Better hamstrings, hips, and spine with active movements

Look! No hands!

I had several questions about hamstring lengthening this week and this post has three videos to demonstrate some of the ways to help!  You won't see any of the usual suspects.

Hamstring stretching or lengthening?
The truth be told, most people ask me how to stretch their hamstrings.  It is I who always jumps in and reminds them that I will give them tips on how to relax and lengthen their hamstrings but I won't give tips on stretching them.

The thing is, these people know how to stretch their hamstrings.  They have invariably been doing stretches for a long time. The problem is the stretches generally don't help them to feel better movement.

The postures and advice I give are mainly around helping them feel better movement without feeling like they are stretching, such as I am doing in the photo below.

Standing balance with leg raised and straight

In positions like the one shown I am actively trying to keep my leg straight while drawing it towards my chest.  It does not feel like stretching at all.  It feels like the back of my leg and bottom is lengthened.

When I do postures like this I am cultivating a relaxation response in my hamstrings (known as reciprocal inhibition.   Basically, I work the opposite muscle groups to help relax the ones that I am trying to lengthen.  Have a look at this post for some cool graphics: http://www.bandhayoga.com/keys_recip.html.

It feels like a lot of work in the standing leg, front of raised leg, and tummy.  Most people miss the tummy activation in this posture, which tends to cramp you in the front of groin.  Which leads to the point below.

Active positioning for spinal lengthening
In postures like the one shown below I am doing  very important spinal lengthening and hamstring lengthening work.  It is basically the same position as the standing balance shown above, but just lying down.

Active positioning to improve hamstring lengthening

The key difference (in terms of effort) is that I am obliged to use tummy muscles in a way I am not obliged to in the standing variation.

I am using my active core to send a message to my spinal muslces to relax as well.

Importantly, I am actively bending forward in my spine using tummy museles in a way I can still breathe into the tummy.  If I tighten my tummy by tightening everything and shifting to chest moving breathing then I won't get the same relaxation effect.

Many people are limited in their forward bending because their lower backs are really tight as well as their hamstrings (and their hips).

The active movement in the core that you cultivate in this position is important and will help lengthen the spine and it is why I put the lying down sequence first in the videos below.

Try to remember the feeling in your tummy that you generate in this position (of it being firm but in a way you feel you can still breathe there) when you do the postures in the other videos.

Remember, better spinal movement is more important than being able to touch your toes.

As an aside, many observers wonder why I am not holding my foot when I do postures like the one above.  And it is, I suspect, because of the focus on the sensation of stretching as opposed to the sensation of lengthening.

Holding the foot, the way most people tend to (which is to just grab the foot and pull the leg) generally means the muscles do not need to work and you lose the potential benefit of a relaxation response.  Pulling tends to switch you to a sort of suffering and grimacing associated with tearing yourself apart!

It would also feel like I was not doing much work if I held the foot in that way because the big muscles that were working (including the core core muscles) have switched off.

The truth is most people cannot even grab their foot with their leg straight because their hamstrings (and lower back and hips) are too stiff.  And so most people would probably be using a belt or towel or rope.

And then you have to ask yourself if you cannot bring your straight leg close enough to your chest to be able to hold it without a belt then should you really try to straighten your legs in positions like paschimottanasana and all the other seated forward bends?   In my classes I encourage people to come into all seated bends with bent knees to lengthen the front and back of spine first and only then to slowly lengthen the legs on the condition the spine does not distort.

Lying video and key actions
The first postures to try are in lying because they oblige tummy activation (in a way you can feel the movement of the breath).

In general:

• front thigh (coming close to chest) is rolling out (your knee looks like it is turning away from midline);
• press down through the grounded thigh and keep it straight.  Reach through the inner thigh;
• keep the front knee straight.  That is one of the main points--to keep is straight.  It does not matter how close to the chest it comes.  That will be a good indicator of your available active movement and something for you to contemplate when trying this posture in other relations to gravity;
• as you move through the variations keep the whole back of the pelvis and sacrum touching the floor.  
• you will be doing sit-ups here so this is a good core strengthening sequence.  If you feel strain at all in your neck you are doing the sit up incorrectly and you need to learn how to do sit ups without your neck feeling strained.

First position (lying parsvottanasana)

Lying down, draw straight leg towards face.  Do a sit up and reach as though you are trying to touch the toes (but don't actually get them).

You need to actively lengthen the side hip area of the raised leg down towards the heel of the leg on the ground.  The pelvis and hip tends to hike up on that side and squash the side waist.  If you need to, put the web of your thumb in your groin to help actively lengthen that side waist.  You should feel this as an action of rolling that thigh out.

Second position (lying trikonasana variation)

To get into position I bend the knee, take the thigh out to the side, ensure my whole back pelvis is still on the floor, and then straighten the leg from there.  The pelvis of opposite side will tend to raise up if you try to get to the ground so be mindful of this.

