The 30 Minute Pilates Class Your Body Needs Today

Reconnect with your body in this feel-good 30-minute Pilates mat class designed to build strength, improve posture, and leave you feeling longer, lighter, and more energised. We'll move through a full-body workout that strengthens your core, glutes, arms, and legs while focusing on mindful movement and breath. Suitable for all levels, with options to modify or progress throughout the class. Press play whenever your body needs movement, and leave feeling stronger, more balanced, and refreshed.

Transcript

Are you ready to do some Pilates? Hey, It's Jax, Your Pilates teacher. And in today's class, We are gonna be getting into the core, We're gonna be getting into the glutes, And we're gonna be getting into the shoulders. So let's get our class started. All you're gonna need is a mat, Space to move, And a will to live. Okay, We're starting in this seated position, Feet on the floor. I want you to take your arms on top of your calves for me, And I just want you to round over yourself. Try not to collapse there in your shoulders. Make sure your head isn't resting on top of your knees. Instead, It's hovering a little bit. Let's find our Pilates breath. Big inhale through the nose. Audible exhale out through the mouth. Keep doing that for me while I chat. So I want you to breathe. Breathe into the back of the ribs and the side of the ribs. And then every time you exhale, You feel those abdominal muscles compressing a little bit more. Give me two more big inhale breaths. Exhale, Just clearing out the cobwebs, Letting go of any tension, Softening the jaw, Softening the eyes, And then we're going to slowly lift ourselves up. Let's do a little protraction, Retraction of the shoulders. Arms are going to go out nice and long for me. We're going to retract the shoulders. Think about your shoulder blades coming together, And then protract. Think about the shoulder blades going wide. A couple more. Now notice how it's just my scapula doing the movement. Isolate this to the upper body. So we don't want that rib cage popping out. You're thinking reach for something and then you're pulling it back in. What are you reaching for? Reaching for those cookies and then bring them home. For me, It's always going to be brownies. Brownies over cookies any day. You let me know in the comments. What are you eating after this? Maybe a little brownie as our special sweet treat. OK, Let's find a neutral position here. We're going to start to roll down everybody, But we're going to use the back of our hands. So knees together, Heels together. Toes together. Let's slowly start to walk our hands all the way down towards the mat. And then we're coming down onto our back. Last little bit of our warm ups. I'm going to be getting into these arm circles, Everybody. So we're going to reach these arms up high into the sky for me. We're going to start to open our arms out to a T, Bring the hands by the hips and then reach the arms up. So we open. . . And close. As you do a couple more rounds for me, I want you to notice your ribcage, Everybody. I want you to keep that ribcage really soft for me. So imagine you had a book or something on top of your ribcage. You can still breathe. Let's take it the opposite way. So hands come down, Open out into a T, And then reach it back up. So you're imagining something on top of your ribcage. You can still breathe, But we're not going to pop our ribs or abdominals to the ceiling in today's class, Everybody. Okay, One more arm circle like this, Just getting some nice movement through that shoulder. Girdle and let's bring both knees into the chest. Arms are going to open out to a T and then we twist. Drop the knees over towards the left. Let both knees drop for me, Everybody. Think about lengthening through your low back. And then we're going to bring those knees back to center. And then just drop them over to the right. You have one more around each side everybody and then that's gonna be our warm-up coming to a close It's a quick one today because it's a shorter video if we were in a full class We'd be warming up a little bit more, But I wanted to get I want us to just get really straight into it All right feet on the floor Let's find our cervical nod and abdominal prep hands come down by the mat as you inhale cervical nod We start to look towards the knees and then as you exhale head neck and shoulders is gonna lift hands are hovering about an inch over that mat pause here. I'm looking for shoulder, Elbow, And wrist in one line. And then it doesn't matter which hand you take, Friend. I want you to bring it to your belly. Let's find that Pilates breath. Big inhale, Breathe into the ribs. Audible exhale. Keep going. So what I'm looking for here is that