Enjoy the juice of this Pilates exercise. It’s got stretch, strength and will challenge your reach and connection to your seat and reveal your imbalances.
Be mindful to stay in this exercise to stay in your strength and not dump into your flexibility. It’s not about the choreography. It’s about the connection.
You’ll want lots of strength in two directions and belief that you can fly! I love this exercise for its heart raising and endorphin producing ways.
It’s easy to think that you’re just throwing yourself up into a Handstand but lifting yourself up and reaching yourself back down.
The Hundred and Ab series on top of the Ladder Barrel challenge your strength, endurance and allow you to feel the same exercises you do on the Mat in a new way.
This stretch will open your front, strengthen your back and help with shoulder flexibility and can lead into the Leg Circles when you are ready.
A key for making either of these leg circles work is for you to find a reach through your arms, connect to your back and remain connected to your front!
Do them before you do your Pilates practice or at the end. Give each part of the stretches a go, focus on the strength and not just the feel good stretch.
Side Sit Ups help you work your center and strengthen your side body, inner thighs, and hips allowing you to do all of your exercises and life better.
The beauty of the Swan here is that it really helps you learn how to use your legs to help yourself create length and space in your backbend.
The barrel allows you to feel where you disconnect the most and work on it. The bars also allow you to reach through your legs and connect to your seat.