Class #3550

Mobilizing Mat

35 min - Class
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Description

Use the Overball to mobilize your spine in this Mat workout with Meredith Rogers. She is joined by Kari, who is traveling around in her RV visiting Pilates studios, and local students. She includes creative variations to exercises like Saw, Teaser, and much more!
What You'll Need: Mat, Overball

About This Video

Sep 13, 2018
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Transcript

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Okay. Hi, thanks for being here. We've got a couple of local girls and we have Carrie who is traveling around the country in a motor home seeing national parks and visiting Palladia Studios. So that's pretty amazing. So um, she and I met at a conference called momentum fest that everyone should think about going to next year in June. Okay. So we've got balls and bodies. So yeah, let's sit up.

What I want you to do is I want you just take the ball and ours aren't all the way inflated. You can do whatever makes you happy. I like to have a little less air than all the way full. And I just want you to re bring the legs all the way together and rest the ball against comfortably on your shins, wherever that is for you. And then I want us all to press into the ball and feel that that pressure on our hands and on the ball allows our spine to lift more. And then India and then Xcel, keep the hands as they are and use that pressure on the ball and on the shins to just feel that you have something to resist against as you round your spine and then as you lift back up, maybe you'll feel that you're rolling or sliding the ball slightly downwards at the same time. Exhale round the spine.

Rounding and Lengthening

It actually won't move probably, but there is that sensation in my body anyway or in my imagination of pressing the bog down and also into the shins as we sit tall. We'll do that about three more times. Here we go. Xcel around the spine, the shoulders are staying over the pelvis and kind of have to, I mean in with our hands in that position and inhale, lift and exhale round. It is warming up the spine a little bit and inhale, lift the back and this time exhale round the spine, lift the ball off of your shins and bring it with you as you come down. So just rolling down, rolling down, rolling down. Once you arrive on your lower back, I want you to inhale and exhale, roll up and bring the back up, lifting the ball overhead and then let the ball go forward and around your spine and then articulate down so little legs can press together.

Roll Back

Feet can press into the mat, he can India, when we get to the lower back annex, so you can do a light. Press into the ball, not so much with the hands maybe, but with the upper arms and lists the back and then around the back and go down, down, down. Good. Working with ease with control. Inhale, exhale. Curl through her English, shoulders over the pelvis and lift the bat and around the back and roll back and pause in. You'll take the ball in, pointed towards me. Exhale, come center in. He'll take the ball pointed the other way. Exhale, come center. We're going to do that three times point towards me and center.

Roll Back w/ Rotation

Oh away from me. Center. One more time. Inhale and exhale in the and exhale and then center and all the way up. Let the legs open, reach down, let the ball come forward. On the nine, you can just set it down wherever it lands and then we're going to roll out. So I think we can all feel how challenging that is to do. We are going to take the ball and we're going to practice getting the flection in our spine that enables us to do that.

So I want you to put the ball kind of at the back of the rib cage, back bottom rims, so that there's a little concave space between the ball and your body can just take the arms in, reach forward, and then feel what it feels like just to rest on the ball and then try not to. So we're going to inhale and we're going to press the lower spine down. So we feel that we're pushing into the Baba, we're getting the lower spine to mobilize and then let go and then x push down. So even as we're letting go, I don't mean relax, I mean lighten up on the ball, let it help you. But, but, but, but work that'd be in working mode and the XL flex and push the lower back down and inhale, release and exhale like you could say, push the air out of the bowl with your body and release. We'll just do two more. Push the air out of the body.

Maybe the chest feels as though it's going a little forward and release one more time and push the air out of body and release. And then we're going to lift up off that ball and we're going to organize it a little differently. So now you want to scoot a little forward so that when we come back down onto the ball again, it's going to be more around the mid, upper back maybe, right? I could feel the edges of my shoulder blades on the ball. We're going to take the hands and put them behind the head. Inhale.

Thoracic Extension w/ Curl

Now we're going to take the upper spine back. Oh, that feels good. And exa come up. So we're just lightening up on the ball and or curly and inhale, take the body back and exhale. Curl an in hill back fully allowing the ball to get us into that really nice. He Ami, thoracic extension. We'll do three more. Yeah, and XL tumor India. Oh, maybe we go a little further backwards each time I feel like I just did.

