Day 4: Feel the Length

Hello. Welcome to my next class. Today, we'll be using a thera-band. You could also use some type of towel or any type of band you have. It's going to be primarily stretching with of course a little bit of a workout sprinkled in there. We'll start seated in the mat as we've done in many of our classes.

You'll take a hold of either end of this nice long band or towel, whatever you're working with. Reach those arms straight out in front of you, thinking about a beautiful tall spine. Nice posture here. Shoulder blades pulling down into the back. Just gentle pressure out on this band.

Taking a deep breath in. And exhale, slowly making our way all the way down onto that mat with control one vertebra at a time. When we arrive, arms will reach straight up over the shoulders. Those feet can walk in a couple steps here so we're comfortable. Nice neutral pelvis. Heels in line with the sit bones.

Inhale as you reach the arms back overhead, pulling that band slightly taut, opening up across the chest. And exhale as you reach the band and the arms towards the thighs. Chin stays lifted, neck stays long. Inhale to reach the arms back overhead. And exhale, bringing awareness to the core here, thinking about that core as it's cinching the waist together on the exhale.

Inhale. Arms reaching up and back. Opening up all the way through the armpits, through the fingertips. And exhale, reaching down and away. Pulling those shoulders further away from your ears. One more time.

Inhale, arms reaching up and back. And exhaling, belly button pulling down to the spine as those arms lower. We'll reach the arms straight up over the chest this time. Not over the face, but really over the sternum. Shoulder blades, pulling down into the back.

Pulling that band slightly apart and then exhale to release it back to a little wider than shoulder width. Inhale to pull it taut an inch or two. And exhale to resist. I like to have an extended fingertip here so we feel the energy long elongated through the body, but you can hold on a little tighter if you need. And release.

Most importantly, we don't want to let that band snap in front of our face, so do make sure you have a nice tight grip. One more time pulling taut opening up across the chest. And exhale, knitting the ribs together, resisting the arms back together. From here, we'll pull the elbows wide, drawing the band towards the sternum and then exhale belly pulls down and arms reach up. Four more times.

Inhale to pull it down, opening up across the collar bones. Exhale belly, pulling down, arms reaching up for three. Using the breath as we warm up through that upper body. For two. Inhale. And exhale.

One more time. Inhale to pull it down. And exhale to reach it up. Letting those arms release. We'll begin to stretch the legs out a bit more here.

So I'm going to take the band and place it on the ball of my right foot to begin. Elbows anchor in by your sides, and then that leg reaches up as long and straight as you can towards the ceiling. Anchoring elbows, squeezing them in towards the ribs. Inhale to bend that knee in towards the chest. Left knee can stay planted for now.

Foot planted to the mat. Exhale. Reach that right heel up towards the ceiling. Inhale to bend it back in. And exhale, belly pulls down, heel reaches up, toes pulling down with that band. Two more times.

Inhale to bend. And exhale to lengthen. Chin staying lifted, neck staying long here. Once more. Always thinking about the whole body. And reach it all the way up.

From here, we'll articulate through the foot, pointing up through the toes, and then flexing the toes, pulling them back down, opening up through the sole of that foot. Inhale to point and lengthen. And exhale to flex up through that heel. Keep reaching that right sit bone towards the end of your mat. Inhale to point.

And exhale to flex. Once again, making sure that band is firmly planted on our foot here. We don't want it to slip down and hit us in the face. Keep that right foot flexed. If the flexibility allows, we'll extend the left leg long on the mat from here.

Let's keep both feet flexed for now. And lower that right leg to hover off the mat by the left. And exhale deep in the belly, reach it right back up perpendicular. Inhale to lower. And exhale.

Starting to warm up the abdominals a little further here, deepening them into the mat. Using them to lift this leg. Elbows staying anchored by your sides to the floor. Two more. Inhale to reach down and away. Exhale, lengthening the back of that knee, reaching it straight up.

Once more. Inhale to lower. And exhale to lift. Keep me both feet flexed. We'll take a small circle over across the body; down, out to the right and straight back up. Inhale at the top and exhale to circle.

Opening up through the hip while stabilizing in the pelvis. Just a nice assisted leg circle. One more this direction. And right back up. Inhale at the top, exhale to reverse.

