A Mother's Dance

- Lie forward over a physio ball , so that your back is flat and your chest is off the ball (if you don't have a ball, you can use the end of a couch or bed)
- Your arms hang down under your shoulders, hands in a fist, thumbs up
- Slide your shoulder blades back and down towards your waist as you lift your arms above your head to form a capital Y, thumbs up
- Bring your arms and chest down and repeat

- Lie forward over a physio ball , so that your back is flat and your chest is off the ball (if you don't have a ball, you can use the end of a couch or bed)
- Your arms hang down under your shoulders, palms up, thumbs out to the sides
- Slide your shoulder blades together and down as you lift your arms to the side to form a capital T. Your thumbs will be pointed toward the ceiling
- Keep squeezing your shoulder blades together
- Bring your arms and chest down and repeat

- Find a step or a bench about knee height
- Step up with the right foot, ensuring the whole foot is on the bench
- Bring the left foot up to stand on top of the bench
- Step down leading with the right foot
- Repeat 15 times then complete with left foot leading

- Get on your hands and toes
- Set your shoulders and lock your belly button in to activate your core
- Slowly break at the elbow and lower your body half way toward the floor
- Keep shoulders set
- Push back through the heel of your hand away from the floor, back to original position
- Focus on the pressure under your arm pit
- Straight line from ankles to hips, to shoulders, to head throughout exercise

To make it easier:
OPTION 1
- Your knees become the pivot point (feet off the floor)
- There should be a straight line from your head through your hips, all the way to your knees (no sagging bellies)

OPTION 2
- Keep your whole body in a straight line, but push-up against a wall, or on a chair or bench

- Lie on your side, hips stacked on top of each other, elbow under shoulder, forearm flat on the ground, knees bent behind you
- Activate core
- Lift hips to create a straight line from head to knees, through hips
- Your forearm and the your lower leg are the only parts of your body contacting the ground
- No sagging!!

- Repeat on other side

To make it easier:
20secs is too hard, try 10 reps of 2secs each and build up.

To make it harder:
Come up to forearm and foot, instead of knee. You should have a straight line from your head to your ankles.

- Place a stability ball between your lower back and a wall
- Plant your feet shoulder width apart, slightly in front of you. You want them far enough in front that when you squat down, your knees never come in front of your toes
- Inhale as you squat down, sitting toward the wall, as though you are sitting on a low stool
- Just go down a little bit at first, while you get used to the motion. Ultimately you want to reach the point where your thighs are parallel to the floor
- Exhale as you push up through your heels

To make it easier:
- Only go a short way down

To make it harder:
- Add weights, or pause for a few seconds at the bottom of the motion

- Lie underneath a sturdy table, your chest lined up with the end, legs underneath
- bend your knees, with your feet flat on the floor
- Hold onto the edge of the table, hands slightly wider than shoulder width apart
- Lift your bottom, so you have a straight line from your shoulders to your knees, maintaining this position throughout the exercise.


1-Pull your shoulder blades down and together, while your arms are straight.
2-Keep shoulder blades retracted together as you bend your arms to pull your chest towards the table.
3-Slowly straighten your arms (keeping shoulder blades together).
4- When your arms are straight, slowly allow your shoulder blades to come apart as far as possible.
5-Repeat

To make it easier:
Your bottom is the pivot point. You may need to sit on a cushion.

To make it harder:
1.Your heels become the pivot point. Maintain a straight line from your shoulders to your heels.
2.Hang from a higher bar (you may need to bend your knees). Keeping arms straight, bring shoulders down and away from your ears, shoulder blades together.

