Class #4202

Theraband Flow

50 min - Class
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Description

Flow through this full-body workout using the Theraband with Gia Calhoun. The band will add extra work for your arms and glutes in traditional exercises as well as assist you in movements such as Single Leg Circles. You are sure to feel long and connected after this fluid Mat class.
What You'll Need: Mat, Theraband

About This Video

Aug 31, 2020
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Transcript

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Hi everyone. So excited that you're here with me today. We're gonna do a TheraBand class. So I've got a TheraBand, it's not too long, but it's long enough where I can put it around my feet and grab it. It's not super short.

I also have this other band that I'm used to wrap around my legs later. But if you don't have one of these, you can always tie your TheraBand. Also, you don't have a TheraBand, you can use a towel or a belt, or no props. It's not necessary but just a little bit more fun and it can assist you in some ways. So we're gonna start seated.

So sit however you would like if you wanna sit in a chair or on a pillow, that's also fine. We're gonna wrap the TheraBand around your ribs. So have it flat on my back and then I'm gonna cross it in front. And then I'm just gonna hold on to the ends with my hands. If you don't have a TheraBand you can just wrap your arms around yourself and we're just gonna do a little bit of breathing to start.

So, elbows in, shoulders your back, you're sitting up nice and tall deep inhale, fill up the lungs and exhale. So as you exhale, you can think of pulling the TheraBand tight just a little bit, inhale release. Breathe into the ribs. Exhale, release. So as you're breathing in, you're gonna go a little bit taller.

Inhale. And exhale. Two more times. Inhale and exhale. So you should feel that your ribs are moving against the band.

One more, inhale and exhale. Then just take the band off. So you should feel that the ribs are expanding as you inhale and then they get narrower as you exhale, so you wanna continue with that feeling throughout the class. Just gonna bring the band in front of you, I'm holding on to the end, just so we're not warm yet. So I want to warm up our shoulders a little bit, but I don't want to go too tight.

Just gonna inhale as you bring the arms up and behind you, and then bring them back up and around. So I'm not going to my max range, I'm just getting a little bit of mobility in my shoulders. So when we do start to work our upper body which we will quite a bit they're already a little bit loosened up and forward, two more. And back, you can open arms a little bit as you go back as you need to. The nice thing about this stretchy band that it's not stuck so you can expand your arms a little bit when you get a little bit stuck in your shoulders.

And forward. So keep the band, we're gonna lie down on your back. If you want a pillow or anything for your head, feel free to grab that. I'm just keeping my head flat on the mat. And then I'm gonna put the band around my feet.

I'm gonna start with my feet parallel and together. I have the band just on the balls of my feet slightly covering my toes so that way it stays and doesn't roll up. I'm holding on to the ends. I sometimes like to wrap the band around my hands too, just because my hands get a little tired holding the band. Keeping the head down, you're gonna inhale with legs into your chest, exhale as you stretch the band out.

Inhale as you pull the legs in, exhale as you stretch it out. So I'm not going too low just warming up my core. Exhale. Inhale and exhale. I'm trying to keep the wrist straight.

So I'm not using my arms, I'm just feeling a little bit of resistance against my legs. And exhale. If you wanna little bit more you can choke up on the band. Make it a little bit tighter, and stretch and bend and stretch, two more Bend. Stretch.

Last one. Good stay here. We're gonna curl your head up. Try to get the shoulder blades off the mat. Same thing with the head lifted.

Inhale. Exhale, stretch. So I'm pulling the navel into the spine. Exhale. Inhale.

Exhale. Trying not to arch the back, keeping that neutral spine. Inhale. Exhale, two more. Good.

Stay here. We're gonna lower the head down. I'm gonna switch so my heels are together toes are parts. So I'm in a little bit of a frog. Same thing here.

Knees are apart and stretch. Inhale, exhale. So I'm try to think of hugging the midline as I stretch the legs, getting that resistance into the legs. Four more and three, two. Last one.

