Thinking about asanas

in

Thinking about asanas

Reflecting on asanas means deepening your understanding of the postures.

No asana stands alone and isolated.

First of all, there are always different ways to move into an asana (vinyasa). Some transitions are easy, some are difficult. Some approaches to an asana are so difficult that the asana is not possible. I'm thinking of the bridge. Pushing into the pose from the floor is much easier than going into it from a standing position.

There are variations for every pose. It has become increasingly important for me to know easier and more difficult variations. Sometimes, when nothing works, I practise the easier variations. On ambitious days, I try more difficult variations.

It makes sense to know a counter position for every position. You can also be creative here. I often find paschimottanasana after urdhva dhanurasana too intense. The back hurts. However, if I perform lighter counter movements beforehand, paschimottanasana also becomes possible. An easier counter pose for me after intense backbends is to lie on my back and bring my knees towards my chest. Light circles massage the lower back. The pose is very relaxing.

Switching from intensive backbends to intensive forward bends is challenging. You can make the transitions smoother.

It makes sense to analyze a pose. Is it a backbend, a forward bend, a twist, a balance pose or an inversion pose? Maybe it's a combination? Where do you stretch? Where is strength needed? Once you know this, you can do specific exercises.

For backbends, you can stretch the shoulders in isolation, then the hip flexors. By repeatedly pushing yourself into the bridge, for example, you strengthen your arms.

Thinking about asanas expands the possibilities. It becomes easier to come up with your own sequences. This is especially important if you want to learn new poses.

Practicing variations sharpens your mindfulness.

It allows you to adapt the practice to your own needs and abilities.

Individualizing your yoga practice is only possible at home. In yoga classes, you have to engage with the teacher. Even in Ashtanga, in Mysore classes where everyone practises for themselves, sequences and asanas must be strictly adhered to. I always ask myself why yoga teachers are not more flexible? Aren't the asana exercises about flexibility?

Yoga over 65

Purvottanasana, January 2024

Yoga over 65

Of course I also feel at least 20 years younger. But I'm no longer 40. I'm constantly being nudged in the nose. The feeling is deceptive.

What has changed?

1. the first thing is my diet. If I had continued to eat the same as I did at 50, I would be a lot heavier now. The body needs fewer kcal as you get older. This means that if you want to keep the weight off, you have to eat even more intelligently. And you also have to eat less. I've been skipping breakfast for a while now. That was easy for me. After reading that the boss of Kellogg's Cornflakes spent a lot of money on advertising in the 1950s to position breakfast as the most important meal, I realized that we are still influenced by this advertising today. The word breakfast in German means 'an early piece'. In English it means 'break a fast'. You don't fill your stomach after a fast. In French it's called ‘petit dejeuner’, which translates as a small meal. I can quite happily do without it. It's a simple way for me to go without a good 300 kcal.

My first meal is lunch, and I usually cook it myself. That way I can cook smaller portions. I make sure I eat raw food (like salad) and enough protein. Lunch is the main meal. I am convinced that OMAD (one meal a day) is the best thing for people over 65. You just have to get used to it.

2. if you don't do strength training, your muscles will turn into fat when you are over 60 (at the latest). Many people don't care about that. But it would be good if they took care of it. Less strength also means less quality of life. At some point, walking becomes difficult. You can no longer climb the stairs. You can no longer carry your suitcase, so you stay at home ...... Strength training helps you to take an active part in life.

3. injuries heal more slowly. I currently have an injury in my left hip. It's probably a strain. I've been carrying this injury around with me for a few weeks now. You have to be patient. The best way to prevent injuries is to train mindfully every day.

4 It takes longer to learn new asanas. It takes longer to develop strength than it used to. The body also stretches more slowly.

There are certainly many other things that have changed over time. The above are the most obvious.

The background feeling is gratitude. Gratitude that I can still do all this. Frustration, ambition, doubt, etc. are also experienced. But the feeling of gratitude always resonates. Who can do a headstand at 65?

It's great to have found something that has been with me for most of my life and that I can turn to again and again. Yoga gives me strength, no matter how old I am.

Even at over 65, you can test your limits and grow beyond them.

