Yoga: Firm Your Quads and Release Your Hamstrings

Those yoga practitioners with tense hamstrings are the ones most likely to tense up in poses meant to release the hams and they then lose the benefit of the pose. Uttanasana (Standing Forward Bend) is a pose where to experience a relaxing stretch in your back, neck and legs, you must release the hamstrings.

Uttanasana is often used as a relaxing break after standing poses or as a rest during an intense vinyasa sequence. When performing the Standing Forward Bend, it is best to stretch the hamstrings on the back of your thighs and contract the quadriceps on the front of your thighs. In Uttanasana, positioning is important to allow the hamstrings to lengthen and relax into the stretch as opposed to holding on tightly and contracting.

To appreciate how your hamstrings work in Uttanasana, it is important to understand the three distinct forms of muscle contraction. In an isometric contraction, the muscle does not change length; a concentric contraction makes the muscle shorter; and an eccentric contraction lengthens the muscle.

If you start in Uttanasana with your knees straight and your pelvis tilted forward so that your head and spine are moving towards the floor, as you come up out of the pose, the hamstrings contract and pull down the sitting bones. The pelvis will then move upright and the upper body aligns with the legs. The hamstrings have performed a concentric, or shortening, contraction.

However, when standing and tilting the pelvis forward the hamstrings perform a lengthening, or eccentric contraction. If you stop halfway, the hamstrings will perform an isometric contraction. They are still working hard, but are neither shortening nor lengthening. Here is the problem for students with tight hamstrings: they cannot reach their fingers to the floor so when they bend over they end up sort of "stuck" halfway - and in an isometric contraction.

It is not recommended that Uttanasana be practiced with the fingers dangling towards the ground. This puts undue pressure on the muscles as well as the lower back. The hamstrings will not benefit and become more flexible, but remain rigid.

A simple solution is to put a yoga block or a folded blanket under your hands to support the weight of your body through your arms. The hamstrings will then no longer be required to support the torso and can lengthen and relax.

For proper alignment in this pose, ensure that the hips are over your ankles, not behind them. The knees should be straight. To offset the tendency to bend the knees, the quadriceps should be contracted. Since they are "antagonistic" muscle groups, the hamstrings will automatically relax when you flex your quads. This will allow for a fuller stretch of the hamstrings.

The Standing Forward Bend is also excellent work for the erector spinae, the group of small muscles that run up and down the spine. Just as with the hamstrings, the erector spinae will only benefit from this pose if the weight of the upper body is supported by placing the hands on the floor or a prop.

Remember to keep the quads working. With time and practice, the hamstrings will lengthen and release, allowing further release in the lower back and pelvic region.

Michael Russell Your Independent guide to Yoga Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Michael_Russell

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What is Yoga?

Yoga comes from a Hindu philosophy used to attain spiritual insight and harmony, but generally refers in common use to a system of exercises that is practiced as part of this discipline. The word itself is derived from the Sanskrit "yeung", meaning to join. A yoke as used on oxen is closely related, but also the same root gives us "join", "junction", "junta", "adjust", "joust", and "juxapose" to name a few. The Mueller Center offers classes for both beginners and those more advanced. ...
Meaning union with the divine, yoga is a philosophy and discipline applied to the development of mind, body, and spirit. There are many disciplines of yoga emphasizing different aspects or combination of mind body spirit. Through practices of holding a variety of body positions or asanas, and the centering of the mind and breath in a meditative way, the practitioner increases body awareness, posture, flexibility of body and mind and calmness of spirit.
An ancient system of practices originating in India. It is aimed at integrating mind, body and spirit to enhance health and well-being. There are many different forms of yoga. Hatha yoga — the most widely practised form of yoga in the Western world — uses specific postures and breathing exercises.