The Real Advantages of Muscle Stretching:
• Before Workout-prepares and warms the body’s muscles and tissues all while increasing the blood flow so we can move more freely and get less likely hurt
• During Workout-adding few stretches throughout your exercise regimen will enhance your balance, coordination and accuracy
• After workout-these stretches will improve your recovery time

Regular stretching can tackle the muscular imbalances. These imbalances are caused by some muscles not being properly warmed up and more ready for an exertion then the other. Daily activities do not require the same muscle contraction and range of motion our muscles participate throughout playing favourite sport or working out in a gym. If you don’t take time to stretch your muscles properly before hand, it is very likely that they will become imbalanced, which in turn can result is lack of coordination and physical injury.
And this is your best way to approach your stretching routine:

• Focus on major muscle groups. When you’re stretching, pay close attention to your hamstrings, calves, hips, quads, lower back, shoulders and neck.

• Ensure that when you stretch you take time on both sides-for example if you take time to indulge your right hamstring with long passive stretch, make sure to perform the proliferation on your left hamstring as well.

• Forget NO PAIN NO GAIN approach. Feeling tension while you are stretching is absolutely normal, but it should never cause you pain. The pain signals are a clear indication that you’ve pushed too far. So make sure to stay in a pain-free realm and hold the stretch right there and then.

• Don’t bounce. Hurdling and jumping when you are in a stretch can create a micro tears in the muscle fibers. These tears can create a scar tissue as the muscle progress in healing, and those will tighten the muscle even further.                                            

Make your stretch routine specific to your sport. Thousands and thousand athletes have found it beneficial to follow a stretch routine tailored specifically to their sport. For instance if you are a swimmer, your shoulders are much more impacted compare to a runner. So design a stretch routine that will specifically tackle and open up ranges of motion in your chest and your shoulder sockets.

Post a comment below and share your experience with us about your stretch routine. Also watch out for next week’s blog where I will share with you a specifically targeted stretch programme exactly for swimmers (and everyone else who want to get more mobility into their shoulders).

The answer came quicker then I have either expected: ‘’ACHIEVEMENT.’’

‘’Achievement? ‘’,I asked. And then he goes on explaining that since his main fitness practice is combination of Pilates and Ballet, he is highly driven by an idea of constantly performing better and tougher ballet’s positions that are putting an extreme toll on his body. (NOTE: This is a guy who suffered with very bad fall few months back and has injured his cervical spine and since then he is experiencing chronic pain in his neck and upper portion of his spine).

Now I think I will be stating the obvious, but my colleague might benefit from at the moment more than anything is a good rehabilitation
programme that will move him away from physical pain and rebalance his body, so he will no longer suffer from agonizing aches.

And this leads me to sharing with you the last outlined element from previous week’s blog-LONGEVITY. (you can read the entry by
clicking here: http://dagmarkhan.wordpress.com/2011/08/01/the-different-elements-of-fitness)

The definition of ‘Longevity’ states that it is a word used for ‘’long life.’’ It also says that the easiest way to increase longevity is through living a healthy and balance lifestyle.In order for us to sustain healthy and energy driven body, we need to exercise it and approach in a ways that are often unconventional, so we are able to connect to those body’s tissues that were perhaps neglected or overused for very very long time.

EXAMPLE 1: A runner who’s training intensively 3-4x week suddenly starts to experience growling pain at the front of his shins. This is quite common condition amongst runners which is called ‘SPLINT SHINNS’.Yoga Tune Up Balls,that we successfully use with our students placed and rolled along the Anterior Tibialis(muscle located on the front side of shin responsible for dorsi flexion of the foot) might be a self-care tool  this guy will find very beneficial, as it will release the  muscle adhesions and refresh the tissues with streams of freshly oxygenated blood.

EXAMPLE 2: Super-flexible Yogini practicing her favourite stretches several times a week begins to feel sciatic pain down her right leg. Totally confused where her practice has taken her,she reached to an experienced Yoga teacher,who clearly states her verdict: Micro-tears in her muscles due to extensive overstretching. This student will be taken on a wellness programme that will be a mindful combination of strengthening exercises to help heal her tissues and stabilize her joints along with proper time to cool down and elongate her body after her muscles were rapidly contracting.

