Intermediate Practice: Balancing the Hamstrings 3 (Forward Bends)
Continuing on with our theme of working with the backs of the legs, consider the following points as you go through the sequence:
- Balance the support of the inner and outer hamstring tendons at the back of the knee, where the hamstrings are most prominent as they attach to the bones of the lower leg. Some of us will over-work either the inner or outer hamstring tendon in a pose, putting uneven stresses on the the knee and the backs of the thighs. Whichever tendon is working harder, roll it forward to soften it and roll the other one back to take up some of the work. Which tendon needs to go forward will vary according to the kind of pose (forward bends often over-work the inner knee tendon while back bends over-work the outer). It also might vary according to your own tendencies. You might find one leg needs to do one thing while the other needs to do the opposite.
- Soften and widen the entire plane of the hamstring, the “hamstring wall,” to open up the back of the leg evenly and to allow it to receive the thigh bone, rather than bunch up away from it.
- Soften and widen the entire plane of the buttocks, the “gluteal wall.”
- Slide the hamstring up towards the sitting bone underneath the gluteal wall. Very often the outer fibers of gluteus maximus and the outer hamstring get bunched up and undifferentiated. Keep the two walls as soft and wide as possible.
- Soften and widen the calf and lengthen it into the heel. Open up the backs of the legs by sending the calves and hamstrings away from each other. (more…)
Basic Practice: Twisting in the Heat
This week temperatures are soaring above 100°F in New York City, so I had to come up with a practice that wasn’t too challenging without being restorative for my gym classes. I came up with this sequence in which the class never gets too far up off the floor. As you go through the poses think about the following points:
- Keep the back soft and wide, especially the back of the neck and the space between the shoulder blades. This will help to counter the adverse effects of the sympathetic nervous system as it deals with the stresses both of the class and the heat in general.
- Lengthen through the sides of the torso to keep the spine long.
- In the twisted poses, turn the chest/rib cage in one direction while turning the hips/pelvis in the opposite.
- Take your time going through the sequence, with plenty of rest in between the poses. (more…)
Intermediate Practice: Separating the Thighs and the Abdomen 3 (Twists)
Still working with the idea of separating the abdomen from the thighs—working with the inguinal ligament and rectus femoris in particular—in this practice we will be thinking about a contra-lateral relationship between the parts to create stability in the base of the pose while freeing up the torso and spine to twist.
Intermediate Practice: Separating the Thighs and the Abdomen 2 (Forward Bends)
In this practice, we continue to work with the ideas set up in part 1, separating the inguinal ligament from the tendon of the rectus femoris, applying them now to inversions and forward bends.
The Sequence:
- Lie on the back with the feet flat on the floor and the knees up, the feet and legs parallel to each other and a folded blanket under the head.
- First, allow the body to settle into the floor, both the external body and the organs deep within. Then, take a few minutes observing the breath as it alternately empties out of and fills the body. After that, begin to organize the breath along the midline of the body, running up and down along the front of the spine. Allow the breath to move from head to tail as you inhale, from tail to head as you exhale.
- Become aware of the entire torso empty and filling like a balloon as you breath. After a few moments of this, bring your hands onto your abdomen, resting the heel of your hand on the hip bone and have the fingers pointing towards the pubic bone. Become aware of the movement of the abdominal wall under your hands.
- Imagine that the two inguinal ligaments were like a pair of yoga straps attaching the hip bones to the pubic bone. As you exhale and the torso deflates, imagine that the fabric of the straps gets denser, the space between the fibers getting less. When the breath rolls back in and the abdomen expands, imagine that the fabric of the straps unravels, the space between the fibers becoming greater.
- After several moments of this, allow your thighs to fall away from your hands, releasing up towards the knees and settling towards the feet. Allow the inner wall of the pelvis to soften and expand.
Intermediate Practice: Pelvic Wheels
In our last practice, we considered the iliopsoas and the movement of the sacrum. In this practice we will work with the pelvic bones, the ilia. Though the two ilia and the sacrum are very solidly joined together, there is still some leeway for movement in the sacro-iliac joint and, in fact, some people have one ilium tilted back relative to the sacrum and the ilium on the other side.
