Donkey kicks
Right leg
Starting position: Position your forearms on the mat, elbows underneath your shoulders and place your knees under your hips. MOTION: Keep your right knee bent at 90 degrees and flex the foot as you lift the knee until it is level with the hip. Lower the knee without touching the floor and repeat the lift.
– Donkey kick foot flexed
– Donkey kick add 2 pulses with feet flexed
– Donkey kick pulses foot pointed
– Extend your leg and lower leg down and up
– Leg straight hold up and finish with pulses
– Change sides and repeat donkey kicks for left leg
Back exercises
Lying prone
– Breaststroke starting position: Lying on stomach, pelvis and spine neutral. Legs straight and together. Elbows bent, hands by shoulders.
– Lift your low belly up toward your spine. Reach from the tips of your toes through the top of your head so that you feel like you’re straight as an arrow.
– Reach arms forward, then circle arms towards hips and find neutral spine and reach arms forward
– Add an extension – lift upper body up reach arms forward then sweep arms toward hips and extend your spine, bent elbows and find neutral spine
The cool down
Inverted V (down dog)
Starting position: hands on mat middle finger pointing forward, lift hips up and lower heels down and stretch
Cobra
Starting position: Lie facedown on the mat with your palms flat by the sides of your ribcage and the balls of your feet pressing into the floor. MOTION: Lift upper body up and press into your hands, imagining that you are pulling the floor toward your toes as you press your chest forward and raise it off the floor.
Rotation stretch
Starting position: sit on your sit bones nice and tall MOTION: lift both arms up and twist to right side, left hand on a top of the right knee, Change sides and repeat
Side bend stretch
Starting position: sit tall on your sit bones, MOTION: lift one arm up and stretch to one side. Change sides and repeat
Pilates Breathing
Close eyes
INHALE through the nose, directing the breath into the sides of the ribs (expanding the ribs 3 dimensionally)
EXHALE through the mouth, closing the rib cage down and in
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