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Advanced Pilates

Advanced Pilates Body Positioning and Breathing

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  • Dori Markakos
     
     

    Dori is an experienced fitness professional whose love of fitness began in grade school with her love of dance and ballet. She’s danced classical ballet since she was 5. As her interest in fitness grew, she began experimenting with all varieties of group fitness and weight lifting. Dori went the practical route to college and received her Bachelor’s Degree in Business with a specialization in Marketing from the University of Virginia’s School of Commerce, but not before receiving her fitness instructor certification in her spare time. After college, Dori went to work for Environmental Design & Construction, LLC (EDC) where she is presently the Controller. In this position, Dori serves as the company’s chief business officer. But, Dori’s heart is in the field of fitness. Dori maintains her certifications and puts them to work as a personal trainer, spinning and Pilates (mat and reformer) instructor. As part of her career development, Dori also received specialty training in pre and post natal fitness, with a specialization in pre/post natal Pilates. Dori currently works with clients as Pilates instructor, while keeping up with her own workouts. She’s run multiple marathons and is an accomplished triathlete having run numerous triathlons as well having completed the Ironman Triathlon. Dori resides in Arlington, Virginia with her husband Peter and daughter Mia.

  • Advanced Pilates Body Positioning and Breathing

    Certified Pilates instructor, Dori Markakos will take you through a complete Advanced Pilates workout. This video will not only build on some of the moves that were shown in the Intermediate video, but new challenging exercises incorporating a fitness ball will taught to really tighten, and firm up your entire body.

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  • Transcripts

    Hi. I am Dory. This is Advanced Pilates. Right now, I am just going to show you some of the basics of body positioning and breathing for the rest of our exercises. What you want to think about when youre doing Pilates is youre going to pick up by keeping your spine in a nice straight line, your spine in neutral and your hips rotated under and your abs nice and tight. So, let me go ahead and show how you do that. So, stretch yourself in the middle of the mat, put up on two hamstrings, unroll your vertebral one at a time, extending your legs nice and easy, and bringing both arm straight up above your head, as you take a big deep breath in and I want you to inhale and then exhale, release your shoulders, rotating those hips under, pulling your navel into your spine, and your spine into floor. Now, you know you have got a nice pelvic tilt here as if you cant fit your hand between your low back and the mat. So, the fact that I cant fit my hand in there means I've got a nice and tight pelvic tilt here. If I would rotate it this way and I could fit my hand underneath, that means I needed to rotate under a little bit more and really engage this core. This is the powerhouse of your body and this is the most functional part so you really want to keep this nice and tight. So, take a big deep breath in and as you exhale, bring those fingertips towards your toes, keep your spine in neutral and straight ahead, rotate those hips under and really engage its midsection and release. One more time inhale, rotate those hips under, exhale, still keeping midsection nice and tight and release. One more time inhale and exhale, open up the chest, open up the shoulders as you exhale, keep the spine in neutral. Go ahead and roll up and lets go ahead and move on to rolling like a ball with a ball.

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