15-Minute Mat Pilates Workout for Improving Posture (No Equipment)

SELF Magazine

Join instructor Sina Riemann for a 15-minute Pilates class targeted at improving posture. Riemann takes you through a series of moves and stretches designed to better your body's alignment and help you walk a little taller.  Director: Sarah Yalowitz Director of Photography: Charlie Jordan Editor: Christopher Jones Talent: Sina Reimann Creative Producer: Christie Garcia Line Producer: Joe Buscemi Manager, Social Creative Development: Lauren Alberti Production Manager: Melissa Heber Production Coordinator: Fernando Davila Casting Producer: Nick Sawyer Camera Operator: Josh Herzog; Jake Robbins Gaffer: Gautum Kadian Sound Mixer: Michael Guggino Production Assistant: Erica Palmieri Hair &amp; Make-Up: Yev Wright-Mason Set Designer: Jeremy Derbyshire-Myles ood &amp; Fitness Director, SELF: Christa Sgobba Post Production Supervisor: Christian Olguin Post Production Coordinator: Scout Alter Supervising Editor: Erica DeLeo Assistant Editor: Fynn Lithgow

Transcript

00:00This is your posture series. Think about posture, aligning yourself again, shoulders down and back.

00:09Posture has everything to do with your back, with your center core, pelvic floor and everything

00:15from the bottom to the top. So in this series, we're going to work on those posture muscles.

00:20We're going to bring everything down and back. I'm going to make you walk a little taller,

00:24a little more relaxed through life. Let's get started. Let's take it down to the mat.

00:29We're going to start this into a cat-cow to warm up your spine. I want your knees underneath your

00:35hips, your hands underneath your shoulders. Spread those fingertips nice and wide. Find

00:40your neutral spine first and I'll round on your spine, articulate it, look down towards those

00:46knees, drop your head, push out and away from your shoulders and I'll slowly release, arching

00:53that back, look up to the sky. Beautiful. Inhale through your nose, exhale. Again, chin

00:59towards the chest, round on your spine, look down towards your knees, really press into

01:05those palms here, press your shoulders up, up, up and I'll slowly open it back up. Perfect.

01:12Really arching that back, you're going to feel that nice deep stretch in your core and

01:16in that low back. Let's do one more right here, round on your spine, look down to the

01:20knees. Last one, arch, press into those palms, look on up. Beautiful. Now find your neutral

01:27back, I want you to tuck your toes under, press into your palms, let's lift up into

01:31a downward facing dog. Lift those hips up, heels stay nice and high first and now I just

01:38want you to lift your hips super high, start to pedal those feet, bend your left knee,

01:42up and over to the right. Really pedal out those feet right here, keep those hips nice

01:47and high, keep that head in between your biceps and then we're going to walk this up in 5,

01:544, 3, 2 and 1. Bend your knees, walk your hands slowly towards your toes, fold yourself

02:03back up to standing, take a big inhale, reach up tall. Let's start with your first exercise,

02:09we're going to take this into an inchworm. First thing I want you to do here is reach

02:13tall, take a big inhale, look up to the ceiling, grow yourself taller like a tree and take

02:18an exhale, bring your chin to the chest, roll on down one vertebrae at a time, bend your

02:22knees, walk your hands down onto your mat, all the way out into a high plank position.

02:28Find your plank, belly button to spine, squeeze your core, hold it for 5, 4, 3, 2, bend your

02:37knees slowly, walk your hands back towards your toes, nice and slow, pressing through

02:42your heels first, then rising up, round your spine, reach up, reach those arms long, grow

02:49like a big tree, look up to the ceiling and then again, roll on down, chin to the chest,

02:55bend your knees, walk your hands all the way down onto that mat, find your high plank,

03:00we're going to hold this here for 5, press your palms away for 4, 3, 2 and 1. One last

03:08one, bend your knees, walk your hands slowly back in, press through your heels, rounding

03:14your spine first, roll yourself up, big inhale, reach up towards the ceiling, this feels nice

03:21and then again, take it all the way down, rounding your spine, take it back down to

03:25the mat, we're going to hold your plank one final time, find that high plank, give me

03:30the prettiest plank you got, belly button to spine, if this is too much, drop onto your

03:34knees, last 5, 4, 3, 2, now replace those knees back down onto the floor, find a quick

03:42little child's pose, stretch it out, drop your head onto the mat, inhale, exhale, pull

03:49yourself back up, we're going to start in a little bird dog, hands underneath your shoulders,

03:55knees underneath your hips, you're in your quadruple position, start with your left leg,

03:59extend your left leg out, reach your right arm long, from here, we're going to tap your

04:03left foot and right hand down to the mat, lift it back up, try again not to arch your

04:09back too much here, right again, core is tight, bracing that core, spine is nice and long,

04:14look towards the edge of your mat, here the entire time, last 4, 3, 2, and 1, hold it

04:23all the way up, rounding your spine, scoop from those lower abdominals, pull your left

04:27knee towards that right elbow and extend everything out, now if you feel like you have not enough

04:33balance here, what you're going to do is you put your hand down and you're just scooping