Note, to make it  real trikonasana type posture I need to add spinal movement and turn from bottom of spine to top away from the leg out to the side then do a little lengthening movement (not clearly shown in this video).

Again, keep that raised thigh actively rolling out.  I am still trying to straighten leg and draw it towards my face but out to the side.

Third position (lying parivrtta trikonasana)

A tricky one and tough to capture on the video.

I bring the raised leg back to midline.  I really need to make sure that the hip does not hike up here.  Put a thumb in your groin if that is the sort of thing that might happen to you.

Keeping your pelvis on the floor, take that raised leg across your body.  It will not go very far.

From there, you are still in a sit up, you can try to do a twist from the bottom to the top of spine, turning towards that leg.

It is not shown here but you could try a little spinal extension (lengthening from the front surface of your spine.

I could have positioned my arms better in this posture but was focusing mainly on spinal movement.

By the end of these postures you should sense your tummy very active!  That will have helped lengthen the lower back and help you for the next series of postures in standing!

Standing balance video and key actions
In the standing balance video you see I do take my foot (after I have done the active postures first).

However, when I take my foot I straighten the leg out slowly without distorting my spine.  I also press the foot and hand into one another so that the leg is active and not being passively pulled (this triggers another relaxation response).

In general:

• raised sitting bone feels like it is scooping underneath you and lengthening in the lower back;
• raised thigh is rolling out;
• keep standing leg foot pointing straight ahead;
• remember your core activation from previous postures and find it here.

Posture one

Watch the leg stays straight.  Watch the raised leg hip does not hike up.  Keep trying to feel as though you are smoothing your side hip down to the ground.

If comfortable you can try the assisted posture, shown below, by bending the knee, drawing thigh to chest, holding foot and pushing foot out as you draw in with the hand, keeping thigh and chest together slowly start to straighten the leg.  If you have trouble in the lying sequence with getting your leg straight and past 90 degrees then you will not be able to do this and best to work with just holding the knee to chest and pressing shin to hands and hands to shin until you can start to slowly straighten the leg without thigh coming out from the chest.  Be patient.

Position two

 As you did with lying, bend the knee then turn the knee out to the side but still in front of you.  As you did with the lying version do not let the pelvis move with you.  Keep scooping the bottom under.  Then try to straighten the leg.  If it will not straighten then put the toe tip on the ground.  From there try to straighten the leg and raise it.

You want to keep rolling the thigh out and scooping the bottom under.

This is really much harder than it looks as you will see if you try.

If you feel ok with the active version you can try and draw knee to side-front chest.  Keep scooping hip under.  From there you could try to keep knee and shoulder close and then slowly start to straighten.  If knee comes out from shoulder then you have gone too far.  Be patient and wait with knee in shoulder until the leg is almost straight when you can let it move away from shoulder a little.

Position three

The leg comes back to the front here.  I need to be particularly careful the hip does not hike up. Then I rotate the spine from bottom to top, maintaining length through both side waists.  

Standing postures

You can then try these positions in their more traditional forms; parsvottanasana, trikonasana, parivrtta trikonasana.

I have linked these postures without chaining my foot position at all.  The thigh positions remain the same.  The pelvis position does change when you move to trikonasana, but the lower back position does not (it remains lengthened).  The pelvis position is a subtle change and it is just the top side pelvis that opens lightly to the sky.  This opening does not cause a shift in the leg positions.

It is really tricky to do these postures all linked together without changing the foot positions and without falling over.  You will need to keep your legs and feet very active.

Watch for your bottom sitting bone trying to stick out.  I keep a light feeling of it scooping under to keep the length of the lower back.

The end
Phew, this has been a long post!

We have been working on some variations of this in class.  Remember these videos are intended for my students so I can position and correct and answer questions.  It is better to learn from a teacher you are physically present with than the internet.

Have fun.  Stay safe.

Much metta,
Samantha
www.yogacafecanberra.blogspot.com
www.yogacafelk.blogspot.com

Wowee Active Hip Opening Sequence!

In the second part of our standing phase of the current series we do this warming, lengthening, strengthening (not to mention challenging) sequence of five linked postures.

This will really connect you to your outer/side thigh/butt area of the front leg.  Remember to stretch less, tense less so if it is too intense then back off.

I did this sequence five times in 36 hours while teaching classes (not sure why I have scheduled five classes in that time frame!) and by the fifth time it was as though I had new hips.  It made me think  I should see if you can get a medicare rebate or something back from your health fund for coming to class as it should feel as though you have a whole new pelvis.

Runners and cyclists, I think you will particularly enjoy it!

Be mindful that you stay lifted out of the front hip so you feel tall rather than sinking.

