at the hip joints. One more time and
What I want to begin doing here now is warming the shoulder girdle and getting it a little deeper in there. So it's the ball and socket work that I'm approaching. I also want to keep my shoulders away from the shoulder block, so the light spring, it's going to help with that. Hopefully. Whew. My abs are very warm head rest up for me. I'm gonna Start, uh, Pilati. Zvi.
Now why I'm going here, I want to build awareness in shoulder girdle. I have some weightbearing that's coming in a while on the elbows and hands. That could be pretty hefty. So I want to start building some of the lubrication in the strength in the girdle here and the awareness first, have some mobility and then that will build for its stability in a while. So if I hold my ring up above the chest, open fingers, so right away I have a lot of space between my shoulder and the shoulder block.
I want to maintain that as I move the carriage back and forth. I really am going to tap into the back of my body. Inhale is if I'm pulling my ribs and my chest actually do the ring. Exhale to the ceiling. Inhale wide broad elbows. You can start to feel as you open your elbows, the coordination of shoulder blades down the back.
That whole cue that we use over and over the ring mate, bring more awareness to that. Four. You can actually feel my scapula widening.
Just one more. Certainly you could push on it if you wanted to do it, but that's not the intention right now. Okay. Change it to heels parallel. I'm going all the way together. Inhale again toward the chest and exhaling forward. See if you can get a lot of this coming from the back of the shoulders. The lats inhale lower Trapezius, so each time they bring the ring to my chest, I'm actually thinking, I'm trying to broaden my upper trapezius down and wide.
Almost like my, it's following the line in my elbows down and wide. Inhale. Now with the one red spring, I have to also be very mindful of how much energy I'm doing with my legs. It's not pushing, I'm not pushing it all. I'm trying to breathe myself out in
Okay. Ballsy fee. Excuse me. Arches are prehensile. I'm gonna go there. Same thing. Eight repetitions. Inhale to the chest. Exhale to the ceiling.
It's a little lot of work for the deltoids. Should be stretching them, giving them that length across the top, wide cross toward the elbows. Last too, but yet the contraction in the rear, shoulder and press n. N. Okay, I'm going back onto balls of feed. This time of high Relevate. Inhale, I'm going to add a heel stretch down and lift. Return eight patterns
That's what I'm wanting you to connect to so that you don't feel those shoulders bunched up. So often our net gets over involved. Maybe this is a chance for you to relax your neck. Inhale, stretch, lift, and press last to inhale and lift last one, but also getting a significant amount of deltoid workout with adding the circle here. That's all. No more of that. Plenty actually can shake the arms. So I'm going to now move into a single leg circle from the mat. So if I extend myself out, I'm going to take my feet into a relatively high Relevate. Squeeze the legs together. Now the little extension of my right leg, they take that leg up. Before I do single leg circle, let's focus on the hip joint and really pull that to the mat.
Almost like I'm thinking. It's underneath the reformer. For me, not thinking of the circle in the air. The circle is in your hip. It's the Femur in that socket. So if I crossover, I'm not going to do a big circle. I want to think that circle is a in my joint. I had a huge circle. I'd have a pretty loose right right now. Let me keep it a little modest. Focus on the back of the Femur here in your socket. Okay, five the other way. Open relatively smooth circle. It's a goal. Open, round and up. Last circle.
Open around and up and simply put the foot down. All right, so raising the second leg again, feel the socket first. Feel your effort of pulling into that joint, the stabilization across your waist. Here we go, five circles. We cross around and center. So the magic circle was from my shoulder, ball and socket. This is for hip ball and socket around. In lift and their way.
I'm going to change my spring actually no down to a blue or a little lighter than the red. And I'm going to move into uh, some obliques again with using my magic circle. So I'm taking my risers up. I also want to lengthen the straps and put them over the shoulder rest. Just kinda tighten in and then we'll get the long box up for some seated rotation. So I'm going along
I like a cross the ankle. I like my, the ankle that's closest to this springs to be on front. I learned it that way. I didn't ask why it was that way. Perhaps I should have. I like it so I haven't changed it. So here's the deal. We are going to sit in the middle of the box. We're going to put that magic circle right at the base of the chest.
