[Music] hi everyone and welcome back to my Channel today we will be doing a pilates class using the magic circle or the ring I've been wanting to do a class with the ring for a really long time because it's one of my favorite pieces of equipment and when I taught classes in person I used still love using the Pilates Circle so hopefully you enjoy the class so when you're ready let's get started in a seated position with your legs bent in front and your feet hip distance apart sitting up nice and Tall on your sitting bones let's Flex our feet and then hook the ring around the soles of our feet then keeping a nice soft Bend in your elbows roll your shoulders back lengthen through your spine take a deep breath in and then on your exhale round your spine draw your Naval back and gaze towards your belly button and again inhale through your nose lengthen your spine maybe opening your chest a little bit then exhale through your mouth as you round your spine draw your navl back and tuck your pelvis slightly under two more deep breath in open through your heart heart roll your shoulders back and deep breath out as you round moving very gently here keeping your arms straight but with a soft Bend one more inhale and exhale then come to your nice straight spine and let's now hold the ring with both hands on the outsides now keeping your arms straight but with a soft Bend let's keep a little bit of resistance let's keep a little bit of a resistance always on the circle by gently pressing in but not too much to start take a deep breath in then exhale round back tucking your pelvis under inhale roll up straight spine exhale you round back keep going with this maybe as you come up reach your arms up to the sky if that feels good and then exhale round back now as you round back it's really important that you start to think of that rib to hip connection so really lower your ribs down to your hips and draw your navl in keep going inhale lengthen exale exhale round keep squeezing in gently on the ring but not too hard to start we're just warming up two more inhale through your nose exhale through your mouth one more now on this last one let's hold in our C curve really roll your shoulders back and just press in on the circle so you squeeze in and in keep your core nice and tight so really draw your navl in let's do five more 4 3 2 and one beautiful inhale lengthen your spine then this time exhale twist to the left bend your elbows and squeeze in inhale reach forward lengthen your spine exhale twist to the right and squeeze eight more inhale come up exhale twist and squeeze inhale come up exhale twist and squeeze good keep thinking of that rib to hip connection just four more inhale and exhale can you squeeze in on the circle a little bit more two more and last one let's hold in our twist now maintaining that c curve inhale stretch your arms forward exhale twist left inhale forward exhale twist right keep going so we're staying in that c curve position really challenging our abs and we're just twisting and working the arms really good job four more inhale exhale squeeze inhale exhale squeeze last two and last one now hold your elbows wide keep the squeeze and just twist side to side I'm starting to feel those arms I'm feeling those arms really good job keep your shoulders relaxed keep squeezing eight more 7 6 5 4 3 2 and one return through Center inhale come up reach your arms up to the sky and exhale very carefully roll all the way down onto your back beautiful rest your head on the mat now keep your knees bent and just shuffle your heels in towards your glutes and then place the circle on the top of your left thigh towards your knee so that top part of your thigh then place your left hand on the circle right hand behind your head with your elbow wide let's work the ABS a little bit more take an inhale to prepare then exhale lift your head and shoulders up press down on the circle inhale lower exhale curl up press down inhale lower let's do eight more like this don't press down too hard on the circle that it causes you any strain in your neck you just want to press down a little bit to really enforce the engagement and challenge your core a little bit more good job exhale curl up ribs to hips inhale lower keep your chin slightly dropped down towards your chest gaze in towards your thighs two more and on this last one hold your curl and let's just press down on the ring you press down and down keep a soft Bend through that elbow just six more 5 4 3 two and one hold the Press tiny curls up and up up lift up a little bit higher eight more ouch seven keep pressing down six 5 4 3 2 and one good job rest your head have a quick breather we're going to stay in this position and this time as you exhale curl up twist to the left press down on the circle inhale lower exhale twist press down inhale lower eight more like this really getting into our obliques now keep thinking of your breath exhale twist inhale lower just three more two and on the last one let's hold the twist funky little move lift your left knee and take your right elbow onto the circle then lift your right knee and take your left hand behind your head you should already feel your hubs burning a little bit on your exhale extend your right leg inhale Bend exhale extend inhale Bend you can do it make sure that left knee is stacked over your hip you're doing really well keep flattening through your abdominals drawing your navl down towards the floor let's do three more exhale extend inhale Bend two and one now hold your knee bent and let's take little curls up and up pressing down on the ring ouch