09: Mat Mobility Flow | 30 Minute Active Recovery & No Equipment Workout

Hey, everybody. I'm Amy from Bodyfit by Amy. And this is your mat mobility flow workout. So just like it sounds, we will be down on the mat the entire time, keeping it all body weight and getting some active recovery, mobility, and flexibility from the mat position. I'll be giving you lots of different options to take it up or down, depending on what you need today and where you are in your fitness journey. Are you ready? Let's do it. Let's start by being seated down on the mat. So just find a comfortable sitting position. And just like we do in many of our standing workouts or our core workouts, I want you to get in touch with your posture. Don't overthink it. We want to release tension on our body, but we also want to connect with our alignment. So in this seated posture, I want you first to be aware of your pelvic floor. So your pelvic floor has four parts. Your, the front and the back. So your pubic bone and your tailbone, and then the sides, those sits bones. Right? So feeling where that is and making sure you're not leaning back or too far forward. Then sitting up nice and tall as if you have a string coming up out of the top of your head. And then aligning your ears with your shoulders. Shoulders over the rib cage, rib cage over the pelvis. And notice when you do that, like, I could feel myself shift back a little because I noticed that I was flaring my ribs a bit, so I'm bringing that in, and that I also was arching my back a bit. So again, making sure that I'm not creating more tension, I want to be releasing the tension, but by doing so, I'm also connecting with the base of my spine to the top of my head, relaxing in the lower body and the upper body and getting in that neutral alignment. So from here, we've been doing these. In our hardcore challenge, we're going to put our hands on our sides. Let's go to that TA breathing or diaphragmatic breathing. Big inhale. As we inhale, expand through the sides, back, and belly. Let the pelvic floor drop and relax. And as we exhale, everything's connecting in and up. Just doing a few of those breaths on your own, remembering that a lot of us have backwards breathing, which again, it's not your fault if you are, but where we inhale up, exhale down, which is pushing out and down on our abdominal wall and our pelvic floor. So when we're doing our TA breathing or diaphragmatic breathing, because your diaphragm sits up here. We want to relax on the inhale, but also breathe through the sides, in the back, and on the exhale, in and up. So a few more of those and then we're going to get into just a gentle mobility flow. So let's let our head drop to the side and just get a little stretch through here. You can hold for a couple counts, then we'll roll to the center, just thinking chin to chest, then rolling to that other side. And we're not going to go to the back, but we're going to go back down through the center. And I just want you to go at your own pace, holding the stretch for a couple counts on both. You can return to center, to neutral, but we're not going to lean back, right. We're just going to take it here to here. What I wanted to give you today, we have a lot of active recovery or day four workouts where we get cardio mobility, we get maybe more intense yoga or Pilates. And I wanted to give you a true active recovery mobility flow. I know some of you are going to worry that it's not enough, but trust me, our body needs this. Maybe we're thinking of this as our real recovery from here. So we're keeping it all down on the mat, all body weight, and of course, I'll give you some options to intensify. Let's take one arm up, reach, and then fold, fold it over. We're just going to switch through this, so I'll give you options if you want to take it up. Maybe we incorporate a little more core, reach the ceiling again and switch and fold. But I want you, especially if you're someone like me who, you know, always worries, am I doing enough? Am I? Am I getting the strength? Am I getting the endurance? I know we were kind of taught to believe that we always needed to be burning calories and we always needed to be going hard. That culture of go hard, go home or go home or never miss a Monday, no pain, no gain, phrases that we could probably get rid of, right? I want you to try to let that go if that's in your head. If you're that type of training personality. I know I am. And really honor your body today with this mobility and with this recovery. We're still getting movement, which is going to feel really good, but trying to get out of that mode of, oh, I gotta be doing more, more, more, more. Nope. Sometimes less is more. Let's take it. Since we're here, we're gonna Turn into the all fours position, and let's take it into that child's pose. So we're gonna stretch back. Hold that stretch for a count or two. Let your head drop, press those shoulders down. And then we're gonna return to all fours, and we're gonna add that little arm sweep underneath. So we're taking one arm under, lean into it, hold for a couple