Pilates for Balance

Hi, I'm Kira Lamb. This class is dedicated to balancing on two feet, one foot, or even the back of your tailbone. We'll build upon exercises from Pilates for posture and we'll even add new ones to help us achieve that. We'll start this class at the base of our mat with grounding and centering. So once you get to the base of your map, make sure your feet are parallel and together.

Pivot on your heels and make that Pilate stance or a V shape with your feet. Make sure you have about a fist distance between the ball of your big toes. And then once you're here, ground down to the ball of your big toe, your small toe and the center of your heel. And then can you just lengthen your spine? Get as tall as you can.

Place one hand on your lower back. One hand goes right at the base of your scalp, or the base of your head. Take a big inhale, breathe into your low hand. As you exhale, pull your lower abdominals into that hand and lift them up to the hand behind your head. Take an inhale, breathe all the way into your low hand.

As you exhale, pull your lower abdominals in. Feel your tailbone drop and lift your abdominals up to the base of your skull. You have one more. Take an inhale, breathe down your back and into your hand. As you exhale, lift your lower abdominals.

Lift the crown of your head up. Maintain that internal lift and we'll go into arm circles. Let your arms just be heavy. Inhale, breathe into your lower back to float your arms up. Exhale, lift your abdominals to circle them in your peripheral vision.

Two more. Inhale, breathe into your lower back. Exhale, lift to lower. One more. Inhale, breathe into your lower back. Exhale, grow taller as you lower, reverse your circles.

Inhale, breathe into your lower back. Feel your tailbone reach for your heels. Exhale, lift your navel to the base of your skull. Two more. Inhale, breathe in. Exhale, lift your lower abdominals, grow taller.

Final one, reach your arms up and keep them up. And then stack palm over palm behind your head. Relax your shoulders. Gently press your head back into your hands. We'll do three knee bends.

As you inhale, breathe into your lower back and bend your knees. Now just peek down for a second. Make sure your knees are over your second and third toes. And then stand upright. Pull your lower abdominals up into your hands so strongly it straightens your legs.

Two more, bend your knees, but press your head through the ceiling, and then exhale. Lift your lower abdominals into your hands to stand. One more, inhale, press your head through the ceiling. I am resisting gravity. And then pull my abdominals in and up.

Reach your arms up and forward, stack your forearms, deep knee bends. Or you can continue with the simple knee bends that we just did. Take a big inhale, reach your elbows, chin, and chest forward and try to sit on your heels. Notice I'm pulling my ribs away from my sides instead of collapsing. And then lift your lower abdominals to come all the way up.

You have two more. Inhale, send your elbows way forward. Try to get your elbows, knees, and hips on the same plane. Lift your ribs off of your thighs and then pull your lower abdominals in and up to stand. One more.

We're gonna take this to the floor. Bend your knees. Now find that internal lift from your lower abdominals. Keep sending your elbows forward, ribs back, take a seat, place your hands behind you and slide back. We're ready for the half roll back.

Press your hands firmly at the backs of your thighs. Your arms are gonna provide resistance and assistance. As you press into your thighs, grow even taller, so your on your sitting bones. And then push the three corners of your feet into the floor. And as you inhale, breathe into your lower back.

Exhale, pull your lower abdominals back and round back. Reach your tailbone forward, waist back. Stay here for an inhale. As you exhale, empty your lungs, round forward into a C curve. Forehead over your knees.

Find your internal lift to roll all the way up. And now we're gonna do it without hands. Reach your arms in front of you and really try to reach the wall in front of you. Take an inhale to lift. Exhale, curl your tail bone under and just try to roll to the backs of your hips, that's it.

Once you're here, inhale, breathe into your lower back. Exhale, round over your own hips. Bring your forehead over your knees. Find your internal lift to come up. Press the three corners of your feet into the floor.

Take an inhale. Exhale, pull your lower abdominals back. Now see if you can roll to your waist. Keep pushing your feet down, waist back. Now press your waist into the floor in order to round forward, forehead over your knees.

And then push your feet down, lift your waist up. We're gonna take it further. Take an inhale into your lower back. Exhale, pull your waist back. Feel the backs of your hips touch.

