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While working out on exercise equipment at a fitness club, I regularly meet a girl who does a whole set of stretching exercises after each approach. So viscous and languid, not to say erotic, that I would suspect her of wanting to attract the attention of men. If it weren't for the young man who is always with her.
Stretching and flexibility exercises
I don’t neglect stretching either. But I’m always in such a hurry that I only do a couple of dynamic stretches at the end of the class: springing into lunges, spreading my arms to the sides, opening my chest... Which of us stretches correctly? Here are professional answers to this and other important questions about stretching:
1. Should stretching be part of any workout?
Undoubtedly, yes. Whether you're running, swimming, lifting dumbbells, or doing yoga. “Stretching exercises improve blood flow in the muscles,” says Alexey Ivanov, gym coordinator at the Art-Sport fitness club, a graduate of the Association of Fitness Professionals, CCM in powerlifting. “Due to this, they receive more nutrients and oxygen necessary to withstand physical activity, and better release waste products.”
2. What is the best way to stretch: dynamically or statically?
Say, when bending over, try to simply bend down as low as possible and stay at the final point for half a minute, or is it better to spring back several times, increasing the amplitude?
When choosing between static and dynamic stretching, first of all, focus on your level of training. “The first one is safer,” says Evgeniy Golubev, trainer at TenPilates studio. — It is great for beginners, for those who return to fitness after a break. You can stretch in motion only when you have good control of your body, otherwise there is a risk of exceeding the amplitude and getting injured.”
If you are an experienced athlete and your goal is to seriously increase flexibility, use both methods, alternating them within the same workout, moving from simple exercises to more complex ones.
3. Should you stretch before, after, or during your workout?
Warming up helps you prepare for the upcoming load. To increase your heart rate and warm up, you can run on a treadmill for 10 minutes, dance, walk in place, or just sit down a few times, and to improve muscle nutrition and develop joints, do some stretching. The purpose of a cool-down is to relieve tension from the muscles, remove waste products from them, calm down and recover. A small set of stretching exercises solves this perfectly. But how this scheme actually works out depends on the type of training. If a lesson requires flexibility from you and promises to be calm (Pilates, yoga, choreography), then before it it is especially important to stretch carefully for 5-10 minutes just as calmly, in a static manner. But stretching after class can be neglected.
With strength and cardio training, the situation is the opposite. Ten minutes of static stretching is required after class. But before it and in between strength exercises, you shouldn’t get carried away with static stretching. If you overdo it, your muscles will become so elastic that it will be difficult to actively move and perform strength exercises.
“Take, for example, squats with a barbell,” explains Alexey Ivanov. - If you have stretched the muscles of the back of your thigh well before this, you will be able to squat deeper. And if it’s in the front, it will be difficult to rise: a severely stretched muscle is more difficult to contract.” Such subtleties are not easy to understand. Therefore, make it a rule: before strength training, it is better to warm up rather than stretch. If you stretch, it is better to do it dynamically, doing 1-2 exercises (20-30 repetitions in each) for each of the muscles involved in the training.
4. Should you push through the pain or not?
“It is advisable to stretch until there is a gentle sensation of stretching, but not pain,” explains Evgeny Golubev. “During static stretching, you need to take a position and hold it for 20 to 60 seconds.” If it becomes unpleasant, try reducing the effort a little, but not the time: the body needs at least 30 seconds to adapt to the load. Don’t let someone else pull you through the pain, “helping” you bend lower, sit deeper in the half-split: when you are not the one dosing the load, the risk of injury is much higher. And only if your goal is to radically improve your flexibility, is it worth increasing the force of the impact: remaining at the peak point for up to 60 seconds, you may feel pain, but it should not be strong, tolerable for you.