Both of these examples show a mindful approach to body,one that honours and supports it in the most appreciative way, so we can indeed start to live better inside of ourselves for longer. Thus if you look back at all the elements of fitness from previous week-such as strenght,agility,power,flexibility,cardiovascular
endurance,coordination and balance it is good idea to check with your body where does it stand and from there take on a curious approach and ask yourself
few questions:

• Are you competitive athlete who needs to enhance
  it’s flexibility?
• Are you 50+ suffering from bone loss?
• Do you want learn to do push-ups?
• Are you on medications with chronic lower back
  pain?                                                                                                                              

Knowing answers to these questions will give you a solid idea about your body.The more answers you ask, the better it is, because it
draws a clearer portrait for you to act on.The beauty of Yoga Tune Up is that in fact it combines all elements of fitness into one conscious corrective exercise method. It challenges your body from every conceivable angle,literally changing the nature of the tissue at the area being addressed. So take a leap and give your body a gift of programme that honours it like living and breathing organ. Our autumn class schedule starts on the 6^th September 2011 and it would be our
pleasure to teach you how to live better in your own body. For full classes schedule,click here:http://www.dagmarkhan.com/

Let the Yoga Tune Up® party begin!

How about all the back muscles pulling and eyes bulging that
comes as a ‘’NATURAL BY-PRODUCT’’ of trying to perform your biceps curl?Or all the arching of the upper body and collapsing of the chest when you are engaged in lat pull? The agony of this situation is, that many of these guys just does not seem to be getting the results they crave for and often end up injured.

On the other hand there is the core group of people, that
seem to spend their entire hour on a treadmill, bike and stepper. Many of these guys approach the machines without proper warm up or few minutes of cooling down. Some of them tend to tear their body apart by constantly using more and more of their power to exceed longer stakes and some pursue their treadmill time by watching new episode of Two and Half Men.

 
Missing Link
One of the misconceptions in the world of fitness is that a person gets in shape by just playing or taking part in his/her chosen sport, activity or practice. If a stationary level of performance, consistent ability in executing a few limited skills is your goal, then engaging only in your sport will keep you there. However, if you want the utmost efficiency, consistent improvement, and balanced abilities we need to approach our bodies as living, breathing and pulsating mechanism and participate in year round conditioning programs.

 
The Elements of Fitness
Different people understand and perceive meaning of the word ‘FITNESS’ distinctively. Where one person can totally crave for losing few extra pounds,another person main objective is to increase strength and power while for certain people fitness can be a gateway to enhance their overall health and maintain strong immune system.
Here is a list of main components of fitness:
a) Strength- muscles ability to contract against given resistance (lifting heavy load)                          
b) Agility-repetition of explosive movements based on power performed quickly (lateral running,also known as ‘’zigzag running’’)
c) Power-ability to contract muscles quickly and in an explosive manner (sprint run)
d) Flexibility-muscles competence of being lengthened repeatedly without injury or any damage
e) Cardiovascular endurance- heart’s capacity to draw blood into working muscles and their capability to use the blood sufficiently (marathon running)
f) Strength endurance-muscle’s resourcefulness to perform maximum contraction time after time (carrying 70lbs dumbbells for a mile)
g) Coordination-to create an action that harmonizes muscular movement
h) Balance-the potential to control and steady body’s position (performing headstand)
i) Longevity-ability to have a great duration of life while maintaining healthy body

 
Whenever I speak to someone about fitness, we often discuss what exercise they practice do and how it serves them in their every day lives.

So here is a question of the week-

WHAT ELEMENT OF FITNESS IS VITAL FOR YOU?
Write your answers by posting a comment below. I will look forward reading your input and make sure to watch out for next week entry blog where I will further explain how all elements of fitness play a vital role in our overall  well-being.