Feel your waist touch, the bottom tips of your shoulder blades. Are you still anchoring your feet? And now press your waist into the floor to round forward into your C curve. Lift your spine. Sit up tall. Now roll all the way down.

Push your feet into the floor to grow. Take an inhale. Exhale, pull your navel to the back edge of the mat. My arms are actively reaching for the wall in front of me. I roll all the way down, rest my head.

Bend your knees into your chest for the hundred. Start with your tailbone heavy on the mat. So make sure you don't pull your knees in so much your hips roll up. My hips are heavy. Press your legs together.

Press your heels together and peel your knees apart so they're as wide as your shoulders. Reach your arms up, sink your chest bone into the floor. And as you exhale, curl up to the bottom tips of your shoulder blades. Find that internal lift and reach your legs forward. But really reach your legs through the wall.

Pull your waist back and you're ready to pump. Inhale for five counts and exhale for five counts. Inhale and exhale. Remember, you're breathing into your lower back. And exhale, pulling your lower abdominals to the base of your skull.

Inhale and exhale, two, three, four, five. Inhale, you're halfway there. Inhale into your lower back. Exhale, find that internal lift. Inhale and exhale, two, three, four, five.

Inhale, pull your waist off the back edge of the mat. Last two. Final set. After this one, hug your knees into your chest. Rest your head.

Lower your feet down one at a time. Slide your legs straight, flex your feet and now simulate the standing position. You can be parallel or in Pilate stance. Reach your legs forward so much that maybe your lower back comes off the mat. Press the backs of your thighs and heels into the floor and then find that internal lift.

Pull your lower abdominals underneath your ribs and all the way to the base of your skull. Reach your arms up towards the ceiling. Really reach up and feel your chest bones sink into the mat. Take an inhale into your lower back. As you exhale, curl forward, look at your feet.

Does it look like you're standing on the wall? I wasn't. My foot was hooked. So pull even your pinky toes back and then rest your head. Arms go up and again, take an inhale into your lower back. As you exhale, curl forward.

Can you make your legs longer like you're reaching for the wall? Press your waist down. Try to curl up one more bone and then lower all the way down. One more. Take an inhale.

Exhale, curl up, reach your heels forward and then keep pulling your lower abdominals back. Lower all the way down. Three roll ups. Inhale, breathe into your lower back. Roll up, round forward.

And then exhale, find your internal lift. Dig your heels into the floor. Inhale to the backs of your hips. Exhale, roll all the way down. Stop with your arms up.

Inhale, curl up. Roll all the way up, keep sending your heels forward. Round forward. Dig your heels in. Find that internal lift and then exhale through your spine. Roll all the way down. One more.

Curl up. Now stretch your legs across your mat. Pull your waist back, round forward. Dig your heels in and lift your waist. Roll down one bone at a time. Rest your head and then bend your right knee into your chest.

We're getting ready for single leg circle. So now this is your balancing leg. You're standing on your left leg. So reach your heel forward. Reach your sit bone towards your heel and press it into the mat.

And then press your right thigh forward. Leg up. Turn it out so your toes are right in front of your nose. Press your arms into the mat with an open chest. Five circles in each direction. Inhale to the left.

Exhale around and center. Left shoulder, right shoulder, center. Keep reaching through your left heel and pressing the back of your left hamstring or the back of your leg into the mat. And reverse. Open, reach around and lift.

Find your internal lift as much as your leg is going forward, your spine is lengthening back. Two more. After this one, hug that knee into your chest. Lower all the way down. Bend your left knee into your chest, pull it back.

As much as you pull your leg back. reach your right heel forward. Reach your sit bone towards your heel. And press your leg into the mat. Press your leg into a table top, straighten your leg, turn it out.

Toes are in front of your nose. Press your arms into the mat. Inhale it across. Pull your lower abdominals in up and lift. Cross, exhale around and lift.

Inhale into your lower back. Pull your abs back. Two more. Make sure your rib cage stays steady on the mat. And then reverse. Open, both sides of your rib stay anchored.