5. Is regular stretching a guarantee of developing flexibility?
This is a guarantee that you will at least not lose it: without regular training, flexibility disappears very quickly. To develop it, you need to train daily, or better yet twice a day, say, 15 minutes. But if you set certain goals for yourself - for example, doing the splits or in the lotus position - you cannot do without the help of a professional. As the coach explained to me, in order to achieve what you want and not harm yourself, you need to have a good understanding of how your body works: which muscle to stretch, where its attachment points are, is it a flexor or extensor, what is the direction of its fibers (and you only need to stretch along them )...
Honestly, for me all these things with “attachment points” and “anatomical functions” are simply cosmic. But the usual stretching, which is done at every workout, also turned out to be not so simple. I realized that I was doing a lot of things wrong: I spent too little time on stretching, I stretched while moving when my muscles wanted rest, and sometimes through pain. Well! Now I will take these mistakes into account. And I’ll try to stretch for at least 15 minutes after each workout. I hope that over time this will allow me, even if not to sit in the lotus position (which I have been dreaming of for a long time), but to bend over easily and beautifully to pick up a fallen pen from the floor or just do another exercise in the fitness club.
By the way, I need to warn my “neighbor” at the gym that stretching should not be done in between strength exercises...
We took a stretching class to understand how to become flexible and keep our joints healthy.
A small cozy hall for choreography classes is located in the old building of the Horizon plant. The group before the lesson looks very optimistic: the girls are calmly communicating and laughing. But within a few minutes, severe pain awaits them - which is what they themselves signed up for. Why do people voluntarily and joyfully undergo torture, their coach and choreographer explained to us Alexandra Oshurko.
- What are the benefits of stretching exercises?
The first plus is healthy joints. They become more mobile, and this improves their overall well-being. Stretching exercises will help you recover from bruises or heavy loads.
Another reason to start developing flexibility is to align and lengthen your spine. A healthy spine will ensure beautiful posture. Elastic ligaments and blood flow into the body will help maintain the youth of the body and saturate the body with oxygen.
If you have a stressful job and constant stress, then stretching is indicated for you. Relaxation will bring you into harmony with your inner self and help you calm down.
Another undeniable plus, especially for women, is that stretching improves and speeds up metabolism. Stretching will help you lose weight better than any diet.
- Can everyone do stretching or are there any contraindications?
In general, there is no category of people who should not stretch. Only if you have received a serious injury, you should not stretch the damaged ligament for some time, but after some time you will need to begin to restore its elasticity. And it can be very painful, but otherwise you will completely lose flexibility and it will be even worse later.
Everyone can stretch, regardless of age and gender. In childhood, the ligaments are very soft and elastic, the joints are easier to twist. Accordingly, it is much easier for a child to do the splits. With age, ligaments become rougher. But, of course, this is also individual. There are ligaments that are so elastic from childhood that, as an adult, a person quickly achieves results. And vice versa: even a 10-year-old child can be absolutely inflexible. But I can say for sure that at any age you can increase your flexibility many times over, and this does not depend on data, but on the desire and hard work of a person.
- Is stretching needed only after strength and cardio exercises or can it be used as an independent set of exercises?
Good stretching is simply necessary for athletes, dancers, those who work out in the gym and run, but it will never be superfluous for people who do nothing. There are only one advantages to stretching. We all strive to look younger, not age, and feel great. And all this comes from stretching. Why spend money on expensive vitamins and creams when you can devote a little time to exercise and get almost the same result?
- How not to overdo it with stretching so as not to harm the body?
The feeling of pain in the ligaments the morning after stretching is almost guaranteed. This is an indicator of effective training. When you “stretch,” your ligaments stretch, lengthen, and microtears appear in the muscles. Thanks to this, flexibility is achieved.
Therefore, you need to stretch only 3-4 times a week so that the ligaments have time to recover. The next morning after class, you can take a bath and do exercises. But don't stretch too much! The ligaments need rest.
- How to cope with pain during exercise, how can it be easier to bear?