IBS symptoms can include problems from abdominal discomfort to constipation, from bloating and diarrhoea, all the way down to varying degrees of gas. It is very common that certain food or drink (like a green tea before being chained for long distance to a car seat for me) can trigger an episode, but generally no ONE certain factor can be blamed.
IBS is often being looked at as psychosomatic, but recently it has been clearly specified as “a disorder with variable symptoms having possible neurological, immunological, or psycho-emotional roots,” shares Gary Kraftsow, the founder of American Viniyoga Institute.
Without any known precise cause and treatment for IBS,the cure mainly focuses on relieving the symptoms. Research has shown that lifestyle modifications can be an effective method of easing the pain and discomfort associated with IBS. It has been shown that combination of stress reducing techniques, exercise and diet has a great potential to reduce the symptoms of IBS.
Since Yoga is one of the best stress-management techniques ever created on this planet, many experts agree that exercises like Yoga are very effective way to prevent the recurrent attacks of bloating and constipation.
Gary Kraftsow further says-”With IBS the goal is to reduce symptoms and restore efficient functioning to the system.’’And indeed, Yoga has to offer many specific postures that help to enhance the function of our digestive tracks.
Abdominal breathing has been shown to be particularly helpful for IBS sufferers and truly deep inhalations and steady exhalations will become beneficial for those who tend to breathe shallowly when stressful situation arises.
When a flare up arises, Kraftsow recommends concentrating on Yoga postures that provide an immediate soothing effect. He suggests gentle forward bends and simple abdominal twists like Jathara Parivartanasana (Revolved abdominal twist) and of course Apanasana (a Wind-relieving pose), which both will help soothe a hyperactive bowel or on the other side help to stimulate a sluggish one.

  In cases of constipation, the digestion can be stimulated by working the abdomen more strongly in Prasarita Padottanasana (Wide-legged Standing Forward Bend) or Parivrita Trikonasana (Revolved Triangle Pose).
Personally, I have experimented with practicing Yoga at different times of the day. I have found doing Yoga asanas anytime throughout the day very beneficial for enhancing my vitality and restoring the calm,but in terms of preventing IBS flare-ups, no time has been proven more beneficial for me then practicing as first thing in the morning on an empty stomach.I have notice that doing so helps me to stimulate tremendously my digestive track leaving me with an overall sense of well-being for hours after the practice. Truly,when we practice Yoga first thing in the morning, it helps us to jump start our metabolism and keep it elevated for hours, sometimes even up to 24 hours!
Practicing Yoga is of course only one component for coping with IBS. When symptoms recur, experts have researched that IBS sufferers responds best to a regimen that incorporates exercises,diet and stress-reducing techniques and including nutritional or herbal supplements, or as Gary Kraftsow says, “a treatment that respects the whole person.”

Stand in Tadasana (standing uright posture) with your feet hip width apart or slightly bit wider.Turn your toes out to about 25-40 degrees angle and with your next exhale flex your knees and start to descend your hips down,bring your knees and hips into the deepest point of flexion.Descend your heals down to the floor and lenghten your entire spine( if that is not possible,you can also modify by keeping them off the ground,which would also challenge your balance). Bend your elbows and bring them to the space of your inner knees.Draw the palms of your hands together and tne press your elbows to guide your knees away from the midline.Stay relaxed and breathe.Maintain the pose for about a minute,then release the hold of your hands and slowly press yourself up to standing.
Now depending on the condition of your hips,knees and ankles this might happen,and might not.And that’s exacty where modifications take place:
 

1. If your heals have hard time reaching the ground and you find it challenging to balance on the soles of your feet,place either a Yoga wedge or rolled up mat under the heals so you can maintain the elevation of the heals off the floor and become stable.
2. If your knees are not able to go the point of such a deep flexion,place an extra rolled up mat or a towel at the back of your knees to create more space between your hamstrings and your calves.                                                

3. You can also try both actions at once-raising your heals off the ground by a rolled up mat and modifying the flexion of your knees by placing additional mat between at the back of your knees.
 BENEFITS OF SQUAT:
Stimulates the digestion
Helps to decompress your lumbar spine
Stretches the groins and ankles
Keeps the joints supple and healthy
Improves elimination process
Tremendously effects flexibility of hamstrings
 

THEURAPETIC APPLICATION:
Lower Back Pain
Pelvic pain
Poor digestion

So once you get familiar with the right squat modification for yourself,I invite you to take 30 days squat challenge-
For the next 30 days you will attempt to squat for 20 minutes a day.In can be done all at once or alternatively it can be chunked down into pieces-several 2 minutes a day as a break from your office chair,5 minutes while you are sorting your laundry,5 minutes while you play with your kids,5 minutes as you lower your computer to the floor and start to reply to your emails from your newly acclaimed squat position etc.
Here is to a happy squatting! Let us know how this squatting challenge is effecting your body by posting a comment below.