I hope to be able to practise yoga for many more decades.

I guess you have to become more patient as you get older. But you don't have to stop being active and setting yourself ambitious goals.

Keep practicing.

Standing asanas

in

Standing asana, January 2023

In Ashtanga yoga you start with the sun salutations. This is immediately followed by the standing postures. Most standing postures are challenging as they often stretch and require balance at the same time. In order to balance well, you need to tense your muscles. Tense muscles stabilize the asana. The muscles are not tensed to their maximum strength. 70% is enough.

Tensing the muscles is necessary in standing poses. You will not fall out of the pose if you do not tense your muscles when you are in a seated position. But it still makes sense to tense the muscles to enable stretching. The body protects itself from overstretching when the muscles are tense. In the meantime, the term PDF stretching is used everywhere when the muscles are initially tensed when stretching.

I believe that I intuitively did this correctly.

Unfortunately, I am currently injured in my left hip. However, I am able to practise around the injury.

The most important thing for 2024 is to practise every day (6 days a week) and not take so many breaks. Regular practice protects you from injury. Every break brings frustration because the body quickly becomes inflexible and weak again. The older you get, the faster your body adapts to a 'lazy' lifestyle. Exercise is the be-all and end-all.

Even the best experience that it is sometimes difficult to practise. That's when it's important. That's the discipline you learn. You can't always give it your all.

Today I decided to take some pictures. My exercise was much less intense, but I practiced.

With this in mind, let's practise. Every exercise counts, even the short and lame ones.

Practicing yoga is not a fitness exercise

in

Germany, Dec 2023 - back bending

Some yoga poses are very acrobatic. Some yoga styles are also very strenuous and demanding. Nevertheless, practising yoga is not a fitness program. For one thing, practicing the asanas is only part of the journey. Pranayama, meditation and observing a few essential rules of life such as non-violence are also part of it. The intention of yoga is to show the practitioner a way to live in peace with themselves and with the world. Being healthy is part of this. One goal of yoga is enlightenment, even if few people talk about it today. What can one say about it. Only a few people experience this state. It cannot be practiced.

So you can't criticize yoga for not challenging the cardiovascular system enough or that your strength decreases even though you practice yoga for so many hours a day. Yoga is not a fitness program, even if it often looks like one.

In order to stay fit, you have to be active in other ways.

I have discovered strength training and callisthenics, which is also strength training without equipment. To stay strong at an advanced age, you have to do additional exercises. This is not a criticism of yoga.

You have completely different goals in the fitness sector. You want to see a six-pack on your stomach. The percentage of muscle mass should go up, the percentage of fat down. You develop an idea of how aesthetically pleasing your body should look. That may sound superficial. But staying healthy is never just superficial. Training your body according to your own ideas is absolutely OK. People in the fitness community are concerned with nutrition. Exercise sequences are developed further. The direction of sporting activities is completely different from yoga. There is a lot of overlap. One of them is to keep the body in good health.

Yoga and fitness programs are not in competition with each other. They can complement each other perfectly.

Coach Mario Tomic

in

Germany, Dec 2023 - back bending

I'm relatively new to strength training, so I looked around for online fitness trainers. I found what I was looking for. Mario Tomic's videos are consistently excellent. Coaches who have struggled or made mistakes on their fitness journey are often better coaches than those who have had everything fall into their laps.

Here are some tips from one of his videos:

1. Embrace a data driven approach.

Basically, I agree with this. I use apps to document how often I practise yoga and how often I go to the gym. I also note the weights I lift. The machine does this for me. It also makes sense for me to document individual exercises or exercise sequences.

Mario Tomic also recommends constantly counting all your calories. I've already done that too. You have to know how many calories a chocolate bar has or 100 grams of rice. I no longer count my calories. I may come back to it again sometime. I cook. I know which foods are healthy. I listen to my hunger and my feeling of fullness. It still works for me.

2. Keep evolving your approach.

I found this point in the video particularly interesting. There are always new insights that you can use for yourself. Your own body is also changing. The fact that I started strength training has to do with a different approach to my yoga practice. It also helps to try a different approach to get out of a plateau. You never stop learning.

