Work it Work it! (10 mins)

Hi! Hey!

Master Theresa here. Master Ting, my students call me. Uh, did you know that by the time you are thirsty, there's a really good chance that you're already dehydrated? So make water part of everything that you do. Have your favorite water bottle, keep it filled up, and just keep refilling it all day long.

Imagine that!

All right, that's your PSA for today. So we're going to warm up your body. Nice and relaxed. Punch across your body. Shoulders are relaxed. Start rotating your hips. And I hope that you're doing well wherever you are in the world, and we can, uh, do these workouts. I've been kind of missing them. I had an ear infection and then, uh, ruptured an eardrum, so I do not recommend that, but I will find a way. It's kind of my, my jam. I I have a pity party for a little while, and then I'm like, all right, let's see what we need to do to do this. Okay, now we're gonna go into 2 punches, a hook, a hook, and an uppercut, and an uppercut. 1, 2, 1, 2, 1, 2, 1, 2. Now let's say that you're already kind of warm and you've been moving around and you want to speed that up. 1, 2, 1, 2, 1, 2, 1, 2.

1, 2.

1, 2. Whatever speed feels right for you right now, just to get your body moving. It's really the goal, right? There's so many good things that come from moving your body. You can release all the emotionality that you don't like. You can get into that centered place within yourself. As I was going from doctor to pharmacy to all trying to figure all these things out yesterday, I realized, oh my gosh, I am out of my Comfort zone. I am stuck in upset or stuck in, you know, ear pain, and I just needed to find a way to release it. And honestly, emotionally, I was able to release it just calming myself. The pain was still slightly there, but I didn't have emotions about the pain. So that's what I found really interesting, is being able to release. You might still feel tightness, discomfort, whatever, but imagine releasing your attachment. Your emotional attachment to it. And last one. Good. We're gonna do knee tap. So again, make contact. Let your brain know that you are crossing contralaterally.

You are crossing.

You're making some contact. If you're feeling like you can do your forearm, do that. If you're feeling like it's elbow, do that. Whatever works for you.

4, 3, 2. 1.

Last one here. Last one here. Awesome sauce. I want you to open up your knee.

Good.

Nice and relaxed. And if you feel the tendon going over your hip bone, just lower that knee. It's not a bad thing. Nothing's gonna pop. This is— your hip was meant to do this motion. The joints are happy when we do these things. Same with our shoulders. They like circles. All right, now we're gonna do another warm-up, and I want you just to pick your heel up. And if you've got knee problems, just do it lightly. If your knees are okay, go more side to side, pick your heel up. Do everything that you do, uh, in exercise classes or movement classes and training. Just make sure that you're minding your body. Alignment is the key, and never go too fast until you're comfortable, if that makes any sense. When you get comfortable in a motion, then you can speed it up. Speed is not the first thing to come. All right, we're gonna take the same group, and you're going to reach down. If you can't touch, just touch the inside of your knee. If you can get your foot up, great.

Little hacky sack.

You guys remember hacky sack? I think that was a thing like in the '90s.

I think. 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1. 3, 2, 1. Nice.

Now go ahead and take your shoulders forward and backward. So we're gonna do a couple forward and a couple backward. Couple forward, couple backward. Couple forward and a couple backward. Nice. Cross in front, reach behind. Cross in front, reach behind. Good. Breathing in, breathing out. We're gonna do a neck stretch. One of my favorite neck stretches. First, we're gonna work on our chest, pectoralis. I want you to open, bring your arms to the side. Good. Stretch these muscles. Oftentimes, if we're sitting a lot or we're leaning forward, these muscles get shortened, and these take a lot of the stress. So we are doing the antithesis of the sitting and driving. And if you're ever driving or sitting for a long time, think about pulling your arms back. At some point during that. All right, next stretch. So you're gonna tilt your head, your ear toward a shoulder. Good. And then extend the opposite arm. Good. Now, if this feels good and you can do it, you can also slightly, very slightly, tension just here. Good. Other side. Ear toward your shoulder. Extend the opposite arm.

Good.

Oh, that feels good. And if you can handle it, there, you're just touching your head. You're not even pushing hard. Extending that arm. Nice. And now let's do side to side. Breathing in, breathing out. Good. Down and up. Good. Hands on your hips. We're going to do something called a 4-direction, and it's forward, side, back, Side, forward, side, back, side. This is for your low back. It's also for your hips. Breathing in, breathing out, and switch the direction. Forward, side, back, side. This is a very common move that you'll see in martial arts classes because we have to help people warm up their backs because we're going to be kicking and throwing and punching and dropping and sliding and yelling. Nice. Now hip circles. Your body is going to be so warmed up and ready for whatever you've got planned today. Switch directions. 3, 2, and 1. Nice. Shake it out.

Shake out your legs.

Go ahead and put your left foot in front. We're just going to start with a jab combo. So a jab is just a forward motion, but I am rotating my whole body. So there's many different places places you can throw a jab, and we're gonna be here for about 30 seconds, right? So jab, jab, jab, jab, jab, or you can just jab forward, that's okay too. I like rotating my jabs because it helps me train different parts of my arm. I can go high, low, middle, corner, corner, center, just whatever jab. Nice, good. Last 10 seconds, we're gonna go fast. Ready?

Go, go, go, go! 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, nice!

Alright, switch arms. So 30 seconds, all the different directions of jabs.

4, 3, 2, go!

Good, high, low, side, side, forward, whatever feels right to you. Each of these different locations, you would be aiming for something different, and I would never talk you through going through all these places. It would be like side, side, oh, down, center.

It'd be a lot.

All right, we're gonna go fast. 10 seconds, go!

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10.

Nice job on the turbo. Okay, left foot in front. You're gonna bring up your knee, cross, knee, cross, knee, cross. So you're blocking head, body, and that knee is a great block to stop someone's kick.

Knee, punch, knee, punch, knee, punch. 8, 7, 6, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1. Switch sides. Block, punch, block, punch.

So you're bringing up your knee, and your hands are staying up to protect your head. And if you needed to, you could combat again, right? You could protect yourself and defend yourself. And then, you know, answer it.

8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1.

3, 2, 1, nice.

Kick, step, kick, step, kick, step, kick, step.

So you're stepping back with that back leg. Now if you wanted to add a cross, kick, cross, kick. That's a lot of hands and feet moving at the same time. Switch, other side.

Kick, step, kick, step, kick, step.

You want to add that cross?

Kick, step, kick, step.

Nice!

Kick, step, kick, step, kick, step, kick, step. Last one.

Nice! Go take a sumo squat to just pulse here. Rotate your arms. I love sumo squats. I think they are so good for us. It automatically allows you to keep your back up straight, which is the important part about a squat. Most times— a lot of times when people squat, they squat like this, and that is not a squat. This is a squat. So most often for my students, I like them to start with a sumo. You can do a regular squat and keep your shoulders up. Awesome. 3, 2, 1. Nice!

You did it!

Good job, you. All right, and all my sessions With a second of gratitude. Thank you for being here. Thank you for whatever you're doing in the world to make it a better place. I appreciate you.