Building Up to Tendon Stretch

Hi, I'm Cathy Corey and I'm here with Aaron today and we are going to go into a progression on the tendon stretch. We want to think about where the movement comes from and how deeply we need to get into our own bodies before we progress into the full tendon stretch and also the single leg side and single leg back on the reformer. So what I'd like to start with today is a movement that is so necessary and important for all of our exercises. So I'm going to have you stand on the front of the reformer and I have a medium's forever red and a blue spring on this. Um, let me tell you, this exercise is very deceiving. It doesn't look like you're doing very much, but it is really, really difficult to do.

So we stand right at the front on the metatarsal of the metatarsal arch to the toes are actually off of the reformer, um, off the edge. And then we bring the body slightly forward so the hip is over the heel and the shoulder is directly over your wrist. We're going to go first. Do this with a flat back through, no flat in the back and linked in the spine so the tailbone is reaching in one direction and the head is reaching in the opposite direction. Now I'm going to have you lift your toes and push the carriage back and lower your toes and come in and lift the toes and bring the carriage back and lower the toes and come in and lift the toes and stretch back. Now what I'd like you to do is to keep going with that, I want you to really think about the fact that this is all ab.

This is coming from the deep low abdominals, not pushing with the thighs at all and this really is your whole Nisha stretch series. This is tendon stretch. This is short spine, this is Jack Knife. It's the activation of those low abdominals that really makes this movement work into a rounded back like the elephant head is down and now once again, it's just right in those low abs beautiful. It's really a very difficult exhaling back. Inhaling as you come front and you can see that Aaron is moving her legs from underneath her hips, not allowing the moving to push back in one piece which is all thighs, but really working on those abdominals and activating so that when you do short spine and Jackknife your back, your low back is not at risk, but those abs are really, really working. Next we're going to go on and have a seat. That was great. Thank you.

Have a seat on the reformer and once again we're going to keep on the red and the blue and place the feet on the bar and we're going to just have the feet in the toe slightly apart. The heels are going to be together and the knees are going to be open for our first stretch. Now Aaron, I want you to think is this as a simultaneous meaning that as your legs lengthen, your body is going to lengthen and stretch over and as your legs come in, the body is going to come up so it's not legs, body, body, legs. It's one organic piece of movement and begin inhale, N-linked and over the legs. Beautiful and exhale and come in. So we're getting this long stretch and two more of these.

Inhale and lengthen over the legs and exhale and come in. Very nice. We're looking for a roundness in articulation of the spine last time and come out and bend to come in. This time I want you to go out, stay out, relax the fingertips, good and heels pulling under. Very nice and exhale to lift and pulling down in under and exhale to lift and pull down and under an exhale and lift and bend to come in.

Once again, keep it very organic. Next physician will bring the knees together, the toes together. Don't get to hold toes, ankles and knees and that one position so that we're really activating the muscles both inside and outside and the same movement. Three movements in and out, s and a long gate and bend state, keeping the knees very close to the tour. So good Bandon, a long gate head following the line of the spine.

Very nice and come in and the last time we stretch it out and bend to come in. We're looking for symmetry in the back and we're looking for an evenness through that stretch, which is very nice on this spine and Erin. Okay out now hold it there and heels go under and pull up from that. I want you to pull up from that same exercise, the Ab press that we did. It's not a foot movement as much as the pull is lifting the legs, it's a whole body is involved on the move in the movement.

Think of this as tendon stretch, sitting down and pulling from here. That's it. And two more times pull from here. There you go. Nice. Round this in the back. One more time. Exhale up and bend to come in. Very nice. That looks great. Okay, now getting into tendon stretch. Um, I prefer people to really utilize the whole body, so it takes the pressure off of the arms and puts the movement really back into the center of the body. So I'm going to have you come turn around and stand. Oh good. Okay.

And the first thing I want you to do is we're going to round down and round over. Place your hands onto the shoulder rest, bend your knees and round the back. Good. Place the knees down. Good and stretch. Now from there, curl the toes under and begin to press into the shoulder rest and begin to stand up. Roll back and roll up. Yeah, and now, once again round, so we're utilizing those abdominals. We're stretching the hamstrings and then the knees. Place the knees down, stretch over, roll heels down and come back up.

And one more time. Take it down and stretch it over and roll and come back up. Very nice. Now walk the feet so your whole foot is onto the carriage. Now you can do this x next exercise with all the springs on if you'd like for stability. But because Aaron has done so well with all the movements, I know she can do this without, but we still start with the feet stabilized on the carriage and we bring the hands behind us and balance. Very nice.

From there. Soften the knees, take the hands off and begin to roll up. Roll back down and hands behind. Okay. And stretch. Press away from the bar. Good and roll back up.

And last time we're in a rural down and take it back in through. Now from there you're gonna put a little weight into the hands pressing away and we're going to take the foot foot and step it off and the other footsteps off without moving and carriage. Now from there, this is her body design. This is where we want you to stay. Activate those low abdominals as we did to begin with and just begin to press out stretching from the back of the legs, not too much weight into the hands. The hands are just there to stabilize you. Beautiful.

And come back pulling from those abdominals from that very first exercise, we've already stretched in length in the legs and the hamstrings as well as stretching those heels down and under and come back. We're just gonna do one more time and stretch out. Don't taking the weight off of the hands and putting it right here as we pull in to come up and step onto the carriage. Good. And from there, let the hands drop, roll the spine up and all the way up to standing. Very, very nice. So again, we're doing progressions with our tendon stretch.

And from there, um, along with some of the other exercises we've been doing, we would go into the single leg to the side, the single leg to the back. And next time I see you, we'll go to that. Physicians, thank you so much, Aaron.