• Subscribe
  • Conferences
  • Sweeps
  • Directory
  • Insurance
  • Store


Log in  
Yoga Journal: yoga poses, yoga video, yoga articles, yoga studios and teachers
Home Poses
Build a Sequence Browse Index Browse Categories Anatomical Focus Therapeutic Focus Contraindications Practice Downloads
Basics
Basics Column Beginners Expert Q&A Practice Sanskrit Glossary Beginner Downloads
Practice
Anatomy Asana Columns Expert Q&A Home Practice Master Class Meditation Pranayama Meditation Revolution Office Yoga
Wisdom
Luminaries Philosophy Tradition & History
Health
Ayurveda Holistic Healing Well-Being Therapeutic Downloads
Lifestyle
Cover Gallery Cross-Training Family & Parenting Food Habitat News & Trends Quizzes & Tools Reviews Self-Care Travel Talent Search
Teachers
Anatomy Benefits & Insurance Business Directory Mentor Experts Methodology Philosophy/Spirituality Yoga as Medicine Live Yoga Downloads
Blogs
Active Yogi Challenge Pose Conference Notes Doctor's Orders Enlightened Motherhood Green Life Om Chorus The Good Life The Y Factor Yoga Alchemy Yoga Buzz Yoga Diary
Video Newsletters LiveMag  

Active Yogi

Using yoga to perform better and stay injury-free.

Dealing With Soreness and Fatigue

May 6, 2013

new_sweaty_man copyA week ago, I visited my best friend, Francesca, in Memphis, where she was running 40 miles to celebrate her imminent fortieth birthday. Struck by one of those ideas that seem to pop into the mind fully formed during a long run, she planned her own do-it-yourself event in a park outside town and invited some friends to join her for a lap or two around the lake. Several of us did one, two, or three of the 10-mile laps, while Francesca gamely did all four and felt good enough to drive when we went out for pizza and beer that evening.

In the week since, I’ve been struck by the difference in how my legs feel after running 30 joyous miles focused on my friend versus running a race of 50K or shorter. Instead of the don’t-touch-my-thighs soreness typical after hard races, I felt fine in my muscles—oddly, even better than usual. (It helps that Memphis is pretty flat.) There is, though, the fatigue of spending all day on my feet, apart from a few hours in which I ate junk food and propped my legs up on the back seat of Francesca’s car as she ran lap 3. This is compounded by the demands of air travel and getting back into the swing of family and work life after spending a girls’ weekend away.

As I ponder the distinction between soreness and fatigue and the different circumstances that cause them, I’m considering how soreness and fatigue put different demands on our yoga practice. Here’s my advice on how to cope.

Soreness

Post-exercise soreness, the kind you feel after your first hard workout of the training cycle, changing your weightlifting routine, or trying a new yoga class, is a consequence of microtrauma to the soft tissues (muscles, fascia, tendons, and ligaments). Muscle soreness caused by intense exercise often peaks two days after the workout that caused it, then fades, and it can improve with light exercise. As long as your soreness doesn’t cause you to hobble or to alter your movement patterns in a way that could damage another area, exercise and yoga practice can improve the soreness and shouldn’t worsen it. A gentle but flowing practice can help you feel better.

Fatigue

Fatigue is a result of cumulative stress on your body—from training volume, from your yoga practice, from not sleeping or resting enough, or from any of life’s stressors. When you find yourself in a state of fatigue, take extra care in your yoga practice. If you push yourself, you can dig a bigger hole of fatigue, affecting your performance and your safety. When we are fatigued, we are prone to sloppiness; avoid acute injury by being careful on the mat. Rest often and don’t work too far toward the edges of flexibility or strength. A gentle, low-to-the ground practice suits you when you are fatigued.

Soreness and Fatigue

After a peak event—be it a marathon, a century ride, sending a new route, or even spending a weekend intensively learning a new sport—we carry both short-term soreness and longer-term fatigue. When you find yourself in such a situation, treat yourself with extra kindness. This can be easier said than done, as we are often inspired by our joy in the accomplishment and overeager to rush back into more activity, or, alternatively, disappointed and eager to begin the next training cycle to “fix” things and redeem ourselves.

Resist the urge to resume training or a vigorous yoga practice too quickly. Time is your friend here, as rest gives your body the chance to repair the muscle damage that causes soreness and to recover from the fatigue you carried over the training cycle. Choose relaxing breath exercises, restorative yoga, and guided meditation that helps you unwind and process the work you’ve done.