Right. Down across. Hip staying square, feeling that length in the outer leg. Out, down around, really lengthening through the back of the knee, all the way up through the heel. Once more out.

Down around and left. From here, we'll take a little more gooey stretch. Both bands into the left hand, that right arm can reach to the side as the leg goes across the body gently here, trying not to lift that hip, really keep it anchored. Can even use this hand for a little added support there. Thinking about our seatbelt muscles.

I've talked a lot about those. Inhaling here. Exhale, making sure the shoulders stay relaxed, flexing, especially that little pinky toe back towards you. And then drawing the leg back through center, switching the bands into the right hand. Left arm can open to the side or maybe come to the hip as that right leg opens out.

Finding a nice openness across the hips and the pelvis. Keep reaching energy through the heel bones. Taking a breath here. Exhale. Relaxing into the stretch. Feeling that inner thigh and hamstring opening up.

And then drawing that leg back to center. Bending both knees and we'll switch over to our other side. Should feel pretty uneven between sets here. Band right onto the ball of that left foot, right foot stays anchored to the floor, elbows pulling down, shoulders down. We'll lengthen up through that left back of the leg.

Inhale to bend it in. And then exhale to lengthen it right back up. Inhale as you bend. And exhale belly pulling down toes, pulling down heel, reaching up nice and high. Twice more. Inhale.

And exhale, lengthening all the way through the back of that leg. Once more. Inhale to bend. And exhale to extend. Left sit bone reaching long towards that edge of the mat. Inhale to point up all the way through those left toes and then exhale to flex the toes, getting a little deeper into a calf stretch here.

And pointing up long. And exhale. Think toe, ball, heel as you flex. Heel, ball, toe as you point up. And flex one more time. Inhale to reach up through the toes, keeping that leg as straight as possible.

And exhale to flex. This part should feel good. We'll extend that right leg long. Right in line with the sit bone. Make sure those legs are underneath us.

Left leg lowers to hover right by the right. Inhaling down. And exhale, breaking at the hip, lifting it right back up. Think of creating a letter L here. Inhale to lower down and away.

And exhale, knitting ribs together, pulling the belly down to assist lifting that leg up. Inhale to lower. And exhale to left. Keep reaching out and up through those heels. Once more. Inhale to lower.

And exhale, belly pulling down, heel lifting up nice and high. Keeping elbows tight in by the waist, shoulders anchor, we inhale, prepare. And exhale to circle the leg across, down around. A nice small circle here, opening up through the hips. Down and around.

Belly pulling deep to stabilize through the pelvis. One more. Across. Down and around. Lift and hold and reverse. Out, down across, lengthening that outer leg as you lift it a little higher for two.

And up. Once more out. Down around. Lift at the top and hold. Both bands come into that right hand.

And the leg carefully crosses over the body. Keeping that left hip anchored, shoulders square towards the ceiling, toes flexing back. Deep stretch. Inhale and exhale. Releasing the shoulders, any tension in the whole body here, trying not to put it from one place to the next.

One more breath. Inhale. See if you can flex that little pinky toe back a little further. And then carefully drawing the leg back through center, we'll switch hands, both bands into the left hand, opening that left leg out to the side, opening up across the hips and the pelvis here, trying to stay evenly, reaching through both heels. Taking a breath in. And exhale.

One more breath. Inhaling. And exhaling. Drawing that leg back up to center, bending both knees in once again, taking the band off that foot. We'll extend both legs long on the mat. Just give them a shake.

You should feel longer than when you started, which should be a nice feeling. Holding onto the band where we started in both hands, we'll reach those arms all the way back up overhead, framing the ears with the biceps. Feel a nice elongation through the fingertips and through the toes. Band pulled slightly taut here. Inhale, reaching the arms up to the ceiling.

Exhale a nice slow roll up here. Chin over the chest, belly button pulling back in and then using those abdominals, reaching all the way past the toes, opening up across the upper back. Let's flex the feet here. Reach through those heels, taking a breath in. And then exhale slowly, roll down, articulating through the spine as you articulate through those feet.

Heel, ball, toe and vertebra by vertebra. Reaching those arms back overhead. Inhale, arms floating up. Exhale, chin peels over the chest, keeping that band or towel, whatever you're using, nice and taut. Energy through the arms, through the fingertips here.