your hand lowers every time. You want to think abdominal compression here. This is going to compress every time we exhale about 30%. All right, Let's find our abdominal prep. We inhale, Lower the head. Exhale, Head, Neck, And shoulders lift. Keep going like this for me. So the only thing that's lifting you up are your abdominals, Specifically your rectus abdominis and your obliques. That's what's coming you into this flex position. For two. Next time, Head, Neck, And shoulders lift. We're going to pause. Let's get the 100. We inhale for five. Exhale for five. Keep going like this for me, Everybody. As you do this, Arms are moving in unison with your breath. Notice your hip bones. Those are those protruding little bones right here. If you touch them like me, I encourage it. What I'm looking for here is that that pelvis is nice and neutral. We're gonna try to keep that neutral pelvis throughout class. If you need to find an imprint, If you need to tuck the tailbone under, Don't worry, I'll guide you throughout the practice. Last two rounds like this. We're in it, Y'all, We're in it. So stick with me, Stick till the end. And I promise we're gonna have a good time, Yeah? All right, Let's lower that head down. Bring both knees into the chest for me. Give a little rock from side to side in that low back. And then we're coming on to our bellies, Everybody. We're gonna come into breaststroke. So we're in this prone position here. I want your feet as wide as the mat to protect that low back. Hands are coming out to that 90 degrees. I personally like to bring my pinky fingers in line with the mat. Your nose, The tip of the nose is on the mat. Now checking with those abdominals, Everybody. Belly's lifting in and up. Don't collapse. And press into those hip bones. Take an inhale breath to prepare. As you exhale, We start to lift the head, The neck. Come up to that first rib. Gaze up towards the top of the mat. Find more extension in the neck. And then we lower everything down. Back down. Keep going. Inhale to prepare. Exhale, Pressing into those hip bones. Feel the middle of the shoulders lifting you. Hover for a moment. And then we lower back down. Keep going like this for everybody. So I want you to find a lot of engagement, Nothing too crazy in those glutes. I want the legs nice and active. Don't let your heels lift. Now what's doing the work is not the low back, It's actually the middle of your spine. So every time you lift, I want you to think the middle of my back is lifting me, And then my abdominals, My glutes are here to support me on that journey. Next time you lift, We're going to hold for a second. So I want you to lift head, Neck, And shoulders, Lifting off to that first rib. One more breath here. Try to look to the top of your mat. So we're finding more extension through the neck. And then we're going to lower back down. Let's go for breaststroke two, Everybody. Hands are just going to move by the sides of the thighs, Palms towards the ceiling. Your nose is still on the mat. It's a little bit more of a sequence here, More choreography. As we inhale, I want you to hover those hands. Palms are in line with the hips. As you exhale, It's a hover. So we're no longer looking at the top of the mat, You're looking straight down to the tip of your nose, And then we lower, Let the arms go. Inhale, Palms in line with hips. Exhale we hover hold for a second and then we lower back down keep moving like this for me everybody So remember abdominal muscles are supporting us. So don't lose that connection to the abdominals Even though our back is doing a lot of the work abdominal muscles are kicking in One more like this everybody and the next time you lift we're gonna hold we're gonna come into breaststroke three We're gonna have fun with it. Yeah. All right arms are gonna reach forward like you're swimming through water Bend the elbows, Hands come underneath the eyebrows, And then we lower everything back down. Let's come in and out of that a couple times. So first, Soften those shoulders away from your ears. We'll do a two-breath pattern. As you inhale, We're going to lift. Hands are glued to the eyebrows just for a moment. As you exhale, Reach the arms forward, Swim them back, And then we lower back down, Brushstroke two. So inhale, Arms lift. Exhale, We hover, Swing your arms forward, Bend the elbows, Hands under the eyebrows, And then we lower the chest. That's you, Folks. You have three more rounds like this. I really want you to think about the back doing that work. Take your time. And remember, It's just a hover, So don't overextend that neck for me. This should be your last round here. Woo, I'm feeling it in the back myself. And then once you finish, Let's press into a shell stretch, Aka child's pose, If