Pull your waist back. You have three more. Last one. Lower your leg or pull your knee into your chest, sorry. And then reach your leg all the way down. Flex your feet.

Stand on your feet. Reach your arms up towards the ceiling. Reach up as high as you can. And then curl up. Roll all the way up and round forward into a lifted C curve.

Sit all the way up for rolling back. Hands go next to your hips. Bend your knees, your feet are in Pilates stance. Lift up, do a pelvic tilt. Sit as close to your heels as you can.

Lift your ribs away from your legs. Grab your ankles. Find that internal lift even here. Take a big inhale, squeeze your heels together and lift your feet up and balance. We're gonna do three rolling backs. Ready? Take an inhale to roll back, pull your heels to your seat and come up. Two more.

Inhale, roll back. Pull your heels to your seat to come up. One more. Whoops. Roll back. Now find your balance at the top. Hold here. Lift your gaze. Keep your knees close to your shoulders.

Pull your lower abdominals all the way to the base of your skull. And then reach your arms forward. Pull your knees into your armpits, armpits over your knees. Grab your ankles. Three more rolls. Inhale, roll back.

Exhale, come up. Inhale, lift your lower abdominals. Exhale, come up. One more. Lift your lower abdominals. Come all the way up. Find your balance. Stay in this tight ball.

Reach your arms in front of you. Can you pull your lower abdominals back so much that your knees are underneath your armpits? And then maybe lift your heels up so you're in like a table top teaser. From here, bend your knees, grab your ankles, find that round shape and then float your feet down. Hands go behind you, lift your hips and slide back.

Flex and round forward, just peek at your feet again. You want the three corners of your feet reaching for the wall. Lift your ribs up and as you push your heels into the floor, roll down one bone at a time. And then we'll get ready for single leg stretch. Bend your knees, feet flat, legs together, right knee into your chest.

Pull with your arms and then scoop your powerhouse. Pull your lower abdominals off the back edge of the mat as you curl your head and shoulder blades up. Float your left leg up and pause. Reach your leg so far forward you feel the weight of your tailbone, but pull your lower abdominals in and then scoop and switch, hold. Reach your right leg forward, pull your lower abdominals back, and now we flow.

Pull your abs into switch. Pull and switch. And reach, and reach. Think about that straight leg reaching through the wall in front of you and pulling your lower abdominals back in opposition. One more set. From here, hug both knees into your chest.

Rest your head, double leg stretch. Press your legs together like we did before the hundred. Really squeeze them together from your sitting bones to your inner knees and your inner ankles. And then peel your knees apart. Take a big inhale.

Exhale, curl up. Keep squeezing from your sit bones to your heels. Inhale, reach your legs forward, arms up. Can you reach your legs through the wall? Open your arms, circle them and then hug in.

Inhale reach your legs through the wall. Open, circle them all the way around, hug in. Three more. Reach, circle, exhale. Pull your waist back. Remember you're trying to get longer.

Reach your legs through the wall in front of you. Final one. Hug in. Rest your head. Grab the backs of your thighs, the spine stretch. Once you rock up to seated, separate your legs a little wider than your hips.

Flex your feet. Feel the three corners of your feet pressing into a wall. Feel like you're dragging your legs together from your sitting bones all the way to your inner ankles. You can see the difference in my spine. This is me relaxed.

This is me pulling my sitting bones, my inner thighs and my inner ankles together. And I just grew like a half an inch. Keep that lift. Reach your arms in front of you. As you inhale, curl your chin into your chest.

Exhale, round forward pulling your navel to the top of the wall behind you. Are you still pushing your heels into the floor? Inhale, push your heels down. Roll all the way up. And at the top you exhale. Two more. Inhale, lower your chin, peel away from an imaginary wall.

Your lower back is sliding up the wall behind you. Push your heels down, lift your waist up. And at the top you exhale. One more. Inhale, curl your chin. Exhale, empty your lungs.

Keep sliding your lower back up the wall behind you. And now push your heels down. Lift your waist. Come all the way up and exhale. Open leg rocker. So we're adding this from the previous class.

