Welcome to Pilates in Prayer.
Let's take a moment to pray.
God,
We ask for your presence upon us during this class that we may feel a deep peace.
Of your presence.
Bringing healing to our minds and bodies.
Amen.
Today's class is focused on arms and also lower body.
If you have some light weights,
Go ahead and grab them.
Two to three pounds is great.
Let's start.
Beginning with a kneeling squat and a bicep curl,
Moving slowly,
Mindfully with presence.
You Continuing with the kneeling squat and now bringing your arms forward as if serving a platter.
And now bringing your arms overhead and then alternating with a tricep press back,
Continuing with the kneeling squat as you move through these arm postures.
And place your weights down mirroring me come to lay on your right side,
Staying propped up on your right forearm,
Left leg extended long and lifting and lowering your left leg.
And now bending your left knee in and then straightening your leg out and moving through this.
Bring both knees together as though sitting in a chair and you can come to any arm position that's comfortable for you.
And now lifting and lowering your left leg,
Bringing it back in.
And you will probably be feeling those glutes at this point.
And keeping your left knee bent,
Extend your right leg long.
This should be a nice stretch in your glute.
And now lifting and lowering your right leg and working your inner thigh.
Mirroring me coming onto all fours,
And you'll be extending your left leg long.
Lifting and lowering your left leg.
And now tapping your left toes from one side of the mat to the other side as though drawing a rainbow at the back of your mat.
Working to keep your hips stable and just moving your legs.
And now lifting your left leg and then dropping your right forearm and squeeze your left knee in towards your chest.
Bring your right hand back to the mat,
Lifting and lowering,
And then coming back into that side squeeze.
You'll be using your core here as you alternate from forearm to hand,
Working to stay as stable as possible as you move and breathe.
Coming back to high kneeling and picking up your weight.
And coming back into a kneeling squat with a bicep curl.
Mirroring me,
Come onto your left side,
Propped up on your left forearm,
Right leg extended long.
And lift and lower your right leg.
Bending your right knee in and then extending your leg long and flowing through this.
You Bring your knees together as though sitting in a chair,
Come into whichever arm position is comfortable and now lifting and lowering your right leg while keeping your knee bent.
Keep your right knee bent,
Extend your left leg long.
And lifting and lowering your left leg,
Working your inner thigh.
Coming onto all fours and extending your right leg long.
Lifting and lowering your right leg.
Tapping your right toes to either side of your mat as though drawing a rainbow and aiming to keep your hips stable and just moving your legs.
Now lifting your right leg and then dropping your left forearm,
Squeeze your right knee in towards your chest and then come back up to all fours,
Lifting your leg and flowing through this.
And relax,
You can push back into a child's pose.
And take some time now to completely relax and soften.
Melt away any tension.
You can bring your arms over to one side,
Breathing into your side body and then the other.
Letting this be a time to really integrate your practice.
As you're ready coming up rolling your shoulders out and you can stretch one arm and then the other you As you are ready,
Come into a seated posture.
And folding over your legs.
And letting this be a time to be still.
And to be in touch with the quiet presence of God.
Feeling the strength.
That you cultivated in today's class.
And as you're ready,
Switching sides,
Bring your other leg in front.
And folding over.
And just noticing how you feel.
Maybe even more relaxed,
More regulated.
When we bring presence to our bodies.
This tends to calm our minds and our hearts as well.
So allowing yourself to enjoy.
These moments of calm.
That they may give you strength for the rest of your day.
As you're ready,
Coming into a comfortable position to end with a prayer.
God,
Thank you for this time.
Thank you for this practice together and the grace and blessing of moving and breathing with your presence.
May our bodies build strength and stamina,
Resilience.
May our minds feel the peace of your presence the rest of the day.
Amen.
Thank you for practicing with me.
I love moving with you and look forward to seeing you again.
So much love.