Mat Pilates Exercises

2. also known as Control Balance Muscle Focus: Abdominals and hip extensors. Objective: Pelvic stabilization and strengthening the glutes and hamstrings. Start Position: Lay flat on back with arms by side, and both legs extended straight up to the ceiling. Roll over and place the balls of the feet into the Mat. Circle your arms around and place both hands on the right foot. Movement: Extend the left leg straight to the ceiling. Without changing the position of the hips or torso, place the ball of the left foot back onto the Mat and extend the right leg to the ceiling. Repeat. For more advanced practitioners, legs can switch simultaneously. Precautions: Avoid this exercise if you have neck or spine injuries. Maintain a still and stable pelvis and square hips as the legs move. Maintain the lift of the hips and abdominals to the ceiling so as not to sink in the powerhouse. Balance Control

3. Muscle Focus: Abdominals and hips. Objective: Abdominal, hip, and shoulder strength and flexibility of the hips. Start Position: Lie on your back. Reach legs on a high diagonal, and roll through your spine, reaching both legs to the ceiling, and bending the knees in towards your chest. Place hands high on back. Movement: Reach the both straight to the ceiling. Lower one straight leg to the mat as you bend the opposite knee towards your chest. Cycle the legs through five times each leg. Reverse the direction of the legs for five repetitions. Precautions: Keep pelvis lifted and stable as legs bicycle. Bicycle

4. Muscle Focus: Abdominals and inner thighs. Objective: Strengthen abdominals, stabilize the hips, and massage the spine. Start Position: Sit tall with legs extended in front of you, the right ankle crossed over the left. Palms are placed on the Mat by your hips. Movement: Lift both legs off the Mat, roll over to a 90 degree angle, open and close the legs, switching the cross of the ankles. Backs of arms are pressing into the Mat for stability. Roll down through the spine without dropping the legs to balance in Teaser with arms parallel to the legs. Clasp your hands behind your tailbone and, while keeping the abdominals drawn in and close to the thighs, maintain the Teaser position as you lower the legs back to the Mat. Circle the arms overhead, bringing the hands to your ankles, and roll through your spine to sit tall. Repeat four to five more times. Precautions: Avoid this exercise if you have neck and spine injuries. Prior to executing this exercise, it is important to have practiced and successfully executed the Teaser and Roll Over. Boomerang

5. Muscle Focus: Abdominals and obliques. Objective: Strengthen obliques and facilitate rotation. Start Position: Lay flat on back with hands placed palm over palm at the base of the neck. Bring both knees into the chest and curl the head and shoulders off the Mat. Movement: Extend your right leg to a 45 degree angle. Rotate to bring the right shoulder to the left knee. Switch to rotate in the opposite direction to bring the left shoulder to the right knee. Repeat. Precautions: Ensure that the hands are not pulling on the head and that the shoulder blades remain lifted off of the Mat. Criss Cross

6. Muscle Focus: Abdominals, obliques, and back extensors. Objective: Stabilization of torso as legs and hips move, strengthen abdominals. Start Position: Sit tall with your legs straight in front of you and together. Place your hands behind you on the Mat, fingers pointing away form the body. Inhale to float both legs off the Mat to Teaser position. Movement: Exhale circle both legs towards the right, down, around, and back to start position. Reverse the circle in the other direction, circling both legs to the left, down, around, and back to start position. If you can maintain a stable torso as the legs circle, challenge yourself by lifting the opposite hip off the Mat as the legs circle. Precautions: As this is an advanced exercise, ensure that you can perform the Corkscrew first. Focus on maintaining a stable torso as the legs and hips move. With shoulder tightness, bend the elbows and place the forearms on the Mat during setup rather than placing the hands on the Mat. Hip Twist w Straight Arms

7. Muscle Focus: Back and hip extensors. Objective: Strengthen the back and hip extensors. Open and stretch the muscles of the shoulders and chest. Start Position: Lie on stomach and turn head to place one cheek on the Mat. Place hands clasped and high up on back, with elbows dropping towards the Mat. Movement: Kick both heels to the seat three times. Extend both legs straight as the hands reach to the feet while finding a back extension. Lower the torso down and turn the head to place the opposite cheek on the Mat. Repeat Precautions: Keep the pelvis level and pressed into the Mat as the feet kick. As the chest lifts, keep the neck lengthened and in line with the spine. Double Leg Kick

8. Resources: http://www.gekkos.eu/ https://www.pilatesanytime.com/Pilates-Exercises