I just felt like I had more freedom to I guess lift. Now we're going to add some rotation to that so we'll go back first we'll start coming up in the center and then we'll turn and go left. Keep the right hip nice and heavy and then back and exhale, lift, turn the other way. Keeping the opposite side of the pelvis heavy and back and up in over. I guess the hardest part for me in that rotation is keeping my pelvis really well organized. I don't know about you guys and back, oh, I didn't have my legs together and I just put them together and that's much easier just in case you want it just in case you are doing the same as me and you want it to be easy.

Thoracic Extension w/ Rotational Curl

We just found a solution last time in nail or maybe it's just less visual and it's still happening. I don't know. And back up and over and back. One more time on each side. Xcel to come over, pausing there. We're just going to do five little pulses, one and two, deepen four and five. Center your body. Go back and up in, across.

Okay. And five little pulses and two, three and four and five come to center. Do you think we can make our way up from here? I'm going to try and move your feet as, as, as you think you need to and take the ball and come down all the way onto your back. So now we're going to place the ball between our thighs, just under the knees and we're going to set the feet up so that they're about parallel to the sitting bones. Arms are coming straight down at our sides and I want you to feel that you can a press into the ball lightly and also use that inward press.

Pelvic Curl

So really feel grounded in your feet. And then we're going to start a pelvic roll. So we're rolling up. Yeah. And inhaling, which is creating that nice straight line. Lovely. And exhale, rolling down and inhale and press into the feet. Press into the boat, lift up [inaudible] and in here and just into the feet.

Press into the ball. Rolling down. So we're working in all directions, feeling that the arms are reaching out and down towards the heels and the heels or potentially pulling back and in towards the fingertips. So there's like a circle of energy from the fingers to the toes and exhale to go down. [inaudible] we'll do that two more times. Exhale to lift up [inaudible] and excellent to go down. It's really trying to mobilize the spine today. That could be the theme of this class. Last one, lifting.

So we're gonna pause at the top. And our challenge now is to see if we can straight in the left knee without changing where the ball is and don't let it drop and then press down and straighten the right. So is it possible, I don't know how to keep that ball really, really still squeezes you straighten. I did better that time. I don't know about you guys and squeezing is you reach and back. Are we dropping the pelvis? Can we use the adductors to keep the height than the hips?

Pelvic Curl w/ Single Leg Extension

A squeeze and the ball to keep the height that the hips. We'll do two more abdominals are also working here, helping us support the lower spinal muscles and there and bend one more recheck and bent and reacher and bent. And now we're going to start just making our way back down man. As your pelvis comes down, soften light in the legs and just lift the legs up off the floor so the feet are going to be together. Then knees are still squeezing the ball. We're going to take the knees over towards me on the inhale [inaudible] and XL to come back so you could open your arms out to the side. You could just open them a little bit away from your pelvis and bring them into this kind of like a Low v shape and center and reach over and press with the bottom leg to come center. Feel the weight, go heavy in the bottom leg and then press back up with the bottom leg.

Spine Twist Supine

We'll do two more. Inhale and XL, and one more. Inhale and exhale finding center. We're going to bring the hands behind the head. Inhale here. Exhale, lift the head and chest up. Hold the height of the chest and take the ball away. Inhale as far as you can stabilize. Exhale back.

Knee Hinge w/ Reverse Curl

Now we're going to drop the feet so you're squeezing the ball with the calves two and we're going to try to reverse curl, bringing the ball up towards the nose. Roll back down, lift the feet, lower the body. So that's our pattern. I'm not going to change it again. Here we go. Exhale up. Inhale, hinge, exhale, come back, drop the feet. Inhale. Here's our reverse girl. XO, girl. Curl, curl, curl, curl, rural down, controlling. Lift 50 lower the spine. Three more times. Exhale had chest first. Inhale, seat oh eight inhale, hinge. Exhale, hinge back. Drop the feet, squeeze the ball with the legs, curl, curl list, and then down to more. When they give us a transition on the last one.

[inaudible] and see reverse roll like a ball back and up. Okay. So the transition I'm thinking of, I don't know if it's possible, but we're going to try. I'm gonna try and I hope you'll try with me. So he come a go away. We go in, we draw up, we curl, reach for the ankles. Can we do it? I think we need a little moments. And so get a little rock going. Little rock going, little rock going and a rock. Oh, and here we go. We did it. Rolling like cabal. You rock back.

