Day 321- X Rolls on Ball

This exercise uses the large exercise ball to challenge the proprioception of the body during spine rotation.

To do this exercise you will need a mat and a large exercise ball.  Start by lying on your belly on the ball with your arms lengthened out to the side.  Inhale as you rotate your spine to the side, which will open the arm and the chest to the ceiling.  Continue rotating the spine until you are almost lying on your back on the ball.  At this point bring the bottom leg out from underneath the top so that you are on your back.  Then reverse the motion by rotating the spine in the opposite direction.

Things to think about

There is a very good chance that you will fall off of the ball when learning this exercise.  That’s what makes it fun.  Be sure that you have plenty of space around the ball. 

During this exercise, imagine suspending your bones through the balanced tension of you’re myofascial system.  Allow the length of the muscles support the bones as they roll.

Day 265- Oblique Pull Ups on Ball

This exercise uses the circular movement of the legs to create engagement in the oblique abdominals.

To do this exercise you will need a mat and a large physioball.  Start by bearing weight on your hands with your shins on the large ball.  Inhale into the back of your ribs and then exhale as you draw your knees to your right armpit, then pass the knees underneath you and then point the knees at the left armpit, and finally inhale as you lengthen them long behind you.  Repeat 6 times in one direction and then reverse.

Things to think about

As you are making the circles with your knees, be sure that you are pointing the crown of your head towards the ground.  This will allow your spine to be the longest that it can be.

Make sure that your shoulders are stabile and connected to your back.  This will help maintain the connection of the ribcage to the pelvis as you rotate.

Day 264- Pull Ups on Ball

This exercise adds a proprioceptive challenge as the body is moving in and out of spine flexion.

To do this exercise you will need a mat and a large physioball.  Start by bearing weight on your hands with your shins on the large ball.  Inhale to prepare and then exhale as you bend your knees and lift your belly to bend your spine.  This will bring your knees underneath you.  Inhale as you lengthen your legs away from you, and then exhale as you repeat. 

Things to think about

Think of this exercise as a much more challenging version of the cat/cow in a quadruped position.  To the flexion of the spine we are simply adding movement of the lower legs. 

Make sure you remember that your head is technically part of your spine in the alignment sense.  When you are bending your spine, you are also dropping the crown of your head to the ground.

Day 263- Leg Pull Front Legs on Ball

This exercise adds even more proprioceptive challenge to the leg pull front.

To do this exercise you will need a mat and a large physioball.  Start by bearing weight on your hands and placing your shins on the top of the ball.  Be sure that you are supporting the length of your spine with the abdominals and that you are maintaining the connection of the ribcage to the front of the pelvis.  Inhale to prepare and then exhale as you lift one leg off of the ball.  Inhale to replace the leg and exhale as you lift the other leg off of the ball.  Repeat 8-10 times on each side.

Things to think about

All of our proprioceptive challenges with the foam roller were hard and the foam roller can only roll in two directions.  Now imagine the infinite directions that a sphere can move.  This requires much more abdominal control and relies on the stability of the shoulders and the pelvis to keep the spine safe.

Check in with your shoulders, are they connected to your ears?  Be sure to slide the shoulder blades down your back and maintain soft elbows so that you can keep your neck and wrists safe.

Day 261- Leg Pull Front with Hands on Foam Roller

This exercise adds the proprioceptive challenge of the foam roller to the classic Pilates Leg Pull Front.

To do this exercise you will need a mat and a foam roller.  Start in a quadruped position with your hands placed underneath your shoulders on a foam roller.  Inhale to prepare and then exhale as you lengthen one leg and then the other leg behind you into a plank position.  Maintain shoulder stability as the log wobbles and exhale as you lift one leg, Inhale as you replace it and then exhale as you lift another leg.  Repeat 8-10 times on both sides.

Things to think about

The foam roller adds quite a bit of challenge to the leg pull front.  It gives the body the information it needs to integrate the top of the body with the stability of the pelvis and the mobility of the hip socket.  Use your exhale to maintain support under the ribcage.

This exercise will be challenging for the wrists.  Be sure to work with the arch of the palm to support the wrist.

