RollingSands Harmony Blog

Ajna/The Third Eye Chakra: Located at the middle of the forehead.  The third eye chakra is directly linked to an individual’s clairvoyance or psychic abilities and intuition. For a quick overview of the Chakras.

Enjoy this short two-minute video on clearing the third eye Chakra:

The last of the 4-part series on Exercises on a Stability Ball from Sunny.  This group of exercises shows how to improve upper body strength with an exercise ball.  To see all exercises on Stability Balls, click on the Stability Ball tag to the right.

General Instructions

• As with any exercise product or program, consult your physician before beginning.
• Be sure to warm up before each exercise.
• Follow the instructions.
• Keep your abdominal muscles contracted and maintain good posture at all times.
• Breathe normally during the entire exercise.
• Perform your exercise program slowly and increase the pace gradually.
• Try to perform each exercise 8 to 12 times.
• CAUTION: If you feel any pain, stop exercising and consult your physician.

Click to Enlarge or Print

We mentioned in prior posts that we sell Stability Exercise Balls – regular stability balls, anti-burst or burst-resistant balls, and even eco-friendly stability balls.  We hope you’ll visit our online store if you need to purchase an exercise ball.

Add a foam roller into your Pilates routines to add some excitement and challenge.  Adding tools such as balance discs and rollers add some variety to your routine and increase the challenge in your balance.  The following article contains six exercises that can be used with a foam roller.  The model is using a 36″ high density foam roller.

Enjoy the challenge!

Foam Roller Fun — Posted By Kelley Ranaudo On May 28, 2008
from PilatesDigest.com

Are you incorporating the foam roller into your Pilates exercise routine? We sell them to our clients all the time and they love using them at home. There are so many exciting and challenging options with the roller. It is a great addition to a group class, private session or home routine. Balancing can be difficult because of the small surface area, but the foam roller also helps with modifications for certain exercises, stretching and therapeutic work. Try some of my favorites to change up your routines:

Toe Taps/Knee Lifts Bring legs to table-top and hands to the side. Alternate reaching each foot to the floor and returning to table-top, while maintaining stabilization in your torso, pelvis and lower back.
Ab Prep Lying on your back, inhale to prepare. Exhale, lift your head and chest, reaching your hands to the opposite wall, and scooping your deep abdominals as you lift. Inhale, stay and intensify the scoop and exhale to lower.
Single Arm Balance Alternate arms while both feet are table-top. Another option is to alternate reaching one or both arms off the floor while one leg is table-top and one foot is touching the floor.
Swan Place your forearms on the roller with feet apart and laterally rotated. Lift your head, chest and abdominals into the Swan as the roller moves toward you. Feel the energy reach out of your toes and head. Keep your abdominals engaged to support your lower back. You should not feel discomfort in your back. Stabilize your shoulder blades and keep the muscles surrounding your rib cage engaged.
Side Forearm Plank Start on your forearm on your side with the roller under the outside of your lower leg. Hold the plank first lifting in your side closest to the floor, keeping your hips stacked. Once you feel stable, try to lift the top leg and hold. Try this position on the floor without the roller first.
Scissors Begin with your feet extended directly toward the ceiling. Inhale to prepare, and exhale open the legs to a scissor position, keeping the lumbo-pelvis region stable and reaching the energy out of the toes. Inhale to bring the legs together, and exhale to control the scissor motion in the opposite direction.

This is a nice combination of balance, strength and stretch to give your clients that are ready for something new. Have fun and keep your Pilates principles in mind throughout each exercise.

Take a moment to quietly practice along with this video on a breathing exercise calling on the Golden Light.

Vishuddha/The Throat Chakra: Located at the throat. A person with a strong and balanced throat chakra will have good communication skills and creativity.   For a quick overview of the Chakras.

Enjoy the following two-minute long video on clearing the 5th Chakra, the Throat Chakra:

Following are just three shoulder strength training exercises that you can do with Soft-Weighted Toning Balls. For an added challenge you can do the Seated Shoulder Press on a Stability Ball (as shown).

Seated Shoulder Press and Side/Front Raises

Seated Shoulder Press

Sitting upright on a Stability Ball with feet flat on the floor, hold a Soft Weighted Ball in each hand at shoulder height.  Tighten abdominals as you press the Soft Weighted Balls straight up over your head.  Slowly lower Soft Weighted Balls back to shoulder height.  Repeat.

Side Raises

Standing with feet shoulder-width apart hold a Soft Weighted Ball in each hand down to your side.  Keeping arms straight, raise Soft Weighted Balls out to your sides until your arms are just above parallel to the floor.  Lower Soft Weighted Balls slowly back to your side.  Repeat.

Front Raises

Standing with feet shoulder-width apart, hold a Soft Weighted Ball in each hand down to your sides.  Keeping arms straight, raise Soft Weighted Balls in front of your body until your arms are just above parallel to the floor.  Lower Soft Weighted Balls slowly.  Repeat.

These exercises are showing a model using Natural Fitness Products that we carry.  Natural Fitness makes environmentally friendly yoga and fitness products, such as hemp yoga straps or phthalate-free vinyl fitness/Pilates products.