counts. Thinking of using your core to lift back to center and then other side. So at your own pace, what we really want to be thinking, I'm reaching that arm under. I'm connecting with my core at the top and right through here and up and reach. And if you need more time to sit back into the child's pose, to really sit deep into that stretch, please get it. You can make this more of a flexibility workout if you just want to hold longer stretches. You can get more mobility if you want to move a little quicker. We. Or anything in between. One more each side. Here up and here. And let's come up onto all fours again. And we're just going to roll through that cat, cow. Now, this is something we do a lot at the end of our workouts or even in the beginning, but in this moment, don't just go through the motions. I want you to really think about that lower lumbar spine. Perhaps you've heard me talk about this before, but we all, most of us, tend to have a little bit more mobility through our upper spine, our C spine, our T spine, and then that lumbar spine right here. We can get a little locked up. I know that's case for me. So my body gets to about here, and then it's feeling kind of tight. So I'm really going to focus on moving through that lower part of my spine just to release that. Right. Or just thinking about all the different parts of our spine here. Breathe up. And just a few more at your own pace. And then one more time, let's sit back into the child's pose. You can let your head drop, let your arms take it to the side, whatever feels good for you, relaxing in your wrist, and come back up onto all fours. And if it's comfortable for you, going to take one knee up. We're going to get a little reach. I'm going to stretch into it, and then take it back. Now, if that's not right for you, you can just open the knee up to the side and get a little stretch. And here. But if you can, from the knees, little stretch back, and then bring that hip forward, keeping the knee down for now here, adding the child's pose and then reach again. Just going as far as is comfortable for you. If you just want to put the knee out to the side, that works too. If it's not comfortable being on your knees, hang out in that child's pose. Now if you want, we're going to come up into that high plank position. If this is not right for you, you just stay right on the knees. Now we're going to do that big step, that big reach, world's greatest stretch, down and back step. So if you want a little more core, you can bring it up to that plank. If you want to stay down or drop the knee as you come to get more of that hip flexor stretch, you can do that too. Right? And here. Now let's take it to one side. Let's hold it here. We're gonna reach just like we do in our warm ups. We're going to take it down, reach it up. We're going for five. So at your own pace. Down and reach. Down, reach, hips open. Big stretch. One more and then switch your sides. Taking it here. Other side. Big reach. Down and up. Yes. And then from here back onto all fours. One more time. Child's pose. Hands can be front or back. Whatever feels good for you. Breathe. Let's take it over onto our side. We're going to take it here into that 90, 90 position. So we're going to start. Just going to do a little lean over. Remember this little side to side. So if this doesn't feel good for you, you can sit on the edge of a chair or the edge of a bench. Sometimes that's a little more comfortable. So it's up to you. And then just down onto the elbow. Big stretch, Reach to the ceiling, follow it and stretch as far as is comfortable for you. You can keep it small just here to here, or you can take it all the way down, up to you, taking it here and big reach. And one more breathe. And then let's take it here onto your hands. Now watch me. I'm going to bring my knees together, my feet together, and I'm going to press up nice and strong. So you have the option. You can press up onto the knees and take it down, or you can take it all the way up with the feet and then slowly down. So you may remember this. We'll get a little strength, but mobility through that shoulder, that's not right for you. Stay on the knees or even take it to your elbow or keep doing the stretch we were just doing. If you can big reach, swoop it over and then slowly down. Right? Big reach and down again. You can do this on your elbow, too, or staying on the knee. Maybe that's better for you. Big reach and down. Let's get one more feeling that stretch reach. And if you can, from here, reach under four. Drop the knee if you need to. Three, two, one. Relax it down. Back into that 90, 90. And let's just rotate of our hips right side to side. You decide how much you want to turn. If you want to turn your shoulders, if you want to just keep it in front. You can do it with no hands. You can have your hands for a little bit of balance to move you through it. Totally up to you. Your workout. What you need here, feeling that hip. And one more each side reach. And here. So we're here. Make sure you're on the opposite side of what you did. Your little this and