Isolating Hamstrings in Forward Bends

My Yoga Online - Many forward bending Yoga poses involve the lengthening and stretching of the hamstring muscles. By incorporating subtle spirals of the thighs, you can more effectively isolate the 3 hamstring muscles.

The hamstring muscles consist of 3 muscles:
*Biceps Femoris muscle that originates at the ischial tuberosity (sit bone) and along the posterior aspect of the thigh bone. This muscle travels down the lateral aspect of the thigh bone, crosses the knee joint, and inserts on the outer edge of the leg (head of the fibula and lateral condyle of the tibia

*Semitendinosus muscle that originates at the ischial tuberosity (sit bone) with the long head of Biceps Femoris. This muscle travels down the medial aspect of the thigh and inserts in the medial region of the tibia.

*Semimembranosus muscle that originates also at the ischial tuberosity (sit bone) and travels down the medial aspect of the thigh inserting at the medial condyle of the tibia.

The basic principle to address with these muscle lines is the Semitendinosus and Semimembranosus muscles travel along an 'inner line' of the thigh where the Biceps Femoris muscle travels along an 'outer line' of the thigh. For most people, the outer thigh line has greater flexibility than the inner line. Consider how much easier it is to fold over the thigh in Pavirrtta Janu Sirsasana (Revolving One Leg Forward Bend) versus directly forward in Janu Sirsasana? With the leg out to the side, the forward bend moves primarily into the outer line of the hamstrings (Biceps Femoris).

Notice the next time you do One Leg Forward Bend, Downward Facing Dog, or Standing Forward Bend how the feet, leg bone, and thigh 'want' to rotate outwards or laterally. This 'desire' to rotate laterally is an indication of the pose wishing to move out of the tighter inner hamsting line and more towards the more flexible outer hamstring line.

Next time you do into One Leg Forward Bend, try the following tips to target the more resistant inner hamstring line:
*set your pelvis neutral and perpendicular to your thigh (tendency is to sit with the pelvis turned away from the thigh thus promoting the stretch to go more into the outer thigh line).
*pull the flesh away from the sit bone so you have greater connectivity to the pelvis and to the forward bend that should occur from the hip joint and not the lower back
*slightly rotate your thigh bone inwards or medially-this will be reflected in the toes which should point vertically and not out to the side.
*inhale as you lift open the front ribs and torso and exhale as you fold over the thigh finding just the first sensations of resistance
*settle and breath
*as the vibrations of resistance dissipate, rotate the thigh medially another millimeter or so (very subtle), breath in and lift the front ribs (protecting the low back), and after elongating the spine, exhale and fold a little more into the inner hamstring line

Playing with these inner thigh spirals will help you discover the variations in resistance in the hamstrings. This application of spiraling can be easily added to other Yoga poses:
*Adho Mukha Svanasana (Downward-Facing Dog)
*Uttanasana (Standing Forward Bend pose)
*Padangusthasana (Big Toe Pose)
*Parsvottanasana (Intense Side Stretch Pose)
*Marichyasana I (Pose Dedicated to the Sage Marichi, I)
*Paschimottanasana (Seated Forward Bend)

Be mindful that this spiral application is not over-emphasized. Keep the line of the foot and thigh within normal anatomical positioning. Consider how the natural lines of Mountain pose translate into these forward bends and how thigh spiraling should not go excessively beyond that functional line offered in Mountain pose.

Explore your hamstrings. Appreciate the resistance and variations of flexibility in your yoga practice. Gently and respectful use spiraling techniques to expand these variations of resistance.