3. Never stop putting hard work into your practice. Progress doesn't happen in your comfort zone. Hard work is non-negotiable.

Yes. Yes. Yes. For me, I call this playing yoga or playing strength training. You can tell yourself that you've done something. But if you don't make an effort, time is lost. You have to make an effort. If you don't feel the pain of stretching, you don't stretch. If your muscles don't burn, they won't get stronger. You have to leave your comfort zone to learn.

4. Master patience.

A healthy lifestyle doesn't happen overnight. Perseverance is important, without question.

5. Actively seek accountability.

For me, this is my yoga blog. When I'm not practicing, I run out of topics for the yoga blog. I want to write authentically. That means I also have to practise.

All of Mario Tomic's videos are worthwhile. Have fun and gain new insights with the channel.

Dokumentation against self-deception

in

Germany, December 2023 - Backbending

Documentation against self-deception

You deceive yourself if you don't practise intensively.

Yesterday afternoon I went to the gym again. The machines in the recommended circuit stand in a circle so you can see what the others are doing. I didn't see any effort in the faces of my fellow exercisers. I'd be interested to know how many kilos my colleagues are lifting. If someone is really pushing their limits, then you can see it. You only have to google Arnold Schwarzenegger. Every cell is strained when he lifts weights. You can see that. You can really feel it. My competitors look like they're resting when they pull on the weights.

But I wasn't a bit better. I was satisfied with the default setting that was measured a few weeks ago. I also knew that I could do better. When I realized this, I increased the weights by 1 kg in the second round. That didn't really exhaust me either. Next time I will add a kilo in the first round and 2 kg in the second round. I should be able to lift 20 kg, regardless of which muscles I use. You train the big muscles like legs, back, abdomen, arms, chest etc. anyway ...... Last night in bed I was still thinking that I would have to lift my own body weight if I wanted to do a pull-up even once in my life. That's a lot more than 20 kg.

You have to make an effort if you want to achieve something.

This morning I was rewarded. My scales showed me that the percentage of muscle had gone up, and that the fine-grained bulge had gone down. That's the reward for regular, strenuous training. Hallelujah. I am happy. I am getting stronger.

I know that I also cheated myself out of success for years because I didn't know any better.

It starts with a sloppy chaturanga dandasana and continues with holding the asanas too short. I didn't know any better and the teachers obviously didn't either. I was never corrected. Self-study is a must.

What can you do about self-deception?

1. You can document your training. It's easy to record the frequency with an app. You can only get out as much as you put in. My trainer said that many of her clients only want to train once a week. That's not enough. Three times a week is where the fun starts.

2. Pictures help. The feeling is often different from the reality.

3. It helps to write down what you have learned and then ask yourself whether you are actually doing it. I know that the asanas need to be held for longer than just 5 breaths if you want to have a lasting stretching effect. I'm going to start setting the timer again when I practise urdhva dhanurasana. One minute of urdhva dhanurasana must be manageable. The more often you practise this, the easier it becomes.

4. Always trying to find the limits is useful. As long as your body can still lift the weights, you have not yet reached the limit of your own capabilities.

5. Keep studying, asking questions, observing like-minded people. This can help to avoid mistakes. Learning never stops.

Don't just try and do it. Practice intensively. Live intensively. Be present. Do your best.

Strength training

in

Germany, December 2023 - Usthrasana

If you want to stay fit in old age (60 plus), you have to do more than before and eat more intelligently. From the age of 40, your strength should start to decline. It doesn't matter when you notice it, but at some point you realize that you are getting weaker. The older you get, the more important it is to train your strength.

Some yoga exercises are so much harder for me than they used to be because I don't have the strength. The vinyasa of the 1st Ashtanga Yoga series are only rudimentary at the moment.

I have been doing strength training for a year now.

I recently changed gym because there is a gym nearby. Anything that is too far away, you do less often than you want to.

The new gym also took a medical history. That seems to be standard. You find out more about your own body values after registering at a gym than after a medical history at the doctor.

