Pilates: Side Kicks - part of the women's fitness video series by GeoBeats. Hi, I am Charlotte and this is Alice and we are here at Streamline Pilate Studios in Brooklyn Heights, New York. We are going to teach you how to do a series using the gym ball from the side kicks from Pilates mat work. You are going to start kneeling with the ball in front of you and just take the ball in move it to your right side as close to your body as you can so you want to keep that right thigh perpendicular to floor and right up against the ball. When you feel that you are sort of snuggly in there with the ball, take your right arm down to the mat and put your left hand on top to help you rest in balance. You can stretch your left leg out and when you are ready, lift that left leg so that it is parallel to the floor, level with your hip. Imagine you have a cup of really hot coffee on this shoulder and you are going to try to not spill a drop of it as you do these side kicks. So keeping your stomach scooped back towards your spine and your torso as steady as you can, inhale flex your foot to kick it forward and exhale point your foot to sweep it back. Inhale flex forward and exhale sweep it back. Enable back toward your spine, torso steady, and we will do eight of these. That looks great. Three more, two, and last one, and bringing your leg inline with the rest of your body. Again, keeping your leg and foot parallel to the floor medium size circles nice and steady. Enable back towards your spine, you feel your thigh feeding into your hip as much as you feel your foot stretching away from your body lengthening out. Eight of these reverse and go the other direction. Four, three, two and one. And then keeping your foot parallel still let's make a rainbow and just touch your foot down in front and touch your foot down in back. Enable back towards your spine. Take a minute, checking your jaw, relax your jaw. If your neck feels a little tight try just ease into the movement rather than straining. And we will do eight of these. Let's say three more, two and one. And then lifting that leg up turn your toe down and your heel up and just lift that heel up, stomach scooped for eight. Four, three, two and one and bend that knee. And see if you can balance on that right knee to pick the ball up and set your self in center and you can do the other side.
