March MATness – Single Leg Kick and Double Leg Kick

Single Leg Kick Lie on your stomach with your upper body propped up on your elbows Actively pull your abdominals in, anchor your pubic bone into the mat and squeeze your thighs together Squeeze your glutes and try to lift your legs a few inches away from the mat Keeping the legs lifted and thighs…

Read More

March MATness – Swan

Strengthening the posterior side of the body is an important component to your  “full” body health. When working in extension it is important to keep the spine supported by pulling the abs in and up. Also, focus on creating length between the vertebrae. For the swan, create a 4 way stretch within your own body.…

Read More

March MATness – Saw

The movement in  “Saw” comes from the rotation of the spine not the hips and pelvis. Think of it as a “wringing” out of the abs. Also, try to create and maintain as much length from fingertip to fingertip. The deeper the work you can create in your own body the more you will get…

Read More

March MATness – Corkscrew

Corkscrew Lie on your back with your legs full extended and engaged. Arms actively pressing into the mat by your side. Squeezing the legs together tightly, pull your ribcage and abs into the mat, lift both the legs away from the mat up to a 90 degree angle Inhale, begin to circle the legs to…

Read More

March MATness – Open Leg Rocker

Open leg rocker is another great rolling exercise similar to “rolling like a ball” but with straight legs. Try to focus on finding the stability aspect of this exercise first before you add in the movement. Be careful as you are rolling not to place the weight onto your head and neck and don’t let…

Read More

March MATness – Spine Stretch Forward

Spine stretch forward is an amazing exercise when executed correctly. A great tool for the spine stretch forward is to sit up against a wall. The wall will give your tactile feedback for where you are moving. Also, if you are really tight and feel all the work in your hip flexors you can sit…

Read More

March MATness – Single Leg Stretch and Double Leg Stretch

Today we are going to add the single leg stretch and double leg stretch to the mat repertoire that you have hopefully been practicing at home! These are the first two in what we call the “series of 5” Single Leg Stretch 1. Lie on your back with your legs full extended and engaged. Arms…

Read More

March MATness – Single Leg Circles

Single Leg Circles Single leg circles are a great example of the idea of “full body” movement. By the end of this exercise you should feel like every muscle in your body was worked! For those of you who have a lot of range of motion in your hips you might need to focus more…

Read More

PREVENT THE PUDGE CHALLENGE

Commandment #10: YOU NEED AT LEAST 8 HOURS OF UNINTERRUPTED SLEEP PER NIGHT Most people know that adequate sleep is necessary for optimal health however; most do not realize that inadequate sleep can cause weight gain. Research shows that the number of hours an individual sleeps influences their risk of obesity. Sleep deprivation can be…

Read More

PREVENT THE PUDGE CHALLENGE

Commandment #9: YOU NEED TO ALLOW YOURSELF A TREAT Deciding how often to indulge in your favorite treats can be a difficult choice. Do you indulge in a treat every day or just on the weekends? If you are too strict with your eating plan, it can backfire, resulting in binge eating or worse yet…

Read More