A Gracefull Place

 

CONGRATULATIONS, TINAJEWEL!!! 

You have won the SATI dvd!!!

 

Be sure to send me your address so I can get this out to you!  You can e-mail me at tinklingbells (at) medt (dot) com

 

A BIG thank you to ALL of you who entered the giveaway!

Last week, Cindy asked if I could address the Jazz Twist move.  That is a toughie, as any of the twists are!

First of all, always warm up with PBS first before any twisting moves.  That helps warm up the spine to minimize the possibility of injury.

Let’s get set up (after you’ve warmed up! ).  If you were in my classes, this is what you’d hear!

Toes forward.  Not too wide a stance, feet only a mitten hand apart.

Bend knees to the ends of toes, if possible.

Tuck/curl that core (pull belly button to spine–initiate this from the abs and lower lumbar, then tuck tail slightly).

Lift ribs.

Push knees out.

To get into position for Jazz Twist, we step back one foot.  You need to be careful you don’t place one foot behind the other–it’s not a balance beam!  Just step straight back from the T-Tapp stance, and that is usually just about right.  Sometimes you might need to bring that back foot out a little more so the stance is a tad wider.

Let’s say you just stepped back with your right foot.  Good!  Now, stay flat-footed and look down to make sure you are not “ducking out”.  Your toes should be forward.  Adjust, then put your left thumb in your “thumb holder” in the middle of your hip (in back).  Stretch your right arm out (think whatever knee is bent, that elbow is bent; whatever knee is straight, that elbow is straight!).  Press the heel of your right hand forward and lightly fold the fingers over.  You are not reaching, right shoulder shouldn’t be forward at this point.  But keep the arm muscles tight!

Now, likely you collapsed your core through setting up, so let’s rebend that left knee, tuck/curl under, lift ribs, push left knee to little toe.

Really press that thumb into your hip/back, inhale,  exhale, lift ribs and initiate the stretch with your left shoulder going back, as in an archery pull.  You are pushing the right hand forward, but not across your body–straight forward, arm tight.  Be sure that right shoulder isn’t coming up to meet your ear!!! 

Inhale again, exhale and push that thumb and left shoulder back more, as far as you can twist (and for a short torso, that might not be far, but stay in the muscle–it’s not about how far but how far you can go and stay activated!).

Hold position 1-2-3 and tuck/curl, lift ribs, push knee out and bring it back. You are using those abs and obliques to help bring you back to starting position.

Before you go into the move, remember two things–

1. Always exhale on the twists (this will help you lose in the ribcage all in itself!)

2. Think “lift ribs” before you twist to get maximum “twist” action

 

Okay, make sure you didn’t collapse your core (quick check–bend, tuck/curl, lift ribs, knee out, right arm tight tight tight!) and inhale/exhale and twist for 4, really pushing that left thumb and pulling left shoulder back.

Then you can repeat the entire process on the other side!  I just step forward with the right, then step back left.   At the beginning, do NOT try to keep up with Teresa (as in Instructional 1 or BWO+!) as that is typically too fast for newbies, especially the singles!  I still prefer to do 4 on each side, then repeat (without the stretch on the second 4) or just do 8 each side. That’s actually the way she does it in one of the Tempos.  I  honestly did not get the singles with good form until last fall–3 1/2 years after starting T-Tapp!  (And I still prefer to do them the other way! )

As you are twisting, you are wringing the lymph nodes along the spine.  If you haven’t been doing any balancing and twisting moves lately, that may release pockets of toxins that your body has stored for awhile.  If you experience a bit of nausea, that is actually a good thing and more common than you’d think!  Walk around a bit, unless you are really feeling weak, then go ahead and sit down.  Sometimes eating a bite of apple or cheese or some almonds helps.

Make sure also to drink plenty of water throughout the workout! I actually take many more water breaks than the dvd gives!   So don’t be shy to do so!

Cindy, if you or anyone has further questions about Jazz Twist, feel free to leave a comment and I’ll try to address it!

I was going to put Torso Twist in with this, but I decided to separate them so you don’t get too overwhelmed with too many tips at once!

Now for this week’s giveaway!

This week I will be giving away a copy of TappCore 2 SunRay Sit Down dvd! 

Can I say I just love this dvd?!  It’s a fun sit down workout, 12 1/2 minutes long.  The kids from SunRay Elementary are the ones who won the HoeDown Showdown with Teresa–they did 51 sets, I believe! 

Some of the moves will be familiar if you’re a MORE Chair devotee–but there are some tweaks and new things added that actually make this my new favorite sit down workout!  It can still get you sweating!

And seeing those kids just has to make you smile through your workout!

Okay, how to enter?  Much the same as last week, with a few changes.

1. Leave a comment and tell me if you’d use this for yourself or maybe a friend or relative. 

2. Leave a comment each time you do a T-Tapp workout (yes, TappCore counts–at least 3 moves–so even you busy young mamas can enter! )  Let me know what workout you did (or which moves!).

3. Tell others about the giveaway–FaceBook, Twitter, e-mail, blog, forum (if appropriate–don’t violate any forum rules!)  Let me know you did and post a link, if applicable (I don’t have FB, but I have friends who do! )  You can do this up to 3 times a day if you so desire!

4. Measure your ribcage.   Next time you work out, pause the dvd at Jazz Twist and take the time to set up and really work through this move at your pace, following the tips I gave you.  You can do a stretch, then 4 on one side, stretch then 4 on the other side, followed by 4 sets on each side without the stretch.  Or you can stretch on one side and do 8 sets, then repeat the same on the other side.  Then resume your dvd for the rest of your workout.

If it’s not a workout day, why not do PBS and Jazz Twist as above?  It’s a great move to help with spinal flexibility and lymphatic pumping!

If you do this, leave a comment that you did.  Yes, even if you do it every day, leave me a comment every day! (More chances to win!)  Then measure again on Monday and let’s see if you lose any off the ribs!  Remember–exhale fully on the twists and–ribs UP!

5. This one counts DOUBLE!   Tell me what you’d like me to address in future T-Tapp Tuesday posts.   If you have a big list (LOL!) just one entry per day on this one, please!

This giveaway will run until midnight Monday, June 6.  I will announce the winner next Tuesday as well as what the next giveaway is!

Let’s get Tappin’! 

Tags: giveaway, Jazz Twist, T-Tapp

This entry was posted on Tuesday, May 31st, 2011 at 4:55 pm and is filed under Giveaways, T Tapp. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.