A few more favorite ways to rest, recover, and regenerate:
1. massage/foam rolling
2. bath (bonus points: Epsom salts)
3. nap (just not too long!)
4. drink some water
5. eat a vegetable
6. sing or blow bubbles—they help us breathe!
7. go outside
8. connect with someone you love
Another rest/recovery/regeneration practice I love is what I call oilcan exercises. These are the exercises we do that take us from Tin Man before Dorothy to Tin Man, ready to roll.
What exercises make up the oilcan for each of us will vary. Some days, my list changes based on what I’ve been doing or not doing recently. Here are a few ideas to get us started on building a base list that can change as needed:
• The whole routine should take no more than five or ten minutes. This is about rest/recovery/regeneration, not working out.
• Most of us get plenty of spinal flexion (bending forward) because of our desks and screens. We probably want to add some gentle back bending (spinal extension). This can be as simple as standing up straight, raising our arms in what I describe as the Olympic salute, and lifting our breastbones toward the ceiling. Bonus: spinal extension like this tends to lift mood.
• That stiff bit? Stretch it, gently.
• That old injury that still sometimes irritates? Dust off one or two of those exercises you got in physical therapy.
• A few foot exercises can reset our balance. Try putting your feet flat on the floor and just lifting your big toes. Then try putting the big toes down and lifting the rest of the toes, keeping the ball of the foot on the ground. Extra challenge: put the big toe and the baby toe on the ground and lift the three middle toes.
• Breathe. I like to do this while doing arm arcs, inhaling as I lift my arms overhead and exhaling while lowering them down to my sides, either standing or lying down, but any kind of focus on breath is good.
Let me know what’s on your list!
All that movement is fabulous for us, but no month of favorites would be complete without a chance to rest, restore, and recover.
One of my favorite ways to reset my busy little brain is by meditating.
I am a terrible meditator. And that’s okay. I keep practicing.
Sometimes I use an app to time my sitting or for music or a guided meditation. Sometimes I sit and focus on my breathing. Sometimes I think about a word or phrase.
Even two minutes can help me reset. Heck, even five breaths helps.
Give it a go!
As always, how hard the workout is depends on us. When we choose heavier weights or change up the tempo (both faster and slower can be harder, depending), we are deciding how difficult things are going to be. Choose wisely, for today’s body. Three rounds, or the number that is appropriate for right now.
suitcase swings | 30 |
bench press | 20 |
reverse fly | 10 |
| |
1 arm clean and press | 30 |
db pullover with bridge | 20 |
1 leg squat | 10 |
| |
(lunge) punches | 30 |
flies | 20 |
plank to pike | 10 |
Other favorite Pilates mat exercises include:
1. chest lift
2. arm arcs
3. side to side
4. swan
5. leg circles
6. dart
7. roll down
8. push up
9. twist
10. mermaid
My other favorite Pilates mat exercise is the bridge. Again, because most of us spend too much time sitting, we suffer from tight hip flexors and relatively weak glutes. Bridge to the rescue!
I love how many variations of bridging there are, including the single leg version, the “chip and dip,” the typewriter, and more. I particularly love adding a hip flexor stretch by sliding a yoga block under my pelvis at the top and then extending my legs long to let gravity do the work.
One important note, though. Those of us who have osteoporosis need to be a little careful in our bridges. Articulating through the spine is not recommended because it puts us at risk of fracture.
Be careful, but enjoy!
Since not everybody has a studio full of Pilates equipment, I’m choosing my favorite Pilates exercises from the mat work. We all have floors.
Because, like most of us, I sit at a desk more than is ideal, my favorite Pilates exercise is the supine twist. I like to do it with yoga tune up balls under my back at the spot just above my bra strap (people who do not wear bras will have to envision the spot) with one ball on either side of my spine.
To do the exercise, we lie on our backs (With or without balls. People new to this exercise might find doing it with balls a little… spicy.). We bend our knees and place our feet flat on the floor. So far, so comfy! Then we extend our arms up toward the ceiling and place the palms of our hands together. Throughout the exercise, the hands stay together and the elbows stay straight.
First, we keep our head still and move our arms as far from side to side as we can without moving our hips or suffering more than discomfort. After about ten reps, we shift to moving our arms and taking our heads with us; another way to think about this is that we keep an eye on our thumbs as we move. Then, after about ten more reps, we take our arms one way and our head the other way for ten reps.
At the end, our upper backs tend to feel looser and our breathing is easier.
Try it!
