I hope you feel strong, centered, and ready to enjoy the rest of the year. Now let’s get back to routine. But before we rush to September, you have one last video of our four-week rejuvenating mat work.

There’s always an exercise or maybe a few in the Mat repertoire that reveals your imbalances or reminds you where your body needs a little more openness. It is also a perfect reminder that your practice is the evolution of your body without a deadline. Do you have any of those exercises in mind? Mine is The Open Leg Rocker. I’ve loved this exercise since the beginning of my Pilates practice, but it’s not always easy to do, especially if I haven’t done it for a while. That’s why I don’t mind refreshing my connection right from scratch.

So if you’re working towards growing your mat practice to the next level, The Open Leg Rocker is an excellent exercise to start to add to your routine.

For today’s no-rule-just-explore-yourself routine, leave some room to feel what your body is telling you.
Listen, and explore with a non-judgmental thought. 

Part 1 – Stretching 5 mins

Exploration tip 1: Last week, we spoke about clicking hips and how to limit your range of motion when you hear the noise. But if you want to follow me as I do the full range of motion, I have noticed that it’s easier to do The Scissors and Double-Leg Lower Lifts whenever I start with light stretching before the mat, which is how I created today’s practice. Give that a try, and let me know if it’s easier for you too.

Part 2 – Mat flow for beginners all 5 w/ stomach series and new exercise The Open Leg Rocker.

Exploration tip 2: Spine stretch – Try tapping to release tension. Tapping, a.k.a EFT

“According to the developer of EFT, Gary Craig, tapping on different body parts helps balance energy and reduce the physical and emotional pain. ” read more here.

Exploration tip 3: The Saw – try doing it with a much wider leg and see if that helps. It works for me sometime I get a bit more rotation in my spine.

Exploration tip 4: Side leg kick series – Use lots of long breaths.

Exploration tip 5: Teaser – When my lower back feels tight, the articulation of my spine feels limited. But I keep moving anyway because it’s not hurting my back, so I still feel my abs working. Keep the flow!

Make no rules about your repetitions. Let your body tell you how many reps you should do! Three reps are ideal, but five can also feel good.

Goodbye Mauritius Mat routine, hello Dubai routine starting next week.

Xo