Hello everyone! Welcome to our new ‘Exercise of the Month Series’.
Over the last 30 years, I have experimented with specific therapeutic exercises from around the world. These therapeutic exercises have noticeably contributed to my personal body-mind development and so influenced the way I teach.
Because the benefits of these exercises have been cleary perceptible for me, I would like to share them with you. Every month there will be a new therapeutic exercise for you.
I am really convinced of these therapeutic exercises. I have empirically tested their value. What do I mean by that? These therapeutic exercises make us aware of the interplay between our different body parts. They create a kind of unity between our body parts and so subsequently enable movement that involves and positively influences the whole body.
The donkey kick unites our body parts reflexively
The first exercise I would like to share with you is the ‘Donkey Kick’ or ‘Mule Kick’. This exercise has a bioenergetic origin. It reflexively unites and lifts our body parts through the movement it creates in our body. The Donkey Kick unites our head with our shoulders, our shoulders with our back, our back with our pelvis, our pelvis with our belly and our belly with our legs.
Watch the video right below, join in and get to know the donkey kick. Click now!
Now to the exercise description in detail. Let’s begin!
Starting position
Get on your knees and elbows and put your forehead in your hands, like in the photo above.
The procedure
Activate your power engine – your powerhouse – and inhale. As you exhale, kick your leg – led by your heel – backwards and up into the air. The kick should be in level with your pelvis (see the picture below). On the inhale pause and return to the starting position.
Repeat this sequence 10 times with each leg.
The coaching keys
Use our coaching keys to support your ‘Donkey Kick’. Say them and visualise them …
- I keep my pelvis steady.
- I raise my knee before I kick.
- I start the kick from my pelvis.
The therapeutic value
- Our spine reorganises itself and is energised.
- A great way to let off steam.
- Our superficial abs can breathe because our inner intrinsic abs get space and lift our upper body.
Goodbye lazy back!
Last but not least, …
The Pilates connection
The ‘Donkey Kick’ is an aid to the kinaesthetic understanding of Pilates exercises such as the Single Leg Kick, Double Leg Kick and Single Leg Stretch.
Try it & fly with it!
Did you like our blog post? Then kindly support us and share it on social media sites like Facebook, Twitter, group forums, blogs and – all the retro way – personally among friends. We also highly appreciate your feedback on our exercises and posts.
