March MATness Day 29: The Rocking

[ChannelRunner2]

Remember Swimming? The 24th exercise we tried on day 23? Well, this is similar and then some… Just like with Swimming I can only dream of doing this as gracefully as the Pilates teachers demonstrate it. And I don’t rock… I can barely grab my feet - like pose 2… So, that’s the variation I practice!

As Andrea Maida points out, The Rocking is “The ultimate in front-of-the-body stretching and why not take a cue from the previous rolling exercises and rock around on the front of you for a while? You’ll need all that strength of the back and buttocks for the next exercises anyway.” (pilatesandrea.com/on-the-or...

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As always, if you need to warm-up, do at least The Hundred, maybe all of the previous 31 exercises. Then repeat this exercise 5 times.

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Follow Joe’s instructions from the excerpt from Return to Life. And make sure to modify to ensure your body gets what you need today.

Instructions from Online Pilates Classes – with suggestions on how to make the exercise easier starting at about 02:26:

youtu.be/L4QbJT3M6MU(Not working as expected?)

You can read more about the exercise and written instructions at the OPC page for it: onlinepilatesclasses.com/pi...

If you’re struggling with this exercise, check out Andrea Maida’s tips and hints in this March MATness video from 2019:

youtu.be/wOpFx9GPoy0?t=370(Not working as expected?)

Another set of instructions from the Pilates Lesson Plan, including a video and modification suggestions, are here: georgewatts.org/lesson-plan... (and pilateslessonplans.co.uk/fr... )

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Standing variations for exercises 31-34 from RAD Pilates: instagram.com/reel/CafNSQXp...

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Photo from Return to Life as published by Presentation Dynamics. Photos are far better reproduced in the paperback published by the Pilates Method Alliance in 2010, which isn’t available electronically. (See this post for the title page: healthunlocked.com/strength... )

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★ Our March MATness summary page: healthunlocked.com/strength... ★

[Wine 30D Graduate]

Rocking on the mat tried the modification and my rock was miniscule... I tried.... What it has made me think about is why I didn't think of pilates and yoga when I was younger and more flexible....

[ChannelRunner2 in reply to Wine]

Oh, yes! I've had these thoughts many, many times: Why didn't I discover this decades ago?!? Sigh. Alas, we've discovered it now!

One modification is simply to hold your ankles or feet and not even try to rock.