Camel is one of my favorite backward bends
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Although many factions think this is not a very difficult pose, few people can do it right when practicing
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Camel’s English Name: camelpose, Sanskrit Name: ustrasana, ustra means camel
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When practicing this pose, the chest is on the top and the action is like a camel, so it is called “camel pose” First, let’s take a look at the functions of camel style: stimulate the spine and spinal nerves, promote blood circulation, so as to improve spinal function; adjust and massage the waist, abdomen and other internal organs; also help eliminate thigh fat; expand the chest, prevent chest sagging; correct bad posture, cure hunchback; beautify chin lines; make the spine and shoulders soft, relieve back pain and shoulder pain Problems; improve respiratory system problems; nourish pelvic area, regulate menstruation, slow down menstrual discomfort; stimulate thyroid and kidney work, regulate endocrine; promote digestion, relieve constipation, maintain female reproductive system
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Please pay attention to the following situations: lumbar disc herniation, cervical spondylosis are forbidden to practice! If you have thyroid function problems, lumbar discomfort or back pain, you can reduce the practice of this posture; () if you have neck injury, or low or high blood pressure, you’d better avoid this posture; () the thigh is perpendicular to the ground, the hip is directly above the knee, the chest is pushed forward, the head is relaxed, do not squeeze the cervical spine, and the instep is close to the ground; () during the practice, always keep the bone The basin is placed in order to reduce the stress on the lumbar spine and fully stretch the lumbar muscles
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Then we dissect the camel style together: joint movement, spine extension; hip joint extension and internal rotation; knee joint flexion; shoulder blade downward rotation, adduction and upward lifting; arm external rotation, extension, adduction and elbow extension
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The working mechanism of muscles is gravity pull trunk backward, but it is controlled by arm movement and eccentric movement of flexor muscles
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Arm: triceps makes shoulder joint and elbow joint extend; trapezius and rhomboid make scapula adduction
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The posterior deltoid and teres major also extend the shoulder, while the subscapularis protects the shoulder in the front
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Spine: in the cervical segment of the spine, the muscles in the front of the neck (longus capitis, longus cervicis, rectus capitis anterior, suprahyoid and infrahyoid) move centrifugally to prevent excessive head extension
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The muscle groups that can also prevent excessive lumbar extension by eccentric exercise include rectus abdominis, oblique abdominis (especially external oblique abdominis), intercostal muscle, subcostal muscle, iliac muscle, psoas major muscle and psoas minor muscle
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Leg: rectus femoris eccentric movement, against pelvic retroversion, before the thigh group muscle concentric contraction, so that the tibia close to the ground
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The hamstrings and adductors also move centripetally – mainly to fix the knee and hip joints
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Lengthened muscle arms: pectoralis major, pectoralis minor, Coracobrachial, biceps and deltoid were stretched
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Spine: in the cervical segment of the spine, the muscles in the front of the neck are stretched and contracted, but the sternocleidomastoid muscle should be stretched and relaxed to avoid the skull base being pulled toward the atlas and axis
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Scalenus and respiratory movement also support the anterior spine
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In the thoracic segment of the spine, the thorax is opened to stretch the intercostal muscles and scalenus (the extension of intercostal muscle layer in the skull)
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In camel pose, it is recommended to rotate the legs moderately to maintain the stability of the pelvis, so as to promote the extension of the hip joint and spine, and avoid the retroversion of the pelvis (this is the situation when you feel (the lower part of the back movement) in this pose)
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It is a great challenge to extend the lower cervical spine and upper thoracic spine reasonably
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This helps to relax the sternocleidomastoid muscle and stabilize the weight of the head with the centrifugal contraction force of the deep muscles in the front of the neck
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In addition, in this position, the upper trapezius of many people can form a “bracket” to support part of the weight of the head
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Camel style has a strong stretching effect on digestive organs, especially esophagus
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In the breathing camel pose, the chest structure remains in the “inhaled” position, and the abdominal wall is stretched, resulting in the decrease of the body’s “normal” breathing ability
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The trick is to get support from the deep muscles to reduce the load on the superficial muscles
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In this way, the practitioner may realize the relationship between the deepest muscle (scalene muscle) in the superficial layer of the neck and the respiratory movement of the apex of the lung, and the latter is constrained by the former in the body
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How to make a camel? Keep kneeling, knees apart, toes pointing to the back of the body
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If the instep doesn’t work, you can choose to let the big toe press the ground instead
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Hands on hips
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Inhale to extend the spine, extend the front of the thigh, exhale, enter the back bend, hands down in turn to find feet
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Return your hands to both sides of your hips, slowly bring your body back and relax in the big worship or baby style
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In fact, it’s very simple to say
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I’ve finished three paragraphs, but it’s not easy to do well
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Because many beginners of yoga can’t hold their feet, or have low back pain and neck discomfort in this posture, which makes a posture that can improve the round shoulder hunchback, extend and strengthen the spine become a posture that damages the waist and neck
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It’s unbearable to want to practice but dare not practice! So, how can yoga beginners improve this situation? The following 5 anatomical points of Yoga camel style must be mastered! 1
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The core of controlled tightening is to protect the lumbar vertebrae
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In camel style practice, many gays will easily relax their abdomen and fold back from the lumbar vertebrae, resulting in low back pain
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Solution: in this pose, to avoid lumbar pain, the lumbar spine should be extended as far as possible to increase space
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Secondly, the abdomen needs to be controlled to tighten, start the core (including the abdomen, lower back and pelvic floor muscles, etc.) and increase abdominal pressure, so as to protect the lumbar spine from bending backward under the premise of protection
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2
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Learn to rotate the pelvis – protect the lumbar spine in camel style practice, many Jiaren may well extend the waist, but the lumbar spine will still be uncomfortable
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Another reason is that the pelvis is tilted forward (the action of stepping on the waist)
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From the above figure, we can find that if the pelvis is tilted forward, the curvature of the back of the waist will be more obvious
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Under such a premise, the curvature of the back of the lumbar spine will be further increased, and the pressure of the lumbar spine will also increase, so it is normal for the lumbar pain and discomfort
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Solution: in camel style practice, learn to turn the pelvis back and then bend back
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In fact, in most kyphosis, you need to turn the pelvis back first and then bend it back
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If you can’t turn your pelvis, you can do it in cat and cow style
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When you step on your waist, you can turn your pelvis forward
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When you arch your back, you can turn your pelvis backward
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3
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In camel pose, the stiffness and tension of the front thigh, iliopsoas and groin will seriously limit the extension and backward bending of the front side of the body, and the whole body will fall backward
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Although the hands grasp the feet, it is also a wrong practice
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Solution: in camel style practice, the front thigh and iliopsoas play different roles
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They not only extend, but also stabilize the knee and pelvis
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When practicing this pose, beginners can use yoga bricks to practice if they can’t hold their feet
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The official account of yoga is the most basic way to solve it
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It is still necessary to do some exercises to extend and strengthen the thigh and iliac muscles
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For example, in yoga, horse riding and warrior 1 are good exercises to extend and strengthen the front thigh and iliopsoas muscles
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4
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The arms cannot reach the feet – the chest is not open and extended, and the back is not activated
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In camel pose, the chest muscles are stiff and shortened, and the thoracic vertebrae are inflexible, which will directly limit the depth of the back bend
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Naturally, it is difficult to put the hands on the feet
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Solution: yoga beginners can practice with the help of yoga bricks, but at the same time, they also need to do more exercises to open the chest and flexible thoracic vertebrae, such as cat and cow style, supine spine torsion and so on.
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