It’s taken a long time to come off piste, to go rogue, to transform my knowledge and wisdom into clear and authentic instruction, away from the basic things I learned many moons ago in Yoga Teacher Training, where the difference between an anterior pelvic tilt and a posterior pelvic tilt was never mentioned. But hey I got to swan dive down to beyond touching my toes because of an extreme tilt in my pelvis, and man did I ‘look’ open. I was far from open. The whole backside of my body was locked. Unfortunately I became incapacitated for over a year with 2 lots of surgery on discs and pain I wouldn’t wish on my worst enemy. And still I didn’t realise that my yoga practice was exasperating this major and very common postural dysfunction. We need to question not only what we are doing but why we are doing it. Moving your body has to be freeing, and pain is our biggest messenger.
Lets talk about a typical yoga pose like downward dog.
I would be a very rich woman if I had a pound for every time someone has said to me:
“I can’t get my heels down”…… I’ve heard yoga teachers then tell someone to bend their knees. Personally I believe this is absolutely missing a trick, and more correctly is, in my opinion, just getting the person to feel more comfortable in a pose, and so, if we are looking for more comfort then, why are you doing this pose. If it’s not stretching or strengthening something, what is the point? If you’re hanging out in downward dog, you’ve plateaued.
Open hamstrings (backs of the thighs) and strong quadriceps (fronts of the thighs) will give you a grace like no other. Your legs hold you up.. you move around on your legs. I guarantee right now while you’re reading this, your knees are bent.
So think about it, those quads are lengthened and those hamstrings are short. Picture a person on stilts that are imbalanced front and back and how they would be moving. The issue is, you have found ways to compensate while in motion, mainly so you’re not doing a ‘funny walk’…. heehee.
This will then affect your shoulders and neck as you try and stop your head lolling about. Oh to be beautifully human. As we age, our strongest muscles simply get stronger and our weakest muscles become weaker.
This is what I focus on in The Rodina Reset and a whole load of other shizzle. I also assess each client, one to one every month. Because THINGS CHANGE…. For the better.
So I’ll leave you with this… open your hamstrings every day, by simply leaning forward with your legs straight. Concentrate on moves that also get your quads fired up….
“I can’t touch my toes” is another line I’ve heard a gazillion times! ;o)
So practice a little every day and you will eventually.
Massive respect to Day Christensen for giving me my voice in this sometimes rigid industry, oh the irony!
Kindest Smiles
Linzi