Flexing through those heel bones. Inhaling into the back. And exhale, deepening the belly as you roll down, reaching through the toes, pulling back in that belly. And stretching long. Twice more. Inhale to reach the arms up.

Exhale, chin peels over the chest, zipping up through that waistline, making this roll up beautiful and slow and controlled, using that breath. Inhale, reach through the heels. Exhale to tuck the tail underneath and curl back down. Really massaging through the spine here. Once more. It should feel good.

Inhale, arms floating up. Exhale, chin over the chest. Using that breath and belly to round all the way up and forward for that forward stretch. Flexing through the feet, taking a breath here. And exhale to round back down.

Reaching long through the toes. Long through the fingertips. And reaching all the way back. From here, we'll hug the knees into the chest. Make sure you're still on your mat.

Give them a nice hug. Hopefully feeling a little more open through the spine, through the legs. And we'll place both feet into the band this time. Again, on the balls of the feet here. Elbows will anchor in by the sides, shoulders stay as relaxed as possible there, and then extending the legs up towards the ceiling.

If they're slightly bent due to flexibility, it's okay. A nice straight leg is preferred just so we feel that length all the way through the hamstrings. Anchoring the elbows and beginning to lower the legs. Breaking at the hips on the inhale. And then deepening the belly to exhale in the length.

And the legs back up to the ceiling. Inhale to lower. Maybe an inch or too further, not too far. Exhale, deepening belly button to spine to lift. We have a nice help here with the band, so it's not all abdominals. And lift.

Twice more like this. Inhale to lower. Trying to use the core versus just those arms to lift the legs back up. Once more. Inhale to lower down in a way. And exhale. If that core sits cinching tighter across the waistline.

We'll add a crunch here. Chin peels over the chest, elbows stay anchored, legs begin to lower. Try and keep that 90 degree bend of the elbow, so we're not just moving our arms. Inhale to lower down and away. Deep in the belly down, staying high off the tips of those shoulder blades.

Inhale to lower. Exhale, zipping up through the low belly to lift. One more just like that. Inhale lower. Exhale deep in the belly to lift.

From here, lower the legs down, straighten your arms; you'll feel a little bit less support from the band. Carefully let it go. Maybe it falls off your toes. We go into our hundreds here. Pulsing those arms up and down. Breathing in.

And exhale out. Inhaling. And exhaling. I know this is a stretch class, but we have to sneak some hundreds in there. Inhale.

And exhale out. Two, three, four, five, nice deep breath. Inhaling through the nose. As you exhale, reaching longer through those fingers and toes. Inhale.

And out. Four more breaths. Feeling that reach further towards the bottom edge of your mat, maybe lowering the legs and inch or two. Two more breaths in. And exhale out.

Last breath, inhale. And exhale out. Two, three, four, five. Hold and reach one more inch. Deep in the belly.

Hug those knees all the way in to rest. If we weren't warm before we hopefully are now. We'll add a little stretch here without the band. Right knee stays into the chest, left leg extends long on the mat, pulling those shoulders away from your ears. Right arm reaching to the side, taking a breath here.

And exhale as we take the leg across the body, deepening into that crisscross stretch here for a nice rotation of that spine. Take a breath in. Exhale. Feel the shoulder pull further towards the floor. Maybe taking your gaze to those right fingertips. Whatever feels best for your head and neck here.

And then drawing the leg back through center, letting gravity pull that right knee down towards the floor, opening up through the hips. Can always stay here or bend both knees with that left foot planted or for a deeper stretch, hug the back of the left knee in. We'll flex the feet here, reaching through the heels yet again, working on that alignment all the way from the hip to the knee to the ankle. Inhaling. And exhaling to deepen that stretch.

Right knee and thigh pressing away. And then switching to the other side. Left leg hugs in, right leg long on the mat, right in line with that hip. Inhaling here. Left arm, reaching to the side.

And exhale to carefully take that leg across the body. Taking a breath in. Exhale as that shoulder pulls further towards the floor, knee a little further in the opposite direction. One more breath. Inhale. And exhale. Maybe the gaze turns to the left fingertips.

And then drawing that left leg back to center, finding a squareness across the pelvis and then deepening the stretch however you wish. Maybe hugging the back of that right knee in, if so, flexing through the heels, pulling those shoulders further towards the floor. Taking a breath here. And exhaling. Once more. Inhale.