Our upper body consists of many smaller and bigger muscles that run both in a horizontal and vertical way all across our upper back. When we sit with our shoulders blades rounded and head protruded forward, one of the muscles that get extremely COMPENSATED for these habits are our Rhomboids.
The Rhomboids muscles are living tissues that connect our spine into our shoulder blade. They are 2 pair of 2 different muscles, one Rhomboid Minor and another Rhomboid Major. These diamond-shapes like muscles are located underneath the most superficial trapezius.
These very thin muscles have the tremendous responsibility for much of the movement of the shoulder blades and they are responsible for supporting your posture.
The major responsibility of these muscles is to retract the shoulder blade (draw it in towards the spine). This action is the key to performing a healthy backbend.
Now the big problem we are dealing with due to the habitual ‘’hunchback’’ and modern day habits in our upper spine is that these muscles can easily become overstretched.
Overstretching of a muscle initiates a stretch reflex spasm where the muscle spindle cells relay a message to the spine, a message that is sent to motor units to allow the muscle to contract which is causing a muscle spasm.
A rhomboid spasm may be caused by overuse of your arm and shoulder — mostly during overhead activities such as serving a tennis ball or putting objects on a high shelf. It may also result from too much computer use or waiting tables and holding a tray over your head. Symptoms of rhomboid spasm can include problems such as decreased range of motion of your shoulders and your upper arms, a tender lump right in between your shoulder blades and an ongoing pain travelling into your neck and arms, which increases when the lump is palpated. In addition, stiffness in your upper back, neck and shoulders may be present.
People who suffer with a rhomboid spasm are often guys who would either go from therapist to therapist door or they ‘’give up’’ and decide to accept the pain and simple live with it.
Now the great news is that you will be able to help release those knots yourself with a specific targeted self-care routine. The Yoga Tune Up balls are great tool to reach your aches and pain and they will help you to provide a great relief to your Rhomboids, especially after long hours sitting at your desk .

TECHNIQUE-(the image does not display the described tactic)

Place Yoga Tune Up balls right in between your shoulder blades in a way that they are on the spine and they are touching each other. Next,stretch your hands over your chest keeping them at shoulder distance apart from each other and palms facing in.With your inhale try and separate your shoulder blades away from each other,this is referred as ‘’PROTRACTION’’and as you exhale draw the shoulder blades in towards each other, which is known as ‘’RETRACTION.’’ Try and be watchful that it is not the hands initiating this movement, but your shoulders blades are being initiated in the movement. Repeat 8-10 times all while breathing very deeply and allowing the balls to mow into the spinal crevices and your superbly important rhomboids muscles.

Try and perform this and then share with us how this positiong have made you feel by posting a comment below.

Top 7 reasons why yoga is essential to your well-being:

1. Releases Floods of Energy
In the practice of yoga, energy is not related to burning calories, but instead it is related to feelings of being invigorated after the practice is completed.
This energy, called Prana, is said to flow through all living things. The practice of yogic postures (asanas) assists the flow of prana and thus helps in the free circulation of it throughout our energetic system. Pranayama, the breathing techniques used during the practice of yoga, can help lower blood pressure, increase cardiovascular efficiency, and aid in relaxation.

2. Get The Whole Body Strength On
Many of the postures in yoga profoundly strengthen the muscles in the lower spine, as well as all the muscles of the core. Some balance postures such as Half Moon and Headstand require enormous muscle control in order to make sure that your don’t trip over. This helps to build and strengthen essential components of the muscular network of the spine, helping the body maintain proper upright posture and healthy movement. The muscles you develop during practice of yoga are more likely to be elongated, because while you are strengthening them, you are simultaneously lengthening them at the same time. You also do not focus on an isolated muscle, but rather a whole body -head to toe approach, actively recruiting the larger and smaller muscle groups together, so they can work together in harmony.