you're a fellow yogi like me. And I want you to breathe into the back. Breathe into your upper back, Your mid back, Your low back. Let go of any of that tension that might have accumulated. One more breath here. And then you're going to find me back in our tabletop position. We're going to get into some leg pull front. AKA knee hovers here. So I want you to spread those fingers nice and wide for me. Take a peek at me really fast. Instead of collapsing in the shoulders and the belly, I want you to think belly's lifting in and up and we're pushing that mat away. So there's protraction in the shoulders, A lifting in the belly. Okay, If you need to double up your mat for your wrist, Please, Please, Please do it. Let's move. We exhale, Hover the knees just an inch. Inhale, Tap them down. Exhale, We hover. Inhale, We tap. Keep going. If you're somebody who's hypermobile, A little bit of bend in those elbows for me. And I'm a visual person, So I always like to think there's a flame underneath my belly or a little candle. And if I drop my belly, I'm gonna burn my belly. So I'm always thinking belly lifts in and up. When I take that exhale breath, We exhale. We inhale. Next time you hover those knees, We're gonna hold it here for three, Pushing that mat away for two, One more breath, And then shell stretch. Drop those knees. Send those hips back. Enjoy the stretch. Okay. If you want to stay in those knee hovers, Please, Please, Please, Please feel free. Otherwise, We're taking those knee hovers into a plank. So if you just want to hover in your knee hover, Please feel free. Otherwise, I'm challenging you to help me find that plank and help you find that plank. We're finding that plank together, Everybody. Lifting up in those shoulders. If you're in plank, I want you to think about your kneecaps lifting up to the ceiling. Glutes are on, Quads, Abdominals. Three more breaths here. That connection to the upper shoulders. Last one, Last one. And then let's drop those knees down, Find our shell stretch once again. Nice job, Everybody. Okay, Let's get into our side leg series. I'm coming over onto my right side, Doesn't matter which one for you, We'll do both sides. I want you to bring the back of your body to the mat where that line is, Yeah? Feet are gonna go to the top corner. So for me, It's my top right-hand corner, Because I'm on my right-hand side. Now, With this bottom arm, My right arm, Couple options. You can either drop the ear on top of the bicep, Or you can bend the elbow for me, Whatever feels comfortable. Everybody take your hand. I want you to take that top hip and push it away. Notice when I push that hip away, There's a little hole under here. That's because those abdominal muscles are still lifting up. We're thinking length through the legs. Left hand on the mat, On the hip, Or on the head for that extra challenge. Okay, We're going to lift, Point these toes. We're going to lift our left leg up. Flex the foot and tap it down. So you point. Flex and lower. Keep going like this for me everybody. So for me personally, Sometimes I like to take my hand to my low back and make sure that my hips aren't rocking back. If your hips are rocking forward or back, Maybe a smaller lift here on this top leg. This is going to be a long sequence everybody, So please take breaks when you need it. Now I want you to check in with that ribcage. Remember at the beginning of class, I said no popping that ribcage at all? Same thing here. So no arch in that back. Keep that neutral spine for me. Okay, Everybody, Next time you lift this left leg up, You're gonna pause. We're flexing the feet. Our kick, We're gonna exhale, Kick twice. Point the toes, And reach this left leg back while keeping the hips stable. So we kick, Kick, Kick. Point and reach. Ooh, I can already tell my hips are like, I want to dance right now and I'm like, No, No, No, No, No. Let's stay stable. When you're taking this left leg back, I really want you to think about using that glute to take you back. So feel the quad supporting you as you kick. Feel the glutes really working to take that leg back for two. One more, It's a kick, Kick. Point and the next time we bring this left leg over the right. Can you give me tiny circles? So left leg is doing tiny circles here for me I really want you to think about using that side glute staying active in that side glute abdominal muscles are working to stabilize reverse These circles can be the size of a pound coin as big as you want as long as we're stable This femur bone right here that connects to your pelvis feel the movement happening here in the femur bone for two Thank you. Our last one, And then let's drop this left leg down. Give it a round of applause. Okay, We're gonna bend the knees, And we're coming