Rolling Like A Ball

It's not so bad. So from the tough and rock back, squeeze the ball and rock back. Zoom Way and back. One more time. Ad and back. Placing the feet down. Let's stretch out. Take the ball on the hands are right out of the legs anyway. Take it to, it's just on the mat in front of you and we're gonna roll it.

Spine Stretch Forward

So we're going to inhale for the spine stretch. Exhale, push the ball away. I'll probably end up rolling up the arms. That's all right. And now let the ball roll back towards the hands as you reach out and up in your spine. So finding a flat back. Let it roll back up the arms. As you round down, let it roll back under the hands as you sit up. Just like that. Inhale. Exhale, roll down.

Okay. Press back into the boats. Lift your rolls back towards the hands, it rolls back forward. And then we bring it with us as we lift a [inaudible]. And then all the way in here, and exhale, roll down and laying action and press and list up. Yeah.

Okay, we'll do two more. Taking it forward. Maybe we'll go a little further. Reachout lift, go back forward. And our Rola. Yeah, one more time. Go forward.

Lengthen out in, up. Go back down and come all the way up in this time it has you come up. Bring the ball with you so it's in your hands. So I'm going to say left and rights because it's just easiest. We're gonna open the arms, hold the ball in the right hand. Okay, we're going to turn this, the sauce. So you know, you know it's coming in a turn left, put the ball on the floor, push it forward over that leg or just on the outside of the leg, on the outside of the leg, like a regular saw. Pick it up, come to center, switch an open and turn a little brain teaser.

Saw

Push out the other arm is reaching. Just as much come up, open out change. And often an inhale and exhale. Inhale and exhale sweats. I think of how he could switch in the center. I'm gonna try after this one and forward and uh, and Oh, fin de [inaudible] twist.

And now I have to talk, uh, talk us through it, right? So as we come up, we bring the back arm forward, take the ball open and hurry. And as we come back, we bring the back arm to take the ball, open the lift. We'll do one more to each side, reaching through up, bring the back arm, find the ball open. Last one, lift and dyes and open up and center. And now that's a perfect place just to bring the legs together. Continue to sit tall. What I like to think about is this idea the, so your hands are stuck to the ball, right stock, but they are also trying to pull them off the ball at the same time.

Spine Twist

So stick them to the ball and pull him off the ball and twist and center and twist, twist and center lifting as you twist and send to you could flex your feet. Twist, twist. He could always bend your knees. If you need to free up your spine like that. And Center and twist, twist and center and hold. We're gonna pull the ball into the body, lifting the body to that ball.

Stretch the arms forwards and center and in here. Excellent. Pull the ball into the body. Take the ball away and center. And that's what I'm thinking. That same idea of trying to pull my hands off the ball as I bend. Create a little pressure. As I straightened and center, we'll do three more.

Twist and pull. Push and straighten. One more time to each side. Pull, push and center. One more time here. Pool. I'm going to make a change. We're still going to do our twist. Three we're going to go and now we're going to go into flection and roll the ball away and lift up and come to center and twist and into flection and roll the ball away. And um, left and center, twist and into flection pushing, letting the ball roll in your hands and left.

Spine Twist w/ Flexion

And just one more to the other side. Twist first and then reach through. Lift that and come center. So take the ball, put your feet on it. You gotta lean back, kind of like into the teaser shape. Take the arms forward. We're going to do some, I don't know what the name of this exercise is.

Roll Up Variation

You guys can help me decide. So we're going to go roll down, push the legs out, come down to the shoulder blades and pull here. Well in I name it. Yeah, I don't know. It's kind of like, it's definitely a roll up. It's a similar also idea to me of of like teaser three where everything has to split except you don't have to hold the weight of your Lang's anyway. That's fun. Yeah, kind of like stomach massage too. So now we're going to add a twist, but not yet the after this one. So we're going to roll out and then as our knees bend in the center, we're going to lift to one side and then go out.

Roll Up Variation w/ Rotation

And as our knees bend in sensory, go lift to the other side. We'll do that three times to each side. So, oh over and center. Oh over. Oh yes. And send two last 1% down on the ball as you take it forward. And here we go over and center.