3. Increased Blood Flow
By practicing  yogic exercises that move the spine from every conceivable angle, fresh blood and nerve impulses revitalize all the major glands and organs. Unlike other forms of exercise,which develop fitness by stressing the body, yoga builds strength and endurancewhile lowering the stress hormones that lead to premature aging. What a wonder!
4. Disease Prevention
Regular practice of Yoga is extremely effective in enhancing the body’s immune system and reducing the effects of the diseases like chronic back pain, asthma,
menopause, high blood pressure or arthritis.

5. Inner Peace
In this hectic world, where all of us seem to be looking for a little bit of extra time to manage all the tasks of daily living, Yoga are a wonderfulantidote to stressing and rushing around. By constantly allowing us to bring our attention inwards, it helps us to reduce stress, calm our mind and improve our sleeping patterns.

6. Joint Flexibility
The number one reason people avoid Yoga is that they are not flexible enough and are afraid that teacher will ask them to perform pretzel-like movements
that are way beyond their range of motion. Well first of all this will never happen under guidance of anexperienced teacher, as he recognizes that he is there for his students rather than doing his own performance. The big truth with FLEXIBILITY is that is the USE IT OR LOSE IT type of thing. By regularly taking our joints through their full range of motion we ensure that all muscles attached are able to sufficiently contract and lengthen at the same time, which is necessary to keep them healthy and supple for a life time. This approach is also a great prevention against inflammatory diseases, such as arthritis.

7. Increased Athletic Performance
Hello Footballers! And dancers. And of course swimmers! Since any sports creates a repetitive injury stress on certain parts of the body, such as outer buttocks, hamstrings and lower back, Yoga is the best cross-training for athletes from all disciplines. By regularly incorporating specific Yoga poses athletes will be able to heal the wear and tear of their body caused by a same type of movement for a long periods of time. Yoga will also help them to improve their breathing patterns and reduce performance anxiety ,that always kicks in before an important match or a dancer’s show.

Where to start?

If you are absolute beginner and have never practiced Yoga before, the best mchoice for you is to either join a beginner class with an experienced teacher or schedule a private session or two. These will create a strong foundation and help you understand the specific poses and their sequencing and gain more confidence so ultimately you will be able to practice Yoga in your home.

The most important thing when thinking of beginning a yoga practice is just to begin. So check out your local Yoga studios, make a call or two to different Yoga teachers so you can see which one will suit you the best and get going. To dive in, wherever that may be for you, and start using this powerful tool in your regimen.

Let us know where are you with your Yoga practice at this moment. Are
you beginner? An experienced Yoga practitioner? What are your concerns?

And that is absolutely true. Yoga itself is very well known for its physical, mental and emotional benefits on our beings. With dedicated regular practice, we are promised to live with much healthier body and more relaxed mind.
So where is the problem?
Well, as my teacher, the creator of Yoga Tune Up® Jill Miller says, we firstly need to recognize that ‘’Yoga, like any other physical activities can create the wear and tear on the body, mind and spirit’’. Not all Yoga poses are perfectly suited for everyone and the truth is that our bodies always give us a clear signal when something is not quite right.
With Yoga’ considerable popularity, physical injuries are on the rise more than ever. So if we gear towards a pain-free and lifelong practice of Yoga, then we must become vigilant to the signals our bodies are constantly sending to us and at no point try and push through the physical pain.
We as practitioners of Yoga are also responsible for constantly educating ourselves about how all Yoga poses are affecting our bodies and what are their unique biomechanics.
You might be surprised to hear this, but many of the “traditional” Yoga asanas can cause extreme wear and tear of our joints, muscles and surrounding soft tissues thus they need to be approached through the skilful lenses of human’s anatomy and kinesiology.
As Yoga’s students we need to take the courage to honestly examine which parts of our bodies are crying out for help and be very mindful throughout the practice of Yoga’s postures. This will help us to pinpoint what movements do not make us feel harmonized or balanced. From then on it is our personal responsibility to seek out professional help-be it a Yoga therapist or a Physical therapist that will be able to navigate us through our practice. .
As Yoga teachers, we are absolutely responsible to dump the ‘’ONE SIZE FITS ALL’’ type of approach of Yoga and instead become observant and respectful to the structural differences from student to student. We also need to be bold enough to discourage our students from certain poses that can cause injuries and lead to pain.
Throughout the workshop I have made clear to Jane that healing her back is truly possible. By educating herself about her unique body’s structure and understanding the condition her body is in, she got an opportunity to erase certain movement patterns that might be causing the physical pain in her body in the first place.
So what is the best approach if you encounter condition similar to Jane?
 You have to be honest with yourself and accept that you are undergoing physical pain
 Seek out professional help-go to your doctor, visit a specialist and follow with their prescription
 Educate yourself about the reasons of your physical pain
 Re-structure your Yoga practice
 Delete any pose from your life that causes you pain
A good support for you can be qualified and registered Yoga Therapist. The International Association of Yoga Therapists (IAYT) serves as a professional organization for Yoga teachers and Yoga therapists worldwide. Their mission is to establish Yoga as a recognized and respected therapy. This organization can be a wonderful resource if you are seeking out for a qualified Yoga Therapist, who will be able to guide you on your way to healing.