seven more six you can do it five four three two and one well done rest your head set your feet down and let's have a little breather so extend your left leg up and hook the circle around the sole of your left foot then keeping a soft Bend through your knee to start let's just take some circles with our leg drawing circles in One Direction [Music] and then circles in the other direction then hold your leg still and maybe see if you can start to straighten your leg a little bit drawing your leg towards your chest chest to feel a nice stretch to the back of your [Music] leg then from here shuffle your right foot forward a little bit and we're going to do our roll B UPS so take an inhale to prepare then exhale lower your leg and using the help of the circle let's come all the way up to seated inhale at the top roll your shoulders back then exhale tuck your pelvis under and roll back with control on your inhale rest your head and draw your leg towards you and again exhale roll up with control inhale at the top exhale roll down vertebra by vertebra and inhale stretch your leg towards you good job keep going exhale roll up if you want more of a challenge at the top see if you can extend your right leg then lower the leg down and roll back down you pick your option we'll do two more exhale roll up inhale lengthen maybe lift your right leg then exhale roll back down and inhale stretch your leg towards you one more this should feel really nice especially after all that ab work I mean we're still using our ABS but it also feels like a nice stretch roll down with lots of control well done from here keep your right hand on the ring place your left arm down and just cross the leg over your body to the right side carefully drawing your leg towards you that way you'll feel a really nice stretch through the left side of your leg and your IT band then return through Center release your leg and let's do that I series again on the other side so this time place the ring on onto your right thigh towards your knee and your right hand on the circle I keep saying Circle or ring it's the same you can call it whatever you like but I'm sorry if I keep changing it then let's take our left hand behind your head with your elbow wide take an inhale to prepare then exhale curl up press down on the circle inhale lower down and again exhale curl up press down down inhale lower eight more whenever you curl your head and shoulders up really think of the movement starting from your core so a lot of the time people curl up and they use their neck or they use their arm and instead I want you to think of that rib to hip connection first so exhale ribs to hips in order to lift your head and shoulders up it takes practice but it'll come don't worry exhale curl up inhale lower let's do two more keep pressing down on the circle and on the last one hold your curl and press down you press down and down just eight more seven can you lift up a little bit higher 5 4 3 two one hold the Press little curls up and up ouch eight more seven you can do it 6 5 4 3 2 and one rest your head down have a little breather and then let's work the obliques so on your exhale curl up twist to the right and inhale lower exhale curl up and twist inhale lower eight more really think of lifting up and over to the right keep breathing exhale twist inhale lower let's do four more and three 2 and one hold at the top funky move lift your right leg to tabletop take your left elbow to the ring and then your right hand behind your head then lift your left leg to tabletop on your exhale extend your leg inhale Bend exhale extend inhale Bend just eight more you can do it exhale extend inhale Bend five more and four keep flattening through your lower abdominals three two and one return your leg to tabletop a little curls up and up pressing down on the circle you can do it six more five little higher 4 3 2 and one good job rest your head set your feet down and then let's hook the circle around our right foot keeping a soft Bend in your KNE to start just draw circles in One Direction keeping your shoulders nice and relaxed and then in the other direction and then keeping your legs still see if you can start to straighten your knee if that feels good for you and draw your leg towards your chest feeling a nice stretch in your hamstrings beautiful let's do our rollups now so Shuffle that left foot forward take an inhale to prepare then exhale lower your leg lift your head and shoulders up roll up to seated it inhale roll your shoulders back then exhale tuck your pelvis under and roll down with control then inhale stretch your leg towards your chest and again exhale we roll up inhale at the top open through your heart heart exhale as you roll [Music] down and inhale pull your leg towards you let's do three more exhale roll up maybe this time see if you can extend your left leg inhale then exhale roll down and inhale stretch two more really moving with your breath pairing your breath with your [Music] movement one more roll down vertebrae by vertebra and inhale stretch beautiful job hopefully that felt really nice okay time to work our glutes so let's now place the circle around our thighs and bring it towards the top of your thighs but make sure it's in a nice little comfy position nice cushiony position then place your feet on the floor shuffle your heels in towards your glutes and make sure that your feet are about hip distance apart so that you find resistance on the circle rest your arms down by your sides shoulders down and back and then tuck your pelvis under press down through your heels and lift up into your