Reach For It: Advancing Your Back and Shoulder Flexibility
Posted by EasyFlexibility Team on
How did last week go? Are your shoulders feeling more open? Have you been able to grab your foot behind you at all, or made any progress that way?
Make sure you are all caught up by reading last week's post here!
First, we will troubleshoot any issues you may be having with the last exercise we explained that targeted the lattismus dorsi and pectoralis major, and also ways to increase this stretching movement. Then, we will go over a few more tips to get you closer to your goal and reaching for it in no time!
If you are failing to see progress in the ~Certitude~ exercise we did last week, first review some of the issues we ran into when working on the first back exercise- timing, breath, and appropriate leverage. If all of that is good, there is one more piece of the puzzle yet!
Size- Go Big, or Go Home
How big are you making your leverage? It will make a difference the bigger it is. Of course, you do not want to move past your own limitations and cause injury; however, if you start small and gradually make the leverage bigger, over time, this will also increase your target. Ease into it but always try to increase it and get the leverage bigger. If you know that you already have pretty good range of motion in your shoulder joint, go for a big leverage each and every time. This means that the more you externally rotate your shoulder, the more extension you will get in the shoulder to achieve what you are working on.
If you are already ready to increase your range of motion and looking to deepen your shoulder stretching, try the ~Certitude~ exercise with the elbow on a block. This will increase the amount of space you have to drop the shoulder down toward the floor, giving you more room to go deeper.
Now we are ready to try the next step: reaching for the foot!
First things first. Get out your strap! We are going to work with a strap before we get all the way to the foot.
Working With the Strap:
- Lay on your belly and loop the strap around your foot
- Begin to lift up, extending the spine, lifting the leg, and reach the arms up and back
- Walk your hands as close to the foot as you can and hold- make sure you breathe deeply!
It is important that you stay at this first step, on your belly, until you get into close proximity of reaching your foot. Stay at this point for as long as you need to until advancing to the Full Pigeon or Dancer Pose, because here, you do not have to worry about balancing so much and can fully concentrate on opening your shoulder and reaching for your foot!
Let us show you how to achieve the Natarajasana Pose Fast, Safe and Easy!
Our programs are scientifically based and created by
a world-renowned fitness & flexibility expert Paul Zaichik
This position calls for deep flexibility of the hip flexors and flexors of the spine. Moderate hamstrings flexibility of the supporting leg is called upon as well. The pose can be helped by having flexible shoulder extensors.
This program avoids the pain of the stretch reflex, allowing for much quicker and safer flexibility gains. Having lengthened each tissue by itself, the pose is put back together. Most people see amazing results just after the first time of trying this program.
Click here to learn more about out Natarajasana program!
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- Tags: aerial arts, back extension, dancer pose, easyflexibility, gymnastics, kinesiological stretching, pigeon pose, rotator cuff, shoulder flexibility, shoulders, tips, yoga
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