Below. The Bra line for gals are on the Bra line and I'm taking the loop across one side of the handle of the magic circle. Okay? So I've warmed up my shoulder girdle deeply with that. A supine work. I'm going to start with my body. Turn toward the rope holding across the the ends of the loop so it won't fall out. Alright, so those wide elbows that we had earlier, find them again.
They will find the breadth of your back, the width of your back. Now by sitting in the rotation. This could already start inviting your hips to become asymmetrical. So the goal intended his hips down is stable, waist is and the spine is the mobilization, the mobile plot parts. So I'm first going to take a full breath in and out and rotate to my left, keeping my central access intact, meaning not turn my head more than my shoulders, shoulders, more than ribs, etc. Very challenging. I'm only on a blue spring from me. That's enough.
I do not want to pull with my arms. I don't want you to pull with your arms either. Although there's somewhat active, they're not ganking the rope, the obliques and center. Inhale, exhale. So regular Matt, work our spine twist, adding a little extra something or other, a little feedback from the circle and the rope. You might feel those ope leaks differently. Okay, so we're going to break it up now and I am going to move my head first.
I want to set my central access. At first it's going to go over there. I'm looking. That's where I want my torso to come to right there. Turned back to face the ropes. Resist coming back. Inhale, torso,
Three more. [inaudible]
I'm going to go back to the red spring. You certainly could stay on the blue. And if I start working into some hip extension, I'm going to actually go ahead and let my arms fold over my head. Come down right here near the bucks. And I don't, I'm gonna try to not live to my head and my chest, which could start to activate more in my mid and upper back here. You know some of my low, I want this to be my hip extensors. Really primary focus down here. So if I don't look at you, that's what's happening. Okay? So I'm going to engage those hamstrings.
I'm going to imprint my pubic bone, my hipbones and I go first with a single leg and extend and fold. Now I'm not doing a a real sharp point or flex of my foot. You can if you'd like to. I want to feel my knee bending and I want to be confused or interrupted if I cry cramp in my calf. So as I bring my knee toward or my heel toward me trying to deepen maybe a slight press of my thigh on the box fold.
Now adding a variation, little fold. Now a flex to push the leg up, down and down. Ben Press lower unfold.
I'm going to place my hands lightly in the platform press ever so slightly up into a slight up or back extension for the single leg kick from Matt. Now I will do flex point, flex point, flex point and back.
I'm gonna let my shoulders just meet the corners here and it's once again extend my legs. Now my head, yes, it's hanging over the side. I'm okay with that. I actually like a little neck extension. A Lichen, a little traction right here. If this doesn't feel good for you or don't want to give it to clients and students, just do maybe on the floor. Regular double leg kick going with four repetitions. Squeeze in one, hand, two and three. And here we go. Now we've done a significant amount of shoulder work already are getting building into that. I don't want to lock out those elbows. I want to lift.
I'm slightly pulling my elbows wide, lifting my hamstrings toward my arms. Turn the other way for three and one, two, three n stretch active, upper back, mid back. Do More and two, three and up. Last one. End One, two, three. Inhale and extend and release. Okay. Peeling those back extensors.
Now I'm just gonna do a little stretch time to take away the box. Next, moving into some platform work. So what I'm going to do, put my long side of my platform facing the foot bar and I've got some blood flow in my legs from the hamstring curls. So I'm going to go ahead and stand up and do some standing work on the platform and you'll see maybe I don't need these yet.
So what I'm going to do is go into my tr external rotation now where I'm lining up my heels right below my hip joints. I remember the hip joints are right here. They're not out here, so you don't want to stand too wide right here. Now slightly flex the knee joints for those of us who are hyper extended or slightly hyperextended, and I'm going to very slowly do a PA. I'm gonna let my sitz bones open a little bit there. Now as I move the carriage on what? Both legs to work, they pelleve my pelvis should follow where I'm going now as they stay there with the carriage, pull up through those legs, bring the carriage home, do five of them, bend, move the carriage. This one's working, this one's working.
