Five Minute Stretch

Hi there, my name's Maria. And we're gonna through some everyday stretches, or you could also use this sequence for a warm-up or a cool down from something else you've done on PilatesAnytime today. So, I'm gonna be seated in a chair. Amy'll be on the mat. Any place you are comfortable works.

Come to the edge of your chair or a seated position. Reach one arm up over the head. Really lengthen, go straight up, up, up, up, up. Bring by your hand by your side, and side bend up and over and stay here. Take a breath in through the nose, getting long, both sides of the waistband long.

And exhale all the way back up. Take the other arm straight up. And feel that up all the way through your spine, not just the arm. The other hand goes by your side. And side bend up and over.

So as we're side bending, we really wanna think about being long on both sides of the body. Inhale here, get a little bit longer. And exhale all the way up. Bring one knee into your chest. Really pull that knee in tight.

If you're on the mat, you'll be on your back. Pull the knee in. Use your arms, not your shoulders, to pull the knee in and compress. Now circle that foot. Three, two, one.

Place the foot down. Bring the other knee in tight into the body, getting a stretch in the quad and the lower back. And circle the foot. Nice and easy and gentle right now. And set yourself up for cat-cows.

So if you're on the mat, hands and knees. If you're on a chair, right like so. Hands right under the shoulders. Feet right underneath the hips. Start with your body in a beautiful straight line, crown of the head to the tail.

Inhale here. Exhale, round the whole back, dropping the head, spinning the biceps forward. Inhale, reverse the position. Really dragging the heart forward, using your hands to drag back to the thighs. Exhale, round the back, pull the belly button up.

The tail points right between your heels. Inhale, open the chest, pull the shoulders away from the ears. Abdominals are still lifted in this shape. And exhale, pull way under. Spin the biceps forward.

Inhale, open the heart. Come to a flat position, pause here. And now the hips begin to circle. So you're tucking and releasing your tail, and you can take this as small or as big as you'd like. So we're warming up the hips and the lower back.

Go ahead and reverse it. One more here. Really feeling the top of the thigh bone. And come into rest position or just drop forward and grab behind your thighs. Let the head be heavy.

(exhaling) Come back to your hands and knees. Establish that nice straight position from the crown of the head to the tail. Without shifting at all, reach one leg straight back behind you. Now, feel where you are in your body. Two hips pointed straight down.

Kneecap pointed straight down. If it's available, the opposite arm reaches out. You should feel like an arrow from the crown of the head out to the heel. And lower. Try not to shift.

Very quietly take the other leg straight out. So there's still a lift here in the abdominal wall. The spine is straight but the abdominals are lifted. Opposite arm reaches out. I prefer the hand facing in, if that's available to you.

And come out. Go back to rest position. Rounding the back, knees are slightly open. Head is hanging. And come back up.

We're gonna come to a plank. So on a chair, the shoulders go right over your wrists. And if you're on the mat, you might choose to do this from the knees or a full stance. So it doesn't really matter to me where you choose to be as long as you're in a shape where you can feel your whole body. If all you're feeling is pressure on the wrists, dial it back a little bit.

Stay here, deep breaths. (exhaling) One more breath in through the nose. Really sandwich those legs tight together. Go back to rest position. And from here walk your hands into your feet.

You'll stand if you are on the mat. Let the head be heavy. Knees are bent. Trunk is relaxed. From here, keep the knees bent, very slowly peel yourself up bone by bone.

Feel the shoulder blades slide down on the back. Feel the breastbone lift. The head's the very last thing to come up. Now, from here take a deep breath in through your nose. Really feeling your lungs expand with air, front, back, and side.

And a very long, slow exhale out through the mouth. Feeling your body calm and centered. And we are done for today. Thank you for joining us, and have a very nice day.