Applied wisely, your yoga practice makes a wonderful complement to your training and active pursuits. Be sure you honor both soreness and fatigue so you can rest up to your best potential.

Sage Rountree is a yoga teacher, endurance sports coach and athlete, and author of books including The Athlete's Guide to Yoga, The Athlete's Guide to Recovery and The Runner's Guide to Yoga. She teaches workshops on yoga for athletes nationwide and online at YogaVibes. Find her on Facebook and Twitter.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged fatigue, sore muscles

3 Steps to Come Back to Center

April 22, 2013

Last week’s events in Boston had my eyes glued to my computer, feeling anxious and heartsick. It’s destabilizing to see an injured colleague in an news photo, and to hear from students and friends who were at or less than a minute away from the marathon finish line when the bombs exploded. Many of my Facebook and Twitter contacts are endurance athletes with some direct connection to Boston, and it’s been tough to pull myself away from the refresh button to recenter. Here are three steps that helped me; they can help you not just now but whenever you feel emotionally vulnerable.

Get Moving

In addition to the decreased stress and increased focus exercise gives you, going for a run, ride, or swim, or moving through a flowing practice on your mat takes you away from screens and media. The quiet of not watching news can be deeply restorative, especially if you can exercise in nature, near trees or a body of water.

Breath cue: Notice how your breath coordinates with the motion of your body. Find the rhythm of footfalls or strokes to inhalation and exhalation. Listen to the sound of your breath; let it guide you to an effort that is focusing for your body and mind but not exhausting.

Ground Yourself

Supported Child's Pose

The anxiety of uncertainty, often combined with the visual assault of violent images and flashing computer graphics, leaves us feeling ungrounded and scattered. To combat this destabilization, take a supported Balasana (Child’s Pose). Find a yoga bolster or a few bed pillows and, on a soft surface, bring your big toes together and your knees wide. Slip your pillows under your belly and chest, sinking your weight into their support. (If this is tough on the knees, a second pillow between hamstrings and calves can help.)

Breath cue: Stay for a few minutes, tuning in to the motion and duration of each breath. Pay special attention to long exhalations, which will help settle your nervous system and, metaphorically, remind you to keep letting go and to be still in this moment.

Open Your Heart

Supported Fish

Sad news can feel literally constrictive on the heart. A supported Fish Pose can counter this tightness in the chest and leave you feeling more open-hearted. Take your pillows under your spine, lengthwise, as you lean against them. You can rest your legs straight, take Baddha Konasana (Bound Angle Pose) legs, or simply cross your legs at the shins. Arrange your hands to the side, either by the hips or, as your chest releases, a little higher off the shoulders.

Breath cue: Over a few minutes, notice the capacity for expansion across the front. Noticing your breath, take a few extra-deep inhalations, feeling the expansion in places that have been tight. Let this remind you that you have extra resources—sources of energy, literally, on this inhalation—available to you at every moment, should you need to call on them.

Lokah Samastah Sukhino Bhavantu. May all beings everywhere be happy and free.

Sage Rountree is a yoga teacher, endurance sports coach and athlete, and author of books including The Athlete's Guide to Yoga, The Athlete's Guide to Recovery and The Runner's Guide to Yoga. She teaches workshops on yoga for athletes nationwide and online at YogaVibes. Find her on Facebook and Twitter.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged anxiety, bad news, sadness

Track Your Habits

April 8, 2013

Safari

For the last few days, a robin has been attacking its reflection in the window to my home office. Over and over again, it flings itself at the window in a show of aggression. I’ll shoo it away, and a few hours later it returns. One of my students suggested I Google “robin totem”—it seems the robin, harbinger of spring, is a symbol of change. That’s ironic, as this bird is not changing its behavior. Its now-habitual action is causing it harm.

Inside the office, at my desk, each time I open a new window in the Safari browser, I get a look at my own habits in action. My top 12 most-visited websites arrange themselves: my studio sites and scheduler, social media pages, news sites. Occasionally a new one pops in after I’ve been doing research on a particular subject, but eventually the top 12 reverts to its usual array. This is a neutral habit, and it’s a convenience to see my go-to sites arranged for easy access.

