Look at me! Look at me!
.
Scissor Pose
Yes, my front leg is supposed to be straight, but my flexibility hasn't quite gotten there yet.
I was at Yoga class yesterday (Sunday) and our instructor - in one of his tangets of "oh, this would be fun" - showed us this Scissor Pose. You can imagine that most of the class laughed thinking "Really? You expect us to do THAT?" But I'd say about half a dozen people gave it a try and I personally saw four of us managed it even if just for a moment.
I admit that I love yoga. It's very relaxing at times. It helps extend your range of motion and flexibility which is a personal favorite aspect. It can also be a very good workout if you have the right instructor, video, or personal mindset. I started yoga out of a pure interest in something new that everyone was talking about and I really think ANYONE can get something out of it no matter what type of workouts you do yourself.
But anyways, back to me! I think of myself as halfway decent at normal yoga, but I will be the first to admit that my weakness is balance poses. If you take a class with me, scooch yourself over when we do balance poses; I may very well topple over into you. So you can imagine how psyched I was when I was able to stick that pose yesterday morning! I, however, was not a good blogger - I didn't even think of having Chelsea snap a picture right then. So I had Kristin @ Cupcake Confessions take these ones after my three mile run today; hence the running gear.
PS. Shins are feeling better (obviously, I ran today) and I'm off in search of compression socks tomorrow morning since my ace bandage was a huge help this weekend.
Questions
1. Do you do yoga? If so, why? If not, why not?
I do yoga in order to increase my flexibility, range of motion, and muscle control.
2. Do you consider yourself flexible?
I've always found it extremely odd that many adults consider flexibility a characteristic of childhood that you more or less grow out of. I can't do splits anymore, but I still hold a fair share of my flexibility and I refuse to let it go.
Stay Fit. Stay Healthy.
13 comments:
great job, you are much more flexible than me! I've tried yoga, but I'm not great. I may try again, if I get brave. I feel more flexible than when I first started running, but I have a loooonnggg way to go!
Impressive!
One of my goals is to find a balanced, effective, simple and scientifically proven stretching program. I would like yoga to fill this void.
It hasn't happened yet.
I DO NOT yoga. I think (my personal opinion, lol )yoga and running are polar opposite movement patterns and body systems being used. BUT they appear to compliment each other. I think based on me and the athletes I coach/treat that flexibility is a detriment to performance. I do not consider myself flexible and nor do I even try to change it. I dont think its bad or anything I just think it hurts runners more than they realize. I am afraid danny is not going to find what he is looking for. Such information does not exist. But if I could sit like spiderman would I? ABOSULTELY, lol. Keep up the good work and I hope to read on.
Ahaha I would bust my face if I tried to do that! Hmmm I can't say whether or not Ron is right, but I hope he is :D I am the opposite of flexible. I've always heard distance runners and un-flexibility go hand in hand.
There is a part of me that thought if I was more flexible I would have a longer stride and run faster with less effort. I've been told on occasion (a lot in HS) that I have a short stride and I hated being told that, but I've come to realize it might not be such a bad thing.
I've always dreamed of doing a split, like I would seriously have dreams where I could do a split and then wake up REALLY disappointed that I couldn't do it. It is not something I am prepared to work for though :)
I'm very impressed with your skills though!!!!
That pose is bad a$$! Congrats.
I'm not big into yoga. Only took 2 classes, but I think I'm too ADHD for that kind of workout. I need something more like kickboxing. A friend just recommended flow yoga so I might have to try that.
I'm also super flexible (was always really good at those V-sit things in elementary school) so I guess I should be semi-decent at it, right??
you are definitely showing off with that pose!!! ;)
i love yoga but i don't try hard enough to fit it in. i always think of it as dessert or a treat. i never feel like i've worked out hard enough to take an hour to enjoy something 'easy'. definitely on my to-do list.
I don't do yoga, but I'm actually going to a trial class on Wednesday. I really hope I like it cause I think I can benefit from it. Way to go to get that crazy pose!
Oh very impressive Kurt! I have done yoga, at times more committed(ly?) than now. But I've never gotten my body into that position! My spindly wrists and my face would not like that!
I've practiced yoga for almost a year now and I love it. It's definitely helped my flexibility and strength. Plus, my instructor (a little firecracker of a woman named Gwen) is awesome. She makes yoga fun and has the tendency to be completely random and off-the-wall.
I'm with you on the balance poses. My upper body strength just isn't right yet to do any of the arm balances. Guys have it much easier doing poses like the Scissor because a lot of their "bulk" is in their upper body. For women, it's in the lower half.
For those who are hoping Ron is right, he is. While I can go on and on about how much I love yoga, there is no scientific evidence that flexibility helps running. In fact, stretching has been shown to be a detriment to performance (hence why I never to static stretches before a run).
Amazing! yes, I do some yoga (I wish I had time for more) because it realzes me and stretches my sore running muscles.
First of all, awesome!!!! I totally want to learn this pose. I may fall sideways again, like a very tall, awkward tree, but it will be fun :-) I love yoga! People may argue that flexibility is counterproductive for runners, and they may be right. However, yoga also offers a lot of benefits such as strength building, especially core strength, and “mental strength” for lack of a better term. I find that when I am on a long run, am running out of steam, or have a particularly intimidating hill to deal with in a race, I use the same mentality that I do when holding a difficult pose in yoga for an extended period of time: I focus on my breath and repeat little mantras to myself, or just zone out. Hooray yoga!
Post a Comment