Day 254- Quadruped: Ipsilateral Opening to the Side

This exercise provides a proprioceptive challenge to the quadruped exercise by narrowing the body’s base of support.

To do this exercise you will need a mat.  Start standing on your hands and knees.  Be sure that your hands are directly beneath your shoulders and that your knees are directly beneath your hips.  Inhale as you shift your weight sideways to the right and exhale as you lengthen the left arm in front of you and the left leg behind you.  Inhale to return to center and then shift to the other side to lengthen your right arm and leg away from the center.  Repeat five times on each side.

Things to think about

This exercise should bring on a case of the wobbles.  Narrowing the width of your base of support will require much more elongation of the spine to maintain balance.

If this exercise is hard on your wrists then you can make fists to protect them.

Thinking about fascial connections will also help this.  Find the connection between the hips and the opposing shoulders.

Day 253- Quadruped: Ipsilateral

This exercise strengthens connections on the lateral side of the body.  And it also provides a proprioceptive challenge to the body.

To do this exercise you will need a mat.  Start by standing on your hands and knees, with your head lengthening away from your tail.  Inhale into the back of your ribs as you shift the weight of your body to the right.  Then, exhale as you lengthen the left arm and leg away from the floor.  Inhale replace the arm and leg to the floor and then exhale as you shift the weight to the left and lengthen the right arm and right leg away from the center.  Repeat 3-5 times on each side.

Things to think about

This exercise might feel a bit wobblier than previous quadruped exercise.  When accomplishing this exercise you are narrowing the base of support for the body, which would make any exercise challenging.

You are going to feel the side of the hips and the side of the shoulder on the standing leg and arm.  The stabilization in this exercise will transfer to walking both on your hands and feet.

Day 119- Toe Taps from Table Top with a Diagonal on Slomo Ball

This exercise is intended to increase the difficulty of this oblique abdominal exercise by adding proprioceptive challenge.

To do this exercise you will need a mat and a soft ball.  Start by lying on your back with the soft ball underneath your pelvis.  Your legs should be in a tabletop position.  Inhale as you point your legs to the side and then exhale as you lower your toes to the floor and bring them back.  Inhale as you point the toes to the other side and then exhale as you tap our toes on the ground.  Repeat alternating sides 8-10 times.

Things to think about:

Remember with these oblique variations that you are rotating the thighs in the hip sockets while maintaining stillness in the pelvis.  Your pelvis may want to roll to one side or the waist may shorten because your hip hikes towards the ribcage.  Be sure to use your exhale to engage your pelvis floor and lower abdominals.  Sometimes it helps to think of the abdomen pulling away from the leg as it lowers.

Day 118- Toe Taps from Table Top Double Leg on Slomo Ball

This exercise adds proprioceptive challenges to the double leg toe taps by placing the pelvis on an unstable base

To do this exercise you will need a mat and a soft ball.  Start by lying on your back with the soft ball underneath your pelvis.  Your legs should be in a tabletop position.  Inhale into the back of the ribs to prepare and then exhale as you squeeze your inner thighs together and tap both toes on the ground and then bring them back up to tabletop position.  Inhale in between movement and then exhale as you repeat.  Continue for 6-8 repetitions

Things to think about

The wobbly ball will make this exercise quite challenging for the lower abdominals.  Be sure that you are exhaling completely and maintaining awareness of your pelvic floor and lower abdominals

Day 117- Toe Taps from Table Top single leg on Slomo Ball

This exercise is intended to add proprioceptive challenge to the Single Leg Toe Taps.

To do this exercise you will need a mat and a soft ball.  Start by lying on your back with the soft ball underneath your pelvis.  Your legs will be in a tabletop position.  Inhale to prepare and exhale as you lower one leg to tap the toe on the ground and return it to a tabletop position, then inhale in between and exhale again as you lower the other leg and bring it back up.  Repeat 5-10 times alternating sides.

Things to think about

The soft ball may make the pelvis a little wobbly, so to keep it stabile will require additional abdominal strength.

Try and breathe into the back of your ribs during the exercise.  The space underneath the back that is created by the ball allows for more room in the ribcage, so if you focus the breath there you might be able to get some release