When I leave my office for a run, I see more evidence of habits. We’ve had a cold, rainy few months in North Carolina. The trails I run daily boast wide muddy patches, and while the singletrack is regularly closed due to the wet ground, some runners and cyclists, seeking to avoid the mud, pick their way around the puddles, broadening the path and leading to what the forest manager calls “trail braiding.” Here, forging new paths, digging new ruts, is destructive; the proper choice is to stay on the current paths, even if that means getting muddy or staying off the singletrack when it’s wet. Running the preestablished trails is a positive habit.

In yoga, we talk about samskara, or patterns imprinted on our psyche. These deep, subconscious trends influence our daily habits. These habits can be harmful, like the bird hitting the window repeatedly; neutral, like me visiting online banking daily; or beneficial, like the runners staying on the preset trail. Maintaining the positive habits while abandoning the habits that cause suffering will bring us closer to connection, union, yoga.

Yoga gives us the opportunity to observe our habits with a little distance—to see how they play out, and to make decisions about whether they work going forward. In asana practice, noticing potentially harmful misalignments or feeling relatively weaker muscle groups that need care gives us a chance to choose habits that help us stay safe and present for the practice. If we have a habit of dissociation, in asana, sports, or relationships, a meditation practice can help us learn to stay in the moment. If we have reached a plateau in sports training by repeating the same workouts and drills or doing the same exercise routine, watching our habits and trying new ones can be just the stimulus to take us to the next level.

Use your practice as a seat from which to view your own habits, and to choose which are best continued and which should be abandoned.

Sage Rountree is a yoga teacher, endurance sports coach and athlete, and author of books including The Athlete's Guide to Yoga, The Athlete's Guide to Recovery and The Runner's Guide to Yoga. She teaches workshops on yoga for athletes nationwide and online at YogaVibes. Find her on Facebook and Twitter.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Active Yogi, cross training, habits, samskara

Sit to Stand

March 25, 2013

Active Yogi Sit to StandIt seems simple: rising to standing from the ground. It’s a motion we do often in some variation over the course of a day. But with a few simple rules, it transforms into an exercise that challenges our strength, balance, and sense of humor, building new awareness of where our bodies are in space and how to move them.

Adding this move to your transitions, you’ll get a good sense of where your body is in space, practice how to keep yourself in alignment, and work your core and balance at the same time.

The Rules

The exercise has three rules.

  1. Don’t cross your ankles.
  2. Don’t put your hands on the ground.
  3. Don’t rock back in order to come up.

When we try this in my yoga for athletes classes, some students get the action on the first try; for others, it’s quite frustrating. If you haven’t been asked to do this movement—or any movement, for that matter, from pushing into handstand to swinging a driver in golf—don’t expect to nail it on your first try. It takes practice. Take a deep breath and try again.

Better yet, if you practice for a few minutes, then let it go and have a good night’s sleep, it might go better tomorrow. During your rest, your brain, thinking, “What if I have to do that again?!?,” will begin to forge neural pathways, determining which muscle fibers need to be activated for this movement to happen.

Prop It Up

In this transition, as in many poses, using yoga props can help you find the appropriate action and gain comfort, especially if your hips are tight or your knees are creaky. Stack two or three blocks on their broadest sides, sitting on them, then pushing to stand. As the action becomes more comfortable, you can take blocks away.

Trick Question

When I led this exercise in class one night, an elementary-school teacher in the class said, “Aha! I know this is a trick question!” She explained that she gives her second graders the same rules, and the solution is teamwork. When you sit facing a partner and clasp wrists, it’s far easier to come up in unison. Try this with a friend, or even holding onto a fixed object like a tree or fence post. Then try it again on your own, remembering how it felt to have something to pull against as you pushed down through your feet.

Sage Rountree is a yoga teacher, endurance sports coach and athlete, and author of books including The Athlete's Guide to Yoga, The Athlete's Guide to Recovery and The Runner's Guide to Yoga. She teaches workshops on yoga for athletes nationwide and online at YogaVibes. Find her on Facebook and Twitter.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged alignment, balance, core strength

Take It Easy

March 11, 2013

SavasanaI ran a tough trail marathon last weekend, complete with a full-on Superman-style wipeout. (Thank you, Locust Pose, for giving me the back strength to keep my nose from breaking as I went down!) As the week went on, I was still too sore for my regular asana practice, so I enjoyed mellow poses at home instead of taking classes at my studio. I even had a colleague demo when I taught Monday night, two days postrace, as I was too stiff to get up and down easily. In no state for a physical yoga practice, I listened to my body and gave it time to heal.