In this practice we will allow the two pelvic bones to move independently of each other, sometimes working together, sometimes working in opposition. Think of the two halves as if they were each a wheel, the front of which can either move up and back or forward and down relative to the body.
When forward bending with both legs, think of the pelvic wheels turning up and back off the tops of the legs. This may seem counter-intuitive, turning the pelvis in the opposite direction of the forward bend. It will, however, settle the hip sockets onto the heads of the thigh bones, softening the muscles around the joint and allowing the torso to release further into the pose. It will also allow for a more balanced flexion of the spine from the tail to the head. (more…)
Intermediate Practice: Stabilizing with the Iliopsoas 2
For a full discussion on using psoas major and minor to stabilize the pelvis, read the introduction to this practice.
Intermediate Practice: Stabilizing with the Iliopsoas 1
In this practice we will be refining our concept of moving from the core channel, which we began exploring earlier this year. Psoas major, along with iliacus, is the muscle that flexes the hip joint, picking the thigh up when standing. It attaches to side of the lowest thoracic vertebra (T12) and to the sides of the lumbar vertebra (L1—L5). It travels down the length of the body coming over the pubic bone, through the hip crease, to attach to the lesser trochanter high up on the inner thigh. Iliacus attaches to the inner surface of the pelvic bones, the ilia, and joins psoas major through the hip crease to also attach at the lesser trochanter. We have two of each of these muscles, one on each side of the body.
Psoas Minor is a muscle that can be found in only around half the population. It attaches to T12 and L1, follows the path of psoas major, lying against its surface, but whereas psoas major travels over the pubic bone, psoas minor attaches to it, providing a stabilizing connection between the pubic bone and the spine of the lower back. Even though many of us have never developed psoas minor, the fibers of connective tissue that would have made it up still exist in the body, making it a useful organizing landmark regardless. (more…)
Intermediate Practice: Balancing the Trochanters in Contralateral Movement
Continuing on from our previous intermediate practice, where we initiated movement from the trochanters, in the following series of twists and forward bends, we will observe how the shape of the poses shifts the weight. Different tendencies and imbalances will have different effects. As a universal principle, widen the hip crease either in or out to balance the weight.Even in poses where the shape is essentially symmetrical, left to right, focus on reaching evenly through the opposite arm and leg, or trochanters and shoulder. (more…)
Restorative Practice: Releasing the Organs 2
This week our focus is on creating softness and space around the kidneys and bladder.
The Sequence:
- Take a few moments to gather the mind and body up into the present moment, letting go of the day that’s been and releasing any anticipation or apprehension over the time to come.
- Become aware of the movement in the torso as you breath. With the exhalations it empties, narrowing and lengthening. With the inhalation it fills, widening and deepening. Become aware of the inner volume of the body, the chest and abdominal cavities, and the way it changes as you breathe.
- Become aware of the movement of the abdomen and the lower back. With the inhalation, the diaphragm moves down and the abdomen and lower back expand. With the exhalation, the diaphragm moves up and the abdomen and lower back narrow. Observe the contents of the abdominal cavity and the way they move and are reshaped with the breath.
Basic Practice: Folding the Leg Joints
In this sequence the focus is to stretch out the backs of the thighs, the hamstrings, in such a way as to center the stretch on the belly of the muscle—in the middle—rather than at the extremities—the backs of the knees or near the sitting bones.
We start by focusing on the feet, ankles and knees. Opening up these joints first can help create a more balanced use of the legs in standing poses. When the leg is straight, folding forward at the hip stretches out the back of the leg as a whole, not just the hamstrings. Softening the soles of the feet and stretching out the ankles and calves separately can create freedom to go deeper into the backs of the thighs.
Similarly, coming into a standing pose with the leg bent, then straightening it once the hip crease has had a chance to deepen, allows for a stretch that reaches from the back of the knee, around the hip and into the buttocks and lower back.
Focus on not locking out the knee joint by reaching into the foot while drawing the entire sheath of muscle around the thigh bone towards the hip, instead of just pushing the kneecap back. (more…)
2010 Witold Fitz-Simon.
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