- Welcome back to another great Quick Fit class.

I'm your host, Cassy Vieth.

I love working with people and offering solutions to their pain.

Here at Quick Fit , I design classes that work to balance the entire body so that with consistency, you'll experience a reduction in pain and an increase in energy and vitality.

So remove your shoes and we'll get right at it.

[upbeat music] We'll begin standing with a nice, wide base and we'll just doing easy warm-up reach.

[inhales] I just call these rainbows.

Down to one side, up and over.

Begin increasing the width of your legs, taking nice, long inhales and long exhales.

[inhales] So often, we are the source of our own pain because of habits we aren't even aware of.

For years, our body tries to compensate, but then, all of a sudden, we're shocked by some pain we've never had before.

That's why with these classes, my goal is to rebalance the entire body.

Let's just twist it, [exhales] and away, inhale, up.

[inhales] And when I say balance the body, I just mean bringing the muscles back to their original strength, front and back and side to side.

There you go.

All right, [exhales] one more.

Reach it up, [inhales] arch the spine, open the arms, roll it down.

[exhales] Exhale, tuck that chin, roll it up.

Very good, let's reach over to the side.

[inhales] All right, over the head.

And if you feel tight, give it up and go to the other side.

Inhale [inhales and exhales] and then go back at it again.

Nice and easy, you'll loosen up.

You don't have to force it.

Inhale, exhale.

[exhales] Shift that hip.

The other side, reach, [inhales] reach it over the ear and down, and allow that hip to shift.

Very good.

All right, grab your chair.

Hang on to it and we'll just take a step back with one leg.

Good.

Try to let the knee relax.

[inhales] Exhale.

[exhales] Very good.

Lift.

And then come up.

Other leg back, inhale.

[inhales] Sit it back.

[exhales] Try to let that knee relax.

[exhales] Shift the hips around.

[exhales] Push on the chair with one hand and lift.

That really gets deep into that hamstring.

All right, very good.

Come on up and we'll just turn your chair so that we can use the seat for some downward dogs.

Take a little step back and you can let your knees bend a little bit and I'd like you to walk your hands across the top.

[Inhales] Big inhale.

Exhale, and relax your shoulders into it.

[exhales] Good.

Come up a little bit, shift your hips.

So push that right hip out.

You can straighten that knee, pushes that right hip out.

Lift your right shoulder.

Let's switch sides.

So as you straighten the left knee, it twists the hip, [inhales] and then as you exhale, [exhales] lift that same side shoulder.

And you get this really deep stretch all the way down.

Good, come a little closer.

We'll do a couple cat and cows.

All right, so you push your hands into the chair, let your back arch up like a scaredy cat.

[inhales and exhales] And then the cow.

All right, enjoy this one while you're stretching your low back.

It can kind of seem counterintuitive that this stretch is gonna feel good, but it really, really does.

All right, come to a more neutral spine, and I'd like you to walk your hands across.

[inhales and exhales] Let your hips shift as your hand reaches across the top of the chair.

And then let your weight shift the other way and take your left hand across the top of the chair.

Very good, rolling it up one more time.

Nice, okay.

So step back away from your chair and I'd like you to bend over with your arms nice and wide, flat back.

And then twist, [exhales] inhale, exhale.

Trying to get one arm straight down, one arm straight up.

Come up, [inhales] trying to twist a little further.

Whew, inhale.

[inhales] Reach it forward, [exhales] one more time.

Try to reach it past your foot.

[exhales] Might notice you get a little bit further each time.

Twist the other way, inhale, exhale.

Lengthen that lower arm, reach up with the upper arm.

Come up a little.

Reach past the other leg.

[exhales] Come up.

[inhales] Reach it forward again.

[exhales] Twist it more.

[exhales] Very good, face the floor.

We're gonna bend those knees slightly.

Roll it up slowly to bring some release to that tension.

Good, and press, [exhales] and arch, very good.

All right, let's get down to the floor on your hands and knees.

