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How to change my hand position?
Hi ladies, I'm trying to achieve this –
http://www.michelleshimmy.com/0_0_0_0_404_303_csupload_49783574.jpg?u=1832944659
it's a splits with back leg bent up and hand overhead.
At the moment I can over split comfortably to about 4inches and can bend my back leg up to nearly touch my bum. However I can only do this if my hip is turned out so I am facing the side rather than the front in my front splits. When I turn to face forward I lose some of the flexibility on the back leg which is expected…
Most people seem to grab their back leg and then sort of swing their arm around so it goes to holding the foot over the head. I just can't get my head around that…. I can't even reach up and behind to grab my leg. It's really frustrating me!! And as soon as I use my other arm to grab the back leg I lose balance and fall over to the side and it seems to strain my knee as I come out of the move.
I lean against a wall while doing this but the strain in my knee coming out of the move makes me think I'm not practicing this correctly?
Hope that all made sense, I'll try attach a pic next time I do this stretch 🙂
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6 Replies
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I think to grab the foot like that overhead you need back flexiblity in addition to split flexibility. Can you reach your foot overhead in other poses? And a good way to work towards it would be to use a towel or strap around your foot to shorten the distance you have to reach.
I can't give any pointers on technique though since I can't do that pose 🙂
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It sounds like it may be tight quads or hip flexors preventing you from bending th back leg in a square split. If you are having difficulty with grabbing th efoot it is likely shoulders.
Lassoing th eback foot wiht a yoga/pilates strap will help, but if your knee is tweaking out I would def stretch quads more before you go into this pose.
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If you're feeling strain on the knee then you should stop, and check your body alignment. Something as simple as changing your body placement could fix the pain. This is an advanced pose, so you need to have other things under your belt before moving on to this. To get the most out of the stretch you posted you'll want the hips squared, so both are facing forward. If you are taking the lessons try working on these before moving on to the advanced pose. Shoulder moblity and back moblity is needed as well.
Here are some lessons that will help you achive this pose…..
Thigh stretch https://www.studioveena.com/lessons/view/4dfb5178-ba64-438e-8bf4-5f360ac37250
Deep lunge https://www.studioveena.com/lessons/view/4dfca7ca-0fb0-4805-afbb-20310ac37250
Chest stretch https://www.studioveena.com/lessons/view/4de78f3b-a0ec-49b0-a7d6-48bf0ac37250
Bridge stretch https://www.studioveena.com/lessons/view/4deccca1-6624-4065-bc2e-7e100ac37250
Camel stretch https://www.studioveena.com/lessons/view/4decd31f-e1b8-48f7-9bd4-046f0ac37250
The Back Mobility routine https://www.studioveena.com/lessons/view/4f5fbd45-6c18-4371-84a6-3f4a0ac37250 and Side splits routine will also help. https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_flower.gif
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ahh yes, thanks , I have a stretch band somewhere shall have to dig it out 🙂
thanks for all those links veena! your profile photo is what I hope to achieve one day 🙂 my back flexibility is improving recently so I think the major focus is my shoulders which I haven't even really thought about!
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I just did a video of me practicing this with a yoga strap. It is going to be slow progress for me, but the stretch I am doing gets closer every time! It is my second to last video I just did called Pigeon stretch.
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I just did a video of me practicing this with a yoga strap. It is going to be slow progress for me, but the stretch I am doing gets closer every time! It is my second to last video I just did called Pigeon stretch.
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