Class #3933

Reformer Fundamentals 5

25 min - Class
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You will start pushing the envelope and moving towards the next level of exercises with the fifth class in Kathryn Ross-Nash's Fundamental Reformer Series. She reminds you that everything you are learning on the Reformer correlates to what you do on the Mat. She also begins to add more Pilates principles, like breath, to give you a more complete practice.
What You'll Need: Reformer w/Box, Pilates Pole

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Okay. Hi, I'm Kathy Ross Nash here for plots anytime and we're working on foundational reformer number five in this reformer, we're going to start pushing the envelope and moving a little bit more towards the next level of exercises that you, we are going to be introducing as you progress in your work. Remember that your reformer also correlates with what is going on in your mat with what you're adding in your mat. So we're going to stand by the end of the reformer. You're going to have three Springs if you have a heavy spree, heavy Springs, four if you have light Springs, always test your Springs first. Fingertips elbow, heels together, pull your stomach up and in length in your tailbone down.

Float yourself into position. One of your sit bones is on one is slightly off. Swing your legs into position, roll down. Watch those shoulder blocks, placing your feet right into position, and you're going to inhale. Inhale, exhale, exhale, adding the breath. Inhale, inhale, exhale, exhale. Inhale, inhale, exhale, exhale. Last set. Inhale. Inhale, exhale, egg sell, double leg pull, and in inhale, inhale, exhale, exhale. Inhale, inhale, exhale, exhale, inhale, exhale. Exhale. Inhale, inhale, exhale, exhale, double leg pull. Anchor the powerhouse, flex the feet, relax the chest, and inhale for two. Exhale for two. Inhale for two.

Exhale for two. Inhale for two. Exhale for two. Inhale for two. Exhale for two. All the way in double leg. Pull heels together. Press those heels, zip up, knees in line. Stretch all the way out, down, down, down, up, up, up, down, down, down, up, up, up. Exhale, exhale. Inhale.

Inhale. Exhale. Exhale. When you go down, arrive, arrive, lift up, up, up. Arrive, deepen, deepen, lift up, up, arrive, deepen, deepen. Lift up, up. Keep the kneecaps lifted up, up, up, rive deep and deep and higher and higher and higher. End down deeper, deeper lift, higher, higher. One more torture yourself. Lower feels so good and bend in. Take your foot bar down. You're going to hook one foot here, hook the other foot and lower your bar Dow.

Bend your elbows back right now. You can almost see the introduction to the Highbridge. Extend your arms and legs up to the ceiling. Lift the head. Press one inch lower. Hold. Press one inch lower. Hold. Press one inch. Lower hold, press one inch lower. Press one inch lower, and inhale, two, three, four, five. Exhale, two, three, four, five.

Inhale, two, four, five. Exhale, two, four, five. Inhale, two, four, five. Exhale, two, four or five. Lifted up and up and up again. Open the chest. Lift the head. Lower, lower inch. Roll up, lower. Adrial up. Lower intro up, lower intro up and inhale. Two, three, four, five. Exhale, two, three, five. Reach through. The straps.

Legs are long too. Four. There's if they're resting on that foot bar and the stomach is anchoring back. Inhale, two, four, five. Exhale. Exhale, exhale. Exhale. Exhale. Bring it up with control. Bend your knees. Two straps into one hand. Bring yourself up. Take off the spring, step to the back of the carriage, and you're going to loop the straps through.

Make sure that the straps lie flat. Slide through. Hold your hooks, slide through. Swear I can do this in my sleep. Do you ever wake up in the middle of the night counting? I do that lie all the way down.

I'm walking down the street counting to 10 I don't know, two legs into position, heels together and nice fluid circle. Fill the lungs, ends up, make them a little bigger. This time. Push into the strap. Imagining one day your legs float up and off of the mat and you're going to push into the strap and pull the stomach. As the legs reach the stomach anchors anchor lift.

This lifted the stomach correlates with the lowering of the legs and no work with the upper body. It's nice and relaxed. Frog one frog two frog three frog, frog five bend your knees in. Open your legs, flex your feet and flex your feet to the side. Give them a stretch. One, two, three and stretch up not too far out yet. And in one, two, three find your open leg rocker. This is what's going to be introduced at this time. Your open leg rocker, you're getting that stretch. One, two, three stretch.