up onto our forearm, Everybody, So we can get a little arm work. We're sneaking it in. If you need to double up that mat to protect the elbow, Please take it. Knees are stacked. Remember, We're lifting up into this right side body, So that left hip has the length. Okay, First things first, We're just gonna do clams. We exhale open, Inhale close. I want you to keep this neck nice and long for me, Shoulders away from the ears. And remember, We don't wanna rock back in this hip. I want you to stay stable. So if you need to bring that hand to your low back, Please feel free. Now, I love layers in a class. So you're gonna choose what you want for these next couple of rounds. Option A, You're just staying here in your clam. Otherwise, I'm gonna ask you to come up into a side plank and a clam. So we exhale, Push the hips forward. Open the knee, Drop it down, Drop the hip. Keep going. Remember, If you do not want to do that side plank, You're opening the clam, Maybe hold for a little bit longer, And then drop it down. We are here for four more rounds, Everybody. And then our next layer is going to ask a little bit more of us. You got it. Remember you clicked today's video for a reason so you showed up let yourself show out show us what you're working with today Next time we lift this knee pause we extend the leg tap the toes drop the knee you drop the hip so it's a lift Open, Extend, Bend, Drop, Lower. Remember, If you're in clam, It can look just like this. You do not have to come up into that side plank. You do what you need to today. But we have four more rounds. And then I always like to sneak something in at the end. We're here for three. Woo, It's hot in the studio today. We're here for two. Can you give me one more? Come on, Come on, Come on. Last one like this. And then next time you open up to that clam, Can you give me tiny pulses, Tiny pulses, Four, Five. If you wanna come up onto that elbow, You can for three. Our last two. Our last one. We drop it down. Let's take a mermaid stretch. Woo! Knees are bent, Right hands in line with the right thigh. Inhale, Left arm reaches up, Reach to the side of the mat. And then left hand's gonna come to that ankle, Right arm ranges up and over. Enjoy that stretch after all that strength in the right arm. One more breath like this, Everybody. Okay, And then let's come to the top of the mat. We're not going to go over to the second side just yet. Instead, We're going to do a couple of roll downs and roll ups. So, We did them in the warm up everybody. Knees together, Heels together, Toes together. Option A, You're going to use hands behind the back of the thighs for me. So, We're all starting this flex position. That's your goal, Stay flex. Flexion in the low back, Mid back, Upper back. So my gaze is in between my thighs. We're gonna slowly start to roll back, Tuck the tailbone under. Now, First things first, If you need to use the hands to slowly walk you down, You can. We're gonna reach those arms up, Take them behind us. Everybody bring one hand to your rib cage, Soften the ribs down, No over arch there in the middle of that back. It's an inhale to reach the arms up. We'll all bring hands behind the back of the thighs for the first round. Hands behind the back of the thighs, Tuck the chin, Press into your low back, You lift, Lift, Lift, Lift, Lift, And we're here at this flex position once again. Option to now extend the arms. So arms are extending, You're rounding. As you roll back, Tuck the tailbone under, Glutes switch on first, Then the abdominal muscles switch on, Then you articulate that spine down, Biceps in line with the ears, Is red. We inhale, Reach the arms up. Imprint, Tuck the tailbone under. Round, Round, Round, Round. Flexion over the body. Don't lose the connection in the upper body. And then we just rollin' down, Y'all. And we rollin' back. Sometimes if you're not able to get up, It's not even a matter of core strength. It might just be your anatomy. You might have different size limbs. So there's no pressure in my classes, At least ever, To look a certain way. I want you to do what feels good in your body, And then I'm going to challenge you along the way. Speaking of challenge, For these last three rounds, Option to extend the legs, Flexing through those feet. So point those toes up to the ceiling. I want heavy ankles, Everybody. Inhale, You reach the arms up. Remember, Tuck the tailbone. And under. Switch on the glutes first, Then the abdominals. We're rounding up. Remember, You're rounding. Gaze in between those knees. Inhale, Breath, And then exhale. Switch on the glutes first, Then the abdominal muscles. Heavy in those heels, And we're rolling back. You have two more. Knees bent, Hands behind the back of the thighs. Remember, Movement's