bridge now you should already feel the activation in your outer glut because you're pressing out on the circle make sure that your ribs are down towards your hips you're tucking your pelvis under and you're squeezing your glutes on your inhale lower down exhale press up inhale lower exhale press Rel squeeze the glutes eight more like this press down through your heels as you lift your hips and make sure that you're always pressing out on the circle inhale lower exhale lift four more 3 2 and a one now hold it the top and let's take it halfway down and lift ouch inhale lower exhale lift I don't know what it is about this position especially with the ring around the outsides of your thighs but you feel your glutes almost immediately which is a good thing we love that okay let's do four more halfway down exhale LIF three really squeeze your glutes two and a one now hold at the top really tuck those hips under press your knees out three times you press out two three hold press out two three hold good job keep going out two three hold press out two three hold you've got to keep your hips nice and high really think of that rib to hip connection so even though we're working our glutes we're always thinking about keeping our core activated that way we'll really protect our spine in this position hopefully you are feeling your glutes like I am let's do two more out two three hold last one out two three hold now keep pressing out lower the hips down and up down and up eight more ouch keep breathing inhale through your nose exhale through your mouth five more we're almost there 4 3 2 and one now hold at the top squeeze your glutes just press your knees out and out eight more little bit more six five wider Four 3 2 one keep your knees pressing out little pulses in your hips up and up close your eyes if you need to like me let's do six more five press through your heels three two and one well done lower your hips down let's release the circle and give your knees a nice little hug ouch well done everyone okay from here let's roll on to our side grab the circle place it towards the bottom of your mat and then take your right foot on the bottom and your left foot on the top make sure that you're finding a nice kind of cushiony part of your leg be careful that it's not on the bone and then lie down onto the right side of your body so I'm mirroring you for this exercise rest your head on your right arm and really make sure that you're lifting up through the underside of your waist and drawing your navl in now press down on your top leg onto the circle and then on your exhale let's lift our bottom leg in inhale lower exhale as you lift inhale as you lower just eight more like this really working the inner thigh here six more exhale lift inhale lower four more and three keep pressing down on the circle with your top leg and on this last one hold your leg lifted and let's draw circles the size of the circle keep it nice and slow and controlled five more four 3 2 and one now reverse circles in the other direction try to keep your hips nice and still six more five ouch four three 2 and one now from here lift your leg as high as you can and take little pulses for 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 and one beautiful let's lower our right leg down and then from here lift your top leg tap it to the floor lift and then tap it back so you're taking some nice big circles up and over the Pilates Circle exhale lift inhale tuck exhale lift inhale tap try to keep your hips stacked on top of one another and keep drawing your navl in engaging your core take the rainbow a little bit bigger let's just do four more 3 2 and one now from here thread your foot through the circle flex your foot make sure it's on that comfy position and then exhale press your leg up inhale release exhale press up inhale release just eight more now this is not only working into the outside of the glute which we were doing a lot of work on in the glute Bridge position but it's also working the outer thigh six more exhale lift inhale lower use your breath to help you four more can you press up a little bit more two more and last one hold the press and just take little presses up for 10 9 8 kind of looks like I'm not doing anything 5 4 3 2 1 good job okay from here funky little transition take your foot on top make sure it's in that comfy position press down and then slide your weight back so that you can bring your bottom foot underneath the circle and then shift your weight forward so now the circle is in between your legs if you need to sit up and position the circle in the right place you always can and then come back down to your line position let's do our double leg lift so exhale lift both legs inhale lower really squeezing on the circle exhale lift inhale lower eight more now we're working in to the side of our waist [Music] six can you lift up a little bit higher four more 3 2 and one now hold it lifted squeeze in for 10 98 ouch seven 6 5 4 3 2 1 good job rest your legs down press yourself up release the circle and let's take our mermaid stretch so bend your right knee forward your left knee back on your inhale reach your right arm up and exhale side Bend to the left then inhale press up lower your right forearm and stretch over let's do that again inhale press up exhale stretch over to the left inhale lower and exhale stretch over to the right beautiful job okay you know the drill let's take it to the other side so place the ring on the bottom of your mat and then this time take your left foot on the bottom and your right foot on the top again finding that comfy position