Keep the legs out, curl the head up. Same thing here. Inhale and stretch. Three, four, trying to get legs straight at the same time five six, keeping the pelvis nice and still. One more.

Good, keep the legs here. I'm gonna loosen up my grip a little bit on my TheraBand. Arms are straight down. We're gonna do the hundreds. We're gonna pump the arms.

Inhale 2, 3, 4,5 and exhale 2, 3, 4, 5. Inhale and exhale. Trying to keep the shoulders away from the ears but off the mat. Exhale. Inhale and exhale.

Inhale, really glue those little heels and legs together. Exhale. We're halfway done. Inhale and exhale. Inhale and exhale.

Three more. Inhale, deepen that curl. Inhale. And exhale. Last one, inhale, and exhale, and hold curl a little higher, and then pull everything in.

So I'm gonna keep the band around my feet, was gonna bring them a little bit lower. So they're more on my aches, still try to keep it flat. And then I'm gonna stretch the legs out. We're gonna do a roll up. So if you wanna bend the legs and have the feet flat on the floor and just step on the band, that's always an option as well.

So keeping the arms as straight as I can, I'm gonna inhale here. Exhale, roll up. So I'm using the band to help lift me up and then I'm lifting the arms for each, and then I'm rolling back. Again, rolling up use the band to help you if you need a little bit more help, you can always choke up and then roll back. I'm gonna do one more with the band.

If you'd like to keep using the band as we go on, feel free to and roll back. And let go of the band here. Keeping the feet flex rolling up just a normal one, you can use the band if you need it. Roll forward and then roll back. Trying to articulate through the spine and then roll back, trying to keep my heels in the same spot the whole time.

I'm not always successful with it, but that's my goal. And then roll back. One more roll up. This time we're gonna stay up. I'm gonna bend my knees, and then place the band right under my feet and try to get as flat as I can just helps so it doesn't roll up and get a little bit weird.

So, again I'm gonna wrap the band around my hands just for protect my hands from cramping. And I'm gonna roll halfway back, so bring my feet out a little bit more. So I'm gonna roll halfway back. Let's have the heat feet flex so the heels can stay digging into the mat, you're gonna bend and stretch for a bicep curl. Bend and stretch.

Keep the back round. You're pulling the knees outside the navel into the spine. Bend and stretch. Bend, stretch, two more. Last one.

Good. Roll back up. Lift the arms with the spine, roll halfway back again. This time you're gonna turn your palms down, elbows are gonna go wide, you can do a little row and back, row and back. Good, so I'm thinking of using my back to move the arms and we row and back. Three and two, last one.

Head roll back up and then roll back one more time. Elbows are in, palms are facing each other. I'm gonna row, narrow arms and back. Pull and release. Three and four, good, five, six two more keep deepening those abdominals.

Good, roll up one more time. We're gonna finish with a little bow and arrow. So you're gonna roll halfway back. We're gonna keep one arm straight, you're gonna pull the other arm and twist, and then back to center. Other side, twist.

So I like to lift the straight arm up a little bit to give me a little bit of action with that side too. So not just using one, using both sides of my waist, and twist, center, twist, center. Keep alternating two more each side Last one. Good, row all the way down. I'm gonna take the band and just keep it on one foot.

So I have my right foot on the band, putting it on the ball of my foot again, kind of covering the toes, and then the other leg is either straight, or if you're tightening your hamstring you shouldn't bend that opposite leg. I'm flexing that other foot, pulling my elbows down to the mat, and flexing this foot as I give myself a little hamstring stretch. Keep reaching out through that heel, breathe into that stretch. And then we're gonna take both straps in that opposite hand and then cross over into a little IT band stretch. So I'm thinking of keeping this same side hip down into the mat.