your side plank on. So we're going to take it big reach over big stretch. Remember, you can just keep it high or drop it down on the elbow while you're keeping your legs in that 90, 90. So if you notice, we're getting a little stretch in the 90, 90 as we get the mobility and the movement through the sides, to the back, through the shoulders. Right, right through here. This one is a lot tighter on me on the inside of the hip, so that feels harder to me. So now I know why I need it, right? It's a little harder for me to reach over. One more, and let's bring those knees together. We're going to lift it up. Remember, you could be on your knees. You can come all the way up to the toes. We're going to reach over, then our last one will reach under. So we're here. Big press up, reach slowly down. Big press up, reach. So I want the mobility through that big circle of the arm. But we're also opening up this chest, right? And here and down and reach. And one more. We're going to take it up and hold. You can drop the knee if you want and reach under. 4, 3, 2 and 1. Yes, good. And breathe this time. Let's take the knees. Open this way and just let your head and your neck relax into that. So elbows can be on the inside or here. And sitting in this position, let's take one arm out. You're going to press gently on the wrist and the fingertips, and then let your head drop to the opposite side. Often we do this at the end of the workout, so we get the stretch through here. We also get the stretch through here, holding that. And again, as we're holding the knees in that position, to open up through the hips, roll through those wrists, same thing, other side. And then very carefully, we're going to turn ourselves into that all fours position again. And here's what we're looking at. You can either just do child's pose up to all fours, or we're going to go down dog to plank. So with that down dog, you're going to press up to here, feel that stretch and come over. If at any point you want to alternate between the two to drop your knees, you can. But if you want to get more of that stretch through the hamstrings, through the spine, through the glutes, but also a little core, take it all the way up. So up to you, either child's pose to all fours, down dog to plank, or anything in between. Let's align ourselves. Wrist beneath the elbows, beneath the shoulders, knees beneath the hips. And you're either going, join me, child's pose, using your core to come forward into all fours, or join me here. Down dog, lift those hips over to plank. Up to you. You can. And take it at your own pace. Either way, lean into, literally and figuratively, lean into what feels good for you in this moment in that stretch. Right? So we're here, pedaling those feet, and here, here. And then if you're able, join me in the plank. Otherwise, I'll give you an option. But if you can, we're going to come into the plank and we're going to switch our pigeons. So we're going to go pigeon hold for a couple counts, maybe lean into that hip. We're getting the outside of the hip this time. Bring it back up, press up to plank. Then we're going to go other side into the pigeon hold. Now, if that's not right for you, you can just go back to that 90, 90 switch like we did, or you can just take it from the child's pose to all fours like we did before, back up to plank. So pigeon to plank, or all fours, feeling that hip stretch. And then if you want to add another angle, using your core down, dog to pigeon, which you know I love. And here, take it back up, lift those hips, lengthen and lift the arms. Here we go. Stretch. And then we're just going to take it into that pigeon stretch and hold. So whatever feels good for you. If that's just 90, 90, if you want to take it down, you want to rest your head, lean into that. Really lean into that hip using Your body weight, if you want to keep it up, that feels a little better for you, that's okay as well. Or anything in between does not have to be perfect. Clearly, mine is not. But I'm really going to try to get back to stretch. And then as you're ready, we're going to switch our sides. Coming in. And again, finding what feels good for you in the stretch here. And very carefully, if you're able, we're going to make our way all the way down. If you need to, you can stay on all fours, but let's take it all the way down. Rest your head on your hands. And we're here. Just breathe into that. I know we could almost fall asleep, right? And then from here, you can rest one head. One head. Your hand, your head on one hand. And we're gonna reach back. Can you hold it here and just hold that stretch opening up the chest? If that's not right for you, I just want you to take it out to the side. And then we're gonna switch here. And I just want you to switch at your own pace. I know it's a little strange, but think about, all of us are pretty tight in those shoulders, right? And then switch and then switch, and then just switch one or two more times. And then if you're able, we're going to bring both hands here, right at the small of your back, and you're just going to