making sure that you're avoiding your ankle bones and then rest your head on your arm place your right fingertips on the floor in front of you make sure your hips are stacked and that you're really drawing your navl in and finding lift through the underside of your waist on your exhale lift your left leg inhale lower exhale lift inhale lower just eight more really using your inner thigh here six more Point through your toes finding LS finding lots of length through your your leg use your breath exhale in inhale lower two more and on this last one hold your leg lifted and let's take those circles for 10 making them as big as you can but keeping them controlled six more keep pressing down on the circle with your top leg three more two and one now reverse for 10 and nine keep lifting your leg up as much as you can six more 5 4 3 2 and one good job let's lift that leg up little pulses for 10 98 really feeling that inner thigh six more 5 4 3 2 and one ouch good job let's place that foot down and then lift your top leg exhale inhale tap forward exhale lift inhale tap back good job really lifting that leg up and and over the circle if you want more of a challenge see if you can tap your leg a little bit further forward so making that rainbow a bit bigger keep thinking of your core keep your hips nice and stacked and make sure that you're lowering your ribs down to your hips keeping your core engaged let's do four more three two and one good job from here let's thread our leg inside the circle flex your foot on your exhale press your leg up inhale release exhale press Up release squeeze inhale release eight more you should feel a nice squeeze in your glutes as you press your leg up finding lots of resistance on the circle use your breath exhale through your mouth inhale through your nose four more three you can do it a little bit more two and one now hold the Press let's do little pulses up and up eight more you've got got it seven six little bit more 5 4 3 2 and one well done you should have really felt that in the outer thigh and outer glute okay let's do that transition so place your foot on top press down on the circle and then slide your weight back so that you can bring the bottom foot underneath the circle let's do our double leg lifts on your exhale lift both legs up inhale lower exhale as you lift inhale as you lower keep going really think of using the side of your waist to lift your legs up so as you exhale think of lowering your right ribs down to your right hip and then lift your legs up five more and four three little bit higher two and last one let's hold our legs lifted and squeeze in for 10 9 8 out 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 well done press yourself up release the circle prop it to the side and let's take our mermaid stretch on your inhale reach your left arm up and exhale stretch over then inhale release your left forearm down and exhale stretch over to the left one more inhale reach up exhale stretch over inhale lower and exhale stretch to the left beautiful okay from here let's now come down onto the front side of our body for I think my favorite exercise and my favorite way to use the circle so place the circle at the top of your mat and just press down on the bottom to keep it in place and then carefully bring yourself down onto your belly make sure that your arms are straight in this position but with a soft Bend through your elbows then rest your head down bring your feet hip distance apart in parallel and then really draw your navl in on your inhale lift your chest and then from here I want you to carefully place your hands onto the top of the circle then carefully release your head down so really important in this position that you are rolling your shoulders down and back keep your neck nice and straight and really draw your navl in okay on your inhale roll your shoulders back LIF your chest press down on the circle if you need to bring it in a little bit so it feels more comfortable please to and then exhale lower down and again exhale inhale sorry lift up press down on the cycle and exhale lower keep going with this inhale lift activating your shoulders exhale lower really important here that you are drawing your navl in protecting your spine so be careful that you're not sinking into your lower back four more inhale lift shoulders down and back exhale lower three more this should feel so nice and two try to roll your shoulder blades down towards your hips and last one let's hold at the top and just press down on the circle for 10 and N9 try to use your should shoulders instead of pressing down with your hands so really think of rolling those shoulders down and back five more 4 3 2 and one good job rest back down this time on your inhale lift up then exhale sweep your left arm back inhale return through Center and exhale lower inhale lift your chest exhale reach your right arm back inhale Center and exhale lower now stay with this or if you want to as you reach your arm back see if you can lift up a little bit higher and twist to the left then return through Center and lower other side inhale lift exhale reach back lift your chest more inhale inhale Center exhale lower keep going you pick your option whichever option you do it's really important that you are pulling your navl up towards your spine keeping a soft engagement through your glutes as well let's do four more two more and last one really good job release the circle close your legs together press yourself up and back into to a child's pose take a few deep breaths here maybe rocking side to side to carefully release any