Quick Standing Flow

Hi, guys. Courtney Miller here. I wanted to just offer you a 10 minute warm-up workshop. So this you could do before your reformer workout or you could do it before your mat workout or if you wanted to burn some serious calories, you could rewind it and do it over and over and over again, five times, 50 minute workout. Totally your call.

But the idea here is it's kind of like standing leg work on the reformer. My goal is gonna be to warm up all the muscles in the lower body and the feet, while building some core stability and increasing your heart rate. I'll probably get a little out of breath talking and teaching, and you might get a little out of breath at home, too. That's good, we're burning some calories. Let's begin.

I'm standing on a flat surface. So just note, if you're on a squishy mat, your balance is gonna be a little more compromised, a little more challenging. So pick the surface that is working best for you. My legs are together and in parallel. My arms are out to the sides, abdominals in.

I bend my knees and exhale, stretch to the side. Inhale and exhale. Knees together, stretch. In, and out. Feeling the feet pressing down into the ground.

Bend, and lift. Down and up. Bend, and up. And then we're gonna add a little something here. Bend the knees and sweep one leg out.

Try that one more time. Bend and sweep. Now, put the lateral flexion into it. Bend and stretch. Bend and stretch.

Bend and stretch. Try four more. Lots of balance here. Four. Three, (exhaling).

Two, (exhaling). One, (exhaling). Just the leg, other side. Find that stability. Now, add the arms, shhh.

And warming up the side body. Up. And up. Foot is flexed. Last two.

And one. Hands come onto the hips. Brush and sweep one leg forward at a time. Think of your jump board here. Stay open through the collar bones.

Engage through the abs. My knees are a little soft here. And I'm really pushing the floor away. Using my core to help pull that leg up. Last four.

Three. Two. One. Bring one knee forward. Knee to toe.

Arms to the side. I step forward, balance up. Step back, balance up. Step forward. Balance.

Back, shoulders over hips. Forward. And back. Two more. Forward, abs in.

Back, one more. Toe ball heel. Push. And up. Now from here, step back.

I'm going to lift my arms as I extend the leg back, and lower, I'm just gonna come forward a little bit. Bend. Up. Lunge. Balance.

Lunge. Balance. Last four. Good. Three.

(exhaling) Two, belly in. (exhaling) One. (exhaling) Come back, hands to hip. And get ready for the other side. I lift up.

Up. You keep going. I'm gonna turn to the side so you can see my alignment. The, see? See how the knee is soft?

It's not a march or a kick. Shoulders stay square over the hips. Last four. Four. Three.

Two, point the toes. And one. Bring the knee and the foot to touch. Arms out. Step forward.

Balance. Back. Balance. Toe ball heel. Push.

And press. Shoulders over hips. And land nice and light here. Think of the jump board. Hips are square.

Four more. Four. Good. You could have light weights in the hands, too. Two more here.

Two. Two. One more. One. And done.

Take the leg back. Arms are gonna go overhead. Bend. Reach. Bend.

Reach. Bend. Reach. You could play with the arms. (exhaling) (exhaling) For four.

(exhaling). Three. (exhaling). Find that capital letter T. Two.

And one. Rise up. I really feel the muscles in my feet. Finding your natural turn out by rocking your weight from your heels and externally rotating from the top of the thigh. Take the arms in front of you.

Point one foot and reach the leg long. Open the leg wide. Bend. Point. My weight is in the standing leg.

And up. Toe ball heel. Hips are square. And shoulders over hips. Four more.

Four. Three. Point. I'm working through my feet. Now I'm gonna cross the leg behind me.

Bend. Make a diamond. And press. Toe ball heel. A lot like the jump board here, guys.

Knees over mid-feet. Open. Close. Open. Close.

Hold it here. Lift up, step the feet together. Open the arms. Thumbs in. I step my leg back on a diagonal.

Bend both knees. Together. Diagonal. Definitely feeling warm. In.

Out. Four more. Four. (exhaling) Three. Neck is long.

Two. Hold the diagonal. Get nice and low. Tug of war, one. To the other.

Keep your legs stable. We're warming up through the trunk. Last four. Four. Belly in.

Three. Two. One. Lower an inch. And step it in.

The last thing we're gonna do here bend those knees. Point the foot again. C curve as you sweep. Come back to where you started. Extend.

And back. Let's flow. Scoop and up. Open the chest and side. C curve from the whole spine, not just the neck.

Scoop, and press. Last two. And press. Last one. And press.

Stand up, roll it out. You're ready for the other side. Tendu or point the foot. Take those arms open. Bend.

Point. Just like you're doing calf raises. Articulate, and resist. Four more. Four.

Three. Keep breathing. Two. One. Now we're gonna step the leg behind the standing leg.

Bend both the knees. Open and a bend. Lots of up and down movement here. That's what's gonna really challenge the cardio element. Last four.

Three. Two. One. Step it in. Lift those arms.

Diagonal. Step. Together. Big wide steps. Out, and in.

Four more. Four. How ya doing? Two more. Hold the next one.

Get nice and low. Side movement. So my ribs are shifting. My legs don't move. Really reach.

Four. Knees over toes. Three. Last two. One.

Lower an inch. Bring it in. From here, tendu. Bend that standing leg. Find your C curve.

Come to the side. Reach back, and come to the side. Let's flow. Scoop the belly. Extend, slide the foot.

To the front. And to the back. Scoop. And press. Scoop.

And press. Come all the way in. Take a deep breath in. And a full breath out. Roll those shoulders out.

You did a great job. Our legs are warm, the back of our thighs, our core, even our arms. Remember, articulate through the feet. Think of all of your amazing Pilates principles. Have fun, and add this either at the beginning, the middle, or in the end of some of your favorite classes.

Thanks for watching. Bye!