open up, right? So you feel a little tightness in the low back, so it's a strengthener as well. But I want you to pull those elbows up and try to get that stretch right. A little weird, but you can do it. Let's bring one foot in. And then can we switch that so you can rest your head again? Don't worry if you can't actually grab it. Just bring the foot in and bring the arm back. Even if you can't reach it, just to get that stretch is going to open up the chest and open up around the knees again. I know it looks a little weird, but I hope that you're feeling it in a good way. And then if you want, you're going to reach back with both and reach up with both. You don't actually have to grab it here, but if you can. And I want you to feel an opening of the chest and shoulders. Feel that stretch around your knees and then slowly down and let's come up into that little baby cobra. So on your elbows, let your shoulders drop. Just let your head go side to side, opening up through the head, neck and shoulders. And if it feels good for you, you can come all the way up in that full cobra or up dog, letting your shoulders drop and again side to side. And very carefully, let's roll onto our back so you can just flip right over. Take your time coming down. And from here, let's just gently pull our knees in one at a time. You can reach underneath the leg or right on top of the shin, little stretch through there. And if you're able, you can pull both of them in, either hugging them here and feel that release in your back or here. Or if you want to get a little more of that opener, you can grab on the ankles or your feet for a little bit of that. Happy baby up to you. And you can just let your feet fall or knees drop. We're just going to do a little snow angel with your arms. If that feels good, just go as far as is comfortable for you. Palms to the ceiling, doing a little circle or half circle. And then we're going to come into goal post arms. If that doesn't feel good for you, I just want you to keep doing what does feel feel good. But we're going to take those arms. If it feels better to have your feet up, I'm going to align my lower back that way and we're just going to. And we're going to open them up. So think you're taking it from the front of the palms to the back of the palms. Elbows are staying in place. If you want to add a little bridge to that, just to get a little hip strengthening, a little back release, a little core work, glutes and hammies feeling it. Let's take those hands right here. They're opening up and we're just going to do some little arm slides up, up and arm slides down. Relax your chest, relax your neck. Now we tend to feel like we're holding that tension up here, right? But really try to relax it down as those arms slide up. Remembering this arm slide, it's a good one to do. Maybe before you go to bed at night, even if you don't have a ton of space or standing on a wall. Again, really good shoulder mobility right here. And from here, let's open our arms up. We're going to let our knees drop to one side and just a little open book for the hips. Keep the arms and just rolling side to side, right? Open one knee and then the other sa. Hold on one side and just look to the opposite so you get that little back stretch. And then bring that hand towards the knees and you can either just open up, starting with just the upper, or if it feels better for you to take it across, you can do that, too. Again, a few with just the upper, and then let's roll through all the way to the other side. Just the upper on the other side. So you're just going to either open up, let the knees stay dropped. We're here. I gotta watch my microphone on this side. Or you can pull it across if that feels better for you. Now let's put them together. So upper and lower, going across all the way through. And really think about your core connection here. Again, I want you to be relaxed. I don't want you to feel like it has to be a lot of strength, but really think about connecting as you come through. Right. Your core is helping to create the movement. Right? That's what we've been talking about all month. One more each way at your own pace. And then I want you to return to center. Whatever stretch feels good for you. For me, I'm just going to hug both knees in. But for you, it might just be flat. It might be a little figure four. It might be a hamstring stretch. Just finding a stretch to finish this out and then finding a comfortable position to just let your body sink into the floor. Let's try to have our shoulders opening up but relaxed, our palms up to the ceiling, our chin relaxed, head, neck, and shoulder relaxed all the way down. Torso relax hips and pelvis into the legs, into the feet. Just let yourself sink into the floor. So you can bookmark this workout for a day that you need something just like this. And leave me a comment. Let me know how you're feeling after this. You can hang out on the floor as long as you want. And if you want to get one big, deep breath in and out. You did it. That was your mat. Mobility flow workout. Great job, everybody.