also meant to feel good, Y'all, And have fun. So I never want you to feel like you have to suffer through any of these movements. If you have any questions, By the way, Please, Please, Please leave them in the comments. I will respond back to you. As a Pilates teacher, That's my job, Y'all, Is to teach you how to move that body and hopefully feel good. Okay, Next time we roll all the way down, Everybody, We're going to stay down. I want you to bend those knees, Bring the soles of the feet back onto the mat. We're going to hit these abdominal muscles, Everybody. Other side, And then wow, Class is already gonna be over. Okay, Hands down by the sides of the thighs for me. Big inhale, Breath here. Exhale, Head, Neck, And shoulders is gonna lift. Okay, You're staying in this flexion, Everyone. Bring your hands to your hip bones. I want you to keep a neutral pelvis for me, But if you need an imprint like myself, Tuck that tailbone under, That's gonna protect the low back. Right leg tabletop, Left leg tabletop. We call it one leg stretch because one leg is gonna stretch. Hands outside the knees to begin. Let's take this left leg out nice and long. My right hand's coming to my right ankle, My left hand's inside the thigh. Inhale, Breath is gonna help us switch. So we take two exhales. Switch. Keep going. So my outside hands outside on the ankle. Every time that I switch the right ankle, Right hand, Left ankle, Left hand. Your goal here is to stay flexed. So keep that gaze in between your thighs. Try not to look up. That's going to bring extension into the spine, Which is what the opposite of what we want. We want flexion of that spine, Everybody. So I want your head lifted. I want you strong in those abdominals. Compress. Compress. Compress those abdominals, Everybody. Flatten them. Use that core. This is all core for two. And then our last one like this, Let's bring both knees into the chest, Drop the head, Take a pause, Take a breath. Okay, Double leg stretch hands come by the sides of the thighs big inhale breath exhale head neck and shoulders is gonna lift Neutral spine or tuck that tailbone under you find imprint legs are coming to tabletop I like to break down double leg stretch first with the arm. So hands are coming outside those thighs for me everybody As you exhale, Look at my torso really fast. Notice this isn't gonna change, It's just the hands. We're gonna bend the elbows, Straighten the arms back. Notice how I'm still flexed. And yes, I am shaking. And we inhale, Circle the arms, Bring them to the calves. Exhale reach those arms. Inhale. We circle y'all if I don't shake in a Pilates class Did it actually even happen now? My body is always stabilizing. Listen, I didn't grow up doing sports I grew up eating honey buns and sitting on the couch. So this is Strength that's been accumulated over hard work. And that's what we're doing today. Y'all we're doing the hard work So stick with it and I know you're gonna stick with it because you're gonna join in and add the love legs. Let's do it. We exhale, Straighten the legs, Straighten the arms. Inhale, Bend the knees, Circle the arms. Now, As you do this movement, Check in with those abdominals, Everybody. I want them compressed. So I don't want us pushing our abdominals or our ribs to the ceiling. No way. We're here for three. Stick with it. Last two. One more, One more. Do we got one more in us? Yes, We do. Ah, Drop it all down. Take a pause. Take a water break if you need it, Everybody. Hands behind the back of the thighs. Let's roll ourselves up. I'm switching to the other side of the mat, Just so that you can see me. So now I'm on my left side, Everybody. And then toes are going up to that top corner for me, If you will. OK, Remember, Your journey, Either ear on top of the bicep, Or bend that elbow. Right hand's going to come right hip, We're going to push that hip away, Hand on the floor, Hip or head if you want that extra challenge. Alright, Point those toes for me everybody, Top corner, We're going to point flex, Lower. Point, Kick, Flex, Lower. One, Two, Three, Four. I used to be in cheerleading growing up, Everybody. Can we tell? You know what that means though? I'm always going to be your cheerleader. I'm always going to ask more of you because I know that you can. And I'm not going to leave you alone. I'm going to be here to support you. So watch out. More Pilates videos are coming soon. Last two. Next time, We're going drop this right leg down. You're going to pause for me. Let's flex that foot. It's a double kick. Point, Reach it back. Ooh, I'm unstable today. Kick kick point and reach. I know for me, I gotta take this one a little bit slower. I had an injury on my right leg, So that's okay. I love Pilates because it's all about