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Lesson Info

Day 18: Core Strengthening

having a strong core is one of most essential parts of having a really good, balanced, stable practice. All of our balance comes from the center of the body being able to control the hips. Being able to find stability is how we develop balance. It's how we engage the body. In every pose that we do. The core is involved. There's different ways to look at the core. One is to look at it as core strength, as in everything that it takes to sit up or move. And that's really what we're going to focus on. Today is the dynamic movement through the core way. Let's start on her hands and knees. Come onto all fours. Make sure the hands of directly underneath the shoulders wrap the triceps back. Let's warm up into the spine because everything that moves through the core actually happens to move into the spine so that the belly fall open up across the chest, spread the collarbones nice and wide. Create a little bit of a back men, then pull the navel into the spine. Talk the tailbone. Press a set of ...

the hard up, inhale gaze up Exhale Naval, this mine and when we come into this cat pose I really want you to think more now than ever contracting the core Inhale, relax ability Let it release. Gaze up, Exhale Pull the navel into the spine Crunch the the abdomen together Engage the core a little bit more inhale Exhale Pull it in Inhale. Think of doing a mini sit up Every time we come into this Exhale two more inhale Open the chest Spread the collarbones wide Exhale naval into the spine in hell This time we're gonna add in the hips and then roll through the spine the same time So as we come back that the belly fall stick the tailbone up Exhale roll ford round through the spine Inhale back exhale round inhale, Exhale really working into the spine and the core at the same time Once you start to feel it into the hips as well and into the shoulders can stop reverse directions round up through the top Keep this connection to the breath Last time. Come on, Total force. So just like how we found the the connection to the core when we rounded up like this we're gonna add a little bit Maurin by adding the knee. And so we find this a lot every time we're coming from downward facing dog and we're stepping forward, and part of that is flexibility. The other part of it is core engagement and being able to actually draw the core in and lift up. So what, you come on, it's all fours. Bring the hands of the officials. Rather try sits back, extend the right leg back, soften the right hip down. Press out to the hell as we contract. Draw the knee into the nose, round the spine. Pull up. Really press out to the center of the arms. Contracted up for five. Reach it back. Pull it in for four. Reach it back. Three. Contract. Reach it back to back. Last one exhales. You pull it in. Set the right knee down. Extend the left leg back. Soften the left hip down. So when I say soften, left hip, when I'm really asking is I want you to square it down so we're not lifting up like this. Of the hips are nice and neutral. Maybe even think about pointing left. Hose down. Pull the left knee into the chest around the spine contracted in for five. Extend back. Four. Reach it back. Three. Last two last one. It's at the knees down. If you need to come back into Child's for a few breaths, inhale rock up, Cross the ankles. Sit back over the heels. Extend the lakes out, press into the heels. Slowly unroll onto the back. Use the core to bring yourself there as controlled as you can come onto the back. Now I want you to be placed the hands here or, if you need to. You could support the low back wipe bringing the hands underneath the hips. Press the back of the head into the mat, lift the feet up unanswered to off the mat. This is too much for you. Could keep the heels rested on the mat until you're ready to lift him up. Draw the right knee into the chest. Extend the right leg out. Pull the left knee and for 10 extended out nine eight left leg. Seven six. Every time contracted, I want don't you think of this as we're doing it on the hands and knees? Five. But we're laying down flat for three to and one left side. Bring both knees and give him a little bit of a squeeze. Maybe a little rock back and forth through least low back. Extend the legs out again. Bring the hands underneath the but like this to help. Kind of support the low back. Support the hips. Send out. Wrap the shoulders back, press the shoulders into the mat, press the back of the head into the mat, lift the toes up slightly, reached the right leg up. Now, this is dependent. A lot enhancing flexibility. So as much as you can, but really try to get the core involved into it is also strengthened through the quads in the so US for one right leg to three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine Last 1 Draw the knees in get a little squeeze of the knees. Roll office. Fine. We got one more from the supine position here on the back. Reach the lakes Ford again. You could use the hands for support. We're gonna add in both at the same time. Lift the feet up. Lower back down for nine. A seven course should be cooking. Six five, four, three to one could pull the knees in. Take a few breaths here before moving on. Sometimes it's nice to me was specially the exercise like that where it works into a little bit into the so us toe. Open the knees up a little bit here to to stretch out the inside. We think, of course, strength. Ah, you know, we we always think of just abdominal rectus. But it's actually core Strength involves the quads and the so as a hip flexors everything that brings in Nis in and talks the tailbone. So the core controls the hips and controls a mutation or the tilt of the pelvis. And so when we think about this, this tilt the pelvis, it's really dissing engagement here like this. What would draws it up? And when we have this, this is where we create strength and lift, and we build these ah, stomach muscles, especially with this kind of lift of the Dominus rectus, which is that those six pack muscles take the feet up to the sky. Now you could support the legs with your hands here. If you like flecks of feet, the legs don't have to be completely straight Now. This takes a lot of hamstring flexibility and a lot of us don't have it, so sometimes their legs might look like this. It's fine if the legs look like this. I just don't want the lakes like this. Difference is, I want the knees over the hips, so if the feet could be up straight, that's great. Or if they're bent like this. Either way, place the hands flat on the mat. If you can lake straight or slightly bent but needs up, we're gonna lift just the hips. And every time you lift, I want you to think of using the core to bring it up. So the big mistake I see is people rocking back like that. Well, it's not a rockets a lift. So take the heels. Press him straight up towards the ceiling for nine. If you're moving a lot, you're doing