And then I'm flexing that foot so I get a nice long line off the side of the leg and nice stretch, not the most pleasant stretch, but it's good for you. Switch hands, and then I'm gonna put the opposite hand on my other hip. And then I'm using my elbow to grab me down here and then open the leg up to the side. So I have the opposite hand on the opposite hip so that I don't just roll over to the side. I'm trying to keep my hips as square as I can.

Should feel nice. Bring that leg back up. When shopping each hand, elbows are anchored down to the side again, when we do a leg circle, so you cross your leg over, around and up, cross over, around and up. I find this feels nicer than the regular leg circles with the outer strap. And if you have any issues with your hips clicking this sometimes helps.

One more. And reverse and around and up and around. Up, three and four. One more. Good.

We're gonna bring the other leg up, replace that foot and the other leg is gonna go down. So I'm starting with my elbows down, flexing this top foot, reaching out through that heel and giving my hamstring a nice stretch. The other foot is flexed still and I'm just pressing that heel into the mat so it stays active. Just breathe into that stretch. And then both straps in the opposite hand, other hand on the mat and crossover.

So again, you're trying to keep this hip down, reach out through that heel, you'll get a nice stretch on that IT band. The side maybe tighter than the other, maybe looser. Most likely your two sides aren't even though. My leg shaking a little bit I don't know about you. And we're gonna switch hands.

This hand is gonna go on my opposite hip, and I'm gonna open the leg out to the side, meeting my elbow, same side elbow to the bracing a little bit That feels like it's gonna pop, not quite. And bring that right back up to the center. One strap in each hand, elbows down by your side, again. And I'm gonna go into our legs circles. So we cross over, around and up.

So I'm letting the hands move with my leg a little bit. Depending on how big your circle is, but I'm trying to keep the shoulders still. One more and reverse and open around and up and just like a normal circle, trying to keep my hips stable as well. So I'm not moving all over the place. It's literally just the leg moving.

One more. And then we're gonna take this band off the legs I'm gonna keep this knee into the chest and have the opposite hand on the knee, the same side hand on the ankle, curl my head and shoulders up, and then lift that opposite leg up to 45. So I'm gonna pull this leg into my chest as far as I can, and then the other side pull in as far as I can, and then stretch the other leg out as long as I can. So I'm gonna inhale for two. Exhale for two.

So I'm going kind of slow with this so I get a nice stretch on both legs, and exhale, exhale. So I wanna feel the length. Inhale and exhale. Exhale. If your head gets tired, you can always put it down and just move the legs.

Exhale. Exhale one more each side. Inhale, inhale. Exhale, exhale. Hug both knees in.

Let your head come down. Just turn your head side to side. Loosen up the neck. And when you curl back up again, trying to get the shoulders off the mat. Make a nice tight ball, you're trying to bring your forehead into your knees and your knees to your forehead.

Inhale, you're gonna expand everything long, reaching away. Exhale. Circle the arms, hug the knees in. Again we're going nice and slow so we get a nice stretch. Really lengthen, circle the arms first, then the knees bend.

Inhale, reach. Circle the arms then the knees into more. Last one, inhale, exhale. Rest your head down. Take a breath.

And then curl your head back up. So you're curling up as high as you can again, one leg is gonna come up to the ceiling. The other leg is gonna reach out to 45. We're gonna pull, inhale, inhale, switch, exhale, exhale, same breathing as before. Inhale, exhale.

So just as much as I'm pulling that leg toward me, I'm reaching the other leg away for me. Exhale, exhale, passing right through the center. And exhale, exhale, keeping the pelvis stable, so I'm not rocking all over the place. If I were on a balance beam, I'd be perfectly centered. And exhale last one.

Exhale, hug your knees in, take a breath. Legs are gonna come up to the ceiling. You have two options. You can either make a diamond with your hands and put it underneath your pelvis and keep your head down. Or you can have one hand on top of the other, bring your hands behind your head and curl your head up.

