Session 15 · Restore
Strength and Grace
Today’s session: 6 moves
Standing Roll-Down
4 minStand tall, feet hip-width apart, arms by your sides. Exhale, engage your TVA gently. Nod your chin toward your chest and begin to roll down through your spine, one vertebra at a time. Let your arms hang heavy. Roll down as far as comfortable. Pause at the bottom for 3 breaths, feeling the length in your spine and the stretch through your hamstrings. Inhale and slowly roll back up, restacking your spine, head coming up last. Repeat 6 times. Notice how much more fluidity you have now compared to the beginning of this program. Doming check: Watch or feel your midline as you roll down. If doming appears in the lower abdominal area, reduce the range of the roll-down.
Modified Hundred Full
5 minLie on your back, legs in tabletop (knees over hips, shins parallel to ceiling). Head stays on the floor. Arms by your sides, palms down. Exhale, engage your TVA and pelvic floor. Begin pumping your arms, breathing in for 5 pumps and out for 5 pumps. Complete the full 100 pumps (10 breath cycles). You have arrived at the full Hundred. If you need to pause halfway, that is perfectly fine. Rest for 10 seconds and continue. Completing 100 pumps is a milestone, not a requirement. Doming check: Watch your midline throughout. If doming appears at any point, lower your feet to the floor (knees bent) and continue from there.
Bird Dog Flow
4 minAll fours, neutral spine. Exhale, engage your TVA and pelvic floor. Extend your right arm forward and left leg back. Hold for 3 seconds. Now flow: draw your right elbow and left knee toward each other under your body, rounding your spine gently. Extend back out. That is one flowing repetition. Complete 8 each side. The flowing transition between extension and flexion challenges your core in a dynamic way. Move with your breath: exhale to extend, inhale to curl in. Doming check: Watch your belly during the curling-in phase. If doming appears, return to the static hold version without the flow.
Side Plank Modified
4 minLie on your side, propped on your forearm, knees bent to 90 degrees behind you. Exhale, engage your TVA and pelvic floor. Lift your hips off the floor. Hold for 20 seconds. Lower gently. Repeat on the other side. 2 holds each side. If 20 seconds feels manageable, try one hold of 25 seconds on each side. You can place your top hand on your hip or reach it toward the ceiling for an extra balance challenge. Doming check: Watch your belly in the hold position. If doming appears or you cannot maintain engagement, lower your hips and try a shorter hold.
Glute Bridge Series
4 minLie on your back, knees bent, feet hip-width apart. Perform 12 glute bridges with variations: 4 standard bridges with a 5-second hold at the top, 4 bridges with 4 marches at the top (alternating feet), 4 bridges with feet together (a narrower base challenges your core more). Focus on the quality of each hold. Feel your glutes, hamstrings, and deep core all working together as a team. Doming check: Watch your midline during each variation, especially the narrow-base bridges. If doming appears, return to the standard hip-width version.
Standing Balance
4 minStand tall near a wall for safety. Exhale, engage your TVA gently. Shift your weight onto your right foot and lift your left foot off the floor. Hold for 30 seconds. If that feels stable, add gentle arm movements: slowly raise both arms overhead, then lower them. 4 arm raises while balancing. Switch sides and repeat. For an extra challenge, try closing your eyes for the final 10 seconds (one hand near the wall). Your balance has improved so much since Phase 2. Trust it. Doming check: Watch your belly as you balance and move your arms. If you are bearing down to maintain balance, soften your engagement and use the wall more.
Pink Pilates Tip
Doming check: your awareness should feel almost instinctive now. Keep watching, keep checking. This habit will protect your core for years to come.
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