Draw the legs together over your head. Make sure your past, give this stretch here so that you're really going to get ready for doing all those abdominal series stretches. Roll yourself all the way up. Now we're going to go to stomach massage. Now what we're going to do with this is we're going to actually use our short box, and this is to help you to sit up straight, which we'll need for the rest of the exercises and the focus on this workout. You're going to put your short box in front, put up your spring at your bar and add your spring.

You're going to sit in and instead of being rounded, you're going to be upright with your tailbone against here so that you really going to get that you're pushing with your pelvis. Pull the stomach up and in. Stretch out, lower your heels, lift your heels, come in, stretch out, lower, lift in, and you see, Oh, it takes it out of any strain in my upper body and it puts it right where it should be in my powerhouse. Out lower lift in, out lower lift in, out lower. Lift in last one out. Lower. Lift in. Read your arms up and around. Pull that box.

Now you really get this sensation of an upright body. Shoulders drawn together and open. You can hold them here too, especially for tighter guys. Great place. Little tough hip position for them, but you can move it back into another gear. Open and stretch. Lower lift. I use this for people who sink back on themselves. Lot of flexible people will sync back on themselves and who need that lift in the spine out and lower and it just feels delicious. Out and lower and lift and in out and lift the stomach against that box out lower lift symptoms. I wish I could walk around with this box behind me.

Out. Lower. Lift in last one out. Lower lift and in. Take it off. Read forward, press and lift the lift, lift, press and upper [inaudible]. Press and up. Up, up, up, up. Excellent. Swing your legs over. Place your foot bar down.

And from here you're going to put your head piece down and I'm going to take my short box this time I'm going to have an extend or strap with me as well as my pole. The reason you use a pole at the foundational level is because the pole is similar to how we use the Cadillac poles and frames. It helps you to find your box. Once I'm past the foundational level, I don't use it that much and less. I am trying to create a little more lent at this level. We're going to lock and load.

Remember that you're going to press your straps out in gage, pushing the heels and draw the inner thighs together. I tend not to use a pad, but if you find that you slip, please use a pad. Make sure you're one hands with away from the edge. That is where your sacrum is going to touch. Lift up, pull the stomach in and we're going to do suffer in the sweet spot.

So you're going to lift up and roll back. Push in the heels, opening this hip hinge, pull it back, pull it back, pull it back. This is where my, I'm at my depth here and I'm going to pulse. One, two, three. Push the heels for five, six, seven, eight, nine, 10 up and sit up tall. Again, lift up. Pull the stomach up and in luck and load those legs, push out sideways, heals this way. Draw the inner thighs in which lifts my spine and remember what it felt like that when we did the variation with the hands behind the head. Push out through the heels and the prior exercise.

Stay there and you're gonna pull the pelvis back. Pull the navel in. Two, three, four, five, six, seven. Push the heels. Eight, nine, 10. We're not stuffing 10, nine, eight. Kathy grant used to make me do 37 eight, nine, 10 come all the way up. Guess what we're doing this time. 30 push through the heels, lock and load. Press.

Lift the stomach up. Lengthen the spine down. Keep pushing through the heels. The tailbone reaches towards the heels. The front of the pelvis opens, the chest is relaxed. There's no tension. Get a little deeper and pulse to keep pulling the stomach in and back for five, six, seven, eight, nine, 10, ten nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one. Make this your best. Up and over, up and over. Up and over for five, six, seven, eight, nine, nine and a half, nine and three quarters and 10 stretch forward. Let's get your bar. I'll reach forward for our flat back.

We're going to go engine hold, lift up, tip back one in. Soften the ribs and hold tip back one inch. Push through the heels as much as you reach to the hands. Tip back one inch keeper focal point in front of you. Tip back one inch. Push through your hands. Reach forward. Anchor the tailbone.

