Follow us with the blue letters on it! Many yoga enthusiasts, when practicing yoga postures, tend to lean towards the back bending type of posture, mostly liking the feeling of opening the chest, often ignoring the “forward bending” type of posture.
People always think that the forward bending postures are not flashy enough and the practice is not deep enough.
We often see cool yoga postures on IG, except for the inverted and backward bending postures, and few people will show off the forward bending postures.
In fact, technically speaking, forward bending poses are more difficult to master than backward bending poses; From a functional perspective, forward bending poses are more effective in soothing the body; Only by mastering forward bends well can we better achieve backward bends.
We practice forward bending postures.
From a physical structure perspective, it is mainly to extend the back watch chain of the body.
To achieve good forward bending, the most important thing is to learn to bend the hips well.
The hip joint is the connection between the acetabulum and the femoral head, and it is an important hub for the human body’s trunk and lower limbs.
The hip joint supporting the trunk and connecting the lower limbs is the most necessary and crucial part for walking, sitting, and lying; Only good hip flexion in forward flexion can achieve relaxation of the lower back and relaxation of the back watch chain.
In yoga poses, there are many types of forward bends, and different forward bends have different emphasis on stretching the back of the body; The common forward bends we have in class include standing forward bends, sitting forward bends, bicorner poses, etc However, regardless of the type of forward bending posture practiced, the command word that yoga practitioners often hear is: fold the upper body from the hips.
This is the most important point of forward bending, “hip bending,” and the deeper it goes, the better.
As is well known, yoga poses such as forward bending can effectively eliminate back pain and help relieve emotions; In addition to these, it can also strengthen the muscle strength on the front side of the body.
Forward flexion is the folding caused by the movement of the hip joint that causes the pelvis to tilt forward towards the upper and lower parts of the body.
If there is no strength on the front side of the body, no matter how long the back side of the body is pulled, it is not enough to hold and pull down the pelvis, making it impossible for the body to fold and the abdomen to lean tightly against the thighs.
The hanging posture in Yin yoga is the best example.
Without strength, the upper body can only sag in a curved manner, and cannot fold.
Only the tightening and contraction of the front muscles can produce folding and increase the forward bending range.
What muscles should be activated in the forward bending posture? What is the purpose of activating these muscles? 1.
Beginner of starting abdominal muscles: First, learn to make the abdomen contract inward, and each breath makes the abdomen tighten.
Experienced trainer: Tighten the entire hip flexor group.
The purpose of doing this is to tilt the pelvis forward and pull the torso towards the thighs and legs.
Simultaneously, through the mutual inhibitory effect of muscles, the buttocks and back are relaxed.
Official account: Yoga honeyed words 2.
Start leg muscles Beginner: tighten up the muscles in front of the thigh, and step down on the ground with both feet.
Straighten your legs through antagonistic force.
Throughout this process, the direction of force is always balanced, and it is not allowed to push the knee backwards in order to straighten the leg, causing the knee to overextend.
This not only hinders the flow of force up and down, but also damages the knee.
Perhaps for now, your strength is not enough to fully straighten your legs.
Do whatever you can and don’t rush.
Experienced trainer: activate the quadriceps femoris muscle to straighten the knee joint.
When the knee joint is straightened, the tensor fascia lata muscle also helps the body bend forward, causing slight internal rotation of the femur, and the gluteus minor muscle also helps the hip joint bend forward.
The purpose of doing this is to help straighten the legs and push the sitting bones towards the top.
If you cannot feel the activation of these muscles for the time being, you can focus your attention on the parts of these muscles, imagine them starting to contract, and through their contraction, make the hip joint bend forward.
Muscle awareness and control abilities can be trained and strengthened through such illusory methods.
3.
Palm pressure yoga mat beginner: You can place your hands on a yoga block or chair, and press down on the palms and fingertips.
Experienced practitioner: Spin the forearm forward, press the base of the palm and fingers towards the yoga mat, contract the biceps brachii and bend the elbow joint, pulling the body more towards the thighs, deepening the forward bending range.
The purpose of doing this is to help the shoulder joint rotate outward to create more space for the shoulder and neck, deepen the forward flexion range, activate the trapezius muscle, and keep the shoulders away from the ears.
Beginners: Shoulders should be stretched back and sunk to avoid shrugging.
Experienced practitioner: Keep the palm fixed on the ground, activate the lower trapezius muscle, and keep the shoulders away from the ears.
Contraction of the front side of the deltoid muscle muscle works together with the contraction of the biceps brachii in the third step to pull the trunk more towards the thigh, so as to further forward flexion.
The purpose of doing this is to further create more space for the shoulders and neck, deepen the practice of forward bending range yoga, and ensure that all previous steps are still in the practicing state, not relaxed, and not lost during the next step of practice.
For beginners, all you need to do is follow the above four steps to practice, without considering precise muscle activation, otherwise it can easily cause you to be in a hurry.
For experienced yoga practitioners, they can try adding precise adjustments step by step.
Learning humility through forward bending may be the purpose of yoga.
The practice of yoga does not lie in the display of postures, but in the enlightenment of postures to the heart with each practice.
We need to master the methods of practice well, no matter what type of posture, details are the key! After reading everything, take a look before leaving.
.