Try to think about what relaxes you, and turn your attention to pleasant memories. Imagine how you are basking on the beach, how the sea beckons you, remember the pleasant moments when you were relaxing. Then it is much easier to bear the pain than if you only think about the fact that you can no longer endure it. Stretching is like running: the more you do, the longer the workout you will be able to endure over time. The more you endure, the sooner you will learn to tolerate this pain. Perhaps later you will even like her. Train yourself. There is no other option.
While doing the exercises, you need to listen carefully to your body, feel it, so as not to overdo it and not harm yourself. Do not sit down or bend over suddenly when you are not warmed up. There is a feeling of acute pain in the ligaments, like cutting with a knife, which means there is no point in making an effort. Just fixate at this height. If you feel dizzy, your leg begins to shake violently, or something “clicks” in your leg, stop stretching immediately. Take good care of yourself.
It hurts to stretch the body, but these sensations are then replaced by joy, lightness and great well-being. Don't neglect this and you will be in harmony with yourself.
̶ What must be taken into account while performing exercises?
̶ ̶ Stretching is relaxation of muscles, and there is no way to do this without breathing. This is the most important rule! You need to watch your breathing. As you exhale, your ligaments relax, stretch, and you sink lower. When you hold your breath and try to lower yourself, you injure them. The ligaments will hurt twice as much and the results will be much worse.
̶ What to do if you do damage the ligaments?
̶- The worst thing is ligament rupture. In this case, the recovery process is very long. If everything is serious, it is better to consult a doctor who will prescribe ointments, dressings, and physical therapy. In the case of a tear or sprain of the ligament, recovery occurs faster. I know a great way to recover from damage. This is a very hot bath. You immerse yourself in water, lie for about 20 minutes, your ligaments completely relax and warm up. After this, do exercises on the injured leg (very carefully!) and get into the water again. And so on for about 3-4 approaches.
I know many gymnasts, acrobats and dancers who, after serious injuries, regained their splits in this way. But just don’t try to do this the day after the injury. Give the ligaments time to recover.
- Is it necessary to do stretching with a trainer or can you do the exercises at home?
Easy complexes can be performed at home, more complex ones in the initial stages are better under the supervision of a trainer. If you don’t know how to stretch at all and don’t feel your body, then you’re in the right place for the group. After all, poor performance of exercises can not only upset you by waiting too long for at least some results, but also harm the body.
If you have already more or less developed flexibility and know what is being done and how, then it never hurts to work out at home. Spend at least 15 minutes a day: stretch your neck, back, bend forward a couple, and you will see what an influx of energy your body will receive.
̶- Why do you practice exercises in pairs during classes, how are they effective?
̶- From training in pairs, the result appears 2-3 times faster. When you “stretch” yourself, you do not put the maximum load on the ligaments, but your partner helps you with this. But you need to treat each other very carefully during classes, tell your partner whether you can apply more pressure or not. He doesn't feel what's going on inside you.
At first you need to apply minimal pressure, and then gradually add your weight and finally give the maximum load. And so that your partner does not tear the ligaments or get injured, you need to release him slowly and smoothly.
- Do men need stretching?
̶- Men need stretching to avoid being bears. But there is one caveat: if a man wants to gain weight and works hard, then during this period he should perform the lightest exercises possible. The entire result will disappear, and the muscles will stop growing, but, on the contrary, will begin to “deflate”. After all, one of the results of stretching exercises - accelerated metabolism - helps to lose weight.
- Why do you need to “pump” muscles at the end of a set of exercises?
̶- Just stretching the muscles is half the battle. You need to learn how to use them, especially dancers. Pumping at the end is needed to maintain the results of the lesson, so that you can not just do the splits, but also keep your leg suspended, do batmans, swings, and use your flexibility in every possible way.
Photo: website .
I wrote a short article about that. And today, in order to logically continue this topic, I consider it my duty to write about stretching in the gym, which is correctly called stretching. Although, to be honest, I don’t understand why bother? Stretching is a more understandable word for all of us.
