Welcome to day 14.
Two whole weeks.
I'm happy to say I am getting more comfortable with the whole videoing process, though it still makes me a little nervous posting them for all the world to see. I'm even getting a little more creative with them if you saw yesterday's video :)
I hope you have been inspired to take your practice into your everyday life in some way.
Today’s fiver is a great one to incorporate into your day if you sit for long periods of time, or partake in repetitive activities such as running or cycling.
In these activities the legs are bent for long periods of time and this causes the hip flexors and the hamstrings in particular to shorten. This creates an imbalance in the body if we don’t stretch them and can lead to experiencing other problems such as lower back pain just to name one common occurrence as we put pressure on other muscles to perform functions that they are not necessarily designed to do.
Have you heard people talk about muscle memory?
Think about what activity you do the most of and the position you hold your body in for the longest periods of time, and you will have a clearer idea of the messages you are sending your body about what functions are important for it to maintain and why it would be harder for you to move your body in the other directions.
Imagine you sit for 8hours a day at work with your legs bent at the hips and knees. The muscles that are usually long and extended are now held in a bent position for 8hrs a day 5days a week. That's 40hrs a week. Add to that travelling seated in the car, walking, sitting on the couch…. Little wonder so many of us are finding it harder and harder to open up.
So it is about maintaining as many directions of movement as we can.
When the body moves with grace and ease, the wellbeing is felt inside and out.
Today's 5mins may not be easy to fit into an office environment, a park maybe, but they are another great one for in front of the TV :)
Fit them in to your day on a regular basis,
and let me know what a difference it makes to how you move and feel in the body.
Always remember to listen to the body, we don't want to go to the point of pain. Yoga is about no pain, we gain.
We are after that point where we feel our limit, we can then breathe into it and wait for the muscle to release and relax. That's when true progress begins.
Happy stretching!
See you tomorrow,
Tx
Two whole weeks.
I'm happy to say I am getting more comfortable with the whole videoing process, though it still makes me a little nervous posting them for all the world to see. I'm even getting a little more creative with them if you saw yesterday's video :)
I hope you have been inspired to take your practice into your everyday life in some way.
Today’s fiver is a great one to incorporate into your day if you sit for long periods of time, or partake in repetitive activities such as running or cycling.
In these activities the legs are bent for long periods of time and this causes the hip flexors and the hamstrings in particular to shorten. This creates an imbalance in the body if we don’t stretch them and can lead to experiencing other problems such as lower back pain just to name one common occurrence as we put pressure on other muscles to perform functions that they are not necessarily designed to do.
Have you heard people talk about muscle memory?
Think about what activity you do the most of and the position you hold your body in for the longest periods of time, and you will have a clearer idea of the messages you are sending your body about what functions are important for it to maintain and why it would be harder for you to move your body in the other directions.
Imagine you sit for 8hours a day at work with your legs bent at the hips and knees. The muscles that are usually long and extended are now held in a bent position for 8hrs a day 5days a week. That's 40hrs a week. Add to that travelling seated in the car, walking, sitting on the couch…. Little wonder so many of us are finding it harder and harder to open up.
So it is about maintaining as many directions of movement as we can.
When the body moves with grace and ease, the wellbeing is felt inside and out.
Today's 5mins may not be easy to fit into an office environment, a park maybe, but they are another great one for in front of the TV :)
Fit them in to your day on a regular basis,
and let me know what a difference it makes to how you move and feel in the body.
Always remember to listen to the body, we don't want to go to the point of pain. Yoga is about no pain, we gain.
We are after that point where we feel our limit, we can then breathe into it and wait for the muscle to release and relax. That's when true progress begins.
Happy stretching!
See you tomorrow,
Tx
