I love this variation, thank you for the elaborate tutorial!
I do find that for students who already have a trouble lifting up, this variation proves more difficult, as the arms are unable to move forward and assist with the leverage. So it was surprising for me to see it as a tool to help with the roll up!
Anyone else shares this observation?
Another question is: you made an emphasis to press the floating ribs down, but they're located at the back, not at the front..so the demonstration was a bit confusing. Could you please clarify the intention of this direction?
Thank you for your post Jenny, Yes, you are right and yes, there is some method to my madness... I find that the thera band helps isolate the correct muscle structure so the roll down and up can finally be understood, I have often found students get the ah ha moment with the band ( it does help lower rather than drop you down, so you find that spot where you were not working before.) Yes, floating ribs are in the back of the trunk and I often use this cue to have students widen the back and deflate the front ribs without restricting their breathing - it replaced " close the ribs" cue for me a long time ago as I found it brought out a better understanding of the right way to work the ribs in relation to the hips. Hope this helps.