Work it Wednesday! – Flat Back Time

Some days you may not feel ready to work, but because you have set a good habit in place, you do it anyway.  How have you set that good habit? You have started by writing your goals.  You have started by creating your schedule of classes. You have started by just going through the motions until you realize that YES, I love this! I want this! I need this! Once that clicks in your head, my goal for you it to start working smarter. How can you create that mind body connection even deeper. How can you challenge yourself so that every movement in your body in your class is a deliberate one. Are you working the proper muscle? Can you get any tighter? Can you move any smaller. Do you know where your body is in space?  This Saturday, we have a workshop called “Fresh Squeezed, For a Fresh Perspective”.  This workshop is for you to come in ready to work.   So my goals for you is to take an exercise that we do do daily and make it different. Let’s talk about our Flat Back. It is an exercise that can be done without working. Put in the proper form, with the proper breath, the results will be amazing!

Let’s Work it Wednesday! – Flat Back Time!

1. Forearms distance away from the wall, as pictured here.
2. Ankles under knees
3. Hold your strap, pulling away from you with straight arms. (Make sure your wrists are in line with the remaining part of your arm. The first picture shows the arm too wide. In the correct form, my arms are forward of may body allowing me to connect my front abdominal wall.
4. As I “mindfully” bring my legs to table top, using the psoas and not my thighs!! (Yes, that one will require some thinking), I want to make sure my back is not swayed as in the first picture. Stay in neutral spine. The exercise is to go from neutral spine to flat back without letting my knees pull forward of my hips. Isolate the transverse abdominals. Close your eyes and envision a line from hip bone to hip bone. Draw that line in below your navel. You may not feel the muscles right away, but if you can mentally think about it, one day, voila, you have it!
5. When legs are extended, it is even easier to let the weight of your legs pull you as you move. Only work as far as you can while maintaining neutral spine to flat back with your legs extended. Again, close your eyes, and scan your torso. Start with your upper ribcage. Draw it in and down to the base of the ribcage.  I love the corset analogy…not like we wear corsets anymore but just go ahead and imagine yourself in one. Pull the strings tighter. As you inhale and exhale, you are tightening and squeezing, continuing to draw in your whole torso. Never let it go as your legs move.

 

 

As you do flat back, know that this exercise requires more concentration than you can imagine. Use any visualization techniques that you think may work. Get a little deeper. Challenge your body and your mind. Let’s Work it Wednesday!

Thanks for sharing barre love,

Orlee