Heels are together, toes are apart. Inhale as you lower the legs down. Exhale to lift them back up. So you go as low as you can. Keeping your control.

Exhale, lift. Inhale, reach and lift, and nice and slow and control and lift. Think of wrapping around those legs. So you're really using your whole body it's not just your abdominals and lift. Up, one more and lift, hug your knees in, rest your head.

You've one more in the series. Hands are gonna go behind the head again, one hand on top the other elbows are wide, curl as high as you can, twist to one side, stretch the other leg out long. You're gonna hold for three, two, one, come up higher in the center and then switch for three, two, one, and switch and reach. Two, three, good other side. Reach.

Two, three. One more slow like this. Two, three. Last one. Then we're gonna go a little bit faster for eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one, hug your knees in.

Whoo. Rock up to a sitting position, and then we're gonna sit down again do some arms, so, whoop, not my broken piece. So you can sit however you'd like. Again, if you'd like to sit in a chair, sit on a pillow, you can have your legs straight out. I'm sitting crisscross applesauce right now.

I'm gonna bring the arms in front of me and I'm having them a little bit wider than my shoulders. So I'm keeping the shoulders down the back, sitting up nice and tall, pulling into my abdominals. Take a deep inhale here. Now as I exhale, I'm gonna reach arms out wide. If you can go all the way out to the side, go for it.

Just go as wide as you can. Exhale, reach. So I'm trying to keep my wrist straight. And I'm trying to initiate the movement from my back. So it's not just my hands pulling, I'm pulling the shoulder blades almost together.

Trying to keep the ribs connected as well. It's a lot to think about. And open. Three more. Its nice to work the upper body.

I spend a lot of time sitting. My upper body doesn't get much work when I'm at my desk all day. So today I wanted to kind of open up the chest. My goodness. Having TheraBand issues today.

So I'm gonna bring the arms up, shoulders down. Same thing here, I'm gonna open the arms out wide and close. So even though I'm having TheraBand issues, hopefully you're not we can still keep moving and open. Again you can go as wide as you can. Since my TheraBand's shorter now, I can't go very wide.

I'm still trying to think of using my back. I'm almost thinking of pulling from my lax. So lengthening my spine. Two more. Good, bring the arms forward.

This time I'm gonna switch to a underhand grip, elbows are by my side, shoulders are down. I'm trying to keep my elbows in as much as I can, and then I'm rotating my shoulders out. So keeping the wrist straight, you're gonna open your arms out to the side, and then bring them back to the center. Open. So as I'm opening my hands, I'm trying not to thrust my chest forward or my ribs.

Trying to stay stable as I can. And open, open and close. You're gonna keep checking your wrist, it's very common to start to bend the wrist this way and it changes how you feel the exercise. We have four more. And three, two, last one.

Good, roll out your shoulders. Gonna finish with this TheraBand today since it doesn't seem to be working for me, but I still have this other one that we'll use later. So we're gonna go to a quadrupedal head position. So you can have your hands right under your shoulders, your knees right under your hips. If you wanna tuck your toes under in the back of hand, I'm gonna keep my feet flat just cause it feels better for me, or do a little cat cow just to articulate your spine.

So you gonna round your back into your cat. And then you're going to think of articulating from your tailbone all the way to your head into your cow. So again, start with the tailbone as you go into your cat. One bit at a time, and then starting with the tailbone, into your cow. So now that our shoulders a little bit warm, you wanna think of pushing out of the hands to help support you.

So you're not just hanging in your shoulders here, you're keeping your upper body active. Now it's a little bit warm, tailbone initiates and then into the cat. One more like this and then back into our cow. Right, coming back to neutral, you're gonna bring one leg back, just find your balance here. I'm gonna reach the toes long, push out of those hands.

And then once you find your balance here, you're gonna reach your opposite hand forward. I have my palm facing in like I'm shaking someone's hand just a little bit easier on the shoulder that way. So you're gonna make sure you're not sinking into that shoulder, really pushing out of that hand, keeping the hips as squares, you can, you're trying to balance here. And then when you're ready, come back down. The other leg is gonna come back.

