Waking Energy 7 Timeless Practices Designed to Reboot Your Body and Unleash Your Potential

to build abdominal strength, core awareness, balance, and coordination. This is a playful exercise
that reflects Joseph Pilates’s love of nature and the effortless, organic expression of animals’ wisdom.
He admired their flowing, economical movements. Even though it’s simple and straightforward, the
Seal is a culmination exercise. Like the Classic Teaser, it serves as a wonderful example of
everything you have done up to this point. Revel in your accomplishments!
1. Sitting slightly behind your tailbone, round your spine, pull your knees to your chest, shoulderwidth
apart, and plant your feet six inches in front of you.
2. Bring your palms to touch in front of your heart in Prayer Position, and then point your fingers
down between your knees and straighten your arms, so the outer elbows are touching the inner
knees. Open your hands, reach around the outside of the calves, and grab the outside of the
ankles.
3. Lifting your feet off the floor, bring your heels together with your toes apart and balance on your
buttocks with your toes pointed down toward the floor. Press the elbows into the knees and the
knees against the arms with equal force, so that you have constructed an inner circle of selfimposed
isometric resistance.
4. Drop your gaze to your navel center as you inhale and rock back onto your spine. Go just to the
base of the neck and balance there for a few seconds, then “clap, clap, clap” the feet together
three times, making contact with the heels while maintaining the position of the feet you
established in the beginning.
5. As you exhale, rock back up to the starting position and clap the feet together three more times
while holding your balance on your tailbone. Focus your eyes straight ahead and pull the navel to
the spine. Also make sure to check in with your shoulders and relax any compensatory action you
are engaging in there.
6. As you continue to rock, clap, and roll, remind yourself to breathe deeply. Pull the navel into the
spine as you allow your body to grow heavier and softer so as to amplify the compression of the
body rolling against the floor, stimulating the nerves that run along the spine to derive maximum
benefit.
7. Repeat six to eight times.
Transition: On your final few repetitions of the Seal, you’ll build momentum. Provided you have no knee issues, use your final rocking up
and forward to stand up without using your hands.
8. On the final rocking forward, instead of clapping your feet together, disengage your hands from
your legs. Reach them forward and up to facilitate the forward motion of your body in space as
you use your powerhouse, legs, and the force of opposition to rise up to your final Pilates tripod
stance, where your heels are together and your toes are slightly apart, established at your natural
external rotation.
9. Once you’re erect, bring your heels together with toes slightly apart. Place your arms behind you,
locking the thumbs together, pointing the fingers down to the floor, and rolling your shoulders
open and down. Lift your chin and chest so you are standing even taller. Lift your eyes slightly
above the horizon line, as you squeeze your buttocks and inner thighs together. Feel your legs