Yoga for Flexibility
This is a brief introduction to a little of what yoga can offer. We strongly recommend you seek out a yoga teacher in your local area to gain a greater insight.
If we learn to stretch using both body and breath awareness, we find that over time, our flexibility improves and we reap the benefits of feeling looser in our hips, lower and upper back.
As a yoga teacher, I know that if we stretch incorrectly, without awareness of proper alignment, we can actually cause injury, or at the very least, make very little difference to our suppleness.
Injury can bring the mixed blessing of helping either the amateur sports enthusiast or the professional to a greater appreciation of the benefits of balancing strength with flexibility. A body that is overly tight literally has nowhere to ‘give’, and back, hip or knee problems are all too often, the price that is paid.
There are many benefits of integrating specific yoga stretches into a sports training regime, and even taking a weekly yoga class. Regular yoga practice can help release some of the chronically tight areas caused by the repetitive and muscular-contracting actions of running, cycling, swimming, team sports, and even working out at the gym.
Here are two poses you can do as a ‘cool down’ stretch after your workout: -
1.One Legged Pigeon Pose (Eka Pada Rajakapotasana)
This pose has the dual benefits of releasing tight outer hip (rotators and the ITB) and the frontal hip/thigh (psoas) muscles.
Start on all fours. Bring your right knee forward to just behind your right wrist, and your foot forward just in front of the groins. The right shin will end up at an angle with the knee out to the right of the mid-line. Slide your left leg behind you, making sure it’s directly in line with the hip, so that the front of the left thigh faces to the floor and foot extends out behind, with the top of the foot resting on the floor. If you are quite tight in this stretch, place a folded blanket or cushion under the right buttock to help ensure the hips are equidistant from the floor and to reduce any strain on the right knee. Rest on the forearms, extending the spine and breathing deeply into any restrictions in the hips and buttocks. Hold for up to 10 breaths then change legs.
2.Supine Hamstring Stretch (Supta Padangustasana)
This pose allows you to get an effective stretch for the hamstrings (backs of the legs) without compromising the alignment of the lower back or hips. It is also very beneficial for a sore, aching lower back.
Lie on your back with your legs extended and together with the heels pressing into the skirting board. Bend the right knee up and loop a strap or towel around the ball of the right foot and slowly raise the leg to an angle in which the leg is as straight as possible. Hold each end of the strap in each hand, with the hands about halfway between the foot and the body, and keep the shoulders relaxing back into the mat, with chin slightly into the throat to keep the back of the neck long. Pull the toes of the right foot towards you and extend the heel away towards the ceiling. Hold for 5 – 10 slow breaths.
Check out issue 19 of Australian Yoga Life to see how the Titans Ruby Team has embraced yoga as part of their training regime. And, now that you’re inspired, visit our teachers’ directory to find a yoga class near you and start stretching better!
Article by Ana Davis. Email: anadavis(at)bigpond.com.au