Also, remain mindful that the front thigh rolls out and back thigh rolls in.

No squashing in the lower back.  It should feel free.

I hope you enjoy this!

I have put the main postures below, with a few optional extras, which is why there are more than 5 steps.

1. From standing, step back...

2. To parsvakonasana...

3. Optional bind only if you can get it in the first second.  Otherwise, let it go...

4. Turn this into a standing balance...

5. Then back to a lunge and turn it into a standing balance the other way (active spinal twist towards the thigh)...

6. To parivrttta parsvakonasana...

7. With an optional bind if it comes in the first second.  Otherwise, let it go...

8. It is almost finished!  Turn back to front and turn it into a standing split without arms ...

9. Ta da!  You did it.  Wowee.  Walk around and see if you can sense a difference between your two sides before trying the second side.

Remember, these posts are mainly for people who practice with me and come to classes or who have an experienced teacher whom they can ask questions of and get feedback from.  Learning from the internet is not recommended.

Might have to think about hip mindfulness workshop soon.  Remind me to help you with this at our upcoming Sri Lanka retreat (16-19 July 2015) and in Bali in September!

Happy and safe practicing!

Much metta
Samantha


www.yogacafelk,blogspot.com
www.yogacafecanberra.blogspot.com
www.artofliferetreats.com

Active Movements For Better Natarajasana

Full natarajasana

‘Is that real yoga?’

That was a comment from a passerby who chatted to us as we practiced our outdoor class last week. 

It certainly felt very real to us as we all attempted to hold our active natarajasana!

Below is a photo of me in active natarajasana.  Look, no hands!

Active natarajasana

If the passerby had have walked past a few moments later when I was in full natarajasana (picture at top of page) then no doubt she might not have even asked whether we were doing 'real yoga'.  

The thing is, the top pose looks really impressive, but the active, less impressive looking one, is, in many ways, harder.

In this post I talk about how to progress to full natarjasana.  A video of me coming into the posture is at the end of the post. 

What is Active Natarajasana?

Active natarajasana is where you try to initiate the pose without using your hands. 

It is relatively easy to pull your foot to your bottom using your hand. 

It is much, much, much harder to try and draw your foot close to your bottom without using your hands and then try to push your shin back and foot up (still without hands). 

It is challenging for a number of reasons.

For a start you are trying to balance on one leg as you do something tricky. 

Then, while many people may have tight hamstrings, not many have strong hamstrings (note you can be tight and weak).

Bringing your heel to your bottom without hands activates hamstring muscles. 

Try it yourself and see how much you can bend your knee.  

If you are like many people it wont be very far. 

In fact, you might be lucky to get it past 90 degrees. 

Then, if you do manage, you might find that you start to get a cramp either in your calf or foot or hamstring or any combination of these and you somehow need to figure out how to come into the pose without this happening!

Here I had a special note, it helps if you do not point your toes and foot and if you move slowly.

Why would I do active natarajasana?

Active natarajasana does not look that impressive—until you try it for yourself!

I suppose that is one reason why the passerby thought we were not doing real yoga.

But active natarajasana will help your practice a lot.

Coming into poses actively helps you build strength and reduces the chances of overstretching.  And I generally find that hamstrings are always in danger of being over-stretched by yoga students.

In this pose using the hip extensor and knee flexor muscles to draw the body into the posture will help opposing muscles (the ones that will be lengthened—the hip flexors) to relax. 

This helps you come more deeply into the pose without feeling like you are stretching since the muscle is more relaxed.

That means you improve mobility. 

You can also learn to relax chronically over-tense muscles. 

Hip flexors are some of those muscles that tend to be chronically short and tight given most people sit with them in that position all day.

For some people this can, in turn, help relieve low back tension.

If you find you cannot lift the leg at all, then you can get good work with just toe tip on the ground, as shown below.

What next?

We don’t stay in active natarajasana, although some of us choose to.  That is where we might be at.

If we want to move deeper, we then go to an active-assisted version of the pose.

What is active-assisted natarajasana?

The active assisted version is where you do take hold of the ankle. 

It is the way that you take hold of it and what you do next that is important.

When you hold the ankle you cultivate a push-pull action.

That is, you try to push the ankle/shin into the hand as you pull with the hand (as though to bend the elbow).

When you do this you should find that some of the muscles that have been lengthened now start to activate. 

They are activating in a lengthened state. 

This posture is not about pulling your leg up with your hand. 

After I push my shin into my hand I then push my foot up.

I will be able to take my leg higher in this way.  But the key point is that it is still active.

At the same time there are other elements to the posture. 

I am trying to unsquash my lower back through two main actions.

First, pushing sitting bones to heels and top of pelvis back., which lengthens lower back.

