Sayezz Pilates Self-Practice Guide to Mat FUNdamentals

In this fourth video lecture, along with the downloadable Mat Exercises Manual, you will be introduced to the first 6 Sayezz Sweet Sixteen! Once you master this series of exercises, you will have a better understanding how to access your deep abdominals (find the flat tummy!), how to stabilize the pelvis and then mobilize your legs (feel that strong core!) and release tension in your low back by creating space in your spine (live pain-free!). Though the exercises are divided into separate lectures, they are best practiced together as a series.

Breathing will teach you to breathe from the ribcage while “scooping” the belly for optimal flow throughout your body and every exercise you perform. You will learn to use breath to access your abdominals and create a rhythm and pace for your movements.

Pelvic Tilt will teach you how to efficiently move your pelvis, using your deep abdominals and pelvic floor, and to release your legs and hip flexors (think of how good that will feel after all the sitting we do!). Mobility in the pelvis also leads to mobility in the low back, which means a strong core, front to back.

Single Knee Fold will teach you how to stabilize your pelvis in neutral while mobilizing your hip joint, literally “greasing it up” for easier motion. Ideally our legs simply swing in the hip socket with ease and without effort, and the more synovial fluid we can stir up, the better! This simple exercise does precisely that.

Knee Drops will tone your waistline by challenging the obliques and teach you to rotate from the ribcage while creating space in each vertebra - great for golfers and anyone looking to become more "twisty", which of course is all of us!

Double Knee Fold is a more challenging version of Single Knee Fold, will work on flattening and hollowing those low abdominals, and is one of my favorites! Reinforcing the strength of the neutral pelvis, Double Knee Fold also challenges our upper ribs and neck to remain "soft" and tension-free.

Bridging will teach you how to use your hamstrings and glutes most efficiently while articulating the spine and staying connected in the ribcage. More space in our spine and long, lean legs are just two of the benefits of this simple but powerful exercise.

Don't forget to use your downloadable Mat Exercises Manual in this fifth video lecture to take notes on how to stabilize and mobilize your ribcage using the strength of your upper abdominals, breath and lats and back. Enjoy deeper breathing, stronger upper abs and more mobility in your middle back, easing tension through your shoulders and neck. Though the exercises are divided into separate lectures, they are best practiced together as a series.

Arm Circles will teach you how to keep your shoulders away from your ears by stabilizing your ribcage with your breath and abs and mobilizing your shoulder joint from the back, allowing for more efficient movement and range of motion in the whole “shoulder girdle”. It also emphasizes an isometric reach through your arms to create a long and lean musculature.

Say goodbye to crunches and hello to chest curls! Chest Curl will teach you a more efficient way of “curling” up and over your "6-pack", for a long, lean torso and strong control of your upper abdominals. Great for low back and neck health as this “curl” teaches you to keep your pelvis stable in neutral when moving your ribcage and to rest your head heavily in your hands for optimal strength and mobility in all the right places.

Chest Curl Rotation will strengthen your core and tone your waistline by challenging your obliques. It emphasizes the 3-dimensional movement of the transverse plane (on the rotational axis) to keep the spine twisting and turning and supple - in other words, healthy and happy!

Hundreds Prep will teach you the beginning step of the quintessential Pilates exercise, The Hundreds. Combining pelvic stability in neutral with shoulder girdle stability (everything we have been introduced to so far), adding deeper core strength and a rhythmic breath, this challenging and complex exercise truly has it all.

Don't forget to use your downloadable Mat Exercises Manual in this sixth video lecture to take notes on how to reach through your legs and move your spine, giving both the suppleness of a dancer! This lecture adds to the previous five by giving you more mobility through your hips (better sex, as one benefit!) and spine (even stronger, longer, more balanced core!). Though the exercises are divided into separate lectures, they are best practiced together as a series.

Leg Lifts and Leg Circles builds on the work of Single Knee Fold and Double Knee Fold by challenging your deep abdominals to maintain neutral pelvis and those upper abdominals to maintain neutral spine by adding straight legs and lateral (side-to-side) movement to the mix. Both variations will increase range of motion in the hip joint and hamstrings, giving you long, lean legs and a strong, long core. Don't forget to reach through those sitting bones!

