#MovementOfTheMonth: Rolling Like a Ball
Rolling Like a Ball comes fourth in the introductory order and provides a wonderful massage to your spine, helps increase your circulation and challenges your abdominals in a deeply rounded shape.
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Here’s a step-by-step guide to help you perform the Rolling Like a Ball movement:
The Movement:
1. Sit at the front of your mat with your knees bent, pulled closely to your chest. Keep your knees slightly apart, your heels together and your toes apart.
2. Wrap one hand around to the opposite ankle and clasp the other hand around that wrist.
3. Curl your body up and over and bring your gaze downward.
4. Balance at the back of your sitz bones.
5. Without changing the shape of your ‘ball,’ pull your tail underneath you to roll back.
6. Roll to the upper back, keeping your head off the mat.
7. Deepen your abdominals, hold the shape, and return up to balance at the top with your feet off the mat for just a moment before rolling again.
Pro Tips:
- The tighter your ball is, the more challenging the exercise will be, so work as tightly as you can while still rolling smoothly. Work to roll evenly through both sides of your body.
- Keep your eyes locked on your midsection throughout the exercise. Rhythm saves — roll back and come right back up!
- Beginner’s tip: Place a ball behind your low back and pull your tail underneath. Roll into the ball, deepen your abs and come right back up. As you gain confidence, remove the ball and do the full version.
- If you have a tighter body, open your ball shape to allow yourself to roll smoothly.