Hold the carriage stables, zip up and pull the carriage home. So working into those deeper external rotators, ground your heels, zip up through the legs, up into that pelvic floor and home two more times.
Then I'll go reversing it. So out first please. [inaudible] let the sits phones open. Guide the kerogen. Now as you come up to standing, you can engage that pelvic floor. Little recruitment of those sits bones together and we slide out and plea a glide in.
Really feel the feet and pull yourself up and open wide. Pull in and zip up last to keeping the carriage as still as you can. There glided in press last one, glide, pull in and stand. Okay. Going into something in parallel. Now you could absolutely stand with your foot here at the edge of the platform.
I wouldn't recommend it though. I'm going to go over where it normally would be if I were just on the reformer without the platform. I'm going to go into a little half skater, so if I bend my knees into parallel and shift a little more weight now onto my standing leg, my platform like it's going to help me isolate the abductors on my right side. Now you could hook your toe, kind of wedge your toe on the edge. I'll show that just a little wedge. Try that and you'll feel maybe the deeper connection right into the glute medius and into lateral hip. Okay, so I'm gonna continue going here.
I'm gonna raise my arms up and find that again that we had at the beginning in the warmup and remember that seated rotation we did on with the magic circle. I'm going to add that rotating toward the carrot and who west an answer. The spicing up, the half skater and twist with the torso and and West still standing on that platform legs, the quadriceps, getting a lot of work. We have us do two more. Press in and hold. Please hold now five little pulses from these abductors endo one and two, three and four and five.
Return and stand facing the other way. I trust myself to turn around on a platform. No. Again, as I'm setting up heels right underneath my hip joints, I've chosen not to use an extra plus standing surface underneath this foot. In these exercises, you may detect that sense of unlevel slightly, especially if you know yourself to have a leg that might feel longer. I'm just not going there.
I'm just going to try to pull up equally through my legs. And here I go out to the side holding the carriage steady as I widened my Iliac as widen my thighs, draw that in and come to stand and glide. Plea a get that width close. I realize I did the other sequencing first on the other side. That's okay. Open please. So trying to feel that spiral of the bones.
It's an image. Again, we use a lot of imagery to help facilitate a little better emotion. So I'm thinking about that spiral through my legs. One more here starts at my femurs and goes rube round and as I play the other way, first open come to stand. I'm still trying to hook in underneath here and pull into center ple. A carriage stay still stretch out. Nice. Wide sits bones sits bones start to come together and center three more.
Really aware of my feet having wide feet on the surface like suction cups just held there. Straighten and up to stand. Last one, a plea, a and a press and a straighten and kin. Okay. Into the half skater we sometimes call it or the abduction series. So if I stand in a play, most of my weight now on my platform's side, wedge that foot slightly and just begin the press.
Shoulders over pelvis really working into connecting hip to heal hip to heal our lateral sides. Here I go. Couple just holding the arms and start this spinal rotation. Twist feels nice to add a little more movement to what we often would just do in an isolated manner. I'm going to go with four more. Can the shoulders rotate over the ribs and spine?
Last two and press your, I go to hold five pulses and one and two. Three. It is deepening my pelvic stability. That is for sure center and all the way up. Okay. I'm stepping backward now as I come in around. I am going to use the pads now. Okay.
I don't think I need this. Not I might've. So guys, here we go. We're going to put these pads on the platform and I'm going to go into some all fours now. Feet against the shoulder rests, hands open, shoulders right above those risks. Just take a little inventory for a second, bow your spine, maybe go up into around cat-back, check that out and then find your place right between the two. We've got our sternum pulled up through our back broad shoulders. Let's just start a little bit pushing first through the shoulder girdle and just five is feeling some lat work here. Sorry.
