Yoga Posture Stretch For Hamstrings

In Janu Sirsasana and many other Yoga Forward Bend Poses, we explore the expansion of the hamstring muscles. The resistance of the hamstrings against the sit bones (ischial tuberosities) limits the motion of the pelvis structure in relation to the thigh bone, thus reducing the amount of forward bending motion we can generate at the hip joint. By applying the principal of reciprocal inhibition in our Yoga practice, we can manipulate the neural signals of key muscle groups to more effectively relax the hamstrings and to increase our ability to fold into our Yoga Forward Bend poses.
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Body Rolling Techniques For Yoga and Pilates Safety

Body rolling techniques like Yamuna have grown in popularity and have worked their way into Yoga and Pilates classes. Body rolling incorporates gravity based body positions and movements along with various sized balls to massage blockages out of muscles, fascia and connective tissues.
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Use Yoga For Neck and Shoulder Pain Relief

We have a new article "Hatha Yoga as Physical Therapy for Neck and Shoulder Pain" that offers great insight into the likely cause of chronic neck and shoulder pain in most people. This Yoga anatomy article explores alignment cues for your Yoga exercises and aids in bringing awareness to your overall posture in helping alleviate these chronic conditions.

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Yoga Pose For Stretching Hamstrings

One of the benefits of many forward bending Yoga poses is expanding and stretching of the hamstring muscles. We should take time in our Yoga classes to align the sit bones and leg bones so we can target the proper line of stretch of the hamstring muscles. With this alignment, we should understand the basic anatomy and mechanics of the various hamstring muscles.

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