Feet In Straps Flow

Hi, everybody. I'm Maria, and we're gonna be building a feet and strap series today. Our primary focus for this is gonna be hip mobility and dynamic flexibility. Put your foot bar down. Set yourself up on 2 heavy springs. Come on to your back.

Your headrest could be up or down. Push yourself out. Bring one loop onto that foot. Hold the knee bent. Bring the other leg up and extend the legs straight out in front of you.

The legs are glued. We're gonna start just by hinging the hips. The legs float up. The sacrum stays heavy on the mat, and then we exhale and we draw those legs down. Inhale to fold and exhale to draw down.

Now I'm squeezing my legs tight together, and I have a sense that I'm pushing down from the sole of my foot as well. At the top here, I'm getting that nice flexibility of the hamstring, and then I'm engaging those hamstrings to take the legs down. 2 more here. Check-in that the shoulders aren't racing up against the shoulder block. From here, turn out the legs, bend the knees so you have a long diamond shape, same action here, taking the legs up, and pressing them down.

Check-in and make sure you don't feel any rocking in the lumbar spine. And now recommit to squeezing those heels. You're gonna start to feel the inner thighs a little bit more on this variation. The knees are absolutely still for me, everybody. An effortless effort through the face, neck, shoulder, and the arms. Last one.

And from here, squeeze the inner thighs, take the leg straight point the toes, and from the very top of your thigh bone, begin to draw tiny little circles. Keep turning the legs out and circling the legs. So it's like you're doing a circle within the circle, and you'll notice that your carriage will barely move and really bringing your attention. To the thigh bone in the socket. Now with this same precision, open your legs to your widest position.

And then repeat that same precise circle way deep into your hip socket, keeping those inner thighs engaged the whole time while working on the flexibility. And close the legs, take the legs parallel, take the legs up, open, down, and together. So your basic big circle, and you can make this as small or as large as you like, Last time here. Pull the knees into your chest. Remove the straps.

Sit yourself up. We are gonna do a spring change. We're coming down just to one heavy spring. And we're gonna load one leg at a time. So onto your back, push the carriage out, and bring the loop onto one foot.

Press the legs out straight, squeeze the heels together, and we're just gonna do a loaded single leg frog. Allow your brain to kinda process this. Right? Feels very different on the body than what you're used to. Make sure you're not trying to grip with your neck, your arms, to hold you still. Just keep squeezing those heels.

Last time, take the legs out straight, make them parallel, same hip hinge, folding up, and then pressing down from the back of the leg. And a big part of your job now is just maintaining the stability here of the trunk. The carriage is pulling you one direction, and you wanna stay absolutely still. Last time, still performing that nice hip hinge, lengthening the legs out pause here. Now just the loaded leg comes up, and you can let it come a little higher now and then draw the leg down.

Going into your full stretch with that top leg and pressing down. So you have the assistance here of the machine. Allow the machine to assist you to take that leg a little higher. Last one here. Keep the legs here.

Now the free leg comes up to the ceiling, and we do a little leg circle. We cross over around and up. The bottom leg is so still. Be light with your arms. We really want the stabilization coming from the trunk.

Last one like that. You have 2 options. Leone is to reverse the circle. Leone is to switch legs. And circle the loaded leg.

The legs at 90 degrees crossing to the midline or rounding up. Not a big circle. Again, check-in. Make sure you're not using your shoulders. Your neck, your arms to brace. Let the work go to the trunk.

Last one here. Wherever you're at, let the loaded leg fold into you. Take the free leg down wherever it can rest and just give yourself a little hamstring stretch. And let's take that loop off and change sides. Setting up for our frog here, heels are glued, working from the inner thighs as we press out, we resist in, effortless effort in the face, the neck, the shoulders, maybe even a little smile.

From time to time. That's for my friends at Pilates anytime. 2 more here. Wrapping those lakes. And last time, pause.

Take those legs parallel back to the hip hinge. Remember, it's always gonna take a few reps for your brain to figure out what it has to do to keep you still. Really draw your attention to the trunk. Last one like that. And now the free leg stays put and allow that loaded leg to come up and into you. Machine's gonna help you with that stretch and then contract that hamstring to pull the leg down.

We're still doing that nice hip hinge, glue the legs together when they meet. Keep the legs together. And now the free leg goes just to 90. I'm gonna draw a little circle here. Keeping the hips nice and still.

Keeping that loaded leg still and minimizing what you're doing with your arms. Stabilization is coming from the trunk. Option to reverse that circle or switch the legs so the loaded leg is at top and that same little circle. Now with the loaded leg, you are gonna have to move a little bit slower. Keep lengthening.

Keep using the breath. Keep those hips nice and still for me. Last Leone. And now the loaded leg comes towards you. The other foot goes down wherever you can place it comfortably. Give yourself a little stretch.

Remove your strap. And that's the end of our feet and strap series.