Exercise #1453

Spine Twist

2 min - Exercise

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Description

Muscle Focus: Abdominals, obliques.

Objective: Strengthen obliques and back extensors, increase spinal and trunk mobility.

Start Position: Sit with legs together in front of the body and feet flexed. Raise arms directly to the side and shoulder height. Sit tall through the spine.

Movement: Inhale reach the crown of your head to the ceiling. Exhale twist the torso to the right, growing taller on the twist and pulsing two times. Inhale return torso to center. Exhale twist the torso to the left, pulsing two times. Inhale return to center. Repeat.

Precautions: Maintain a straight line from wrist to wrist through the shoulders, finding the twist in the rib cage and torso, and not the shoulders. Ensure that the heels stay in line as the torso twists, and avoid shifting through the hips and legs. Feels as though you are pushing through your heels into a wall. Sits bones stay anchored in place on the Mat.

What You'll Need: Mat

About This Video

Intermediate

Deliberate Pace

Apr 27, 2014

Romana's Pilates®

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Transcript

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Today, I'm going to be teaching the spine twist and I have knee Adrian who has a wonderful posture to begin with. This exercise is intended to get you to sit up really tall to learn what it means to stay tall. As we're moving, it's a lot of flection of the spine. What I'd like her to do is start with her feet flex toes pointing straight up parallel feet together. Legs are reaching out long while she sits up tall on top of those sits bones. Good arms are now going to outstretch to the side and from here what she'd like to do is get those shoulders to pull back and together continuing that long length and then spine all the way through the top of the head.

Now she's going to inhale and turn slowly to the right as she exhales ever. So softly lifting, even tolerant that back while drawing the abdominals in and up and I'll come back to center and now I'm going to have her turn to the left. Once again on the turn, you're growing taller in the back, trying not to fall back. Push the heels out, keeping those toes up. Come back to center. Shoulders back, spine tall. Now we're going to add a step.

What we're looking for is the feet to stay perfectly parallel, not shifting along with the hips as she turns. Take a deep breath in. Exhale two times this time to this side. Return to center, lifting the abdominals in and up. Continue on as she's moving.

What you're looking for is the feet to really stay parallel. Get the heels to push away while the tool is pulled back to the knees. Legs are zipped up, sitting up tall. Now, if for any reason this is too difficult, you can always bend the knees, bringing them slightly in, but continue to lift the spine. Turn your heads as far to the right as you can, going right as far to the left as you can go and left. Continue opening up the chest and rest and that is the spine twist.