But what really motivates me is that I have another appointment with my trainer at the end of February. Then she will measure again how much strength I have and how high my fat percentage is. We are living in the decade of measurements and control. I take a critical view of this. But it also has advantages. Finding out where you stand is an advantage.

You can also sign up for a challenge every month in the app. Then you can see how many activity points you have collected compared to the others. I see that as positive competition. You're not floating in a vacuum with no direction. I immediately thought: I want to be in the top half. So I packed my sneakers on Friday and off I went. That's how people are.

There is a so-called EGym in the studio. These are 9 machines that train the most important muscles. This EGym was recommended to me.

Here are the machines that are supposed to make me stronger:

1. rowing machine

2. rotator

3. leg curl

4. abdominal trainer

5. chest press

6. lat pulldown

7. gluteus

8. back trainer

9. leg extension

When I log on to the individual machines, they are automatically set for me. I then move my 17 kg, 23 kg or whatever my current level is.

The circuit training is done twice. It takes about 45 minutes. Afterwards you know what you've done.

After that, you can train on other machines or do cardio training. I also got five callisthenics exercises. As a yogi, I don't forget to stretch at the end. I don't want to lose my flexibility. I was so happy when I saw two wall bars on the functional area. I do my last exercises on them before jetting home happily and exhausted.

What I learned (not new, but something I experience again and again):

- It's good to set yourself goals. I want to increase my muscle mass to over 30%.

- Being part of a group is very helpful.

- Regularity is important.

Keep practicing.

The perfection trap

in ,

Germany, December 2023, urdhva dhanurasana

My goal was and is to photograph the asanas of the four Ashtanga yoga series. Of course, you have to be able to perform these asanas first.

Well, I definitely wanted to get from urdhva dhanurasana to standing before I started photographing the 2nd series.

And I wanted to get the heels on the floor in pashasana before photographing this asana and then the next asanas. I also wanted to keep to the sequence.

I had set the bar so high that nothing happened in the end.

Who knows how long it will take me to get the heels in pashasana on the floor? At the moment, I'm happy when my fingers reach each other. I'm a long way from reaching the joint.

Coming into standing from urdhva dhanursana is very challenging. Who knows when I will succeed. In a month, in two years?

Next year I will change my approach to the goal of photographing the asanas in the Ashtanga yoga series. I will photograph the asanas that have reached a level that I am happy with. More is always possible. Then I will see which asanas remain. I can then devote myself particularly intensively to these hard chunks.

The journey then goes from easy to difficult.

Today I realized again how important it is to take pictures. They provide important clues as to the direction in which you can continue practicing. Taking pictures interrupts the flow. The focus is more on the pictures than on the exercise. But pictures are so helpful that I don't want to do without them. It's also super interesting to see the difference between feeling and reality.

Practicing yoga in the gym.

Germany, Nov 2023, forward fold

Practicing yoga in the gym.

That's what I'm doing now and I'm thrilled.

I can design my own exercise, but I'm among people who are also working on their programs. It gives me energy and I'm free. The space is big. There is a mirror to correct the asanas. There is a huge wall of windows on one side. When I look out, I can see people wrapped up in winter waiting for the trains.

I'll be getting up at 5 a.m. again tomorrow. I'm looking forward to it.

Urdhva dhanurasana - an analysis

in

Urdhva dhanurasana, Germany, August 2023

I quite like what I see. The bridge is very symmetrical. I also manage to press myself straight into the position. The elbows are as good as stretched.

I also see that there is still potential.

- The hands could move even further to the feet or vice versa.

- The hips could be stretched further.

- The neck and also the upper body and also the shoulders could be stretched further.

This is immediately a plan. The individual body parts can be trained in isolation.

Strength is also needed. It happens to me again and again that I lie on my back and then think: Oh no, now push the entire body up, my goodness. I think it's because of the strength that's needed here, or rather the lack of strength. The position becomes easier when you are stronger. You can also think of the whole exercise as a strength exercise. You brace yourself against the normal straight posture.

In Callisthenics, the bridge is also an exercise. You keep pushing yourself into the position. The colleagues in the other gym see the position as a strength exercise first and foremost. For the yogis, everything is stretching first. You push yourself into the position over and over again.