Soften the ribs back length in the neck. Draw your shoulders down, back in together to create a second powerhouse. Shoulders are so important. Lift upright, tip back and inch. Lift the lower stomach. Soften the ribs. Draw the shoulders, tip back one inch. Lift the lower stomach, soften the ribs, draw the shoulders, tip back, one inch soften. Draw together. Tip back, reach to the crown of the head and return again. Lift up, anchor the tailbone. Get ready because one day you're going to be doing core screws with this length shoulders together.

These shoulder placement is going to help with your court screw. Drawing the shoulders down and together while you're lengthening the spine, making that two way stretch, reaching through the legs, reaching through the arms, but engaging the shoulder placement and stretch all the way over. Take one hand here. This is the mermaid side bend, so this I use for students who pulled back into themselves as opposed to reaching over. You're gonna extend one arm in, glue it to your ear, lock and load your legs. This hand is directly to your side and you're going to side bend and press on this hand while you anchor the opposite hip. Reach out and come up. Change slide.

Here's your first UGA for the socket T series. Press this hand. Press this hand lock and load. Anchor this hip. Press on this hand. Think of a star where you're moving that carriage and you're lengthening out and this shoulder is stable. The one that's pressing and you're reaching through the other one and lengthen up. Change sides. Glue arm to the ear.

Push breech over. Press. This arm, shoulder is in place. Arm is blue to the ear so that you open that ribcage. Push, anchor, the left hip, reach the left hip and the left arm and change. Lift up. The right left arm's going to be drawing to [inaudible] and down the right arm is going be drawing away from me and up. Lock in load anchor the right hip press draw in like I have the carriage and the foot bar and I'm doing my very first star. Who knew you did it so early.

Stretch. Draw the shoulder down. Joe did push through the heels and come all the way up. Exhale, stretch down. Now I use this variation for the person who doesn't like to rotate this side, that kind of the person that would need that mermaid. It's the person that when they twist, they go back on themselves.

You're going to hold the left wrist, keep your hand in line with your sternum and pull the wrist so it pulls the rib cage deepen. Exhale, exhale, exhale. Come to center, take the right wrist, push through the heels, pull the stomach in and twist. Pull on that right wrist. Don't let the arm move. Keep that shoulder engaged. So you're using the shoulder as well. And change sides. Hold the wrist, draw your shoulders together. They don't move. Pull the wrist so it takes that left rib cage with you.

And so you don't translate your ribs behind you and center. Grab that wrist, engage your shoulders. You can always stand behind your student and draw their shoulders together. Remember, this is for the student that will move those ribs back where they were. Lift up, hold the wrist and twist, twist, twist, twist, enjoy it and come to center. Other side twist.

Keep your head right in the center. This is what all that he longation was for these delicious detoxifying rotations. Now we're going to take this strap and I'm going to loop it and now I have it here. So I'm taking the focus off of the stretch of the leg onto the lift of the back. And it's great for people with tight hamstrings.

Don't hold onto the hook cause it can release. You're gonna place it right where you did for leg circles. You're going to pull the stomach in and up if you have to bring that hip forward. Do so this leg is outside. Eventually it'll draw in when you split. But right now for safety, it's out to the side. Hug it in, lift your back and bend. Lift the back and bend.

Lift the back. Take the leg down, round your head to your right. Let me take that shape back. Keep the box square and forward. Take that shape back. Rock on the pelvis and forward. And imagine one day that you, you rollover in your in your balance control and bend the knee into the chest.

Sit up as tall as you can. Stretch that back and other side. This is a great little tool to get your student not working about thinking about lifting the leg, but really thinking about lifting your back up and down and they can hold it as far down as they need and lift up and to push out through this heel as well. Lift up three [inaudible]. Pull the stomach in, lower the leg. It's harder that way. Bring the crown of the head and take that shape forward. Maitri, you're opening the hip of the leg that's extended down and scoop the stomach off the spine, off of the thigh. Pull the stomach up against the spine.

Lots of SS there. Pull the stomach back and incur in deeper. Stretch the leg. Pull the stomach in. Keep the box square and rock back. Push through the extended leg, opening up that right hip. So you're stretching the front of this hip and the back of this leg.

