This one is about making space for the heart and lungs. We give attention to the shoulders, upper back, and chest, and we’re breathing today. We start by feeling the inside of the body as well as the outside: the front of the sacrum, the inner surface of the pelvic bowl, the front of the spine. Hard bone on the outside, soft, pillowy tissue within, and room for the breath to expand into the back body as much as the front.

A lot of us are trained to pull the shoulders back to stabilize them, and that actually stops the upper spine from moving. So we open the curtains, keep a little broadness across the shoulder blades, and bring the heart forward through the window. That image carries through the whole class, all the way into prone back work on the mat.

Knowing the difference. You’ll feel where shoulder blade movement ends and thoracic spine movement begins, which changes how you move your upper back everywhere else.
Arms that spiral. Slow arm spirals wind through the fascial lines and meridians of the arms, sometimes all the way into the fingers.
Three kinds of swing. Knocking on the door of life, a whirling bow, and a martial push-off each loosen the shoulders differently.
Breathing into the holds. Arm holds behind the back and eagle-style wraps let the bones settle into their grooves while you breathe into the kidneys, sacrum, or the space between your shoulder blades.
Integrating it. The full Pilates mat follows, so the freedom you found standing carries into your core work.

Expect about an hour of standing qigong, shoulder and spine work, and a full Pilates mat, ending with a settling relaxation.