Ground those hands. Shoulders back away from hands, shoulders back away. Okay. Now just the legs for five, four, three too. And then we'll put the two together and four excuse me, that was fine. So now it's going to be arms, hips, pull with the arms, right above risks and hips in under the knees and press and legs, shoulders over wrists, knees under hips and press and press. Shoulders over wrists in two more. So again, you absolutely could do lighter spring, which in some opinions might be easier. It certainly would be to move the carriage, but harder to stabilize in certain places. Now I'm going to push the legs first. Legs, shoulders, hip joints, I should call it out by the joints there and hip joint, shoulder joints, hip joints, shoulder joints.
Three more hip joint when one joint section is stabilizing. The other is moving last too.
Open them up. I'm going to move my uh, pads actually close together, so I want them the seams in the middle. Now I'm going to push the carriage back out and we're going to hit our front support position.
What I want to do here. Of course my shoulders, not over my wrist. It's going to go there. So as I exhale, I'm going to start to pull my scapula down into back of the ribs, try to lift my ribs to the ceiling. I'm going to guide my elbow up while I'm doing elbows, just to show where I wanted my ribs so that this shoulders over, over that wrist, and then I press out with the arm
You'd go too far over your foot bar all the ribs up, push back out and let's come back down. Re stand. Come in if you want to. I'm going to go right away to the other side and hand pivot and on the shoulder inhale, here we go. Exhale. I'm thinking my right shoulder blade through the side of my ribs to lift my ribs up. As I level my trunk here goes my arm for more, up and over. So ideally we have a straight line from this hand down to the platform.
I'm hoping why I believe on the other side of may have put the curve in there. That's all right too. Really thinking about my right shoulder blade and its strength in the lap and shoulder girdle muscles. I get my shoulder right up on my wrist and out. Repivot knees and rest and come off your wrist for a second. All right, some hip extension time so or hip extension and getting a little arabesque in here.
So I'm going to go down to the elbows now and where I want to have my feet start again is right against this shoulder rest. Feel the stern and pull up. Stabilize to the shoulders there. Well warmed. Now ready to handle some bigger body weight so I'm going to have this extend to her right foot back and first has come up into your hip extension with your hips parallel. All right, just hold out for a moment. That nice solid line to the back of your leg. Now let's open the pelvis.
I want you to rotate your pelvis on top of that left Femur and you'll notice you have a lot more gesture, more room. Let's add a little intensity. I'm going to have you take that leg out. Touch your toe to the floor. You're ready. Glutes to lift and recenter. Five times starting parallel. Rotate very, very precisely.
Extend through the hip pool in through your core. Tap the foot, pelvis, open, square and down. And again, up, rotate. Gesture the leg. How high can you go? Use those glutes. No, no, forget about the abdominals and out to come up. Square the pelvis handout last too.
Rotate, gesture. Touch that floor up. You got Square and shamed sides. I need to readjust my pads. So yeah, that had been interesting on the blue spring. Iron man and more carriage moving. I'm Kinda glad I chose my red. So if you're really willing to kind of put yourself on the spot, go blue or yellow and so you don't want that. Care should be moving.
There's a constant. What I was feeling too. I didn't say it. Pulling toward the front so that abdominal to lap pool forward as I stabilized and you got my leg going. So here we go. Square first square, rotate the pelvis, it's on top of this femur. Head up tray. Turn my whole pelvis. Gesture the leg a little higher. Now open the leg, try to touch the toe to the floor and up to the side. Open Pelvis, square, pelvis and down. And then again, square turn, bigger gesture, larger muscle groups.
Find those asymmetries and identify them. Work with them, strengthen them, work to rebalance them. As I said in one class, I really truly believe this is about progress, not perfection. It's constantly making progress with your form, your technique, your understanding, your awareness and your skills. Just take a nice deep breath. Last thing we're gonna do guys is a little hamstring stretch. So I'm going to take my pads off just for a ease of timing and fluidity. I'm going to leave. This here actually indicates your foot. Slippery,
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