I have both hands down for now just finding the position, keeping the hips square pulling up the abdominals. Once you're ready, you're gonna bring the opposite hand forward, palms facing in, like you're shaking someone's hand again, shoulders away from the ear. So I'm trying to reach the opposite sides of my room. So I'm getting longer. Just breathe as natural as you can and then bring everything down.

First side again, reach that leg back. Hips are square, opposite hand comes forward. Now we're gonna add a little movement here. So you're gonna round your back, you're gonna bring your knee and elbow together. And then you're gonna reach everything back out long.

So rounding the back as the knee comes in, elbow comes in, and then you're gonna reach everything out. And inhale, as you pull in. Exhale to reach, two more and reach long, last one. And reach you get little bit longer, a little bit more space in the spine, and then bring everything down. Other side, reached that leg back, reached out through the toes, opposite hand comes forward, keeping the elbow, oh sorry, shoulder away from the air.

elbow and knee come together. Exhale to reach out long. Inhale, bend. Exhale, stretch. See I'm rounding the spine cycle in.

And then I'm lengthening out as I stretch the arms and legs. Arm and leg, just one, and reach out. Two more. Last one. Good, bring everything down.

We're gonna go back to the first arm that was up. So for me, that was my left, I'm gonna reach that arm out up to the ceiling. Now when I try to keep my hips square, I'm gonna thread that arm through the other arm. Let my head come down. So I'm trying to keep my hips as square as I can.

This is a nice little stretch on my back near my shoulder blade. And then bring that arm back up into that rotation. And then bring that hand down other side My other arm comes up to the ceiling into a nice rotation, reach long, and then thread that hand through to the other side, trying to get my head down. If it doesn't touch the mat, that's okay. Just go where you can focus on keeping the hips as square as you can more than how low you get.

And then bring everything back up into that nice rotation. And then bring the hand down, feet together, knees apart into a little child's pose. Take a breath. And then you're gonna come out onto your stomach for a little back extension. So I'm gonna have my arms in a goalpost position, so 90 degrees out to the side.

My feet are hip distance apart. I'm pushing my feet into the mat. So my legs are active, my abs are pulled in, shoulders are away from the ears. So inhale, I'm gonna lift my head, hands and chest off the mat. As I exhale I lower down.

So I'm trying not to get into my low back, trying to keep it into my upper back. Lifting up. I'm thinking opening the chest and low and lift up and lower. Pushing the feet down so I'm not letting the feet float up. I wanna really keep this in the upper back and lower.

Two more and lower. Hold this next one up. Keep lengthening your spine reaching out to the top of your head, you're gonna reach your arms forward in front of you and then pull back to your goalpost, reach arms forward and then pull it back and reach forward and back. Four more. Three.

Two. Last one. Lower everything down. We're gonna have one hand on top of the other and then place your forehead on your hands. Keeping the legs hip distance apart, shoulders away from the ears, you're gonna lift both legs up this time and lower.

So I'm trying to use the backs of my legs, and when I can't go any further then I'll let it go into the back a little bit, but I'm trying not to just use my back to lift my leg. Now four more, keep the abdominals engaged. help support your spine, keep pressing the pubic bone into the mat. One more, hold the legs up. We're gonna beat them together.

We do little beats, in ,in ,in ,in. Trying to relax the shoulders, a lot of people myself included, get a little tense when we start to work legs and then it goes into the shoulder. So try and keep that loose and let all that tension go into your legs. We have five, four, three, two and one lower everything down with control, push back into a child's pose. And stretch back.

And then roll up. I'm gonna go into some sideline work. So grab your band again, we're gonna put it around your legs. So if you have one of these kind of loops, you can use those. If not, you can tie a TheraBand in around your legs.