Classically, stretching is done before and after training. Today I will describe the pros and cons of each of these stretch marks and together we will draw conclusions: which stretch do we need and which one is in the firebox. But without exercises, this article would be empty, so I advise you to study it without fail.
What kind of stretch do we need?
In general, there are several types of stretching: dynamic, static, active, passive, ballistic and God knows what else. But we will not study them all today, because we are only interested in one type - static stretching, when the muscles are stretched to a certain point (the point of maximum stretching) and are held in this position for some time. Today I will try to answer as fully as possible the questions of when and how to stretch and whether it is useful to stretch at all.
It is common to see a non-literate male or female athlete doing dynamic stretching after a workout. That is, instead of freezing at the point of tension of the muscle and doing the actual stretching, they tighten the muscle and make some kind of rocking or rough tugging movements. This is extremely wrong, because dynamic stretching with jerking exercises is harmful to the muscles.
Since muscles receive a huge number of microtraumas during training, dynamic stretching simply worsens their condition. As a result, the dynamics of recovery worsen and the muscle takes a long time to heal, therefore it begins to grow later, and not earlier, as we need it.
Who needs stretching
Some athletes, out of their own stupidity, believe that stretching is for girls. That a real man should only carry a barbell or hit himself in the ring. But no, it’s not like that. Stretching is necessary for everyone who works out in the gym, no matter if you are a guy or a girl.
Just for fun, you can find a full workout of some professional bodybuilder on YouTube. At the end of the workout, all professionals spend at least 5 minutes stretching. “Well, they are professionals, but what kind of stretching do I need?” - you say. This argument is not an argument at all, because there are quite compelling arguments for stretching in the gym. First I will give reasons, and then I will tell you how to do a good stretch.
Why do you need stretching?
Why do you need stretching and how to stretch correctly? I think this question is asked by many, both beginners and active bodybuilders. After all, it would seem: we are pumping a muscle, doing fitness, and God bless him. Yeah my friend, no matter how it is.
Athletes often wonder when to stretch before or after training. My answer is: stretching before a workout and after a workout have fundamentally different goals.
Why do you need to stretch before training?
Stretching before exercise helps your muscles gain a sufficient level of flexibility, which will have a positive effect on your range of motion. Physiologists have long proven that the higher the amplitude of movement in bodybuilding, the more effective the exercise. In addition, stretching before training helps warm up the muscles. It is advisable to do stretching at the beginning of a workout, but after a workout it is MANDATORY!
Why do you need to stretch after a workout?
The main purpose of stretching after exercise is to return the muscle to its former length.
Was on the line Vitakha Okhrimenko !
First of all, why stretching is needed is to prevent serious injuries during the training process, as well as the correct, from a physiological point of view, end of the session, that is, a cool-down. If you perform stretching according to all the instructions, you will soon notice its positive effect on the physical condition of the body.
Most people do not understand why stretching is needed and often neglect this set of exercises. Thus, they deprive themselves of the opportunity to develop sufficient elasticity and flexibility to strengthen muscle mass and joints. In addition, stretching is good because it can be done both in the gym and at home, as well as in the fresh air.
The system of stretching exercises is designed in such a way that the athlete can gradually adapt to new loads, step by step. At the same time, you can pay more attention to those muscles that you have to work with more often. You shouldn’t expect instant results, since stretching is aimed specifically at deep development. This is achieved through a smooth transition from easy exercises to more complex ones, and also depends on the number of repetitions.
Performing stretching exercises is useful not only for athletes, but also for ordinary people whose work requires them to constantly be in a sitting position. Why does a common person need stretching? In fact, this set of exercises not only improves flexibility and strengthens muscle tissue, but also improves mood and relieves stress. With regular exercise, you can soon feel the effectiveness of your training: ease of movement appears and both physical and mental well-being improves.
