OG Pilates At-Home: Be In Your Body NOW

Enjoy a 10 minute standing workout to correct your alignment! Follow the link to view a video with audio instruction on how to nail your standing footwork!

Begin with standing footwork to warm the body! 

The 100

Set Up: Stand against wall in Pilates V, head to tail against wall. Allow for natural curves in spine. Do not worry about low back lifting off. If you can not connect back of head, tailbone and heels without straining walk heels away until that feels feasible. 

Action: Inhale 5 counts pressing head gently into wall. Exhale 5 counts lifting sternum, pulling abdominals in to back. Repeat 10 times every time building a taller spine and more spacious abdomen. Allow shoulders to naturally adjust as you complete these 10 rounds of breath. No pumping arms. 

Focus on: This version of The 100 is for breath and realignment. So focus is not on pumping arms and building heat as you would on the mat. Instead focus on your breath creating space in your body lengthening and decompressing spine and shoulders. Don’t overly correct or fuss with spine or shoulders. Let the breath and abdominals doing the focused work progressively tell the spine and shoulders what to do. Lengthen and broaden.

Swan On Wall

Set Up: Stand 12 inches away from wall in narrow Pilates V, hands in fists, arms long by sides. 

Action: Inhale lift arms by ears and backbend reaching toward the wall. Fix gaze between fists firmly pressing into the wall above you. Exhale lift sternum pulling abdominals into back. Stay here for another full round of breath repeating the press back and lift up action. Return to stand. Repeat 3-5 reps. 

Focus On: Focus on the same stuff from the 100. Keep equal pressure in both hands and feet pressing down through feet as much as you press up into fists. Use Lateral Breath technique inhaling to pull head back extending spine and exhaling to lift chest and pull abdominals in to back. 

Roll Down On Wall

Set Up: Stand in Pilates V against the wall, this time flatten the entire spine on wall. So heels as far away as you need from wall to achieve this connection.

Action: Inhale pull head, shoulders, and spine vertebrae by vertebrae off the wall. Exhale at mid back area, stopping your rolldown when your shoulders reach the level of your pelvis. Inhale roll back up the spine articulating bone by bone into the wall with equal pressure on both feet and both sides of spine. 

Focus On: Focus on the Lateral Breath and equal pressure throughout the entire body. Relaxing everything except for the “powerhouse” (everything above your knees and below your shoulder blades). By using strong, deep, lateral breath and this mind-body connection, you can begin to correct unbalanced, overactive or underactive muscles head to toe. 

Side Bend On Wall 

Set Up: Stay against the wall as you are heels as close to the wall as you can manage as described for The 100 (natural curves in spine).

Action: Bring one arm straight up to hug side of face as you side bend UP and over taking care not let the hips or shoulders shift side to side. Lift back up. Repeat on the other side. 

Focus On: Keep your “box square” shoulder to shoulder, hip to hip. Pay close attention to what you feel against the wall on either side of the body as you set up, move and return back center. Work to keep it all balanced especially the weight distributed equally and constantly in both feet.

Now all your missing is some twisting! You can adapt Saw for the wall or sit and perform Saw if it’s in your practice. If not, come in and learn it! 

Finally end with standing footwork to integrate all the work into your body for whatever you are about to do so you “take your Pilates with you!” 

—Courtney Lindsay, Co-Owner