On a personal note, this is one of my most delicious poses.  If you’re new to yoga, you might be snickering over my choice of words.  But try it, and you will find poses that are “delicious” or “yummy” to you.  No kidding!  The ones you want to turn to to wash away your stress or worries, or ones that leave you rejuvenated.

The prop that you will want for this pose is a round bolster.  Some people might prefer a rectangular bolster, or yoga blankets.  We offer a variety of bolsters to choose from:  a variety of color choices, cotton, organic cotton, or hemp.  To see all of our bolster choices, click here.

This pose is a little awkward to get into, but well worth it.  I have a different way of getting into this pose, than how YJ describes below.  I would rest my left side hip on the left end of the bolster, with my buttocks (sit bones) flat against the wall, knees bent.  Then as you roll onto your back, extend your legs straight up the wall.  Some other people somersault into this pose, but (to me) that is too energizing to go into a relaxation pose.  No matter how you choose to enter this pose, I hope you enjoy it.

Viparita Karani

Excerpt from Yoga Journal – visit YJ to learn more about this pose, such as the benefits.

(vip-par-ee-tah car-AHN-ee)
viparita = turned around, reversed, inverted
karani = doing, making, action

Step by Step

The pose described here is a passive, supported variation of the Shoulderstand-like Viparita Karani. For your support you’ll need one or two thickly folded blankets or a firm round bolster. You’ll also need to rest your legs vertically (or nearly so) on a wall or other upright support.

Before performing the pose, determine two things about your support: its height and its distance from the wall. If you’re stiffer, the support should be lower and placed farther from the wall; if you’re more flexible, use a higher support that is closer to the wall. Your distance from the wall also depends on your height: if you’re shorter move closer to the wall, if taller move farther from the wall. Experiment with the position of your support until you find the placement that works for you.

Start with your support about 5 to 6 inches away from the wall. Sit sideways on right end of the support, with your right side against the wall (left-handers can substitute “left” for “right” in these instructions). Exhale and, with one smooth movement, swing your legs up onto the wall and your shoulders and head lightly down onto the floor. The first few times you do this, you may ignominiously slide off the support and plop down with your buttocks on the floor. Don’t get discouraged. Try lowering the support and/or moving it slightly further off the wall until you gain some facility with this movement, then move back closer to the wall.

Your sitting bones don’t need to be right against the wall, but they should be “dripping” down into the space between the support and the wall. Check that the front of your torso gently arches from the pubis to the top of the shoulders. If the front of your torso seems flat, then you’ve probably slipped a bit off the support. Bend your knees, press your feet into the wall and lift your pelvis off the support a few inches, tuck the support a little higher up under your pelvis, then lower your pelvis onto the support again.

Lift and release the base of your skull away from the back of your neck and soften your throat. Don’t push your chin against your sternum; instead let your sternum lift toward the chin. Take a small roll (made from a towel for example) under your neck if the cervical spine feels flat. Open your shoulder blades away from the spine and release your hands and arms out to your sides, palms up.

Keep your legs relatively firm, just enough to hold them vertically in place. Release the heads of the thigh bones and the weight of your belly deeply into your torso, toward the back of the pelvis. Soften your eyes and turn them down to look into your heart.

Stay in this pose anywhere from 5 to 15 minutes. Be sure not to twist off the support when coming out. Instead, slide off the support onto the floor before turning to the side. You can also bend your knees and push your feet against the wall to lift your pelvis off the support. Then slide the support to one side, lower your pelvis to the floor, and turn to the side. Stay on your side for a few breaths, and come up to sitting with an exhalation.

Anahata/The Heart Chakra: Located at the center of the chest, a person with a healthy heart chakra will have a strong ability to love his or herself as well as others. It is also the center of hope and compassion. For a quick overview of the Chakras.

Enjoy the following two-minute long video on clearing your Heart Chakra – the 4th Chakra.

Time to work the legs with your Stability Ball!

We are doing a four-part series of exercises to work your total body with a Stability Exercise Ball.  These instructions were provided by Sunny, who manufacturers one of the types of Bust-Resistant Stability Balls we sell.  As mentioned in prior posts, we sell standard Stability Balls, Burst-Resistant Stability Balls, and Eco-Friendly Burst-Resistant Stability Balls.  If you’re looking to purchase an exercise ball, please visit our Core/Balance Page to see our entire listing.

General Instructions

• As with any exercise product or program, consult your physician before beginning.
• Be sure to warm up before each exercise.
• Follow the instructions.
• Keep your abdominal muscles contracted and maintain good posture at all times.
• Breathe normally during the entire exercise.
• Perform your exercise program slowly and increase the pace gradually.
• Try to perform each exercise 8 to 12 times.
• CAUTION: If you feel any pain, stop exercising and consult your physician.

Click Image to Enlarge or Print

Following is a short video (<2min) on how to use a small PVC ball in Pilates while doing a Heel Squeeze to work the glutes.  Sometimes these small balls are called mini-balls, mini exercise balls, or therapy balls.  At RollingSands Harmony we offer three different sizes:  a 7″ Mini Therapy Ball or a 9″ Mini Therapy Ball.

We also carry a 6″ Body Rolling Ball, which could be used as well.