One goal could be to aim for three sets of twelve repetitions.

So many ideas, and time just runs out.........

Back bending exercises

in

Shoulder stretch in adho mukha svanasana, Germany, August 2023

There is often not enough time to practice again in the afternoon to do all the asanas that I would like to do. Rolling out the mat twice a day doesn't often happen, even though the good will is there. Therefore, I try to integrate exercises that I would like to do into my Ashtanga Yoga practice in the morning.

At the moment I am working more intensively on backbends again. It is easy to add a shoulder stretch after urdhva mukha svanasana. Normally urdhva mukha svanasana is a triangle. When you stretch the shoulders and move the head to the floor, one side of the triangle becomes a curved line. The exercise can be performed dynamically and statically. It is not a very intense stretching of the shoulder area but it is an intense warm-up.

When practicing alone, one can arrange the exercise session as one considers appropriate. One can respond to one's own needs. For almost all asanas I can think of easier and also more difficult variations. Depending on the condition, the routine becomes more challenging or more relaxed.

Going to a yoga class every day is a lot easier. You pack your bag with your yoga clothes, you take your yoga mat and that's it. Once you leave the house, everything goes by itself. There is no turning back. Not much discipline is required.

Practicing alone always takes discipline. You learn to motivate yourself. Through this, you also get to know yourself. One remains independent. But there are always days when you struggle through the exercises much more than you would in a group.

Ultimately, it is also a goal to be able to practice alone.

Shoulder stretch for back bending

Back bending, August 2023

There are so many exercises that it can be difficult to choose. Stretching the shoulders and chest muscles in isolation helps improve backbends. Rarely do we stretch upward. In the long run, this limits our mobility. All beginnings are hard. Stretching the shoulder may be uncomfortable at first. However, this 'pain' subsides.

In order not to waste the time applies:

- Hold exercises for a long time.

- Tense muscles.

- Also dynamic movements, rocking back and forth can help to get deeper into the positions.

- Daily practice, staying with it is also very important.

It is easy to deceive yourself. When you work on stretching, you also need to feel something. This is not always pleasant. Over time, you learn to deal with the 'pain'. Breathing regularly helps. You learn to relax even in a somewhat uncomfortable body position. One also learns to understand the messages of the body. There is pain that is a warning. It feels different than the pain that simply tells you that you are being stretched.

Again and again I also get to the point where I don't get anywhere with the stretching. Then aids are appropriate. I like to practice backbends against the wall. Blocks can also be very helpful.

The important thing is to develop an experimental mind and stay creative.

Happy practicing.

Urdhva dhanurasana

Urdhva dhanurasana July 2023

The next focus is on backbends. Again. I was already closer to my goal of getting out of the bridge and into a standing position. It has moved into the distance again. So the focus until the end of October is the backbends. That's a little more than three months. Something can already move within three months.

I have many ideas how to improve the position urdhva dhanurasana. There are so many exercises that it's hard to choose. You can't do everything.

My rules when I want to improve a position are:

1. repeat the position up to three times.

2. hold the pose for at least 2 minutes.

3. analyze where the strength can be improved, where the flexibility can be improved and if the technique is good.

4. find effective exercises that lead to the position.

How you get into a position often determines how deep you can go into the position.

The picture tells me that I can work on my hip extension, but also upper body flexibility and shoulders.

I'm looking forward to the next three months.

Summary splits

in ,

For over 12 weeks I focused on learning the splits, both forward and to the side. I have gotten much better during these months. My understanding of the positions has increased. The splits are far from mastered. The process and the insights are just as important as executing a perfect position.

My insights:

1. when you practice the opportunity is there to get better. However, this does not necessarily have to happen. One can practice ineffectively or injure oneself, then the opposite of progress happens. But the opportunity is there.

2. if one does not practice, however, then one does not keep the level that one has already reached, but one becomes worse.

3. practicing is important, but understanding the positions is also important.

3.1 In hanumanasana (forward split) the hamstrings are stretched, but also the front hip muscles. You can stretch these in isolation. When performing the pose, it is important to keep in mind that the hips should remain parallel.

