I recently recorded several exercises in the Levitation series and as I was selecting which exercises to use, I looked back at old syllabi to see if I was forgetting any really cool ones. I was. I haven’t done Snake in years and I remembered how much I’ve always liked this.
While most of the exercises in the Hamstring Series focus on, well, the hamstrings, some exercises also let you get in a core workout. Keeping your pelvis floating off the bench while doing these small bicycles is a total body exercise that emphasizes core strength.
The Ladder and it’s updated version, the Archway, let you do movements that would be practically impossible to do any other way. Having the shoulder girdle be the static part of the body allows freer lower body movement. And having your pelvis up on the bolster lets your legs have a larger range of motion than you could do on the floor.
I have a client with persistent low back pain. Our sessions are often “immediately corrective”. In other words, how can I help her be out of pain this morning so she can have a better day. But in the long term her issue was not improving. I thought about parts of GYROTONIC® training I haven’t used yet in our sessions and decided to practice the Sciatica Combination to see if I thought it could help. As I lay in the position for those exercises I thought “What else can be done here?”