Bend your knees and make sure your feet are the shoulders' distance apart. If you already know the full expression of the exercise, we're gonna do six repetitions. If not, follow me. Hold onto the backs of your thighs, lift. Feel like you're doing the half rollback.

You'll curl your tailbone under, and then walk your feet a little bit closer to you. Keep that internal lift and float your feet up off the mat so your lower legs are parallel to the floor. I am pushing my inner thighs away from me. Two rolls like this. Inhale, roll back, push your thighs up and then push them forward. One more.

Push your thighs up towards the ceiling. Push them forward, hold. You have the option to do the same thing with straight legs. Ready, lift your powerhouse and then push your thighs forward and come up, one more. Roll back and then push your thighs forward.

Find your balance. If you wanna grab your ankles, grab your ankles, press your upper arm bones down towards the mat, lift your chest, and now two more. Roll back. Push your triceps forward to come up. One more, roll back. And then push your triceps forward.

Find your balance and then bring your legs together. Bend your knees like you just did rolling like a ball. Place your feet flat. We're gonna move into the saw, another new exercise. So separate your legs a little wider than your hips. Find that internal lift and feel like you're dragging your legs towards one another.

Open your arms out to the side. As you rotate to the right, look over your right shoulder. Sweep your right arm down. Start to press the back of your arm up and round forward. You're reaching for the outer edge of your right foot.

Now reach your arms in opposition to one another. Reach back to roll all the way up into a seated twist. And then center. Look over your left shoulder as you rotate, sweep your left arm down. Now start to press it up and dive your forehead towards your knee.

Reach your arms in opposition to one another. Reach back to come all the way up. And then center. We'll add a little flow. So you twist, sweep, and round forward. Reach your arms away from one another.

Roll all the way up and center. Lift to twist. Round forward. Pull your lower abdominals back. Roll all the way up and center, final set. Twist, round forward, pull your lower abdominals back and center. Final one, twist, round forward, and then lift your lower abdominals, return center.

And we're gonna do the swan prep. Bring your legs together. Flip onto your stomach. This will be familiar. Stack palm over palm and rest your forehead on your hands. Think about standing on your legs.

So your legs are reaching for the wall behind you. Your sitting bones are reaching for your heels. Lower abdominals are pulling all the way to the front edge of the mat so you have stability. Keep pulling your lower abdominals forward. Sit bones back and then feel like you're dragging your chest bone forward and up.

Shoulders are relaxed and then lower all the way down. And again, I start by reaching my sitting bones back and my lower abdominals forward in order to lift up without any tension in my chest. And I lengthen to lower all the way down. One more, sitting bones go back, pull your lower abdominals towards your thumbs. Slide your chest forward and up and then lower down.

And we're going to advance single leg kick. So make fists right above your head. Push your knuckles into one another. Slide your shoulder blades down your back. Find that same swan prep you just did.

Pull your chest forward. My upper arm bones drag back, lower abdominals forward, hips remain stable. Balance your hips. Pull your right heel to your right sitting bone. And then can you pull it even closer? Reach it back.

Lower abdominals forward. Pull your left heel to your left sitting bone. Keep pulling it even closer and lower. Remember that feeling in your hamstrings and glutes. We flow. You pull, pull it closer, reach it back.

Pull. Pull it closer. Reach it back. Pull, pull. Sitting bones are going back. Lower abdominals are going forward. Pull, pull and pull, pull, reach.

Stand on your legs, pull your abs forward. Circle your arms onto your lower back and rest your right ear on the mat, elbows drop. Keep reaching your tailbone and sitting bones back. Squeeze your heels together and pull them towards your hips. Pull them in closer without letting your hips pop up.

Pull them closer. Reach your legs back and chest goes forward. Find your same swan prep. I'm reaching back past my ankles. Left ear goes on the mat.

I pull my heels in, three, two, one. My sitting bones go back. Lower abdominals and chest go forward. Other side, kick, two, three, feet go down. Pull your lower abdominals forward.

Now can you slide your shoulder blades down your back more? Other ear, kick for three, two, one. Reach your legs through the wall behind you. Send your chest through the wall in front of you. Last set, kick for three.