And last one oh over and center. And we're gonna come up one more time just so that we can get the ball. We're gonna go on our side. It is fun. So my idea here is that we're going to put the ball under the rib cage because our balls are so squishy, they're not. We are on to kind of get them underneath the waist a little bit more.

Front and Back

But what we're doing there, just keep the bottom like Ben. I think we're doing there as just using the ball as a reminder not to fall into it. So we're actually trying to not create pressure on it. So the bottom like Kim, Ben will take the top hand either behind the head or onto the pelvis. Whatever feels better to you. Lift the top leg up and now we're going to go pull pool.

So for right now we are going to hold the body as still as we can, right there is a little forward back shift that's just natural movement back one more time and then we're going to make a little change. We're going to go for an, as we go forward, we're going to try roll away from the ball, so get more range and then back and push the ball back and forward round and pull the ball out from underneath you and push back and pull and push back pulls. Now we aren't doing a lot of spinal movement pressing the head into the hands as the leg leg travels to the back and then stay there. Take the hand from behind the head, put it on the ground in front of you and then roll. So you're rolling the ball away a little bit from the hand you just put down and then tried lift up off of it and then we're just going to take that top leg up and back up and back. So lifting up off the bar, lifting the chest. Five.

Front and Back w/ Spinal Movement

I use my arms a little bit. I pull my body forward. Three, two, one. I think we need to bring that leg across and have a stretch. Let's do that now. Ready to cross. Have a stretch anytime I can have a stretch. I try to take advantage of it.

Arabesque

[inaudible] okay, so let's bring that leg out to the side and then pick up your ball and hold it on the same side. Hand is the leg that was just stretching. We're going to go into the mermaid. We all move out to the side, away from the hip. That just work. The hand comes down. Now the ball comes around, it goes down onto the mat or the floor and you can push. And what I'm doing here is that when my on the arm that's supporting me, I'm letting my elbow bend and I'm dropping and then it come back open lift. And now it's in exactly the right hand. We can just roll it and feel free to just let me know what feels good in your body is perfectly fine. I'll explain what I like and you can try and find what you like.

Mermaid

So there is our, here's our rotation. So once the ball comes to the floor, what I do is I let my elbow come down and then I can really get into that stretch. But if it felt better to, to be on a straight arm, that's, that's also fine. Unwind, lift up and then reach over and you can take the ball away. And then up. We'll do one more. So the hinge, we touched down, we turn, roll the ball wherever you want, maybe roll it somewhere slightly different each time, looking for a different stretch and why. And let the arm straighten if it's bent, come, come all the way over. Okay. And then you're gonna change sides. So yeah, if you have a bigger ball, put it underneath your ribs that it figures a squishy like ours. Just find a place where it feels it just like there's a little effort to lift up off of it just to stay light.

Front and Back

On it is is the idea hand back behind the head or at the pelvis and here we go. We're lifting the rubs. You go steady, steady in the spine. First pull, oh three po po reach. It's keeping that nice head position or I like to feel as though I'm pushing my head into my hands and at the same time using my hands to lift my head. Here's where we start to run.

So we let the ball go for don't wait, let ball go back and we go. Let the ball go forward so we get a little bit more Angel Baltimore stretch and press the head back as the leg goes back three more forward and press the head back tomorrow. Forward back. Here's our last time, four and back. And now the hand can come away from the head. It comes down in front of the ball. You turn to, it feels as though the balls moving away from the arm. You just press down, lift that leg, find the top of your range, use both arms to pull up in fort and then who left and left and left.

Front and Back w/ Spinal Movement

And every time you lift your mind, your abdominal muscles to pull up as well. We just do four, three, two, one and we bring it around for the stretch, bringing the knee into the chest, bringing the chest into the knee, using the arms to help you really find that lifted spine high. A couple of breaths, maybe letting go a little. Sometimes I just have to say that out loud to remind myself. Okay, so we'll bring that leg out to the side. Pick up the ball, goes in the same hand.

Arabesque

[inaudible] the arms, come on. Yeah, start by taking the hand down and then turn and then roll. And then as you come back, if the elbow has been it straightens and we open and we lift, that arm comes up, maybe take it over and then back and out. Down. Oh, over. Push away. Okay. And back letting the elbow straighten. And whine.

