Exercise #4049

Stomach Massage Series

3 min - Exercise

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Description

Muscle Focus: Abdominals and Legs.

Objective: Strengthening the abdominals and legs.

Reformer Setup: Start with two to four springs depending on the amount of resistance desired. The footbar is up and a sticky pad is placed on the carriage to avoid slipping while moving.

Start Position: Sit on the carriage as close to the edge as possible. This position may need to be adjusted depending on flexibility. Hands are holding onto the front of the carriage and the spine is in a lengthened c-curve. Feet are positioned on the footbar with the heels together and toes apart.

Movement:

Round Back: Maintaining the spinal position, press the carriage out until legs are straight. Keeping the legs straight, lower and lift the heels then return the carriage home. Repeat as desired.

Flat Back: Move the arms back to the shoulder blocks and sit upright so the spine is long. Maintaining a flat back, press the carriage out until the legs are straight. Keeping the legs straight, lower and lift the heels then return the carriage home. Repeat as desired.

Reach: Maintaining the same spinal position as the Flat Back variation, reach the arms forward slightly higher than the shoulders. Keeping the lift of the spine, repeat the same action as the Round Back and Flat Back versions.

What You'll Need: Reformer w/Box

About This Video

Intermediate

Moderate Pace

Mar 22, 2020

BASI Pilates®

Technique

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Transcript

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Christie is going to now show you the round back, flat back and reaching summit massage. So Christie please, you'll notice that we have a sticky here on the carriage that's useful to help from sliding on the carriage or to help you keep your clothing on your body. So Christie will sit on the sticky as close as she can towards the front of the carriage, knowing that she's also going to need to orient her shoulders over her pelvis. So depending on the flexibility of the student, you may need to back up slightly to find that we'll bring the feet up onto the foot bar in a small V shape. And now Christie has her arms pressing back into the reformer, into the edge of the reformer. She's oriented her shoulders just over her pelvis.

The head is lifted in line with the spine and she's found this nice long round C curve. There's an inhale to prepare on the XL. Christie draws in with her abdominal. She presses out, she goes down and up and pulls in. She presses out, down, up, and in. As she's moving, you will see that shape of the spine saying very, very consistent, very stable. She's not only thinking about pulling from her waist to press out, but she's also thinking about pulling from her waist as Sheridan bends her knees to bring the carriage in. The exhale breath goes out. She continues the exhale and inhales to come in.

Okay, Christie, take your arms back. She comes back to the shoulder block. She lifts her spine. So again, we're looking for that line of the shoulders just over the hip joints and we're gonna let the elbows be a little bit Ben. And we're going to do the same breath pattern and the same leg pattern. So exhale down, up, pull in, exhale down, up and in. And again, notice the stability in the spine. Notice the conscious efforting of coming from the abdominal area.

Same breath pattern and this is the most difficult one. Christie's going to reach forward. She keeps that lift in her spine as she presses out under op and Paul's out under up. There's a sense of lifting up out of the pelvis with this spine and we're keeping that nice length in the spine. Again, notice the spinal stability that's happening here that's very difficult to do, and she's doing a beautiful job. Last time stomach massage series.