You don't want it too tight. I still can open my legs close to hip distance with this. Not at it. It's not using any extension yet. So I'm gonna lie on one side.

I have my hand behind my head. I'm in one straight line from my elbow all the way down to my hips, and then my legs are bent with my feet in line with my tailbone. I have a little space underneath my waist so that can stay long. So I'm thinking of pushing this top hip toward my feet. That way I keep length in both sides.

This front hand can either be resting on the floor in front of you or behind your head. So starting with clamps, I'm gonna keep the heels together and it's gonna open the knee and the toes, and then close. Exhale as you press and close. Hope that change everything Exhale. Inhale Ready two more.

So by now, you should start to feel those external rotators working. So I'm gonna keep my leg parallel now, it's in one straight line, I'm gonna do a hydrant. So now lift the whole leg up just a little higher than my hip and lower. So I'm not going too high, if you go much higher than your hip, your leg can't stay parallel, it will have to turn out I'm trying to maintain that parallel position with my knee and foot in the same line. And lift up, if you're anything like me, this is starting to burn already.

More and more. Now keeping the leg parallel, we're gonna make this circle. So as big as you can forward, up, back, together. Good. So make sure you really go to the back.

A lot of people like to skip that and just end up with their leg in line with the other leg. You are really let it go behind. You get into your glutes a little bit more. Forward, up, back. I find the circles to be the most challenging that or what's coming next.

One more in this direction. Reverse, back, up and around. Great. Trying to push this bottom like into the mat. So it's not moving or getting lifted by the weight of the other leg going back.

Two more, As your legs start to get tired don't let a drop down, last one. Go ahead and hit that side out for a second. I know I need that, then one more on the side. So you're gonna have your knees together, you're gonna lift your top foot up, so you're in an internal rotation. As you're turning the leg in though try not to let this top tip roll forward, keep it stacked on top of the bottom hip.

So your foots higher than your knee, you're gonna lift your leg up and down. So, I have my foot flexed cause it helps me to think if I'm like stomping on the ceiling helps me keep that internal rotation. And lift, lower, lift, lower, two more. Last one, I'm gonna hold it up, do a little pulses for 10, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one. Lower everything down with control, take a breath, and then we'll switch sides.

So you can either flip over like I am or you can just roll over to the other side. Your hand is behind your head, you're in one straight line from your head all the way down to your hips. Knees are bent with the feet in line with your tailbone. So starting, make sure your knees aren't too bent so you wanna have a little space here. So starting with clams, heels are together you're gonna open the knee and the toes up.

And then lower, open and close. So again, I'm lifting the bottom part of my waist off the mat. I'm reaching this top hip toward my foot, so that I have length on both sides of my waist. And lift, lower. Four more.

Three, two last one. Hydrant, we're gonna keep the leg parallel lifted up and lower and I'm still keeping my foot flexed, just because I like it right now. But if you want to point your foot, that's also an option. Good, and lift up, knee and foot, the same line. Two more, abs are still engaged to help stabilize you.

Last one, circles. Forward, up, back. My side is dying already, for me, it was already working to stabilize me on the first side. Four more in this direction, Whoo, three, two, Last one, then we reverse, back up and around. As you get tired, try not to make the circle smaller, keep them the same size the whole time.

Back, up, and around. Four more, three, two. Last one Good, you wanna hit out for a second, loosen up and then we have our last one. So we have the knees together foot's up toward the ceiling, again I'm thinking of stomping on the ceiling when I lift the leg up. So keeping the hips stacked, I'm gonna lift the left leg up and you don't have to go too high, just go to where you feel some resistance from the TheraBand.

Lift, so for me that's just a tiny bit higher than my hip. Four more, slow. Keep breathing, three two last one, and we hold it up little pulses for 10, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one. Lower it down with control. Take a breath.