Among the main reasons why stretching is needed are the following:
Increased flexibility
The most obvious plus that comes to mind for a person who decides to stretch. Often this factor is fundamental in order to start stretching training. If you exercise regularly, you will soon notice how slim and fit you appear, and your posture is evened out.
Muscle elasticity
Thanks to the good enrichment of muscle mass with nutrients during training with stretching exercises, muscles acquire elasticity, which significantly reduces the risk of various injuries.
Pain relief
The relaxing effect after stretching helps relieve muscle tension, so pain that occurs due to overexertion or stress after a hard day at work goes away.
Stimulating blood circulation in the body
Stretching has a beneficial effect on the vascular system, helps increase overall tone, and also has a beneficial effect on rejuvenation, slowing down the aging process of the skin.
Improved mental state
Emotional stress can be relieved with a little stretching. After performing such a set of exercises, muscle tone increases, and the level of stress, on the contrary, decreases.
Preparing for the main workout
This precaution helps not only to prevent injuries during exercise, but also to prepare the body for increased stress, warming up the muscles, tuning them for physical activity.
Cool down after training
Many people neglect this rule, but this useful habit will help improve the quality of training. Warm-up exercises after exercise will help your muscles and joints recover faster. In addition, this will reduce the likelihood of pain the next day.
Types of stretching
Once it has become clear why muscle stretching is needed, you can begin to choose a suitable set of exercises. It is worth noting that the most preferable for a beginning athlete is regular static stretching. It consists of smooth and progressive movements, without creating a strong load on unprepared muscles.
Otherwise, if you start stretching dynamically and aggressively, you can get torn ligaments and various muscle injuries, which in the future can lead to serious consequences for the health of the body. Of course, in the future, when the muscles and joints become sufficiently developed, the loads can be increased, but even in this case, one should not forget about basic safety precautions.
1.Static stretching
The most optimal option for those who are just starting to get acquainted with stretching. The idea is to hold one position in which the muscles are as tight as possible, but not tense. The duration of one static can vary from 15 seconds to 1 minute, depending on the athlete’s preparedness. Thus, you can work out absolutely any muscles and not be afraid of getting injured, if, of course, you listen to how you feel and don’t overdo it.
2.Dynamic stretching
The opposite of the previous type of stretching. In this case, the emphasis is on the dynamics and speed of the exercises. A wide range of movements, an accelerated pace, increased intensity - all this is characteristic of this type of stretching. As an example, we can cite the familiar lunges on different legs forward and to the sides.
3.Passive stretching
Performed in pairs, which allows you to increase the range of motion and depth of stretching. The basis of the exercises is static and barely noticeable oscillatory movements. The main difficulty in this case is for the partner to understand with what force it is better to push or pull. To do this, you need to constantly report your feelings and control the process yourself.
4.Active stretching
In principle, this type is a certain set of dynamic stretching exercises. The main criterion here is to perform all movements independently and work with your own weight. Active stretching is most often the basis for some other type, but can be used as an independent set of exercises.
5.Ballistic stretch
This type of stretching is not suitable for general health improvement or for maintaining light body tone. The main exercises here involve sudden movements with maximum amplitude. If in previous types of stretching one of the main criteria was smoothness and control, then in this case intensity is at the forefront. This could include, for example, pushing or jumping.
Contraindications to stretching
Considering the factors why muscle stretching is needed and how it affects the body, many would like to try its positive effects on themselves. However, despite the seemingly ease and simplicity of performing the exercises, there are several criteria under which stretching is not recommended:
- presence of serious spinal injuries;
- severe bruises to the legs;
— the presence of microcracks in the bones, special attention to the pelvis;
- constant pain in the lumbar region;
- inflammation of the hip joints;
- high blood pressure;
— . Here it is worth clarifying that there are no direct contraindications to stretching in this case, however, due to physiological changes in a woman’s body during this period, you should be careful and listen to your own feelings.
This list is basic and may not be suitable for every individual case. It must be remembered that before starting any physical exercise, it is better to consult with your doctor so that he can give the necessary recommendations and prescribe possible restrictions.