The point of this sharing is that I did it to myself, and willingly (save for the fall). Soreness like this is typical after a big race. Knowing how I felt in the days after the race, I am amazed at the hardiness of my students, some of whom come to class to “stretch it out” a few days after a similarly long race or a hard match. While yoga certainly has plenty to offer everyone in terms of connection, mental focus, rejuvenation, and attentiveness to the breath, even a semi-rigorous asana practice can be out of place near peak competition. You can’t stretch out the soreness of trauma to the muscles. Time is the real healer here.

Keep this in mind as spring arrives and you spend more time in physical pursuits off the mat: the intensity of your yoga asana practice and your other activities needs to be in inverse proportion. As sport training ramps up, your yoga practice should grow more mellow. Just before and after a peak event, give yourself some time to explore the very gentlest of poses, as well as breath exercises and meditation for staying grounded before the event and for recovering afterward. Think supported backbends, mellow reclining twists, legs up the wall, and yoga nidra.

While you may be fortunate enough to find a teacher who empathizes with your needs as an active yogi and who can help you modify your asana practice accordingly, the burden of self-care lies on you. Consider where you are in your training cycle. What physical demands are coming up in the next week? You’ll need to be rested for those. What physical demands are coming up in the next month or two? Asana, practiced wisely, can help you build strength for those. Take stock of your needs, and take steps to protect your body and your energy. Your sport and your practice will both benefit when they are not in direct physical competition with each other.

Sage Rountree is a yoga teacher, endurance sports coach and athlete, and author of books including The Athlete's Guide to Yoga, The Athlete's Guide to Recovery and The Runner's Guide to Yoga. She teaches workshops on yoga for athletes nationwide and online at YogaVibes. Find her on Facebook and Twitter.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged cross training, marathon, restorative, running, yoga for athletes

Prevent Injury With Balanced Hips

February 11, 2013

GarudasanaAll sports injuries are the result of some kind of imbalance. Sometimes you literally lose your balance and fall, causing an acute injury like a sprained ankle or torn ACL. More insidiously, training itself can develop an imbalance between strength and flexibility that leads to an overuse injury like patellar tendonitis or piriformis syndrome. To correct such muscular imbalance in your body, you need to open any constricted areas—those where you don’t have enough flexibility to move easily—and to strengthen the relatively weak areas. The opening has to precede the strengthening for the strengthening to have full effect; otherwise, you’re fighting against the limitations tightness imposes. Take, for example, someone like me who’s trying to improve her posture to correct a tendency to slump. Passive backbends will help stretch the front of the chest, which is overtight; once that’s open, active backbends will strengthen the back muscles, which are comparatively weak.

The same reasoning applies to balance around the hips. In my last post, I addressed how to stretch any constrictive overtightness that hampers flexibility. The next step is to build and balance the strength in the hips and thighs front to back, top to bottom, and side to side. Once you find this new point of balance, you’ll enjoy all your activities, from sports to asana practice, with greater ease, comfort, and freedom.

Front to back

Balance strength between the front of the thigh and hip (the quadriceps and hip flexors) and the back of the thigh and hip (the hamstrings and gluteal muscles). Poses to strengthen the front include Chair (Utkatasana) and Boat Pose (Navasana); poses to strengthen the back include Bridge Pose (Setu Bandha Sarvangasana) and Locust Pose (Salabasana).

Top to bottom

Strengthen the hips (the glutes and hip stabilizers) relative to the thighs (quadriceps and hamstrings) with dynamic movements. For example: lifting to Low Lunge (Anjaneyasana) or Warrior I (Virabhadrasana I) from the floor, as in Sun Salutations (Surya Namaskar); lowering into Warrior III (Virabhadrasana III) from Mountain Pose (Tadasana) and returning to Mountain; lifting into Bridge Pose (Setu Bandha Sarvangasana).

Side to side

Cultivate balance between the inner thigh and outer-hip muscles (adductors and abductors) with carefully aligned single-leg and split-stance poses such as Warrior I (Virabhadrasana I), Warrior II (Virabhadrasana II), Side Angle (Parsvokanasana), Triangle (Trikonasana), Eagle (Garudasana).

