Class 18 Exercise List

 

 

 

© 2019-2024 Laszlo I. Nemeth

1. Sky reach

2. Shoulder cross reach 1 start

Shoulder cross reach 1 end

Shoulder cross reach 10 start
Shoulder cross reach 10 end
Shoulder cross reach 10 end, back view
3. Shoulder rotation 1 start
Shoulder rotation 1 end
After the first down and up twisting motion, repeat the same down and up motion, but pointing your elbow further from your chest. Gradually, on subsequent repetitions, move your elbow more and more outward until you reach the furthest angle it can reach. That’s the position for the 10th repetition, as the following pictures show.
Shoulder rotation 10 start
Shoulder rotation 10 end

4. Vertical arm swing

5. Outward arm swing (a)

Outward arm swing (b)

6. Horizontal arm swing (a)

Horizontal arm swing (b)

7. One arm windmill

Make sure to start the swing backwards from arm hanging by your side!!!!

8. Arm back flex, phase 1
Arm back flex, phase 2
9. Shoulder blade squeeze
Follow each backward motion (as you see above, with thumbs pointing backward), with a forward turn of the arms until the thumbs point backward, again. The shoulders should come forward, as you exhale. There is no picture for this second part of the exercise.
10. Standing backward bend
+ forward bend

11. Ankle bend (a)

Ankle bend (b)

12. Ankle twist (a)

Ankle twist (b)

13. Ankle twirl

14. Head fore and back bend, in line (a)

Head fore and back bend, in line (b)

15. Head fore and back bend, 45 degrees (a)

Head fore and back bend, 45 degrees (b)

16. Side to side neck and body bend

17. Head turn, first position, chin on your chest, right, then left turn

Head turn, after 7 reps to left and right, as you’ve gradually moved the axes of the head toward vertical.
Head turn, turning the entire upper body left and right with the head. Do this 3 times to either side.
18. Execute the head roll here, 4 times each direction. There is no picture for that.
19. Full front extension
20. Downward dog

21. Bent knee up 45° Start position (a)

Bent knee up 45° End position (b)
22. Knee across chest flex 1Change your hand position on your foot and gradually pull it toward your head to move your knee across your body under your chest. Repeat the same down and up rotations as in the previous exercise.
Knee across chest flex 2

23. Half front extension

24. Bent knee down 45° Start position (a)

Bent knee down 45° End position (b)

25. Straight leg out, 1st rep, End position

When you rotate your hip back, let go of your foot. Then, try to reach it again as you rotate your hip and shoulder toward the mat…

Straight leg out, 10th rep, End position …then, on subsequent repetitions, gradually move your leg further and further down, decreasing the angle from 90°, toward the other leg, until you have your active foot under the resting one. Change your hand position, after about the 4th rep, and bring it up where it’s comfortable, as in the picture.

26. Wring out.

The Straight leg out, 10th rep, above, is the starting position for the Wring out.

The same leg (in this case right) that you started with at the 45° down exercise, then continued with the Straight leg out, is now on the bottom, under the other (in this case the left) foot. Press down the heel of the right foot with the left one and lower both hips to the mat. Perch your upper body up and look over your right shoulder to see the heel of your right foot.

27. Straight leg hip twist, Starting position twist

Roll out of the Wring out position into a sitting one, but keep the leg straight that you worked on. Put the other leg across, just to get it out of the way. Twist your upper body back and forth, while exchanging the hand positions accordingly.

Straight leg hip twist, Ending position twist (This is the right place for this picture that I used for the Straight leg hip twist, in lieu of what I should have had there.)

28. One sided hip hang

starting position

starting position, different angle view
One sided hip hang, exercise position 1
One sided hip hang, exercise position 2

Roll your body back and forth between the two positions.

29. Pretzel, phase 1, with straight leg

or, Pretzel, phase 1, with bent leg

Pretzel, phase 2 (head to foot)
Pretzel, phase 3 (shoulder to foot)

30. Leg and hip flex, phase 1

Leg and hip flex, phase 2
Leg and hip flex, phase 3

31. Leg and hip flex, Knee to side

32. External rotation

33. Internal rotation

Following the Internal rotation exercise, as a “reset,” execute the External rotation exercise here briefly and gently. Roll your hip back and forth to relax the structure of your lower back area. Then, move your feet forward from your body and repeat the same motions, gently.

34. Long front extension

35. Long outside extension

Turn the outside edge of your foot toward the mat. Then, slowly rotate your upper body, look back at your foot and “walk” your hands around to accommodate the turning.

36. Long inside extension

Go back to the Long front extension, with the top of your foot on the mat…

 then, turn your foot so that the inside is now on the mat. Gradually move your hands toward the front so that you can turn your upper body toward being “flat,” as you see in the following pictures.

37. Long forward flex

The pictures I have for this exercise are for a more advanced version, where I sit inside the bent knee. You should be sitting on the outside of your foot. Put your butt back past your bent knee and sit on the mat so that your bent knee is in front of your body (as opposed to being behind it as you see in the pictures.) Bring your bent knee forward, about a right angle, with your foot resting against the thigh of the straight leg. Then, bend as far forward as you can comfortably go. Slowly and gradually work your way toward the knee of the straight leg, as you see in the following pictures.

38. Head to toe

After bending forward, as in the picture, bring your head up, without moving your shoulder up and try to flatten your back. This will rotate your hip forward and make your back concave. Gently move back and forth between these two positions.

39. Straight leg forward flex

+ leg rotation (a)
+ leg rotation (b)

40. Straight leg hip twist

Sorry, this is not the exact, correct picture, but that’s what I had. Both feet should be straight here, but the twisting motion is as it should be.

Execute the Transition exercises, briefly:

External rotation

Pretzel

Full front extension

Down dog

Child’s pose

There is no picture for the Child’s pose.

Sit on your heels, or as close as you can get, comfortably. Bend forward to put your upper body as flat toward the ground as you can make it, comfortably. Extend your hands forward, with palms down. Climb forward with your fingers to elongate your spine. Rest and breath deeply and slowly for a few seconds. Then, sit up.