During training, you should listen to your feelings. If dizziness, cramping occurs, or a constant crunching sound is heard during exercise, it is advisable to stop the exercise. Next, you need to act according to how you feel: either change the stretching routine, or consult a doctor.
Conclusion
Many people do not understand why stretching is needed and underestimate this set of exercises. In turn, stretching generally has a beneficial effect on the body and helps improve both physical and mental health. If you follow the technique and do not forget about medical contraindications, you will soon notice a positive effect.
By alternating and combining these simple techniques, you can quickly, significantly and safely improve your stretching.
1. We work out regularly. The best schedule is 6 times a week.
2. We take into account biorhythms. In the evening, the body lends itself to stretching much better than in the morning. In the morning the body is more stiff.
3. We monitor the mood. For effective stretching, the body must be relaxed. And in order for the body to relax, the mind must be calm. Irritation, stress, anger, resentment, anxiety, worry, etc. – an inappropriate emotional background for such practice. Before training, we bring the mind and feelings into a calm state. If this does not work, we postpone stretching until better times.
4. We're not in a hurry. Stretching does not tolerate fuss and haste. We do everything slowly, in no case do we force anything. When doing stretching, it is especially important to follow injury safety rules, because any injury, even a minor sprain, will force you to limit your practice for several days or even weeks and will nullify all achieved results.
5. Let's warm up. Warm muscles are much more elastic. Even a simple hot shower before exercise will noticeably improve your stretching. An intense 15-minute warm-up that warms up the entire body will immediately significantly increase the range of motion. If you play sports, be sure to take time to stretch immediately after your workout - you will be pleasantly surprised by the results.
6. We arrange the asana correctly. Initially, incorrect body position limits stretching capabilities and increases the risk of injury. And although sometimes incorrect adjustment of the asana creates the illusion of greater amplitude, this does not happen due to improved flexibility, but due to body distortions. But that's not what we want.
7. We avoid pain. We do nothing, overcoming the pain. First, because the involuntary neuromuscular mechanism is triggered, pain automatically leads to muscle spasm, making stretching almost impossible. Secondly, pain is an alarm signal that the body gives us to warn us of danger.
8. Let's relax. We enter the asana and take the maximum accessible body position with a feeling of slight tension in the stretched muscles. We fix this position and try to relax as much as possible. We do this gradually, focusing attention on small areas of the body, starting from the periphery. For example, when stretching the thigh muscles (in a sitting or lying position), we first relax the toes, then the ankle joint, calf muscles, knee, etc. This technique helps: we take a deep breath and, as we exhale, imagine that the air is leaving through the relaxed area of the body. You can also rub and massage the stretched muscles.
As soon as the muscles relax and the tension passes, we slightly increase the amplitude and repeat everything from the beginning. If the muscles categorically refuse to relax, we reduce the amplitude.
9. We're tense. After the muscles have relaxed in a stretched position, we strain them with all our might and hold this tension for 8 to 15 seconds. We maintain a static body position and do not move. Muscles must contract isometrically, i.e. no movement. Let go of the tension and immediately stretch, increasing the amplitude. This is a very effective technique called post-isometric relaxation (PIR). PIR allows you to overcome the resistance of muscle reflexes that prevent stretching. You can repeat the entire sequence of relaxation - tension - stretching 2 - 3 times. The effect will be significant. As an example, let's try to tense the gluteal muscles for 10 - 15 seconds in uttanasana (forward bending). The tilt amplitude will increase. (We follow injury prevention techniques for the lumbar region: press the stomach to the hips, do not fully extend the knees before this becomes possible.)
