- Difficulty: Intermediate
- Equipment Needed: Magic Circle, Mat (I love using the Ultra-Fit Circle and the Contrology Folding Mat.)
- Reps: 3 of each variation
- Warning: May not be suitable for some back issues.
- Questions: Contact us here
Teaser with the Magic Circle on the Mat
Adding the Magic Circle to your Teaser on the Pilates Mat is a great way to engage some of the muscles of your lower body that may be taking a vacation and letting your more dominant muscles take over. Most people struggle with only feeling their hip flexors when they do the Pilates Teaser on the Mat. But, when you add the Magic Circle prop to your practice, it helps engage those muscles and let them know what to do. And, then the goal is that you can take that circle away and still use those same muscles. Give this a go
Wrap outer hips to the inner thighs, hug the circle from the whole leg.
It’s tricky to add the circle in between your legs when laying on the ground. Lay on your back, bend your knees in and place the circle in between your ankles. Curl your head and chest up and stretch your legs out to the high diagonal as you roll your head and chest up and find your Teaser position. Hug the circle from the outside in. It’s easy to hug the circle from knees so you don’t want to just squeeze the circle. You want to wrap the outer hips inward to have an engagement that is well rounded.
While keeping the legs at this angle lift your arms up and lower your upper body down and back up 3x. Then maintain your chest lifted and your arms reaching from your back as you lower and lift your legs 3x. And then try doing Teaser 3 where the whole body goes down and back up 3x. Your legs can only go as far as the circle can tap the mat but it still allows you to practice most of the way down and up. Then remove the circle and repeat all three to see how you can use what your body learned with the circle.
Be sure to check out more of my Pilates Mat exercises. I want to help you continue your Pilates Mat training!