Hi everyone,
Yes, I know we can see a pattern emerging here with the amount of times I apologize for my inconsistency.. But it's okay I am assuming that you expect no less from me at this point. Also, If I consistently neglect to be consistent, does that not make me some what consistent? I think I will accept that justification and move on. Reading back on this old post, I find it kind of funny that I referred to wanting to skip 2017 and move straight on to 2018.. and now we are here. It's not much better, I don't think it ever gets better. I think we just get better at dealing with life.
Let's just ignore the fact that I always forget to post about yoga, and also do me a favour and ignore the fact that I had the strangest facial expressions in this post.
This pose is a really nice hip opener, as well as good for the calves and hamstrings. Make sure however that you take it very slow, because it is possible to injure yourself if you take it too far too soon. My mom, who has been doing yoga as long as I have, tried to push to get her heals flat, and pulled a muscle in her foot; so try to remember that the goal isn't to get to any certain point, It is only to go as far as you can, and get a good stretch while strengthening the body. If you feel a good stretch, that is far enough.
With that out of the way, I'm going to hand it over to Jade from a year ago. Enjoy!
How to Get Into a Yoga Squat:
Wait.. What?
Is this a yoga post?
Is she finally talking about yoga again?
Yes, I know it's been a while. I've been enjoying the "festively plump" lifestyle. I don't want it to end.
I'm thinking of boycotting 2017 and skipping straight through to next year. Who's with me?
But alas, the fitness train awaits boarding. I'll be the one in cabin 3, doing cardio. You will see me looking through the window with tears running down my cheeks..
Enough with the melodramatic introduction. Let's get into this!
Make sure you are warmed up before beginning, as this is quite an intense hip stretch. Here are two other poses, Pigeon and Reclined Hero, that I wrote about a while ago and you can try first, to warm up the hips.
Once warmed up, begin by doing a forward fold to further open up the hamstrings. Stay in this pose for 10 breaths, pushing yourself deeper into the pose with every breath.
Slowly come out of the pose and stand with your feet a bit wider than hip distance apart.
Turn your feet out so that your toes point to the far edges of the mat, or as much as you can.
Begin to squat down, keeping the spine straight and the arms up. Slowly squat deeper with each breath, feeling the stretch in the inner thighs and hips. Be sure to keep pushing the knees outwards and the pelvis forward, do not let them tilt forwards as this will hurt the joints.
Hold for 10 breaths, and then slowly come out of the pose.
Another good way to prepare the hips and thighs is Chair pose.
Stand with your feet hip distance apart, and while keeping the spine straight, sit down, with the arms extended, as if on an invisible chair.
Sound easy? It's not. I hate Chair pose. Chair pose will be my demise.
All the pictures you see online of yogi's smiling through Chair pose is a lie. That is what a real Chair face looks like.
Now for the squat.
Shake the legs out, and when you feel ready, stand with your feet hip distance apart and begin to slowly lower down into the squat. The objective is to get your bum as close to the ground as possible, whilst keeping the spine straight and the feet flat on the ground.
If you get to a point where you feel that you can't go any further without lifting the heals, stay there. It takes practice for the hips to fully open, and for some it never does. It all depends on your bone structure, so don't put pressure on yourself. Go as far as you can, and keep practicing.
You can also use a wall or pole if you are just beginning or would like support for getting deeper into the pose.
I personally think a pole works better, but a wall will do if you aren't around one.
Insert awkward stripper joke here.
If you manage to sink all the way down, intensify the stretch by placing your palms together, and using the elbows to push the knees further out.
Remeber to keep the spine straight the whole time. Even if you can get further into the pose by arching the back, rather don't. The benefits of the pose are much greater with the spine straight, and you don't run as much of a risk of injury.
Stay in the pose for as long as you feel comfortable, and then slowly come out of it. I do not recommend staying in this pose for very long, because it can be quite restricting on the blood flow.
If you would like, do some jumping jacks or go for a quick jog to get the blood flowing again. The act of slightly restricting the flow and then getting it going again can be very good for flushing out stagnent toxins. It can help for sore joints,and even varicose veins.
I hope you enjoyed this post, and are going to try it out. Let me know in the comments if you are and if you have any further questions, I am always happy to hear from you and provide adjustments for you if you need them.
Have a lovely day everyone!
Here is a throwback to my old outro picture too
Super cringe...
Bye for real now!