tension through your lower back then carefully roll yourself up and then from here let's come to our final little series of glass take the circle just bring it next to you at the back of your mat then tuck your toes under and press back into a downward-facing dog then walk your hands back towards your feet grab a hold of the circle and roll up to standing let's now come into a squat position so your feet are might distance apart with your toes Turned Out Hold On To The Circle at your chest elbows nice and wide and inhale squat down reach forward exhale press up inhale inale squat exhale press eight more like this now as you come up really think of squeezing in on the circle there's always the option to lift your heels at the Top If you want that extra challenge but I'm keeping mine down today I don't know why but my balance is not feeling great today let's do four more really squeeze in three sit your hips nice and low and last one good job let's hold in our squat really roll your shoulders back and squeeze in on the circle squeeze in and in keep pulling your navl in seven more six can you sit down a little bit lower three more two and one hold the Press little pulses down and down eight more you've got it seven shift your weight into your heels four more 3 2 and one good job bring the circle to your chest walk your feet in and let's take some high knees you lift and lift as you squeeze in and in really lift those knees up nice and high and squeeze in as much much as you can on the circle you can do it now keep the knees going let's reach forward and forward keep the resistance on the circle always squeezing in that way you'll really feel your shoulders let's go you lift and lift let's do five more here four 3 2 one hold your arms out keep lifting those knees and add a squeeze in and in you've got it shoulders down and back picking up the pace a little bit to Finish class in and in let's do five more four 3 2 one final move we twist side to side making a figure eight with those Arms This is where we finish class you can do it keep squeezing in on the circle activating your arms 10 more nine 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 and one well done everyone let's come to the back of our mat take a deep breath in and exhale release tuck your chin in and roll down place the circle to the side and just hang over your legs for a moment maybe sway side to side if that feels good for you then carefully walk your hands forward finding your downward-facing dog and take a moment to Pedal your heels lowering one heel at a time down towards the [Music] floor beautiful then from here let's step our right foot forward in between our hands lower your back knee and lift your chest roll your shoulders back let your hips sink forward and just take some nice deep breaths if you'd like to you can interlace your fingers behind your back straighten your arms so that you feel a nice release for your [Music] shoulders then on your next inhale reach your arms up exhale hands to the mat shift your hips back and fold over your front leg flexing your right [Music] foot try to keep drawing your right hip back keeping your hips nice and [Music] level then rebend your right knee and press back to downward facing other side step your left foot forward lower your back knee hands onto your thigh to lift your chest up roll your shoulders down and back and let your hips sink [Music] forward if you'd like to interlace your fingers behind your back straighten your arms and open your heart up to the sky [Music] then on your next inhale reach your arms up and exhale hands to the floor inhale straighten your front leg flex your foot and exhale for [Music] [Music] one more breath here beautiful re bend your left knee Tu Your Back toes under and now just cross your right leg behind your left coming to a seated position with your left leg crossed in front inhale reach your right arm up and exhale twist over to the left looking over your left [Music] shoulder really lengthening through your spine as much as you can then unwind switch the crossing of your legs on your inhale reach your left arm up and exhale twist to the right on every inhale lengthen a little bit more through your spine and on every exhale twist a little bit [Music] deeper then carefully unwind and let's come to a wide-legged seated position so we can stretch out our inner thighs a little bit because we worked our inner thighs quite a bit today flex your feet sit up nice and tall and either stay here if this is enough of a stretch or if you'd like more carefully walk your hands forward hinging from your hips making sure that you're keeping your toes up towards the [Music] sky you should feel a nice stretch in your inner thighs but you might also feel a stretch in the back of your legs and glaz as well [Music] try to slow down your breath here just melting into this [Music] stretch one more breath then carefully walk your head hands back towards your legs using the help of your hands let's close our legs and come to a cross-legged position on your inhale reach your right arm up and exhale side Bend to the left other side inhale reach your left arm up and exhale stretch to the [Music] right then return through Center and let's finish class like always on your inhale reach your arms up to the sky and exhale lower your hands to your heart thank you so much everyone I hope you enjoyed today's class with the Pilates Circle if you would like to see more classes with the circle please let me know but I hope you enjoyed today's class and that you have the most beautiful day thank you so much [Music] [Music]