3.2 The most important insight in Samakonasana is that one must make a hollow back. The skeleton does not allow the legs to extend to the side without being in a hollow back.

What is the next step?

I will continue to incorporate exercises on splits into my practice. However, it will no longer be the absolute focus. The next focus will be backbends. At the end of the year I will take pictures of the splits to see how far I have come. Both positions are feasible.

Two events have slowed down my progress:

- First, I have been traveling. Then it is always difficult to practice. It is certainly possible to practice while traveling. Eliminating these interruptions would be a huge step forward.

- Unfortunately, I have also injured myself. I go to strength training regularly. There I also practice the adductors. The machine stretches the legs out to the side. With the force of the adductors, you have to squeeze the machine parts together. I had the parts swinging too far outward to have an intense stretch as well. This was probably too intense. Unfortunately, you always notice only the day after whether you have exceeded the limits too far. It will always be the case that you hurt yourself sometimes. It is a fine line between a healthy overstepping of the boundaries and being too far gone.

Hanumanasana and Samakonasana are possible I'll keep at it.

Splits - anatomy of the hips

in ,

The hips are a ball and socket joint. The human body has two ball joints. The second ball joint is the shoulders.

All other joints are constructed differently, even those that allow great mobility, such as the ankle or wrist.

When we practice the splits, we practice on the mobility of the hips. From the anatomy, a lot is possible. Most have a lot of potential to increase their mobility. Only, who uses their potential to the full?

The opposite is the case. Most people sit most of the time. Over time, standing becomes a problem. Older people often walk bent forward because they can no longer properly extend the hip flexor. This often results in back problems as well.

The great strength of our body is adaptability. If people do not move, then they become weaker, mobility decreases. The reverse is also true, however, that man can become more mobile and stronger if he exercises the body.

Let's work on what is possible. Our anatomy allows the split forward and to the side.

In addition to the hips, the back leg muscles are also stretched.

The S-curve of the spine is emphasized.

The first step to being able to perform an asana is understanding that it is possible. Knowing that the hip is a ball and socket joint is an important realization for this.

However, it is also important to know that the legs can only be extended far out to the side when the back is hollowed. Samakoanasana is easier to perform when the legs rotate externally.

It's not just looking and following along. Even that is difficult. But one only perceives the external form. The inner work does not remain visible. In the splits, the legs pull toward the center of the body rather than outward. The execution of the asanas becomes easier when we understand them. What is the anatomy? Which muscles should be contracted? In which direction does the energy go. How do you get into an asana and how do you leave it?

Any 'knowledge' should be taken with a grain of salt. It is always only the current state of knowledge we are talking about.

To the pictures:

Any pose that, stretches the hamstrings and expands the mobility of the hips, also helps to learn the splits.

Side split exercise

in

Side split exercise, May 2023

The exercise in the picture is a little easier than the splits with legs outstretched. I usually practice the position without pressing the feet against the wall. But this variation gives more stability. It's also easier to get deeper into the position because you can move your feet to the side against the wall. The knees can then follow. That is as far as the body will allow.

The legs press down or to the center of the body. The muscle that is tensed is called the adductor. This is probably not used very often by most people. Now I train this muscle additionally in a strength studio. There are machines that train exactly this adductor.

As a supplement to yoga, I signed up at a body building studio. You can attend classes there, do cardio training, but also do strength exercises on machines. At my age (over 60), strength deteriorates very quickly. Yoga alone is not enough to stay strong.

More strength helps me with almost all yoga postures.

That yoga is enough to stay fit is an illusion. The cardiovascular system is not trained. Yoga does make you stronger. Many postures become easier if you do additional strength training.

Happy weekend.

Samakonasana - foot position

Samakonasana, April 2023

The soles of the feet can remain on the floor when you slide your feet to the side. But there is also the possibility to turn the legs and slide further to the side with the verse. Oddly enough, I got a little deeper into the position with the verses on the floor. However, it is easier to lose control of the movement.

Getting out of the stance is just as difficult as getting into it. Strong adductors allow the legs to move back toward the center of the body.

Another option is to let yourself fall backwards. This is only recommended if you are already relatively deep in the position.