Rock'n'Roll is something I used to do as a gymnast after bridging, so think of this exercise as the opposite of a bridge, in fact, as the deepest "scoop" of your abdominals you can find in a curl to maintain the ball shape (as opposed to an arch). Not only do you strengthen your core in this simple-to-watch-challenging-to-do exercise, you will also open up your low back to a new dimension of pain-free living - it's like giving yourself a free massage!

Half Roll Back works on articulating the spine from pelvis to head, much like Bridging works on articulating the spine from head to pelvis. It develops a strong core and mobility in the spine, both of which help to keep us standing tall.

Finding neutral pelvis and spine is all well and good when gravity is working with us. The real challenge to our strength, stability and balance comes when we change our relationship to the ground and gravity. Use your downloadable Mat Exercises Manual in this seventh video lecture to take notes on how to keep calm, cool and collected when we move on our side, belly and hands and knees. We need to remember that we are 3-dimensional beings in order to stand tall, move efficiently and gain strength and balance, inside-out! Though the exercises are divided into separate lectures, they are best practiced together as a series.

Side Lying Double Leg Lift will work the side-body, which is so important for stability when standing upright and will tone those long, lean legs. It specifically targets the inner thighs (adductors) and outer thighs (abductors) for balanced musculature & strength and stability when balancing.

Swan Lift is performed to teach proper usage of the whole spine and shoulder-girdle in order to balance out all the exercises we have done in flexion. In order to stand tall, we need strength and length in our abdominals as well as our spinal extensors! Improved posture, long, lean abdominals, release of tension around the shoulders and neck and stretch through the hip flexors are just some of the benefits of this amazing exercise.

Cat reinforces the articulate, supple spinal strength and control of Half Roll Back by flipping it over onto its hands and knees to add weight-bearing and balanced use of the abdominals and back extensors against gravity. It reinforces neutral in a new way, changes our relationship to the ground by adding the push of the hands to strengthen the arms and shoulders and feels great as a back stretch!

It’s important to stretch to keep our muscles supple and long. The best kind of stretches are the dynamic ones you performed during the Sayezz Sweet Sixteen exercises, so these static stretches at the end of the workout, when your muscles and joints are warm, serve to refocus our breath, calm our minds and release any tension that may have built up. Finishings is a series of 3 stretches that encourage you to breathe and release your hamstrings, back, neck and hips. Enjoy the sensations!

Hurrah! You made it to the Sayezz Pilates AnyWhereAnyTime Tidbit! This is your piece of Sayezz choreography to do anywhere anytime, as many times as you would like. It uses the vocabulary of exercises you already know and creates a short sequence. As you may not be used to learning choreography, I have broken this lecture down into 5 parts. First, I lay it out visually and verbally; then I cue you through the choreography, slow then fast; and finally, I provide music that will guide you through the choreography, slow then fast. Feel free to take your time and learn over a course of several days or watch and do the Tidbit variations as a series. Good for your body. Great for your brain. Sayezz to YOU!

As this is the first time you will be putting all the pieces of the Sayezz Sweet Sixteen together, you will be cued verbally through the sequence at a SLOW pace. Feel free to watch and listen first, and then practice the choreography as many time as you need!

You will be cued verbally through the sequence at a FAST pace. It's the same choreography, but the pace is double-time. Again, feel free to watch and listen first, and then practice the choreography as many time as you need!

Now it's time for me and my voice to say goodbye and for you to try the Sayezz Tidbit on your own, with music. But don't worry - you already know the choreography! This time around, you will simply practice the the same sequence at a SLOW pace, to a cool tune.

Now it's time to try the Sayezz Tidbit FAST with MUSIC! Once you have got it in your brain and body, I challenge you to integrate it into your every day by doing it once, twice, as many times as you want during the day! Feel free to change up the music and pace as well and Sayezz to YOU!

To bring your course to a close, listen to the brief lecture, print the attachment, fill in the blanks and put it in a visible place. Then simply, continue to Sayezz to YOU!