We're gonna take the band off. We're done with it for now. And then we're gonna lie on your back. So whichever the leg you did first you're gonna cross that foot over the opposite knee, pull that leg into your chest for a little bigger forward stretch. If you wanna flex your foot that's crossed over, go for it.

And then try to turn that knee out to the side so get a nice stretch on the hip. One more deep breath here. And then we switch sides. So, crossing that foot over the opposite knee, pulling that leg into the chest, flexing that butt if you'd like, and turning that knee out to the side, I'm still trying to keep my hips square though. I'm not turning out so much that my hips shift.

Let's breathe, one more deep breath. And then we're gonna place the feet down on the mat, have your feet away from you quite a bit. We're gonna do some teasers. So, we're gonna keep the feet down for our teasers today, just cause I wanna add a little variation. The arms are parallel to my legs, reaching long.

I'm gonna pull up, lift the chest, and then roll back. And reach your arms forward, roll up, lift the chest, trying to keep the shoulders on the back, squeezing your legs together, trying to hug into that midline and roll back. One more like this. And then roll back. This time we're gonna roll up to the center.

I'm gonna turn to one side. Stay on that side as you roll down. Stay on that side as you roll back up. Come back to the center, roll down. Roll up through the center.

Twist to the other side. Roll back on that side. Roll right back up trying to keep the opposite hip down, center and roll back. One more each side, roll up. Twist to one side, roll down.

Roll up on that side. Center, and roll back. One more up, twist to the other side, roll back. Roll right back up. Center and roll back.

Good, bring one leg up. I still have my legs glued together. So I'm just stretching the leg out from where it was legs or hands are still in line with your legs. You know, roll up, you're reaching for your toe. And then roll back.

Roll up, reach for the toes and roll back Roll up and hold. Switch legs while you're up. And then roll back. Same thing on this side. Trying to articulate through the spine.

Two more. And back. Hold the next one up. Switch back to the first side, roll down. And then hug your knees into your chest.

Just rock side to side. One down, we have about 15 more minutes. So I'm gonna rock up to a sitting position, I'm gonna go into some planks. So you can do this on your knees or you can do on your feet, whichever you prefer. I'm gonna go on to my feet, my legs together, my arms are right under my shoulders, my head is lifted, my hips are in line with rest of my body, I'm squeezing my legs together.

Just hold here. Try to find the length from your heels all the way out to the top of your head. Now I'm gonna separate my feet, hip distance apart. I'm gonna bring one hand to the center of my mat, twist onto the sides of my feet, and then come into a side plank. So again, that bottom hand is right under my shoulder, top hand is reaching up.

Try to stay lifted in the bottom side of your waist. So you're using your whole body, not just your arm, not just your legs. Breathe, bring that hand down. Just your hands, other hand comes to the center, twist to the other side. So going to the sides of your feet, reach that arm up, finding a nice long line in your body.

Breathe. Come back to the mat. Hands adjust. Knees down, lets go into a little child's pose for a second. Relax your ribs, and then come back out to your plank.

Again, you can be on your knees or on your feet, whichever you prefer. Find that long plank position, I wanna bring my feet together again. Those are the point back. I'm gonna do a little push up. Just gonna bend the arms and stretch.

Bend, so I'm trying to keep my elbows right by my ribs as I bend. I'm trying not to drop my head. That's my bad habit that I do. I think it helps me with my push ups even though it doesn't so have to remember to keep my head lifted. Bend.

Stretch. Two more. Last one and then lower down. So we're gonna finish off with a little bit of stretching and breathing. So, it's a lot on the wrist.

Just gonna shake out your wrist. It feels good. And then you're gonna interlace your fingers. Remember which thumb is on top, just gonna do a little circle. Sometimes it feels not like a smooth circle, it's a little more jerky.

But just do what you can, shake out your hands again. Hopefully you remembered which one was on top. You're gonna interlace your fingers with the other thumb on top now, and circle the other way. I think this is the other way, hard to remember sometimes Everything about this side should feel like it's the unnatural way for your body. So we have to do both what feels good and what feels awkward.