Pubic bone pushes into the floor. Pull your lower abdominals forward, reach, final one. Kick for three, two, one. Press and reach. Pull your lower abdominals forward.

Now can you send your chest forward, arms back. Chest forward, arms back. Keep growing, keep growing. Lower all the way down. Sit back on your heels, round your spine. Let's go into shoulder bridge.

Lie down on your back. Bend your knees with your feet flat. Ankles are underneath your knee joints. Stand on the three corners of your feet. Press your arms into the floor to open up your collarbone.

Start off with a pelvic tilt. Hold here. My lower back is pressed into the mat. I'm pushing through my feet in order to peel one bone at a time off of the mat. My ribs reluctantly leave the mat. Once you're up, make sure you feel the insides arches of your feet and your inner thighs pull together.

And then the first thing to descend, chest bone, sinks between your shoulder blades, front ribs. Pull your navel into the mat. Roll down one bone at a time. Two more. Make sure you feel the three corners of your feet. You're standing on your feet. And then push your arms into the floor.

Roll up one bone at a time. Feel like you're reaching your kneecaps over your toes and dragging your heels towards your hips. And then exhale as I roll down my tailbone's still trying to point up towards the ceiling. Roll all the way down one bone at a time. Final one, pelvic tilt.

Push through your feet and through your upper arm bones. Roll all the way up. You're trying to make a diagonal line from your knees to your hip points to your shoulders. And now keep your hips up. That means your glutes have to work.

And then sink your chest bone down. Roll down one bone at a time. Feel the weight of your entire pelvis and then bend your knees into your chest, rock up to seated. And then lie down on your right side, we're gonna do a modified sidekick. Line your spine up with the back edge of your mat from your shoulder all the way to your hips.

And then bring your legs almost into a tabletop. Your right ear's on your right arm, your left hand goes right in front of your waist it's up against my body. Make sure your shoulders and your hips are stacked that you're not leaning. And then keep your knee stacked and your ankle stacked. Press your bottom leg into the floor and lift your top knee up.

And then lower it down. Press your bottom knee down, top knee up without rolling backwards. It's all about stability and balance. And lower. And again, press your bottom knee down and then lower.

Now take a second to take your hand and push your hip away from your ear. Keep that length, replace your hand, and now extend your top leg, turn it out. So my kneecap is trying to point to the ceiling. Now exhale, keep anchoring your bottom leg and reach your left leg behind you. You gotta swing it front and back five times.

Swing it to the front. Exhale, press it back. Try to balance on your right side without any rotation, which means you have to find that internal lift from your lowest abdominals, right? Last one, hold your leg back. Can you pull your lower abdominals away from your arm?

Slide 'em all the way up to your fingertips and then stack your knees one on top of the other. Press yourself up to seated. Will repeat that on the other side. Starting with your clams, create a straight line from your hips to your shoulders. Bring your knees slightly in front of you.

Make sure your knees and your ankles are stacked. And then press your bottom knee down to lift your top leg up. And then lower. Bottom knee presses into the mat so both legs are working equally, and then lower. Two more. Press your bottom knee down and then lower.

Remember this hip reaches away from your armpit. Lift your leg up, lower it down. Keep your hip reaching away from your armpit. Extend your front leg. Rotate it in your hip socket like you want your knee to point up.

And then pull your lower abdominals up into this left hand as your leg goes behind you. Swing it front and back. Swing it to the front. Exhale, I'm trying to keep my whole torso stable and balanced. Exhale, press it back, three more.

When your leg goes back, find that internal lift. Last two. Internal lift, final one, hold it behind you. Are you still pressing the bottom leg into the floor? Make your top leg longer and lift your abdominals up into your fingers.

And then stack your knees one on top of the other. Press up to seated, modify teaser. Bend your knees and place your feet flat. This will look familiar 'cause it's kind of like the half rollback. Press your legs together from your sitting bones to your inner knees and your inner ankles.

This time, reach your arms up so they are parallel to your legs. Make sure your feet aren't too close to you. It's way easier when your feet are away from you. And then lift your lower abdominals and round back. As you round back, can you touch the wall in front of you?