And sinking a little deeper into it. And then we'll draw both knees all the way back into the chest. Give yourself a nice little rock side to side and then rock all the way back and up to a seated position. From here, we'll grab our band. It should be where your toes dropped it after your hundreds there.

Holding onto it between either hand here. Arms reaching forward. Heels will be towards the front edge of the mat. Sit bones right in the middle of your mat. We're going to go into a little bit of a half roll-up, which we've done sometimes here.

Pulling those shoulders down, pulling the band taut, thinking about our beautiful posture. Taking a breath in. And exhale to contract and curl back till that band just passes your knee cap. Starting small, really focusing on the roundness in the back. Inhale, reach the arms up.

And exhale deep in the belly back as the arms lower down. Heels stay firmly planted to the mat. Belly button pulls back deeper towards the spine. Inhale as the arms reach up. Maybe they just lift an inch, maybe they come all the way up by your ears.

We want to focus on the shoulders pulling away from the ears and the arms staying long, band staying taut for two. Exhale. Ribs knit together, belly pulls deeper. Once more. Arms lift up on the inhale. Deep in the belly, back, arms, lower on the exhale. Hold it here. Take a breath in.

And then scoop from the low waist to curl back up, finding that tall spine. Inhale. Band pulled taut. Exhale. Contract and round back. Scooping out the low belly. From here, pull the band a little more taut.

And resist back a little wider than shoulder width. Inhale to pull it wide and exhale to resist. Feel your upper back working here. Those shoulder blades pulling apart. Inhale to draw it wide.

Exhale to resist. Twice more. Inhale to pull. Exhale. Band closes, ribs close. Once more. Inhaling. And exhaling.

Pausing here for a breath in. Deepen that belly back to curl yourself back up to that tall seat. One more time here, shoulders down, band taut, inhale and exhale to contract and round back. Maybe taking an inch or two lower here. Band stays taut, take a breath in.

Exhale. Twist over to the right. Band just crossing over the knees, inhale through center and then exhale, a gentle twist to the left, warming up into that rotation, into that waistline. Hips and knees stay square. Knees straight up to the ceiling the whole time. We don't want to be twisting from here.

Exhale to twist it left. One more time each direction. Inhale. Shoulders stay down. Pull the band taut. Twist to that right. Inhale center.

Exhale pulling back in the left waistline. Come back to center, hold for a breath in. Exhale lower back an inch or two. Take another breath in. Deep in the belly, further lower into the tips of the shoulder blades with control.

One more breath there, inhale. And exhale. Lower all the way down. Let the arms float back overhead. We're releasing them all the way to the mat and then walking the feet in closer towards our sit bones here. So we have nice even pressure into the heels, right in line with the hips, arms float back up over the chest.

Band remains taut. Take a breath here to prepare. And then on the exhale, scoop from the low belly that we just worked so deeply, begin to engage the glutes and the hamstrings as those hips lift up to the ceiling. From here, we should feel a nice stretch in the front of the thighs and the hips. To do so, you really have to squeeze the glutes up, but pull the ribs and the belly down so we're not arching our back. Inhale. Let those arms float back in line with the ears, not flopping all the way to the floor.

And then exhale to roll down from there as if someone's pulling your fingertips to the behind you, and then your tailbone out long in front of you. Inhale arms up to the ceiling. Exhale, tuck and curl the pelvis up. Right into a nice strong bridge here. Glutes and inner thighs squeezing towards the midline.

Inhale, arms reaching back overhead by the ears, keeping that band taut. And exhale to roll back down. Chest away from the chin, lengthening long through the arms, through the crown of the head all the way through that spine. Releasing the tail at the bottom. Once more. Arms up on the inhale.

And exhale. Tuck and curl that pelvis up towards the ceiling, knees reaching forward over the middle toes. Squeezing those glutes tight. Reach those arms back for a breath in. And then exhale, melting back into that mat vertebra by vertebra, feeling a massage for your spine here. Really elongating all the way through the tail and releasing at the bottom.

Arms will reach back up to the ceiling and legs will extend long into a V shape in front of us, heels to either corner of the mat. Flexing through the feet, taking a breath in. And exhale to round up, rolling all the way back up to a nice seat. From here, we're ready for our spine stretch. If you need to shake your arms out, go ahead and do so.