This article has been originally posted in Free Hug Yoga Times. http://www.facebook.com/#!/home.php?sk=group_213629895338319

One of the great example is the internal/external rotation of our hips.Vast majority of standing poses,such as Triangle or Half Moon Pose
are enabling us to accomplish full external rotation of the front hip.This action is achieved by contracting the deep 6 rotators of the hip along with gluteus
medius and tensor fascia latae, leading to great expansion and openness of the inner thighs and hamstrings.

Neglecting this range of motion however makes your outer buttocks very tight while keeping your inner thighs weak and de-stabilized.

So how can you  create the opposite effect and teach your hips to be more intelligent? How can you possibly tone your inner thighs and hamstrings and provide stretch to the group of muscles that are responsible for performing the external rotation of the hip?

The answer is simple: INTERNAL ROTATION.

By engaging our hips in this direction of movement and allowing
to maximize and carve as deep internal rotation of the hip as possible, we are
allowing to create much more even tone into our hips and stretch out the
tissues that for most of us tend to be very very tight.

Internal Rotation Hip Stretch

Lie on your back on a firm surface, such as the carpet. Bend both of
your knees. Separate your feet at about hip width apart. Keep your left knee
pointing straight up to the ceiling. Drop your right knee inward and as close
to the floor as possible. This is a deep internal rotation, designed to flush
out the gluteus medius and tensor fascia latae. Hold the knee in this position
for about 5-6 deep breaths.. Slowly draw the right knee back up and then repeat
on the other side. Go back and forth slowly between both of your legs 8- 10 times
to help you increase the internal rotation of your hip. Take slow, deep breaths
and with each repetition try to bring the knee a little closer to the floor.

Let us know how does this pose makes you feel and definately share your throughts by posting a comment below.

TECHNIQUE:

1. Lay on the floor with your legs extended, arms resting by your torso, shoulders slightly away from your ears and palms turned upwards facing the ceiling. Place either a Yoga block or thick hardcover book on your lower abdomen.
2. Close your eyes and turn your attention into your breathing.
3. Firstly solely observe your natural breath. Do not try to influence it, speed it up or slow it down. Simply rest your awareness on your natural breathing cycle.
4. Now start to consciously breathe in a way that your abdomen fills up on your inbreath, thus the block (or hardcover book) will travel up towards the ceiling.
5. At the top of your inhale momentarily pause, and then start to exhale in a way that your belly descends, thus the block will move back in towards your core. This equals to one round of abdominal breath.
6. Repeat 10 rounds. There is no need to try and rush this process, instead enjoy as your mind has an opportunity to turn away from your worries and becomes occupied with your breathing cycle. This will tremendously help you to unwind and calm your mind after perhaps long day at work.

TIP: Perform 10 rounds of abdominal breaths before something that truly makes you nervous, such as being at dentist, making a sales call or going out on your first date.