Try to get the back of your hips on the floor. And then reach forward and up as your abs go down and back. Finish on the back of your tailbone. Two more. Find your lifted C curve and curl your tailbone under. I'm pulling my navel behind my shoulders to round back.

And then I've reached so far forward with my arms that it lifts me back up into a teaser. My arms stay parallel to my thigh. One more. Press your legs together. Curl your tailbone under and round back. Can you pull your lower abdominals in deeper?

Now reach more with your arms. Come all the way up into your modified teaser and we'll finish class with some standing exercises. And you can use a chair to help you with balance. Once you set up your chair, you'll be an arms length away from it. So just rest your fingertips on the edge of the chair.

Look down at your feet to make sure there's wide as your hips. Find that internal lift that we started with and then shift your weight forward onto the balls of your feet. And then shift your weight back into your heels. Do that two more times. Shift your weight forward and then shift your weight back.

Final one, shift your weight forward, shift your weight back, and then find center. So there's even weight across the balls of your feet and the center of your heel. Now you're gonna roll to the outer edges of your feet and then roll to the inner edges of your feet. Two more. Roll to the outer edges of your feet and the inner edges of your feet. Final one, still maintaining that internal lift.

Once you roll to the inner edges of your feet, hold. keep lifting through your center and then press through the mound of your small toe. Lengthen your toes down. Knee bends. Lift your lower abdominals and bend your knees like we did in the very beginning. Hold here.

Feel almost like you're lifting your arches off the floors. Your sitting bones reach for your heels and then lift through your center to come up to standing. Two more. As you bend your knees, feel like you're lifting your arches up, make sure your knees don't drift forward over your toes. You're going straight down. Lift through your center to come up to standing. Last one.

As you bend, make sure you feel the three corners of your feet. Feel like you're pressing your heels down and lifting your arches up. And then lift your lower abdominals to come up to standing. New exercise, heel raises. It all starts with this internal lift here, just like you did when you were lying on your stomach for the swan prep, reach your sitting bones towards your heels.

Pull your lower abdominals up. That action is what lifts your heels up. Press to the mound of your big toe and small toe. Make sure you can still feel all 10 toes on the floor. To lower, reach your tailbone so far down that it presses your heels into the floor. Two more.

Reach your sitting bones down towards your heels. But lift here. Keep lifting here so much that your heels curl forward. Makes sure you feel all 10 toes. Now find that internal lift.

As your heels go down, you're pressing the crown of your head through the ceiling. One more. Reach your sitting bones towards your heels. Lift your lower abdominals to the base of your skull, and then press your tailbone down and lower. We're gonna add on, bend your knees. Feel like you're lifting your arches off the floor.

Find your internal lift and lift your heels up. Pause, press to the mound of your big toe and small toe and then lift through your center to come all the way up to standing. And then lower your heels. Now if you wanna test your balance, reach your arms in front of you. Bend your knees, find that internal lift and pull your lower abdominals into your lower back as your heels come up.

Feel the ball of your big toe and small toe. And then lift through your center. Feel like you're standing on your inner thighs. And then lower, one more. Bend your knees and feel like you're lifting arches off the mat.

And then pull your lower abdominals back as you press the ball of your big toe and small toe. And then find your internal lift to come all the way up. Rest your hands on the edge of your chair. Keep your lift. Now just press your right heel down.

Literally feel like you're pressing your heel through the floor and lifting your lower abdominals. And then lift both heels up high. Press your left heel through the floor. Find your internal lift. I'm actively pushing my heel down. Lifting my lower abdominals up.

And then lift, we'll add a little flow. Press your heel down, lower abs up. Lift and switch. If you wanna reach forward you can. Lift and switch. Lift and switch. The whole time you're pressing your head through the ceiling, I'm kinda losing it.

Lift and switch. You have one more set. Lift and switch. Now this time, lift and hold. Feel the two front corners of your feet, mound of your big toe and small toe. Reach your inner thighs down, lift your lower abdominals up.

And as your sit bones reach for your heels, float your arms up into your peripheral vision. Keep lifting through your spine. And then press your heels down, head up. Open your arms wide to the side to finish. Thank you so much for joining me today.