They'll feel a little worked from this band. Shoulder blades pulled down. Imagine you're sitting up against that wall. Inhale. Pull the band taut. Teach through the heel bones. Exhale. Round up and over like you're rolling over a big ball here.

Crown of the head dropping between the knees. Draping that imaginary cape over the upper back and shoulder blades. Inhale as you sit back up tall. Arms reach up overhead. Press those arms back down in front of the chest and curl up and over.

Our inhale takes us back up long through the crown of the head to the ceiling. Arms reaching by the ears. The exhale presses the arms down and rounds us up and over. Twice more. Inhale. And exhale.

Ribs knitting back. Belly pulling back. Once more. Really elongate through the breath, through the spine in the arms. Exhale. Reaching up and over and forward. Sit all the way back up tall, this time keeping the arms in front of us. Shoulder blades pulling down. Band stays taut.

Inhale. Twist over to the right pulling back in that right oblique. And then exhale. Just saw off that right pinky toe with your left fingertips, keeping the arms parallel to the floor, band taut. Inhale back up tall. And exhale through center. Inhale. Twist to the left.

Exhale. Rounding up and over, forehead to the outside of that left kneecap. Inhale back onto those sit bones. And exhale through center. Again, twisting and lifting to the right before contracting and rounding up and over, reaching through the heels and the fingertips. Inhale back onto those sit bones.

And center. Once more. Twist left. Inhale. And exhale. Round up and over. Pull back in that left oblique. Knees and toes stay straight up to the ceiling.

Back up and center. Reach those arms up overhead. Point through the toes. And then flex the feet and lower the arms. Two more times just to get a little break for those shoulders for the feet.

And flex and reach. Once more. Inhale. And exhale. Reach those arms up overhead. If you find that your hips are cramping at all, you always have the option to bend your knees here.

We want to stay really tall through our spines. From here, we're going to go into a little side bending. Reach up and over to the right. Left hip stays as anchored as possible. And then come back to center.

Shoulders down, band taut. Up and over to the left, like a rainbow. Inhale. And exhale. Use those obliques to find center. Up and over. Inhaling. And exhaling to center. Ribs knitting together.

Up and over to the left. Zipping up through the waist. Growing taller through the spine. Once more each direction. Inhale to the right.

And exhale left, finding those sit bones. And up and over to the left. Inhale. And exhale. And lower those arms all the way down.

Give your hands, your shoulders a little shake. We'll place the band behind our mat here as we turn around, making our way onto our hands and our knees. We have a little break from it. Find your shoulders right over your wrist, your hips right over your knees, and meet me in a nice black cat shape from here. Shake that head yes and no, releasing an a tension in the upper back or neck.

And then we'll go into our cow, dropping the belly, pulling the heart and the chest forward, releasing through the tail. Inhaling, opening up across the chest. And exhale, pressing the floor away. Rounding and contracting. Twice more using the breath.

Inhale to pull the heart and the chest forward towards the front of that mat. And exhale, pulling that belly button up towards the spine, up to the sky. And once more, inhale to lengthen. And exhaling to contract. We'll meet in a flat back.

As flat as possible here. Shoulders remain over the wrists. Crown of the head reaching long. Tailbone reaching back. Belly stays really lifted. We'll extend left leg back. Once again, a little tuck of the pelvis here to stay lifted in the low waist.

Right arm floats forward in line with the ear. You always have the option to sting on both hands here if you need. On the next breath in, we lift the arm and leg up a little bit higher, squeezing that left glute, shoulder blades pulling away from the ears. And slow and steady here begin to round your spine, connecting elbow and nose towards the knee right in that midline. Inhale to length and out nice and long, lifting through the arm in the leg.

And exhale to contract, pressing evenly into that right shin and left palm. Inhale to reach longer. Shoulders pulling away from the ears. Fingertips and toes reaching in opposite directions. Exhale to contract up and in.

Once more. Inhale to length and through the limbs. And exhale to curl through your spine. Reaching all the way back out, holding for a moment, squaring off through the hips, and then lowering that right palm and left knee gently towards the floor. Second side. Right leg reaching back, hips remaining square here.

Low belly staying lifted. Left arm floating up, if you feel stable, right by that ear. On the next breath in, arm and leg lift. Squeeze that right glute and hamstring. Exhale slow and steady, contracting.