too much. Eight, seven, six, five, four, three to one. Draw the knees and create a little rock Come up. I'm sure the belly is already talking to you, and that's good. I love it when my core feels life, because when I come in different moves in different postures and stuff, I feel it. I feel my engagement from through my core because it's talking me. It's working. It's fired up strong. Reach the arms up full Ford. Now, if you can't reach the toes, bend the knees, rest the belly of the thighs and extend Ford. If you can straighten the legs, go out and straighten the legs out. Just take a nice little stretch in pot. You Moten Osuna round down to the spine. A few breaths. Inhale. Come back up. Plants a feat for him on the map. Work down onto the forms. Try to get the elbows underneath the shoulders. If you can squeeze the elbows back together, lift the chest up. Try to keep the low back. Nice and long and engaged. Remember I said, the core moves the pelvis. It draws the knees in. It's all this crunching action, so take the lakes, hover the feet, then we're gonna crunch him into the chest. Is we crunch and I want you to round up and then pull the chin up towards the sky. Take the heels down to hover. Try not to touch him down. If you can pull back up for 10 bring it down every time. Contract. Nine A seven six, five, four contract three. Pull it up to last one one. Set the feet down, Come back. A pawn in the hands may be moving back a little bit, so your chest up nice until reach the arms Ford when she keep your feet grounded on the mat as much as you can. So try not to let the toes We're gonna lift up a little bit, but try not to. Should reach the arms for, like this and start to round and sit back As we sit back, I want you to feel a contraction through the court. We're crunching down. What, You think it taken the nipple line and setting it down onto a table? So we're moving the chest down like this were pulling the navel into the spine and we're moving the spine back. It's gonna reach down, pull it back and contract. Once we find this contraction here without letting the feet lift start to lower back as far as you can when the feet feel like there's going to start to lift, Stop and hold. Pull it back up when you come back, Open the chest, spread it wide. Send the belly, Ford come back round down in the spine. Set the chest down on top of that table. Keep the feet ground slowly. Start to lower back. Try to keep the feet on the mat. Go back as low as you can as far as he can. That's for to come up. We're doing five of these. Lift the chest. Open it up. Bring it back. Set the chest down. Really? Contract in the core. You should feel your core a lot by now. Bring it back a little bit more. Press into the heels. Rise up. Open the chest up for me. This is This is probably like when the hardest parts is afterwards opening the core back up because it takes a lot of so as strength to pull the chest forward like this. And you should feel it right in the so as and in the hip flexors come back down. Get the core back involved. Sit the chest down, sink it down, reach back slowly. Start to lower as far back as you can without in the heels lifted. Pull it back up, open the chest up. Forgot what number on. But let's do one more. I feel that's where we're at. Lift the chest stuff a little bit higher. Reaching arms forward contract. The core start to roll back down, sit the chest and engage the core. But now we're gonna lower all the way down a slow and it's controlled as you can unroll onto the back. Good. Lay on your back. Plant iffy. Underneath the knees. Take the right lake across the ankle over the top of the left thigh. Open the knee out. Open the arms of it first. Just take a breath. This will be really our last core exercise of this class. So, you know, it's nice to know when the ends approaching, cause we could judge how much more to give. So if you're already cooked, you know, just give it all you all you have. And if you're feeling good, good. That means that your core is feeling nice and strong in the, you know, here in a really good place. Bring the hands behind the head, separate the elbows, lift the chest up. We're gonna cross left elbow over towards the right thigh. Right knee taking inhale on the exhale. Pull it up for nine, eight, seven, six five four, three to one. Set the right leg down. Left leg. Cross it over deep. Inhale over the mouth. Exhale. Last 10. Last little bit of court pulls it up for nine eight seven, six five for last three to one. Good job. Set the feet down. Keep a planet flat. Put the palms down flat on the mat. Take a deep inhale. Fill the belly. Exhale, release it. Stretched the belly out a little bit. Lift the hips up, take the hands underneath. Come into a nice little bridge pose. Roll the shoulders under. Squeeze the knees together slightly. Draw the sternum in towards the chin. Relax a glutes and to stretch out the belly. It's nice here. We're working out to stretch the ability Adler breath into it, so really inhale. Fill the belly up. Let it expand out over the mouth. Exhale two more inhale. Open the mouth, exhale and how Oh, from the mouth, exhale. Set the hips down at least the shoulders. Draw the knees and grab the outer edges of the feet. Pull the knees down along the sides of the body. Little happy baby. Draw the knees into the chest. Behold with right leg straight on the left come in the last little twist. It's gonna release a belly a little bit more. Take the right knee down ground down into the knee and then reach the right arm over towards the right wall and bring the gaze over to the right, always twisting to the right. First. The twist matters in the way the direction that we look just helps with digestion and everything else. Everything in yoga, there's a There's a purpose. There's a reason behind it. Why we do things in sequence or an order. It's intelligent, and your practice should remain intelligent. Come back to the back. Other needs in straight in the right leg. Guide the left knee over ground, The left knee reached the left hand towards left wall. Bring the gays toe left. Nice little twist. A few deep breaths. Indisposed. Return to the back, straightened legs out. Give him a little shake. Roll the palms up as we enter into Shiva Sena. Release all. Control the body. Control the breath. Relax. Spend at least another minute or two in Chivas and just to give the body of the rest that it needs. We often forget to take this rest. Now the court talks to you. It tells you when it's when it's been worked, and it's a good feeling. It's a good feeling to know that the core is strong and engaged. And it's something that you should always aim for as you go through your practice and the stronger that you build a core, the more stable imbalance that you're going to become. Thank you so much for allowing me to share my practice with you with love and gratitude. Low cost Samoa stops Uchino bob in two male beings Be happy and free home. Shonte Shonte Shonte.