Now when I bring my hands in front of me, palms up, I'm just gonna push my hands into the floor a little bit. I don't mind my shoulders coming up a little bit because this is more for my wrist, we're trying to get a nice stretch on my forearms, kind of counters what we did in the planks. And then if you do spend a lot of time at a desk like me, this one's really good for you. We're gonna turn your palms up. Then you're gonna put your palms down on the floor, so the heel of your hand is facing away from you.

And then just push your heels with your hand down. Now, try not to hyper extend your arms, your elbows, you should feel a stretch all the way up here. It's good if you are prone to carpal tunnel. And then I like to bend my elbows a little bit, it actually helps me get a nicer stretch in this lower part of my wrist. Just breathe.

Shake out the hands again, switch so the other leg is in front and we have to do the unnatural side too. We're gonna bring one arm up to the ceiling, the other arm is just by your side then just gonna to be bend over into the side bend again So try to keep that opposite hip down on the mat. If your elbow can touch the mat go for it, if you want to go further. That's okay. If you're only to here, that's fine too, just go where your body does.

Trying to keep the length so I'm not just collapsing into my side. And then up. Other side, reach that opposite arm up, lift up and over to the side. Try to remember that top shoulder, keep it away from the ear. And then as you breathe into your side, we might be able to go further each breath.

Just go where it feels good. And then, hands on top of the knees. You're just gonna round your head around your spine, roll forward, and then you're gonna arch backup. There's still a little bit of a wave so you're gonna round, forward, top of the head leans, arch up. Just get a little bit more mobility in your spine before we finish.

One more and then reversing, you're gonna arch down and then round up arch down. Round, up. Two more. Lift. Last one.

Last thing, circle the ribs around so you wanna go back, side, arch front just going around in a circle, it's okay if your knees move, it's okay if you come off your seat bones and then reverse, around. Just feel good on your back. One more. I'm just fine both sit bones on the mat. I'm gonna go back to my original side where it feels natural refresh with a little breathing.

You can have your palms up, palms down, whatever feels good to you. Just find length in your spine. If you wanna close your eyes, feel free to. Just take a deep inhale and exhale, let go of everything, inhale and exhale, just keep breathing. Whether you're starting your day like me, or if you're ending your day or in the middle of your day, just make sure to keep breathing.

Keep lengthening your spine. Find this calm whenever you need it, you can always go back to your breath. Find that natural breathing that you had earlier. And then when you're ready, blink your eyes open if you're not already. And I hope you have a wonderful day.

Thank you for taking class with me.

Comments

6 people like this.
What a wonderful class! I love your calm, confident tone and clear directions. Thank you!
1 person likes this.
Sorry, I didn’t finish! I got a nice, whole body workout and a stretch as a bonus! Thanks!
2 people like this.
What a lovely class this was! Thank you Gia, I'm feeling great!
2 people like this.
Thank you. Great class . Enjoyed it.
1 person likes this.
Thank you KecpotterLouise, and Carol! I'm so glad you enjoyed it!   
1 person likes this.
P.A. was on my F.B. page feed and told me to take this class. Great recommendation. I had fun and feel much better. I appreciated the wrist stretches. We did them all the time in yoga, but you are the 1st at P.A. to put them in a class. I laughed when the band broke because it sure has happened to me a few times. Good save:)  Thanks again Gia! 
Great class, such a calming voice! Fantastic thanxxx
2 people like this.
Thank you Gia for the awesome class! It was challenging and I loved it. I did have trouble with the hip work, but I made it through. Thanks again 😁
1 person likes this.
Every class with Gia is a gem! I always feel amazing after a class with her.
1 person likes this.
I've liked the sideline work with the circular band as well as the stretches of the wrists at the end. I've enjoyed the variety of exercises with the flex band. Thank you!
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