Second, by using the free hand to push the armpit forward and up, which has a whole spine tractioning effect. 

Why do active assisted natarajasana?

Start by remembering, you don’t have to do it.

If you are in the posture you will find that the muscles that are being lengthened are now also being activated, which creates a relaxation effect when you come out of the posture.

That means you will have released even more tension in those muscles.

However, you are also teaching your body to be both strong and flexible.

Is this for everyone?

Well, you should let your comfort be the judge of that. 

For people with chronic tightness in their hip flexors such that they tend to get aggravated with activation I tell them to stay with just the active version and avoid the active-assistive version. 

That means they get the relaxation effect in their chronically tight muscles by activating the muscles on the opposite side of the joint. 

As a teacher (remember you are the teacher of your own self as well even if you do not teach other people) you don’t take a one-size fits all approach to people’s bodies.

For people with chronic tightness in their hip flexors that get aggravated by activation, I also modify postures that tend to oblige hip flexors to be active.

While it might now sound like I am back-tracking on active movement, it is actually that I am using a whole of body approach to balance the activation that is required to move towards freedom.

Here it starts to get very technical and where you want to make sure you talk to a skilled yoga teacher before just reading something on a blog!

Below I have taken a video of me going through the steps to come into the full natarajasana.  It takes a lot of shoulder mobility.  It is definitely not for everyone.  Most people I know cannot get enough shoulder rotation to do this and you must move slowly.  I do not encourage people to try without a teacher's guidance and it is only shown for demonstration purposes.  You can see that I let my hand go at key points and try to hold my leg in position without the hand for a small moment. 

Have fun with your active natarajasana.  You tell me whether you think that is ‘real yoga’ or not!!

I teach active movements in classes and workshops and this is definitely something we will workshop on our retreat in Bali.  Spaces are filling up fast so sign up soon.

Happy and safe practicing.

Much metta,

Samantha

www.yogacafecanberra.blogspot.com

www.artofliferetreats.com

www.yogacafelk.blogspot.com

Active Movements For Better Padmasana

An active extension of vrksasana

Vrksasana is commonly called tree pose.

Most people do tree pose by grabbing for their ankle and pulling it up into their inner thigh.

This is a missed opportunity to develop better strength and mobility around your hip joint.

So next time you try vrksasana, why not follow the steps in this post!  It will boost your practice I promise.

Below I show the steps of active vrksasana, some extensions of the pose, including a side plank variation.

The video at the end of the post shows live action transitions so you appreciate the movement.

Over time this is the sort of action and movement that will help you come into a pose like padmasana (lotus) without hands.

Step 1
Transfer weight to one leg (I will call this weight bearing leg, or WBL).  Make sure you do not let the hip 'sink' or push out to the side.

Be on toe tip of other leg (I will call this non weight bearing leg, or NWBL).

Roll thigh out of NWBL.

You should feel that the lower part of your butt starts to get firm.  If you are not sure then start again and put your hand at the crease of your butt and turn the thigh out again.  You should feel it has become firm.

It is enough to stay at this stage.  You should feel you are doing active work.

Step 2
Keeping thigh rolled out, lift knee of NWBL.

Be careful not to sink into WBL hip.

Be careful not to take the knee back.  You are just taking it up.  It will not (for most people) be directly out to the side.

Step 3
Actively pull the heel of the NWBL as close to your bottom as possible while keeping thigh rolled out and knee to the side.

Step 4
Keeping these actions, put the foot into the thigh.

You will find it does not go as high as it normally might but you should feel you are much more active in the posture.

As always, push foot into thigh and thigh into foot.

Extension Step 6
Go further if you like!

Release the foot and take the knee higher while maintaining the thigh rolling out action.

Extension Step 7
Straighten the knee, keeping the NWBL thigh rolling out.

This is tough!!

Extension Step 8
Go back to extension step 6 and take your heel.  Push heel into hand and hand into heel .

Straight the leg again.

Here I actively push my heel into my hand as though I am trying to put the leg back on the ground.

Fun Side Plank Variations
You can do active vrksasana variations in side plank!

Be mindful not to sink into the bottom shoulder/armpit.  I stay lifted out of it, just as I would stay lifted out of the hip in the standing variation.

Video Transitions
Still photos are never great as you cannot see what is happening between one shot and the next.  To appreciate the active movement, watch the video below.

Remember, it is always better to work with a teacher.

Move slowly, stretch less, tense less, think less, and breathe less.

No hamstrings or adductor muscles were injured in the making of this video.

This is precisely the type of movement and step-by-step gradation of poses that I teach in class and we will be working on at our retreat in Bali. Sign up before it fills up!

Happy and safe practicing.

Much metta.

Samantha

www.artofliferetreats.com
www.yogacafecanberra.blogspot.com
www.yogacafelk.blogspot.com