04:36from that lower abdominal, pull that knee to the chest and extend everything out, want

04:42you to round on your back a little bit here, tap and extend it out, beautiful, last one,

04:48we're going to hold it out, hold it now all the way out, we finish this out with a little

04:53sweep here, reach your right hand towards your left foot, pull your left heel towards

04:59your left hamstring and then extend everything out, beautiful, sweep and pull, your right

05:05arm stays nice and long, it's like a lat, sweep, right, you're sweeping from your lats,

05:10last 3, 2, and 1, bring it down, sit back into a child's pose, roll out your wrists

05:16left and right, we're going to take it to the other side, inhale, exhale, pull yourself

05:22back up, extend your right leg nice and long, reach your left arm long, find your hold,

05:29now tap, right foot, left hand down to the mat, lift everything up, nice and slow with

05:33control, tap, inhale, exhale, lift, again, think about those fingertips and your toes

05:40as an extension, right, the energy is going through the fingertips and your toes, be intentional

05:46about your movement, beautiful, hold it high in 3, 2, hold it right here, now rounding

05:52your spine, pull your left elbow towards that right knee for your bird dog crunch and extend

05:57everything out long and remember, if this doesn't feel good for you, please go ahead,

06:02put your hand down and scoop a little bit more from those abs, both hands on the ground,

06:08if this does feel a little bit too much, remember, we're all on our journey and what works for

06:14one person might not work for the other, so do what feels good on your body, hold it out

06:20in 3, 2, hold it all the way out, now start to sweep, sweep your left hand towards your

06:25right foot and bring it back, think about that right heel going towards your hamstring,

06:30pulling it in, beautiful, last 5, 4, 3, 2, and 1, reset, beautiful, alright, shake out

06:41those hands for a split little second right here, let's come on up, we take this into

06:45a kneeling chest expansion, I want you to come up onto your knees, if this feels uncomfortable

06:50on your knees, fold your mat up twice, you got extra cushion underneath your knees here,

06:54now palms face back, relax your shoulders down and back, we're pressing your arms back

06:59for 2, open through your chest and back muscle for 3, open for 4, again, remember, your chest

07:06expansion is all about the backside, your posterior chain right here, press back, feel

07:11those triceps, feel the backside of your lats and traps, activate, squeeze it back, inhale,

07:18exhale, press it back, try not to surpass your hip line, so your hands start right by

07:24the hip and you press back from there, we're gonna hold this back in 5, we're adding on

07:29to this in 4, 3, 2, hold your arms all the way back, now slowly hinge the upper body

07:36forward for 1, forward for 2, hold it here, now lift your arms up an inch and down an

07:42inch, lift your upper body slowly back up, nice and slow, squeeze your glutes, return

07:47your hands back towards your hip line, beautiful, we're just pressing those arms back, hinging

07:53the upper body forward, lifting those arms up an inch and down an inch, feel those triceps

07:59and then lift back up, last one right here, we're holding it forward in 3, in 2, and 1,

08:06hold it all the way forward, now open your pinkies out to the sides, draw them back in,

08:11look forward, your eyes look towards the edge of the mat here, squeeze it in, thumbs are

08:16trying to kiss behind your back, that's it, they're having a little rendezvous, you have

08:205, 4, 3, 2, and 1, come on up, shake it all out, let's take this into your swimmer, I

08:29want you to lay down onto your stomach, get nice and comfortable, lay all the way down

08:33onto your stomach, I want your forehead resting onto your mat for a second right here, bring

08:39your arms, mat width apart, into a letter T, it's almost like a little goal pose, now

08:45what I want you to do here is press into your palms first, press into your thighs, and lift

08:50your upper body up, nice and slow, and bring it right back down, you're working your low

08:56back right here, remember, for your posture, everything has to be in alignment, you're

09:01thinking about upper back, lower back, as well as your center core, so inhale, exhale,

09:08lift that upper body up, now if you can, you already see me doing it, I'm pressing my thighs

09:14into the mat, lifting my legs up as well, and again, if this doesn't work, I want you

09:19to keep your feet down, and just lift your arms up, you got it, take an inhale, exhale,

09:25lift, press those thigh muscles down into your mat, inhale, exhale, lift up, you got

09:328, we're gonna hold this at the top in 4, 3, 2, hold it right here, now reach those

09:39arms forward all the way, pull your elbows back into your goal pose, squeeze your shoulder

09:43blades together, reach nice and long, press those thighs still into your mat, beautiful,

09:49last 10 seconds right here, we're gonna finish this out with a little swimmer, in 4, 3, 2,

09:58and 1, hold everything long, swim, swim it out, arms long, pedal those feet, pedal those

10:02arms, you got 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, push through, 4, 3, 2, and put it back down, put your head

10:10to the right side, take a big inhale, exhale, let it go, maybe pull your heels towards your

10:19booty, and then just move your knees side to side, let's switch to the other side, put

10:25your left cheek down onto your mat, do the same thing right here, move your legs side

10:31to side, and now slowly extend those legs all the way out for me, put your forehead

10:38back onto your mat for a second, and now bring your hands underneath your shoulders,