precision and control, Yeah? And it's practice, Y'all. It's never a perfect class. It's a practice where we get to see where our body's at today and then just show up and say, Hey, I'm moving, I'm grooving, I'm sticking with it. Woo, Let's go for two. Kick, Kick, Inhale back. The exhale is a kick. Good, Next time we bring this leg over the foot, Point it, Tiny circles. Tiny circles. Remember, Think length. Imagine I'm gently pulling that right leg and lengthening, Lengthening. Ooh. Butt cheek might fall off, But we're still in it. And then reverse, Reverse for me and take it slow. I know I might be going fast. My body's like shaking. It's like, Ooh, Let's just get through it. But connect, Feel this side glutes supporting you for two. Ooh, We're here for one. And then let's drop that leg down. Give it a high five, Everybody. Are we ready for our finisher, Those clams? Okay, I'm gonna ask you to come into that side plank, If that's available for you today. If not, You can always stay down. We open and close. Ooh, Y'all, How am I already feeling it? How am I already feeling it after like three my body's like hey, How's it going? Well, You know how it's going We're gonna ask more of ourselves today and I'm gonna show up So come join me if you're feeling it today. Otherwise, You're just in that clam We come into our side plank think the hips go forward open into our clam drop it and lower So I don't want you pushing those ribs towards the top of your mat I really want you to think my glutes are help lifting me up up, But it's all that side oblique, Everybody, That's going to help stabilize us today in the class. I want those shoulders facing forward. Maybe you got a little smile on your face. I wonder what you're listening to today. If I was able to play music, It'd be hardcore rap and Biggie Smalls all day. Okay, Everyone, We have that next layer coming up. So it's a side plank clam. Open, Touch, Bend, Lower. If you're just in your clam, Same thing. You're just keeping that arm down. So we lift. Open, Extend. Point. Bend lower. So, I want strong arms everybody strong arms, We're going to go for four more rounds. Can you keep that pelvis, Nice and neutral. Sometimes you just gotta lock in, Yeah? So lock in. One of my Pilates teachers says you got to tap in so you don't tap out. So we just got to tap in y'all. Last full one like this and then tiny pulses. So if you're in your clam, You're staying down tiny pulses, Pulse, Pulse. If you're up on those forums like me, Pulse. Pulse, Four, Five. Four, It's that slow teacher's count for three. I'm right there with you. Last two, We're almost there. Our last one. Drop it down. Find that mermaid stretch for me, Everybody. Left hand in line with the left hip. Reach this right arm up and over. And then right hand's gonna come to the ankle. Reach this left arm back. Ah, Congratulations. Join me for a quick stretch, And then that's us sorted, Everybody. Okay. We're coming into Saw, We gotta do a Saw, Love a Saw. I like to take my feet as wide as the mat, Pull those toes towards your face, Arms are gonna go out nice and long, Palms towards the top of the mat. Now, Keep those hips stable for me, Everybody. As you twist to the left, Pause. Left thumb down, Right pinky is gonna sew off that left pinky. We round up and over, Gaze is down towards the knees. Imagine someone's pulling your left hand to unravel you, And then we come to the top of the mat. So it's an exhale twist, Right thumb down. Round up and over, Pinky to pinky. Someone pulls you back with that right hand and then unravel towards me. Couple more rounds like this. I really want you to flex everybody. So I want us to round and that gaze be at your knee more than anything else. Yeah, We round, Flex, Flex, Flex, And lift. Okay, Next time you come back to center, Both palms, Doesn't matter which one's on top, Bring them in line with the knee. We're gonna inhale, Reach the arms up. Imagine there's a big beach ball on top of your thighs. As you exhale, Round up and over. Pull the hands in towards your knees. And then we restack the spine two more. It's kind of like you're diving into a pool, Everybody. Round, Pull the hands back in. Last one, Lift it up. Round, Pull the hands in. And give yourself a high five. Congratulations on finishing your class. Thank you so much for joining me. My name is Jax, Your Pilates teacher. How did the video go? Let me know your thoughts and I so look forward to seeing you soon.

Reviews

Second time with Pilates - great class combining flow with holding positions. . Side planks and lifting hips and extending leg - became a balancing challenge. Lying on deck outside. Need to practice with soft mat next time. Thanks very much to allow me to grow and expand from just yoga practices. 🧘.