Sage Rountree is a yoga teacher, endurance sports coach and athlete, and author of books including The Athlete's Guide to Yoga, The Athlete's Guide to Recovery and The Runner's Guide to Yoga. She teaches workshops on yoga for athletes nationwide and online at YogaVibes. Find her on Facebook and Twitter.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged injury, sports, tight hips

Retreat to Proceed

January 28, 2013

yoga retreatI’m at the Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health in the Berkshires of western Massachusetts, teaching yoga for athletes all week. It strikes me that a yoga retreat is a lot like training camp for athletes. It gets us out of our mundane routine and puts us in a space—both physically and, just as importantly, mentally—where we can focus our full attention on the subject at hand.

Physiologically, training camp applies an overload stress to the body. Whether you’re practicing asana, posting heavy mileage, or perfecting your pitch, training camp is a big physical load. And that’s good—by judiciously applying this heavy load, we encourage the body to adapt, to supercompensate. By taking the time to rest, the body grows back stronger. Rest is a critical component here, and it should be abundant during training camp. That’s part of the beauty of getting out of the daily routine: we get to focus specifically on working when it’s time to work, and on resting when the work is done, without the usual attention to family, chores, and wrapping up tasks.

Psychologically, training camp gives us a chance for connection and planning. If you’re part of a team (even part of a couple on retreat together), taking this time together in a new environment can help strengthen your relationship and even establish new modes of healthy communication. And as we plan the season or year moving forward, we get to determine where we want to wind up and to set goals to help measure progress along the way.

In the crucible of training camp or on retreat, we can make a connection between the physical and the mental, watching how we react to the stresses of asana, of meditation, or of training. We get to practice useful coping skills in a controlled environment, honing our abilities to stay calm under pressure, and this can lay the groundwork for a successful mental approach during the rest of the season or year.

If you don’t have the luxury of an offsite retreat or camp, you can approximate the experience at home, taking a weekend to focus exclusively on a smart overload of stress. String together a few classes or workshops with a period of quiet introspection at home, or increase your training load judiciously and follow each session with a careful attention to rest and recovery. You’ll be laying the groundwork for a great 2013.

Sage Rountree is a yoga teacher, endurance sports coach and athlete, and author of books including The Athlete's Guide to Yoga, The Athlete's Guide to Recovery and The Runner's Guide to Yoga. She teaches workshops on yoga for athletes nationwide and online at YogaVibes. Find her on Facebook and Twitter.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Kripalu, retreat

Observe, Balance, Assess, Correct

January 14, 2013

My 2013 resolution: Stand up straight. It feels hypocritical to be a yoga teacher and have such poor posture. Happily, as a yoga teacher, I have the tools to fix it. These same steps can work for you if you’d like to use your home practice to address an imbalance, whether it’s physical or emotional.

Observe the patterns. First, I must assess the patterns that have brought me to this point: a structurally exaggerated upper-back curve compounded by functionally using my body in ways that encourage this slump forward: running trails (especially with a water belt around my waist, which causes me to lift my elbows as I lower my head to choose my footing), riding a bike, and, most insidiously, sitting at the computer. This has led to overtightness in the front of my body and overstretch in the back.

Balance strength and flexibility. To find a sweet spot of balanced posture in my upper back, I need to stretch the front of my torso and strengthen the back. The stretching must precede the strengthening, so that any strength work I do isn’t working against tightness in the front. To stretch, I’ll practice supported, passive backbends, like Matsyasana (Fish Pose) on a bolster and on a block. These are quite pleasant. Then, to strengthen, I’ll work active backbends, which aren’t so much fun. The hardest ones for me are the prone ones, and these are the ones to start with. I feel like a baby struggling and grunting through “tummy time” as I work a low Bhujangasana (Cobra Pose), Salabhasana (Locust Pose) and its variations, and Dhanurasana (Bow Pose). But diligent practice yields results. Throughout, I get the chance to observe the shifting play of thought as I enjoy the passive backbends and have to apply myself to the active ones.

Assess and adjust. Periodically, I’ll stop and observe the patterns that affect my posture as they are playing out in my daily life. Am I slouched on the trail? Am I sliding back into my usual computer posture? When I see the patterns recur, I’ll take steps to adjust: lift my sternum, lengthen my neck, engage my upper back, and appreciate the moment of self-awareness.