Pull the stomach in and lengthen up so you're working both inflection and extension. Step off. Put your foot bar up, getting ready for the elephante. Put your strap in here. Take your box off. Take your toys with you. Keep your box square. I like to always put my strip my toys someplace safe. I'm going to place them in the middle so I don't walk on them. Make sure my head pieces up. Always check your carriage. The bar, the Springs, the bed, the head piece, the accoutrements, hand foot.

Keep this leg straight now cause I've introduced my open like rocker. Flex the feet. Pull the toes up, reach, dig out. Scoop in one out. Scoop into out. Scoop in three. I'm going to deepen that stretch. Take my hands a little lower toes up, out in, in, in, walk all the way up. Bring my feet back. Pull this [inaudible]. Bring my knees down with my heels attached.

Press one to three. Exit in four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, 10. Reverse one, two, three, four. Open the chest. Five push to the heels. Six, seven, eight, nine. Eyes of the elbows forward, round in. Slide the front foot forward. Lift the knee, press one. Keep the shape. Two knee stays low like we learned in the last four. Five. Bring the knee down, change other foot up. Neat off. Find that scoop two, three or on five. Now comes your moment of truth heals down.

We're not gonna push the carriage out. All I want you to do is not shift. Lift your knees off the carriage. Pull the stomach in. Nothing moves. Lift the knees and down. Lift and down. Lift and down. One more time. Lift and down.

Step off at a spring or to bring yourself down into position and go for a nice little run. And Owen and the two, three and a four and a five, six, seven, eight, nine, 10, 10, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three. Up and up and up and up and up and up and up and bend in. Separate the legs at the same time. Let's go back onto the arches. Roll up rich. One out. One, two, one.

Count out, two counts in. Reach in, in, stretch in, in. Inhale. Exhale. Inhale, and exhale. Exhale. Exhale. Exhale. Rule all the way down. Draw your legs together.

Swing your legs to the side. Take a spring off. I go back to this position each time so that I can get that stretch of the toes. Get the curve of my back and work from my powerhouse. Single leg stretch. Bring the leg up. It's in that same stretch position. It was with the strap. Stretch. Lower lift. Come in, bring the hip forward and open. The chest.

Head goes down as I scoop. Lower the heel. Lift the heel, pelvis forward. Lift as here. Lift, lift, lift, lift, lift, lift, lift. Pull this stomach in. Reach, stretch, lower in, lift, lift, lift, lift, lift, lift, lift. Scoop, stomach focus, back scoop. This stomach full goes up. He'll stay strong.

Stretch in, lift up, up, up, up, up, up, up, stretch, lower lift. Just like on your tree, up, up, up, up. Not everybody should lower lift. Just if you're flexible, reach lower lift, come in, reach up, up, up, up. Oh, hope you enjoyed it.

Comments

1 person likes this.
Thanks so much Kathryn, I always learn so much and enjoy all of your sessions! Some middle age and older clients have knee issues that don’t allow full range in knee stretches and tree. Do you have modifications if they can’t bend their knees or straighten their spine as deeply?
1 person likes this.
Wow I’m so impressed
2 people like this.
This series is so fantastic! I keep coming back to it and mixing it with more advanced work to clean up bad habits. I’ll also become a better teacher for it. Thank you!
2 people like this.
As much as we believe to know, you always manage to give a deeper insight into an exercise, understand the essence of it. I love this Foundational Reformer program. So many exercise I was afraid to teach have become more accessible to me in terms of how to teach it and how to progress. Kathy you are brilliant. Thank you a million times for sharing your expertise.
Hi Kathy, great great series of classes. Q: The strap you have been  using for the Tree is the leg strap which you previously attachad to the leather?or is it the saftey strap we use for feet on Short Box? I ask because Gratz has 2 safety strap so I wander if it's for that purpose:) if not, maybe you know why they have the 2 saftey straps for. Thank you.
rosemary- focus on the lift of the spine and stretch the back of the leg elsewhere:)

Keren- use the extender straps used for leg circles :)

1 person likes this.
I love this series on the Reformer, thank you!!!🙏
Thank you Jennifer so very very much!

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