Rolling Like A Ball

Hello there. I'm Carrie Macy and I teach at equinox fitness of the southern California clubs. So today we are going to break down rolling like a ball to understand the technique of it a little better and give you a couple of different ways to actually execute the exercise. I have Amy here as my willing apprentice here. All right, so she's going to sit. Yup, just like this. I'm never placed our hands behind her knees.

Initially we will do the first version of rolling like a ball is a slightly more open version, a little bit easier. If somebody has any issues with their body in any way, this is an easier way to go about it. So first point is that when you roll like a ball, which the exercise is exactly what its name is, you need to maintain the same little round shape the whole time. Think of it as a tire. If a tire is rolling down the road, well it's going to stay inflated and round. As soon as it flattens out, it will stop rolling. So many of us. Actually, if you could scoot forward a little bit, I'm going to have Amy, Amy demonstrate a flat tire first. So look in, look in zero abdominals. Now as Amy rolls back, I don't want you to lift your hips. Just make a little flat. Yes, good. Come back up. Okay, so she did not maintain her shape.

Now we will have her maintain her shape. So yes, she rounds her back very deeply, looks into her abdominals and keeps her feet off of the mat. Now just hold there for a moment. The very important thing about this is that her elbows stay at the same angle. They're not going to come in or out, allowing her legs to move in order to achieve that very well, she can press her thighs into her hands and her hands into her thighs. At the same time, it will make her arms strong and help her keep her sheep.

Okay, good. Amy. Now from here, roll back to your shoulders and come right back up. Maintaining that same shape. Perfection. Do One more. So we see the shapes. Stay gorgeous. Okay. And you can rest your feet for a moment. Okay, so number one is to keep the same shape. The second point is to make sure that your hips lift to the ceiling as you roll back. This will actually help you keep this shape. So go back to your same set up. You can pick your feet up off the mat. Okay, so she has strong strength in her arms and her thighs are pushing her hands and vice versa. Now as you roll back, Amy, lift your bottom to the ceiling as high as you can. Lift up and then return.

Yes. One more time. It makes it kind of fun and return. Did you see how much more lift she got? That was great. Alright, the third point is that she needs to stop at about where her shoulder blades are. If she rolls further onto her head and neck, that could cause some injury to her neck, but also it's going to potentially change the shape of her ball. Okay, so same. We're going to add all three together. So she keeps her shape. Her arms are strong. As she rolls back, she stops at her shoulders, lifts their hips and returns to the top. Do One more. She rolls back to her shoulders, hips up and returns and holds. Great. Now you can rest your feet. Beautiful. All right.

Keeping those three things in mind. Let's move on to the ideal shape and we'll do our best with it because I'm with you. I can't keep my head between my knees either. Okay. All right. So Amy is going to pull her feet close to her bottom and then she will wrap her right hand over her left Shin and grab her right wrist with her left hand. So her arms are crossed like this in front of her. Then she does the best she can to bring her ears between her knees and then she rocks back and lifts her feet up off of the mat. Okay, so open the knees a little wider so Amy knows that eventually her ears or be between her knees. Okay. Maintaining that shape. Amy, roll back again to your shoulders.

Lift your hips and return back to the top. Try that one more time. Roll back to the shoulders, lift your hips and return to the top. Now pause there. In the ideal shape, we have one more thing to contend with. The legs actually can move in and out and do some other shape changing too. So that was perfect, except I want you to keep your heels close to your bottom two. Okay?

So do your best for that. So as you roll back, really lift your hips so her hips go wham. And Return. Yes. Now keep your heels close to your bottom and just lift the hips better and return to the top and then rest your feet. Okay, very good. So two more points. The next thing to think about is you don't want your pelvis to rock around. And we were talking about this earlier, so come back to that ideal position again.

Pick the feet up. And now when you look at Amy from the side, you can see her tailbone is very curled under, which it needs to stay that way as soon as it uncurl. So Amy, can you flip your pelvis a little bit? Yep. She wants to put her feet down. And you notice how her back straighten. So it changes her shape. Okay. Right. And then it gets more challenging to balance with the tailbone curl vendor. So here she goes, she rolls back to her shoulders, she lifts her hips and she comes up, she keeps her tailbone under herself.

She does one more rural back, lift the hips, and then keep the tail bone under. Beautiful. And then rest your feet for a moment down. Okay. And the final thing to think about it, breath and rhythm together as one. And this adds the breath will help you do all of that and the rhythm will challenge it a little bit more yet again. All right, so ideal position. Pick your feet up off the mat, let the knees widen a little bit more.

There we go. Now inhale, roll back, lift the hips. Exhale, come back up. Hold again with breath. Inhale back. Exhale, come back up to hold. Beautiful now rhythm, inhaled back. Exhale up and right back and right back up and right back again and right back up and right back. One more to the soldiers and come up to balance. Holt. Good and there we go. Perfect. Thank you Amy. And that is a rolling like a ball breakdown.