You can do this exercise in a park if you can find a low bar to use

- Face down on forearms and knees, hands in fists, close to each other, elbows under shoulders
- Activate core & pelvic floor
- Straight line from head to shoulders to hips to knees- no sagging!
- Feet are off the ground
- Hold

To make it harder:
- Raise up to your toes, so you're supported on toes and forearms. Body in a straight line from your head to your ankles

- Lie face up, heels on the swiss ball, feet flexed (toes towards your head), shoulder blades back and down
- Squeeze glutes to elevate your hips until your shoulders, hips and ankles are in a straight line. If you don't have a ball, this will only be a few cm off the floor
- Keeping your hips up, pull the ball in with your heels (or just slide your heels toward your butt)
- Keep hips up as you straighten your legs, letting the ball roll out
- Don't drop to the floor between repetitions

If you don't have a ball, do it on a smooth floor, heels on a towel (or just use your socks!). If the floor is carpeted, put your heels on a magazine or manila folder to slide.

Activation of the core
- Lie on the back with knees bent
- Feet hip width apart shoulder relaxed
- Make sure spine is neutral and pelvis is level
- Keep a tiny lift through the lower back but keep the back of the ribs in contact with the floor. This is to maintain your S curve
- Stay long through the neck
- Anchor your shoulder blades
- Relax all abdominal muscles
- Maintain this curve and draw up the pelvic floor and then add a very slight flattening of the tummy below the navel (like you are zipping up a tight pair of pants)
- Focus on the sensation of drawing up and in towards your spine but do not move spine
- Use a 10% effort
- Maintain normal breathing
- Hold for 5 counts repeat 5 times
- Relax and do again

Knee openings
- Lie on back with knees bent
- Neutral spine
- Exhale to lower knee to side
- Inhale to bring knee back
- Do 8 each side
- Note: the pelvis must not move!!
- Keep chest and neck relaxed

Leg Slides
- Lie on back with knees bent
- Neutral spine
- Exhale to slide feet along floor
- Inhale to return to start
- Do 8 per side
- Do not let pelvis move during slide

Knee Folds
- Neutral spine
- Activate core
- Inhale to lift foot off floor
- Exhale to lower
- Do 8 on each leg
- Do not let hips move-place hands on hip to feel stability
- Make sure you do not flatten or arch the lower back
- Keep chest and neck relaxed

Cushion Squeeze
- Lie on back with knees bent place bal or cushion between knees
- Exhale to squeeze cushion with legs
- Keep core on and pelvic floor drawn in
- Hold for 5 seconds
- Repeat 10 times

Knee Folds 2
- As for knee folds 1 but do right leg then left leg
- Neutral spine
- Activate core
- Inhale to lift foot off floor
- Exhale to lower
- Do 8 on each leg
- Do not let hips move-place hands on hip to feel stability
- Make sure you do not flatten or arch the lower back
- Keep chest and neck relaxed
- Do 8 times total

- As for knee folds but do right leg then left leg
- Neutral spine
- Activate core
- Inhale to lift foot off floor to 90 degrees
- Exhale to left the other foot off
- Inhale to lower one foot
- Exhale to lower other leg
- Do not let hips move-place hands on hip to feel stability
- Make sure you do not flatten or arch the lower back
- Keep chest and neck relaxed
- Do 8 times total-4 with right leading then 4 with left leading Side to Sides
- Lie on back with knees bent to 90 degrees
- Inhale to take knees to one side
- Ensure knees and feet stay together
- Exhale to draw the side abdominal muscles to bring knees to centre
- Repeat to other side
- Do ten times
Prep for Abs
- Hands behind head, elbows wide, neutral spine
- Exhale to switch core on
- Inhale to curl head and shoulders forward
- Exhale whilst holding position to flatten tummy
- Inhale to curl up further
- Exhale to lower back to floor
- Do 8 times
Prep for 100
- Arms above chest toward roof
- Neutral spine knees bent
- Exhale to curl head and shoulders forward bringing arms to side
- Inhale to return upper body back to start position
- Repeat ten times
Reverse knee folds
- Start with neutral spine knees bent to 90 degrees
- Exhale to slowly lower one heel to gently touch the floor
- Inhale to lift the foot to the start position
- Repeat on other leg
- Do 5 times each leg
- Ensure core stays on and lower back does not press into floor
- Ensure neutral spine