Following this cycle—observing the patterns at work, acting to move toward balance, and assessing and correcting—allows us to bring the mindfulness yoga teaches into our daily lives. Apply it as you move into 2013.

Sage Rountree is a yoga teacher, endurance sports coach and athlete, and author of books including The Athlete's Guide to Yoga, The Athlete's Guide to Recovery and The Runner's Guide to Yoga. She teaches workshops on yoga for athletes nationwide and online at YogaVibes. Find her on Facebook and Twitter.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged imbalance, posture

Balancing the Hips

December 17, 2012

As we considerlow lungeed in my last post, the amount of flexibility you need in your hips depends greatly on your activities. Individual anatomy, both structural (in the shape of your bones) and functional (in the way you’ve used your body over time) affects your abilities as well. Some yogis may have a lot of flexibility that they don’t need; others may have a lot of strength but not enough flexibility for their athletic pursuits; many in both camps have a mixture, being loose in some muscle groups and tight in others. In the face of these variations, we can agree on the importance of balance—we need balance between the muscles in the front and back and inner and outer lines of the hips. This balance keeps the pelvis properly situated and reduces both acute injuries and overuse issues.

With the goal of building balance around the hips and an awareness of the demands your sport puts on your body, you’ll need to practice a variety of poses that target the front, back, outer, and inner lines of the hips. As you do, you’ll probably find that your flexibility is challenged in one or two specific regions. Here are some examples of poses that fit into the categories; there are, of course, many more, including the dozens of variations on each of these poses. Include a pose or two from each category in your practice, and you’ll learn about your body and its patterns—a powerful experience.

Front

Backbends that stretch the hip flexors: Dancer Pose (Natarajasana), Crescent Lunge (Anjaneyasana), Bridge Pose (Setu Bandha Sarvangasana), Bow and Upward-Facing Bow (Dhanurasana and Urdhva Dhanurasana)

Back

Forward bends that stretch the hamstrings: Standing Forward Bend (Uttanasana), Wide-Legged Forward Bend (Prasarita Padottanasana), Seated Forward Fold (Pascimottanasana), Wide-Legged Seated Forward Fold (Upavista Konasana), Head of the Knee (Janu Sirsasana)

Outer

Poses to stretch the outer lines of the hips: Cow-Face Pose (Gomukhasana), Pigeon Pose (Eka Rajakapotanasana), Revolved Twist (Jathara Parivartasana) and its variations, Twisting Lunges

Inner

Poses to stretch the inner lines of the thighs: Cobbler Pose (Baddha Konasana), Star Pose (Tarragona), Lizard Lunge, Revolved Head of the Knee (Parivritta Janu Sirsasana), Wide-Legged Seated Forward Fold (Upavista Konasana), Wide-Legged Forward Bend (Prasarita Padottanasana)

Sage Rountree is a yoga teacher, endurance sports coach and athlete, and author of books including The Athlete's Guide to Yoga, The Athlete's Guide to Recovery and The Runner's Guide to Yoga. She teaches workshops on yoga for athletes nationwide and online at YogaVibes. Find her on Facebook and Twitter.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged hip-openers, overuse injury, stretch

The Reason for Hip Stretches

December 3, 2012

Low lungeDiligent practice of hip stretches—what in yoga we often call “hip openers,” as though they are key to unlocking the secrets of the hips—can dramatically increase your flexibility and range of motion around the hip joints. If you are athletically minded, this can be a good thing. But as with many good things, too much can be overdoing it. The key for athletes is to develop or maintain balance between stiffness and openness, which the Yoga Sutra calls sthira and sukha: a balance of strength and flexibility in the muscles around the hips. This balance can change depending on both the athlete’s body and on sport-specific needs.

Depending on your sport, too much flexibility can be detrimental to your sports performance, as it can reduce your snappiness. Consider, for example the stiffness a runner needs for efficient transfer of energy to the ground. A floppy runner, one whose hips sag with each step, will have to work harder than one who springs lightly over the ground. But you need enough flexibility to move fluidly through your stride, without a hitch that can lead to an overuse injury. Poses that mimic the running stride, like lunges, can help you stay flexible through the range of motion used to run, and hip stretches that target the external rotators (for example, Eka Pada Rajakapotanasana (One-Legged King Pigeon Pose) and Gomukhasana (Cow Face Pose)) can help avoid overuse injuries like Iliotibial Band Syndrome and Piriformis Syndrome.

