MODIFIED FOOTWORK (1)

Preparation: This is the first of the three breathing exercises involving footwork. This exercise is performed in a pilates studio utilising an apparatus called the reformer on which your feet would be pushing against a bar that is connected to a number of springs that create resistance for the movement. When performing this exercise on the mat it is essential to mimic the same resistance.

Action: Place a pillow under the head when lying flat on your back. Feel the small of your back pressing against the mat with your arms resting comfortably at your side, palms facing down. Now, hug the knees into the chest and release the hands, keeping the legs where they are. Open the knees out till they are even with the shoulders as in shoulder width apart, and keep the heels together but not the toes.

Benefits: Now direct your attention to the walls in the room, push the legs towards the point where the ceiling and the wall meet but make sure that you do this imagining a resistant force acting on your legs. It should be as if you were moving through wet cement. Your legs should be at a 45-degree angle. If you have a bad back, lift the legs strai- ght towards the ceiling to less- en the compression in that area. Maintain the same foot position as you release the knees back towards the shoulders, imagining the same resistance.