This week's off - the - mat challenge:
Loading the gluts as you walk up the stairs:
- Keep your trunk upright / avoid leaning forward
- Try stepping only on every second stair
- Ensure that your bent (upper) knee is pointing forward
- As you step up, transfer the weight slowly, while fully loading the top (weight bearing)
leg
This week's breathing practices:
- Ball breathing - 3 zones: diaphragm | mid belly | low belly
- Turbo breathing for low | mid abdominal area
This week's on - the - mat movement
challenge:
- Hip Rolls on the floor | wall
- Marching
Abs - floor | foam roller | bridge pose
- Flying Table - Sunbird Pose | narrow base Flying Table
- Reclined Twist - Twisted Roots
- Wall clam:
start on your R side, with your hips and knees bent to 90;
have your both feet planted firmly on the wall - R foot
along the baseboard; L foot hip distance apart from R foot;
press both feet into the wall once or twice - listen to what happens when you do: you want to feel the movement happening from your gluts rather than you entire trunk sliding up and down;
once you were able to identify this, proceed to wall clam - working with the L leg only, slowly lift your left knee up toward the ceiling (your L foot will come to its outer edge) and then return it to original position;
listen to sensations
as you are moving through the clam - you want to feel it in the upper / outer part of the glut - the cheating strategies here include using quads and adductors instead of gluts. In class we'll talk more about strategies to help you find gluts
repeat on the L side
Additional Printouts / Worksheets /
Reading:
