Summer Holiday Mini Sessions

Just Breathe

Sit or lie down, close your eyes, take the time to notice your breath, body, tension.

Now focus on your breath – Inhale Nose, Exhale Mouth.

Where is the breath not going? Aim to take the breath there, aim for at least a few breaths or until you feel the area start to respond.

Then focus on the next area. Belly, back, sides, chest, left, right. Keep the focus on your breath, nothing should take your focus for this time. When you feel all areas are more open and engaged, slow the breath down.

Use 4-6 counts in and then a short pause and 6-8 counts out and another short pause. Keep that breath cycle going for at least 12 breath cycles without you getting distracted by anything.

Then just enjoy a moment of calm and take the time to notice your breath, body, tension.

 

Catch for fun (flexibility, balance, coordination and core reaction)

Circle up and play catch.

Try throwing with left hand and catching with right, repeat other way.

Stand on one leg or hop then change after a few throws.

Throw the ball under one leg and then the other. Where do you need to improve balance? Where do you need to improve flexibility?

Try throwing and catching with one eye shut, which is your dominant eye? Does your ability to gage distance improve if you do this?

Use it or lose it.

• What do you notice if you engage the core or if you brace as you throw?
• What do you notice about the core if you throw the ball hard or soft?
• How does the core respond to catching a harder throw or a softer throw?

 

Happy Centre

A low level way to engage the muscles that help support you during all activities.

• Lie on back with knees bent and support head if needed to find a long, neutral spine.
• 1A) 30 rapid pelvic floor contractions – no squeezing the bottom and no pelvic tilting.
• 1B) 6 slow targeted contractions – imagine climbing onto an escalator as you slowly engage the muscles – visualise the motion up and forward.
• No pelvic tilting. Hold at the top 3-5 counts, trying not to hold your breath and then take the escalator back down.
• Finding the deep abdominals – imagine trying to draw the hip bones together.
• Try slowly engaging the pelvic floor muscles, if you keep gently lifting you feel it somewhere above your pubic bone.
• You should feel the tightening of the abdominal area below the belly button, you want to feel it deep, it should not restrict your ability to breathe. My fav is to just imagine a piece of elastic going from my bottom rib at the front to my hip bone and trying not to let the elastic get stretched. I get the feeling of drawing in to create support without thinking about engaging the muscles, and I have just enough tension to support the movement I want to do.
• Can you keep this sensation of the deep muscles working to support you and try moving an arm or a leg or reaching up into a cupboard or doing the ironing, or cutting the grass?

 

Motion is the Lotion

• let the arms hang loose, feet hip distance. Rotate from side to side, make it a slight swing and just let anything that wants to move, move, from foot to head. Notice differences, what can you do to make it feel a little more balanced?
• Now Stabilise the pelvis and rotate from the waist x 8 each way. Imagine those pieces of elastic getting stretched across, but not vertically. Use the breath out to rotate one and in to rotate back.
• Lie on your side with knees bent, arms stretched forward at shoulder height and head resting on a cushion. Start to turn you head and breast bone to the ceiling and let the arm go along for the ride. Don’t forget the elastic and tension in it, do 8 each side, add a few more to one side if you feel a little more restricted.
• Come onto your back, knees bent, feet closer to bottom and hip distance apart. Slowly roll throw the spine to curl up into a bridge and curl back down again. The aim is to try and move at each vertebrae so that the spine feels more fluid x6-8
• Bring the knees and feet together and let the hips roll from side to side. Elastic! What happens if you aim to keep the rib cage on the floor? X 6 each way
• 4 point kneeling happy cat/sad cat – When you round the spine to the ceiling which bits of the spine move? Can you get the other bits to start the movement and the easy bits to just follow. When you allow the belly to come down towards the floor so the spine curves the other way, can you control this? Can you think about drawing the breast bone forwards and trying to get it to point more to the front than down as you draw the shoulder blades towards your waist band. Much harder than just letting the belly flop and tail lift.

 

A bit of everything to keep you moving (1 beg 2 int)

Lunge forward right leg and come to the floor keeping knees and hips aligned.

4 point kneeling – knee pull (2) 10 secs – superman x2 (1).

Lower to floor – Opposite Arm and leg (2) x4 – Glute squeeze x4.

Side Lying left – Side leg lift x8 Forward and back x8 (1/2) bottom leg left x 8 (2).

Onto 4 point kneeling and lunge to standing.

Knee bend, heel raise, lower heels and come up x 8.

Lunge forward left leg and come to floor as before.

4 point kneeling to your press up position x4-8 press-ups.

Lower to floor – Diamond press-thoracic extension x 6.

Side lying right – side leg as before.

Come onto back.

Alternate knee floats (1) from table top (2) x 10.

Heel slide x10 (1).

Alternate leg stretch from table top (2) x 10.

4 point kneeling knee pull or superman.

Roll up or lunge to standing as appropriate.

Squat x 12 lower then max pelvic floor and come up.

(Alignment important – Retract the chin, keep the elastic sensation, notice of the ribs start to flare or drop. What is your back telling you? Is the tummy doming? How do the wrists and shoulders feel? What are your knees doing? Nothing should hurt)