On the other hand, athletes need vastly more flexibility in the hips for engaging in activities like rock climbing, curling (think of the very deep lunge position as the rock is thrown), or playing positions like catcher in baseball or softball. An asana practice for athletes in these activities can look very different from a practice for athletes who require more springy stiffness in their bodies; athletes who need to take deep squats can enjoy the full range of hip stretches, including poses that move deep into flexibility, like Hanumanasana (Monkey Pose; i.e., the splits) and Kurmasana (Tortoise Pose).

Consider where you fall on this spectrum as you choose poses for your home practice, and as you attend classes. There may be a very good reason hip openers frustrate you, or a good reason for you to love and enjoy them. Either way, the process gives you an opportunity to consider what you can change and what you can’t, and to practice focusing your energy on creating useful change and accepting the unchangeable.

Sage Rountree is a yoga teacher, endurance sports coach and athlete, and author of books including The Athlete's Guide to Yoga, The Athlete's Guide to Recovery and The Runner's Guide to Yoga. She teaches workshops on yoga for athletes nationwide and online at YogaVibes. Find her on Facebook and Twitter.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Hanumanasana, hip flexors, hip-openers, IT band, Kurmasana, pigeon pose

Next »

Popular Posts

  • 3 Steps to Come Back to Center
  • Dealing With Soreness and Fatigue
  • Explore Your Hamstrings
  • Track Your Habits

Search

About this Blog

Using yoga to perform better and stay injury-free.

Contributors

Sage Rountree Sage Rountree
Sage Rountree offers yoga techniques to keep you in top form and injury-free in any sport.

More Yoga Journal Blogs

Active Yogi
Using yoga to perform better and stay injury-free

Challenge Pose
Take your practice to the next level with awe inspiring asana

Conference Notes
Yoga Journal Editors at the San Francisco Conference

Doctor’s Orders
How to be healthy in your practice

Enlightened Motherhood
Gracefully juggle the joys of parenthood and yoga

Om Chorus
Views and news from our yogi friends

The Good Life
Every day enhanced with yoga.

The Y Factor
A man's view from the mat.

Yoga Alchemy
Seeking unity through tantra and Ayurveda.

Yoga Buzz
The latest in yoga news.

Yoga Diary
Views and news from our yogi friends.

Archives

  • May 2013
  • April 2013
  • March 2013
  • February 2013
  • January 2013
  • December 2012
  • November 2012
  • October 2012
  • September 2012
  • August 2012

Subscribe and
Get 2 Free Issues
+ 4 Free Gifts!

Give a Gift »
Customer Service »

Yoga Directory

Studios
Teachers
Retreats
Workshops
Ayurveda
Massage
Chinese
Medicine
Yoga Therapy
Get your business listed

Join Yoga Journal's Benefits Plus

Join Yoga Journal's Benefits Plus Liability insurance and benefits to support teachers and studios.

Learn More »

Enter to Win Great Prizes!

Enter to Win Great Prizes! Enter the latest Yoga Journal sweepstakes for your chance to win fabulous prizes!

Enter Now »
Get 2 FREE Trial Issues and 4 FREE GIFTS
Your subscription includes
Yoga for Neck & Shoulders • Yoga Remedies
Yoga for Headaches • Calm, Cool, Collected
YES! Please send me my FREE trial issues of Yoga Journal
and my 4 FREE downloadable Yoga Booklets.
Full Name:
City:
Address 1:
Zip Code:
State:
Address 2:
Email (required):
Free trial offer valid for US subscribers only. Canadian subscriptions | International subscriptions

Explore Our Healthy Living Group Brands

Categories
  • HOME
  • Poses
  • Basics
  • Practice
  • Wisdom
  • Health
  • Lifestyle
  • Teachers
  • Blogs
  • Community
  • Multimedia
  • Magazine
Purchase
  • Subscriptions
  • Gift Subscriptions
  • Benefits Plus
  • Conferences
  • DVDs
Customer Service / Contact Us
  • Subscriptions
  • Back Issues
  • Shop
  • Editorial
  • Webmaster
Corporate
  • About Yoga Journal
  • Press
  • About Active Interest Media
  • YJ International
  • Career Opportunities
  • Privacy Policy
  • Advertise

Copyright ©2008 Cruz Bay Publishing, Inc. an Active Interest Media company