10. We engage antagonist muscles. When some muscles in the body contract, other muscles designed to produce the opposite movement automatically relax. For example, when we tense our hip flexors (quadriceps, etc.), our hip extensors (hamstrings) automatically relax. In this way, the body optimizes its work so that when moving it does not waste additional strength to overcome the resistance of antagonists. We can use this phenomenon to improve stretching. To do this, we simply tense the antagonist muscles with a conscious effort during stretching. Continuing the example with uttanasana: we strongly strain the quadriceps of the thigh (the anterior group of thigh muscles) and the abdominal muscles, drawing in the stomach.
11. We stretch the right and left sides in turn. If the asana allows (as a rule, this technique is suitable for symmetrical asanas), we change the position of the body so that the force shifts first to one side, then to the other. For example, in upavishtha konasana we move first to one leg, then to the other, then return to the center. Photo 1, 2.
12. Breathe. The following technique helps to increase the amplitude of stretching: take a deep breath, taking in a full chest of air, and hold your breath for 5 – 10 seconds. We exhale and at the same time as we exhale we try to stretch more. This technique works great in twists.
13. We use muscle locks - bandhas. Another good technique is to use muscle locks. In the practice of stretching, mulabandha is mainly relevant for us - tensing the muscles of the perineum and pelvic floor and uddiyana bandha - drawing in the abdomen and pulling the diaphragm up. In particular, uddiyana bandha is effective for increasing the amplitude of forward bends, both in a standing and sitting position.
14. Use hand levers. In some cases, you can help yourself with your hands, using them as leverage. For example, when bending forward, we move our arms behind our backs, clasp our hands together and pull our straight arms up (towards the head).
Unfortunately, using leverage increases not only the effectiveness of the stretch, but also the risk of injury. Therefore, when using such techniques, you need to be especially careful and take your time.
15. “We take help from a friend.” A partner's help will come in handy when using post-isometric relaxation. For example, consider supta padangusthasana - lying on your back, raise your straight leg up and pull it towards you, stretching the muscles of the back of the leg. We pull our leg towards ourselves as far as possible and ask our partner to fix the leg in this position. We begin to strain the muscles of the leg, as if trying to lower it to the floor; the partner resists, preventing the leg from falling. We hold this position for 8 - 10 seconds, after which we relax the muscles and pull the leg towards us, and the partner helps fix the leg in a new position with greater amplitude.
Such techniques are possible in many asanas, but only experienced practitioners are suitable for the role of a partner, and, to be completely honest, experienced yoga instructors.
16. We use props. If there is no partner, sometimes you can replace him with props. For example, in the same supta padangusthasana we put a belt on the leg and push it down. We pull the belt towards ourselves, providing resistance to the movement of the leg and preventing it from falling.
Props also help compensate for flexibility deficits by relieving tension in the muscles being pulled. For example, in janushirshasana, if the knee does not lower to the floor, the hip adductors (inner thigh) are forced to resist gravity and, instead of relaxing and stretching, contract. A “brick” placed under the thigh allows you to relieve tension from these muscles and makes it possible to stretch them. We use a belt if it is not possible to reach the foot with our hands.
Standard blocks for yoga - “bricks” - can be replaced with a stack of books and, as the muscles relax and stretching increases, reduce the height of the stack, removing a book at a time.
17. Increase muscle strength. Stronger muscles strain less when tense, relax more easily, and are more amenable to stretching. If, despite all efforts, progress in stretching is unsatisfactory, we strengthen the muscles and increase their strength.
18. Always finish stretching with strength exercises. Intense stretching disrupts the coordinated work of muscles, resulting in poor coordination of movement in the next few hours after training. To prevent this, we end the workout with strength exercises on the target muscle group.
18. The body will say “thank you.” Stretching exercises relieve muscle and emotional tension, promote general relaxation, improve body awareness, joint mobility and overall well-being, and increase the range of available movements; in the long term, they improve coordination and help prevent injuries. Movements become more harmonious and correct, posture and the condition of internal organs improve.
Olga Prilepova, doctor, certified yoga teacher; author's websitewww.namaste.md
Photo: kinoyoga/instagram.com