Mermaid

Lift arms, roll the ball away as you reach up overhead. And then back. And one more time out, down all round and press and back. Oh Fan. Ah, and Oh, okay. So what we're gonna do next, we're gonna take the ball and ran, come on our front. And what I like to do here is to put the ball, you don't want it right under your throat because then it feels strangely, but you also want it kinda high up on the chest so that you can feel you're resting on it. Arms are coming just to the sides of us and you can be as heavy as you want on that ball. So the exercise or the idea that we're going to play with is energizing through the length.

Swan

Then start gliding the shoulder blades down as the shoulder blades go down. And you did just see if you can lift lightly. You don't have to lift all the way off the ball, just decrease pressure on the ball. And imagine rolling the ball forward with your sternum. That's it. And that's our thing. And then come back down. So one of my favorite things to do, I hope you like it, energized to the legs, energy backward through the arms, and then you're just pushing the ball inch by inch or maybe not even an inch, maybe just one inch forward with the breast bone and then coming back down.

And we'll do that three more times. So we reach out, lifting up. Okay. And then take it back down and to more. It's all arm gliding. It's no arm pushing. I'm not pushing with my arms at all. They're actually quite light, but they have a backward pulling sensation and down.

Just one more. So we go out into that place and then we're going to just stretch the arms out in front of us here. You can rest a little bit on the ball but also like some combination of light and rasp. One on one leg lift and down, one on one leg lift and down. So the arm is the focus, it's high reaches way up and the leg travels low and we just do that alternating pattern through the body and down. Okay. And we'll just do one more to each side.

Swimming

And down, up and down. And then just bring your forearms onto the mat, push up off the ball, sit down on your feet, back on your feet into resting position. And then we're gonna roll up in. As you're rolling up on shootings, just gather your ball and bring it with you. And they're going gonna face this way. Just come and face me.

Kneeling Side Bend

So you're going to take the arms are getting that sense of lightly holding the ball, but also trying to stretch the ball at the same time. Lift the arms overhead. We're gonna take the arm, let's do right arm. Right arm takes the ball, it pushes into the side of the right side and now it rolls down the right side and we go into a side bend. Yeah, me come back up and they lift that and let it be light. And then as soon as it catches the ball, it's heavy, heavy, good at it. On the way down, the arm is heavy. We rolled up all down and back and then it's easy.

Light weight lifts and then change. And just notice where the ball rolls to each time. Maybe it goes a little differently. Heavying up the opposite. Yeah. Knee and then, ah, and light and heavy and over and uh, and overhead. And this time, let the ball go forward as you go forward with your ball, round your spine around your spine and sit back and use the pool of the ball for it to stretch the spine. And then, then the arms, bring the ball in and overhead and round, pushing the ball away. Lightly. Bring the ball into the chest and lift. Lightly.

Thigh Stretch w/ Flexion

Lift the arms up overhead. Exhale around lift and overhead, letting the chest lift and take the ball down. That's fine. That's not a mic drop. That's a ball drop. That's all. Good job, ladies. Thank you.

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Comments

YES!!!!!! I haven't taken the class yet but YES!! Thanks Meri
4 people like this.
My back was sore this morning and this class was perfect for stretching it out. Thanks for another awesome class.
4 people like this.
Yay!! Thanks for the shout-out!:) Had to take this class [AGAIN]. What a great class to do "on the road". Feeling great. Thanks again Meri!!
7 people like this.
This version of mermaid!!! YUMMIE. I've done it with my class yesterday and everybody liked it. Thanks for your creativity!
2 people like this.
This was wonderful. Great focus on the core and such a nice flow from move to move. Thanks, Meredith!
2 people like this.
Nice! Thanks, Meredith, lovely class!
4 people like this.
Feeling like Southern California here today in Wisconsin so took my ball
And my mat outside and now I'm all hot and sweaty after having enjoyed a really wonderful stretchy airy feeling in my whole body. Thanks Meredith for the great class beautiful in its simplicity and wonderful in its flow
6 people like this.
That felt awesome! I want to take an RV across the country and visit national parks and Pilates studios! How fun!
Great work as ever Meredith, thank you!
3 people like this.
I didn't want this class to end! Gerri described it perfectly "wonderful stretch airy feeling" ....who can't use a little (or a lot!) of that?
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