Days 1 & 2 and 4, 6. & 7 are all pieces of the warm up we do every day in class to prepare the spine for the more difficult work.
These can truly be translated and performed anywhere and everywhere (and should be!) in your life- but we’ll touch more on that later.
To get the most out of this movement, remember these things:
1) STARTING POSITION
– We start sitting tall- remember that barbershop pole spine from day 2? Check that your pelvis is actually in neutral and if it’s not, modify by siting on a blanket, pillow, or box.
– Our arms are lengthened to the sides- This should be a descending line from the shoulder to the finger tips, meaning that your arms should be long and hands should be slightly in front of and slightly below the shoulder joint.
– Legs are lengthened, but not locked, and feet are flexed like they’re up against a wall. Be sure that your heels are firmly anchored to the floor to protect the knee joint.
2) SHOULDERS, RIBS, HIPS, HEAD
– Shoulders should be drawn down and together, away from the ears, the arms are long with energy shooting from the fingertips (palms forward) and we work to actively lift the elbows while maintaining the length of the arms.
– It’s easy to let the ribs pop forward, be sure that they stay back to keep the spine in neutral.
– Our hips should stay perfectly stable the whole time we’re moving, the weight should stay nice and even.
– Be sure to keep your head in-line with the spine. It’s easy to let the head pop forward, back and side-to-side.
3) MOVING
Just sitting keeping all of the above ideas in mind is difficult, but add movement to it all and we’ve got a party!