Can you tap the knee to the elbow? Pulling the nose even closer. Inhale to length and out and away. And exhale to curl up and in. Twice more. Inhale to reach.

And exhale to round. Last time. Inhale to length and nice and long. And exhale to curl up and in. Reaching all the way back out. Holding it strong.

And lowering the hand and the knee back down. From there, you can keep the knees together or maybe separate them a little wider, whatever feels best. Just wiggling those hips, taking a gentle child's pose from here. Brief, but should feel good to drop those sit bones. Releasing the upper back and the shoulders.

And then we'll sit all the way up and take hold of our band. This time, a little narrower with the grip. Palms will be facing inward. So you can pull it a little bit taut open up through the chest. Keeping that grip on the band, we'll meet in a forearm plank.

Think of making a number 11 through the fists or the fingertips to the elbows and the shoulders, extending the legs back. Yes, I know it's a stretch class, we won't be here long. Get those hips underneath you. Inner thighs and glute squeezing tight. Forearms pressing into the floor.

Pull the band taut. Open up across your collarbones. Even as you're here, take a breath in. Stay for the exhale, reaching back through the heels, long through the crown of the head. And then gently lower the knees down. Untuck the toes and begin to pull the pelvis, the heart and the chest forward.

Keep that band taut and we go into our single leg kick. Right heel in for two and reach it back. Left leg in. Exhale. Pull up in that waistline. Right kicks. And extend.

Think of stretching out the front of the quad as you kick and the back of the leg as you extend. One more time each side. Pull that band taut. Chest and heart forward. Extend and hold.

Lift up one more inch and then lower the head all the way down. From here, we'll take the band behind our back. You can keep it as a single or double, I'm doubling mine up so it's a little less long, but a little more tension. And then hold on wherever you wish. With the band, it allows our elbows to really drop to the floor regardless of our shoulder tightness.

We're going to go to our double leg kick. Begin to squeeze the inner thighs and glutes so much that the legs hover off the mat. We kick the heels towards the glutes for three, two, one. Reach back through the arms, back through the legs, lifted in the heart, and then left face cheek down. Kicking for three, two, one.

Inhale, lengthen and lift. Exhale. Pull the band taut, elbows wide. Three, two, one. Lengthen, reach. Keep pulling it taut here is those inner thighs squeeze together.

Last time. Left face check for three, two, one. Lift and reach. Pull the band apart. Feel the collarbones open, shoulder blades squeeze tight, lift everything up one more inch. And then exhale lower to rest. We'll place the band off to the side.

And once again, sit back into a child's pose. Maybe opening the knees up a little wider this time, letting the chest really drop between the thighs. Taking a breath in. And exhale, sinking into that stretch. Keeping the sit bones evenly reaching back to the heels, walk the hands over to the right side of your mat.

Pull back in that left hip crease even further to really get a stretch into that left waist, armpit all the way through your arm. Holding it here for a breath in. And exhale, sinking a little deeper. And then walking the hands back through center over to the other side, pulling back in that right hip crease as the arms will reach to the left. Taking a breath here.

And exhale. One more breath in. Opening up across the upper back and shoulder blades, sinking the hips a little deeper. A then walking those hands back to center. From here, we'll come back onto all fours.

Tuck those toes underneath us and boost your hips all the way to a downward dog. Adjust the feet, the hands however you wish here. I like to have my feet about hip width apart. Hands should be shoulder width apart. Really dropping chest towards the thighs.

And we'll take another little shake of the head yes and no, releasing any remaining tension in the neck or the shoulders. Lifting both heels up on the next breath in. And exhale, pressing both heels further towards the floor. Shoulders opening nice and wide. Two more times. Inhale to lift.

And exhale, dropping those heels down towards the mat. One more time. Inhale, lift. And exhale to press. Lifting both heels up on the next breath in. And then pressing left heel down, bending into that right knee.

A little deeper into that left stretch. And then lift both heels up and stretching right heel down, feeling length through the back of that leg. One more time each side. Inhale to lift. And exhale to press.

Once more. Inhale to lift. And exhale to press. Lifting both heels nice and high, press both heels all the way down into the floor. Taking one more breath here. And exhale, sinking a little deeper into that stretch.

Taking one last nice deep breath here. Inhale in through the nose. Exhale, pressing those heels further towards the floor. Chest towards the thighs. And begin walking the feet closer towards the hands here in some small steps, lifting from the waistline, making our way to a forward fold.

Softening both knees, taking the band in one hand or both, and rolling up all the way through the spine here, keeping those knees soft, taking the time to make our way to standing. And then we'll take hold of the band behind the back. So one hand on one end and the other hand in the other. Feet can be gently hip width apart here, knees soft, rolling those shoulder blades down and back, pulling the band taut right behind us. Inhale, reach those arms back behind.

And then exhale, resist pulling the band back behind the hips. Inhale to press the palms back, opening up across the chest and shoulders. Exhale to resist it back in. Feeling a nice length through the front of the heart and the shoulders. And resist.

We're so often bent over our devices these days. This gets us into that opposite position. We'll add our turn of the head as we do in chest expansion. Press the palms back to the back of the room. Looking over to the right.

Looking over to the left, staying lifted in the waistline and resisting the arms back down. Inhale to reach them back. Exhale to look left and right and center and resist. One more time each direction. Pulling the band taut, pressing the palms back.

Looking to the right and left and center and resist. Once more. Inhale, reaching up and back. Looking left. Nice straight arms, long fingertips, center and resist. Pressing back just an inch or two, keep squeezing the shoulder blades together, knitting the ribs together, gentle bend of those elbows up and exhale press back down.

Now it does not have to be big here. We want to feel those triceps work, but most importantly, keep the shoulder blades pulling away from the ears. Only two more. Inhale to bend. Exhale to reach it down. One more time. Inhale bending up.

And exhale, reaching it back and down. Take the band out of one hand, bringing it in front of the thighs here, keeping those feet gently hip width apart, option to keep a straight leg here or that gentle bend of the knees. Arms reaching out and up all the way overhead on the inhale. And exhale, pressing them back down. Band stays nice and taut.

Inhale to reach all the way up, framing the face with the ears. And press back down. Inhale to reach up nice and long. Just think of keeping the band in your peripheral vision here. We want to hold on tight, so it doesn't snap over the face.

Inhale to lift. And exhale to lower. Reaching all the way up over head once again. Shoulder blades pull down. Band stays taut. We'll take that side bend up and over to the right.

Inhale. And exhale to lift back to center. Up and over to the left. Stretching out that right waist. And center. Shoulder blades down.

Inhale, leaning to the right. Think left heel to the floor. And left. Up and over to the left. And center. Adding some rotation here, we lean to the right on the inhale, twist down towards your mat on the exhale.

Inhale back over and exhaling back up. Up and over to the left. Keep that band taut, twisting down, pulling back in that left oblique. Back to center and up. One more time each side.

Inhale, leaning right. Exhale to twist down, pulling back in that right oblique. Hips stay square the whole time here. So we open up through the spine, inhale over to the left, exhale, twisting from the waist. Back up.

And center. Bring your feet a little closer together here. Reaching those arms right in front of the chest, pull the band taut as you bend the knees. Inhale and exhale. Resist the band to extend.

And pull. Inhale. And exhale. Resist. Two more. Inhaling to pull. Opening up through the shoulders. One more. Inhale.

And exhale. Adding a little lift to the heels and the arms together. Challenge that balance. Lower. Inhale to lift the heels and the arms. Exhale deep in the belly to lower.

If you're on a mat, it might be a little more challenging than just on the floor, which is good for that balance. One more time. Heels lift, arms lift, hold. Little pulse out on the band, adding our running in place. Inhale for two. Exhale for two.

In and out. Think of really pulling the band from your back, lifting those heels up from your glutes and remaining tight in that waist. We slowly lower the band for eight. Exhale. And seven.

In, two heels pass high on that releve. For six. Belly pulling back in and staying strong through the core for the balance. Last four. Zip up through the waist, make the ribs tight.

Three. Last two. Band slowly making the way to the thighs. And exhale. Bend both knees, reach those arms all the way up overhead for one more nice lengthening stretch.

And lower those arms back down to rest. Soften the knees, roll your shoulders a couple times forward and back, back and forward, whatever feels good. And have a great rest of your day, night and week with this fun stretch class. I hope you feel good and stretched out.