We'll start with the vacuum.

The vacuum doesn't look like much is going on, but it is.

I want you to pull your stomach in and hold, okay?

Have your hands right under your shoulders, [inhales and exhales] and your hips above your knees.

Press down with your hands, pulling up with your belly button and don't release it.

It's very easy to release the stomach when you breathe.

So keep reminding yourself.

Long spine, head neutral, stomach's pulled in.

Push on your different muscles of your low abdominals to make sure that they are engaged.

It's very easy to loosen them, as you tighten one, you'll loosen the other, as you inhale and exhale it gets loose, but keep pulling up and pulling up.

[inhales] Keep breathing.

[exhales] Exhale, as you exhale, pull up, pull up, pull up.

Very good.

All right, moving on, I'd like you to continue to pull your belly up, but now I'd like you to do a pointer pose, so extend that left leg and find your balance because we're gonna lift up the right arm.

All right, now lengthen.

Think of a nice, long line between your toes and your fingers.

As you're wobbling around, just focus on one point on the floor.

[inhales and exhales] Pull in your stomach, squeeze your bum.

Lengthen through the shoulder.

[exhales] Try to be still, pull in the stomach, and back to neutral.

Whew.

All right, other leg, reach it out.

Get it up at hip height.

[inhales] Other arm, extend, good.

Try not to get your hands too far away from your knee.

[inhales and exhales] Lift the arm, lift the leg.

Stomach's in, long, pretty neck.

[inhales and exhales] Breathe and hold, focus on one thing.

Very good, let's bring those knees down, okay, and we'll open the knees just a little bit and we'll push back into a child's pose, okay.

Let that head come down towards the floor, [inhales] and you can walk your hands away.

Shift the hips over one heel.

Shift the other way.

Come up to a cat and a cow.

Very good, one more time, cat.

And cow.

[inhales] Enjoy it, don't rush.

Okay, from here I have something a little new for you.

I'd like you to extend your right leg, reach it back, and then let's walk the hands away from your knee, okay.

That opens up the groin, try to let your hips fall forward.

Try to relax.

I know if it's new and you're tight, everything's gonna kinda clench up, so then you just take some of the pressure off, do a big inhale [exhales] and try to relax again.

It just takes a little practice to relax.

Then we'll come up and do the other leg.

Okay, reach it back with that left leg.

You can get your knee down, your toes.

Good, walk your hands away.

Try to relax.

Come out, [inhales] sink down again.

[exhales] Feels so good.

Opening up that hip flexor.

All right, as you come out of this, you can lay on your back and we'll cross at the knee, and we'll do some isometric presses.

So I'd like you to, you have your legs crossed, so bring your bottom knee into your top leg, and the top leg presses into the bottom leg.

[exhales] Press.

Use that stomach.

Pull in your stomach, press the legs.

Press, press, press, release.

Switch.

[inhales] Inhale and then exhale, and press, press.

Did you feel your stomach engage, helping you do the work?

Press, press, press.

Real good, guys.

All right, release that and just let your knees fall to one side.

Your head looks the other.

Exhale, take your time.

[exhales] All right, go ahead and lift those knees up over, [inhales] gently to the other side.

Looking down that arm.

You can even go ahead and extend that top leg to deepen the stretch if it feels good.

[inhales] One final inhale and exhale.

[exhales] And we're done.

You can go ahead and get up.

And whether that seemed easy or difficult to you, I'm sure it was effective to stretch your tight muscles, thereby strengthening you.

Because tight muscles are weak muscles, and weak muscles cause pain over time.

These daily classes, found here at pbswisconsin.org/quickfit, are your at-home prescription to keep you loose, strong, and pain-free.

So come back often and know that you've taken the best and most important step to better health.

And remember, life is movement!

- Announcer: Funding for Quick Fit with Cassy is provided by Greg and Carol Griffin, founders of ElderSpan Management, Focus Fund for Wisconsin Programming, and Friends of PBS Wisconsin.