It is important to hold the position, tense muscles, slide deeper into the position. The body quickly learns to perform the movements. It becomes easier with each time.

I will focus on the splits for four more weeks.

1. Ashtanga Yoga Series and the splits

in

In Ashtanga Yoga, the splits are already introduced in the standing postures. Utthita hasta padangusthasana and utthita parsvasahita are standing splits. Since all standing postures are also balance exercises, it doesn't exactly get easier. Over the years I have gotten better and better at balancing and staying long and steady in the postures. I haven't noticed a big change in flexibility. Since my sacroiliac joint injury, I no longer bend forward toward my leg.

I usually practice the splits (hanumanasana and sanakonasana) before these postures. Through the sun salutations, the body is already warmed up. First asanas are also practiced. Since the posture comes at the beginning of the series, the mind is still fresh. This allows for intensive practice. I don't think much of practicing the difficult postures at the end of a session. You are already exhausted by then. This makes injuries more likely.

Since I have been practicing the splits, both positions have improved.

The same positions occur again almost at the end of the middle part of the 1st series. Here the postures are called supta hasta padangusthasana and supta parsvasahita. Since one lies on one's back, all balance is eliminated. Using only the strength of the arms to push the leg toward the body or to the side to the floor allows only a gentle stretch. The progress is hardly perceptible. All my intensive splits exercises in which the weight of the body intensifies the stretch help to notice progress in the above positions. Without additional exercises not much happens.

For me, just supta hasta padangusthasana and supta parsvasahita are postures I use as a warm-up for my split exercises. They are the postures I practice when I have no energy to stretch more intensely.

Split exercise with a strap, April 2023

When you put a band around your foot and head, you feel how much more strength you have to intensify the stretch. You can press the foot of the leg lying on the floor against a wall to keep the leg stretched. There is a tendency for the knee to bend.

These positions of the first series made me work on the splits.

The splits will also appear in upcoming Ashtanga Yoga series. So it is a very good preparation for what is to come.

Everything that has to do with stretching takes time. Be patient with yourself.

Stretching technique - PNF

in ,

Exercise for side splits, April 2023

PNF is an effective method of stretching the muscles. PNF stands for proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation. Written out, the words are hard to remember. I used this technique even before I knew the term.

Simply put, I tightened the muscles I wanted to stretch. With the muscles tensed, I stretched them. After a while, the body relaxed again on its own. The stretching is done.

Tightening the muscles is supposed to give the nervous system the all-clear. The message sent to the nervous system by tensing the muscles is: don't worry, there is no danger of overstretching the muscle. Since it's tense, it's shortened, and it's still a stretch before injury.

How exactly does PNF work:

1. stretch.

2. contract the muscles for up to 30 sec.

3. extend the stretch.

In various books I have found the recommendation to go deeper into a stretch when the muscles are relaxed.

My own practice is more like this:

I go slowly into a position. The position should still feel comfortable. I increase slowly. I tense the muscles and stay in the position for a while. With the muscles tense, I try to intensify the stretch. I go as far as I feel something. After a good while, when the body has calmed down and there is no more stretching pain, I relax the muscles. This usually happens automatically. Most of the time I also try to get further into a position with relaxed muscles. Then I tense my muscles again.....

I repeat this rhythm. Three repetitions are recommended. This is usually too little for me, because I increase slowly.

I hold the position with tensed muscles for a relatively long time.

I make sure that the breath is calm. A relaxed face also tells the nervous system that everything is OK.

The difference with what I have found in most books and my own practice is that I try to go deeper into a position with both relaxed muscles and tense muscles.

I intensify the stretching discomfort each time I go deeper into a position. You have to feel something if you want to push your limits. Going too far can bring an injury. The more you practice, the better you know your body and its limits. This helps to avoid injuries.

It may sound strange, but I find the stretching pain comfortable.

In the side split in the picture, I push the legs back with my hands. The wider the legs are open, the easier it is to put the belly on the floor. The energy goes to the center of the body. When the feet are stretched, it is easier to tense the muscles.

You have to experiment to find your own truth.

The position in the picture is very comfortable for me. This is how it should be.