10:42push yourself all the way up, yup, now we're up, again if this doesn't work, you're gonna

10:48come from here, right up onto your knees and pull yourself back into a child's pose, now

10:54find that modified push up position, your hands are underneath your shoulders, maybe

11:00a little wider if this feels better for you, squeeze your inner thighs together, tuck your

11:04tailbone under, right, tuck as much as you can, you don't wanna be here, tuck your tailbone

11:09under, squeeze those inner thighs, right, it's one extension muscle right here, now

11:13we're gonna slowly lower your upper body down for 2, down for 3, down for 4, press slowly

11:20back up, now if this doesn't work, what I want you to do is just give me a tiny bend

11:25from the elbow, press yourself back up, that's all I need from you here, tiny press, take

11:31it down, down, press up, press up, your progression as always is up on your toes, if you want

11:38a little bit more, separate your feet nice and wide apart and then go into a push up

11:43right here, right, there's modifications and there's advancement, I want you to do what

11:48feels good on your body, we're gonna take this into a stretch here as well, in 3, 2

11:55and 1, press yourself all the way up, your chest should feel nice and warm, you're gonna

11:59start to reach your left arm long, bring it in, reach your right arm long, right, find

12:05that length again in your spine, yes, again, energy through those fingertips, find those

12:11postural muscles, that's it, beautiful, you got 5, 4, 3, 2, release, push yourself all

12:22the way back, stretch out those arms, amazing job, I know, push ups are always a little

12:27bit lean, let's stand all the way up, shake it on out, stand up, we come now into your

12:32plie squat series, it's not long, think about your plie squat just, again, being a puzzle

12:38of the big framework here, lower down, tuck your tailbone under, it's really about the

12:43pelvic floor here right now, right, pelvic floor is stabilizing your spine, tuck your

12:48tailbone under, reach those arms out to the sides, palms face up, take an inhale, on the

12:53exhale, press into your heels, rise up, grow tall like a tree again, relax your shoulders

12:58down and back, and then take it all the way back down into your plie squat, push those

13:03knees out to the sides, right, open those hips here for me, inhale, exhale, rise up,

13:10right, focus on your breath here, there's no need to speed this up, we got 8 more seconds,

13:15we meet down low, in 4, 3, 2, hold it right here, now, bring those elbows towards the

13:23ribcage, extend out, rotate your palms to the sides, speed it up, elbows towards your

13:28ribcage, extend out, keep your chest and collarbone open, relax your shoulders away from the ears,

13:35there we go, out and in, you got 8, 7, 6, hold in 5, in 4, in 3, 2, hold it right here,

13:44now, palms face out, draw everything in, round on that spine, open everything up, look up

13:51to the ceiling, round in your, tuck that tailbone under, open back up, beautiful, pull

13:56that pelvic floor forward, open back up, you got 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, hold everything open up,

14:06pulse your legs, 10 seconds, 10, 9, 8, 7, you can do it, 5, 4, 3, 2, slowly stand up,

14:14shake it out, alright, now, the last set we have here is a quick little plank series,

14:21it's real quick, we're gonna come down onto your mat and I'll give you some modifications

14:26right away, hands underneath your shoulders, extend your legs out into a plank, we're starting

14:31to walk your feet underneath your hips, just like this and walk it back out, so pull, left

14:38knee underneath your hip, right knee underneath your left hip, step left leg out, step your

14:43right leg out, pull your right knee underneath your hip, left knee underneath your hip and

14:48step it back out, right, it's like a bear pose, modification, you tuck your toes under,

14:53knees underneath your hips, pull yourself up and just hold it here for 3 seconds, bring

14:57it back down, right, remember, core muscles are engaged and they help you in your entire

15:03life, right, they're holding you up, they're working on your posture, you got 5, you got

15:094, 3, 2, hold your plank all the way out, drop slowly down onto your forearms, find

15:16your forearm plank, modification on your knees, just hold your forearm plank, open your palms,

15:21lengthen that spine, look towards those fingertips, last 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, and you

15:33got 2 and 1, slowly drop down onto your knees, tuck your toes under, find yourself on a downward

15:40facing dog, drop the head down, pedal out your feet left and right, we're gonna stand

15:45this up in 3, in 2, and 1, bend your knees, walk your hands all the way back towards your

15:52feet, roll on up one vertebrae at a time, stand up nice and tall, reach those arms overhead,

15:58grab with your right hand, your left wrist, pull yourself slightly towards the right hand

16:03side, feel that stretch down that left side, inhale, exhale, sink a little deeper, pull

16:09yourself back to the midline, grab with your left hand, your right wrist, and then pull

16:14yourself towards the left hand side, big inhale, exhale, sink deeper.

16:20And then last stretch, interlace your fingertips behind your back, open that chest up, look

16:26up to the ceiling, find that nice deep stretch, inhale, reach, reach, reach, exhale, release.

16:33I hope this posture series felt good on your body, shoulders should be down and back, you

16:37should be standing a little taller, and whenever you need to, come back to this video and do

16:42it again.

16:43Thank you so much for joining me.

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