The last installment of the hip series looked at eagle pose. There were a few variations for arm and leg positions. However, all of those positions assumed a standing pose, which is not ideal for everyone.
I hesitated to include a chair option at the time because a lot of the chair modifications I see look at the arms only — which is not terrible but also not terribly helpful in a series that’s focusing on the hips.
So I was happy to find this:
[Yoga with Lucia for Grandmother Hen. Video via YouTube.]
The same adduction movement is happening with the top leg. I’m guessing that the overall work on the adductor is less in the seated version than in the standing version because the amount of “hugging to the midline” necessary to maintain balance is also less. That said:
I sort of feel like these posts should have cowboys and lassos.
Wait a minute… here we go:
Now, onto the posts.
Pelvic Floor:
Pelvic Floor: Finding It & Moving It — “From talking with knowledgeable people, including my pelvic floor physical therapist, it seems fairly common for people be unaware of what pelvic floors do, be unclear as how to activate it completely, and/or misinformed about what it feels like when it’s actually happening.”
On Squatting — ” Coming from someone with a hypertonic pelvic floor dysfunction (basically, my pelvic floor muscles are tense enough to make a doctor and a physical therapist go, “Whoa. That’s not normal.”) I absolutely love this pose for any time something has to come out the bottom end of me.”
Pelvic Floor: Flying — “Protip: A lot of times, finding the right balance point will mean several tries not going far enough in the pose — and maybe feeling like you can’t do it. Often, it will also mean several tries going too far in the pose — maybe feeling like you can’t do it and possibly face planting besides.”
Pelvic Floor & Poses I Love to Hate — “So — baddha konasana, bound angle pose. With the hips externally rotating and the thighs moving outward, there’s a lot of room for the pelvic floor to open and relax.”
Regarding what I said a couple of days ago, on there not being chair modifications of yoga lunges. Some quick searching has turned up a couple of videos, though sadly, the sound is not so great.
The kneeling version:
[Kira Ryder instructing for Lulu Bandha's yoga studio. Video via YouTube.]
My knees are kind of side-eying that block and might want to use a pillow instead, but that’s maybe just my knees, who have been finicky lately.
The standing version:
[Julie Downey instructing. Video via YouTube.]
While the twist shown would increase the hip flexor stretch, it is a completely optional element.
It occurred to me, as I was writing the last hamstring post on pyramid pose, that there are seated and kneeling poses where the front leg action — and therefore the stretch — are very much the same. For me, the stretch isn’t quite so intense as it is with pyramid, but it is still very much present. So I figured these options were worth sharing.
First up is a seated hamstring stretch, which can be done in most stable chairs:
[Cassie Naumann instructing for Expert Village. Video via YouTube.]
As a bonus feature — and as one might be able to tell from the “Office Chair” title of the series — it’s possible to do this stretch as a quick break from the standard “sit at desk” position that happens in some jobs. (At least, I’m told this happens. Please correct me if I’m wrong.)
(Side rant: No video because while I could find lots of videos on hanumanasana — seated splits — and lots of videos that included half hanumanasana as part of a sequence to get to the “full pose,” but no videos on ardha hanumanasana in its own right. We’re definitely all about letting go of expectation in yoga. Except, you know, when we’re not.)
Basically, it involves starting in a low lunge. Then, instead of sinking the hips forward and down, pull the hips back so they’re over the (more or less vertical) back thigh. Flex the front foot and fold forward — much as would happen in pyramid pose. Also, all the alignment checkpoints for pyramid pose — hips level, front knee as soft as it needs to be, etc. — still get to apply.
So. Really. Done with hamstrings now.
Next up — the deeper layers of the gluteal muscles!
I have not forgotten, either the chair series or where we are in it. After a couple of warrior poses involving thigh strengthening, a quad stretch is definitely in order.
[Uploaded via Expert Village via YouTube.]
I particularly like this pose since it’s one of the more accessible in a line of similar options:
Using a strap in a chair to facilitate backbending and front of body stretching.
Using a chair but no strap to facilitate the same without worrying about pressure on the knees.
Using a strap on the ground as that same arm-extension in a more traditional expression of bow.
Entering bow with neither chair nor strap, assuming this is good for an individual’s spine.
Since traditional bow can actually be a tricky one to work into, particularly for the low back and knees, having these options can allow working into the pose in stages.
I’m wondering if anyone might be interested in doing a “Daily Dose of Yoga” challenge this December. (ZOMG, it’s almost going to be December soon.) I like doing this for myself during this month (as opposed to, say, January, the traditional month of New Year’s resolutions) because with its rapidly shortening days, end of semester, holiday rush, and family togetherness, December is where I need daily yoga the most.
Tori in low cobra.
How I’d like to organize this:
People who participate, including but not limited to me, make a commitment to do some bit of yoga every day during the month of December. It can be as simple as that, though individuals are welcome to tack on additional bits — for example, including X minutes per week or Y number of new poses — to the extent that such additions are beneficial for them. (I like to commit to some yoga every day and at least one full asana practice every week, which is usually enough for me during this particular hectic time.)
I will post daily suggestions (probably two suggestions at a time, so an actual post every two days). These will likely focus on single poses, breathing techniques, or short sequences (asana or meditation) that could be relatively easily incorporated into one’s day and/or one’s yoga practice. These are suggestions and jumping-off points only, not anything mandatory.
Every few days, I’ll post a check-in, where people are welcome to discuss their experiences: what they’ve been doing, successes or difficulties they’ve had, asking questions, those sorts of things.
Months ago, in a series I thought would take me weeks, I began talking about the core as a box of muscles:
Pretend this is your core on pretty colors.
Today, I’m finally ready to start talking about the final face on that box: the pelvic floor.
I spent a long time — I’m talking years, counting from the time I started practicing yoga — hearing the term “pelvic floor” but not really knowing what it was. I mean, I knew that it was “those muscles at the bottom of the pelvis” or “the ones you use to kegel,” but I couldn’t envision structure or function in the same way I could picture, say, my biceps and triceps working as I moved my arm. It didn’t help that when I did research, a lot of diagrams ended up looking like this: Which do very little to illustrate WTF is going on down there. Then, about a year and a half ago, I attended one of Leslie Howard’s pelvic floor workshops, and for the first time, I got to see what the pelvic floor actually is and does.
For starters, there’s more than one muscle; in fact, there are layers of muscles. There are layers that are deeper and more superficial, but basically, they form a sort of diamond shape that attaches to the pubic bone (at the front), the “sit bones” (at each side), and the tailbone (at the back). Because this diamond encompasses so much — in terms of how far forward, sideways, back, and deep it extends — it influences a lot more than just the vagina. The main function of the more external layers involves contracting and relaxing whatever orifices are present (urethra and anus for pretty much everyone, vagina roughly 50% of the time) while the deeper layers tend to be more about support for the pelvic organs. (Side note for now: This does mean that exercises that involve contracting pelvic orifices — like kegels — don’t activate all of the pelvic floor muscles. More about that in future posts.)
Though this video focuses on the pelvic floors of people with vaginas, it does a good job of explaining the anatomy and basic categories of potential problems:
(Video by Hold It, Sister! via YouTube.)
Additionally, like other muscle groups, pelvic floor muscle tone includes both the ability to contract (i.e., strength) and to relax (i.e., flexibility). In a lot of the sources I read, including those focused on yoga and on sexual health, there’s a lot of discussion about what people can do to have a stronger, tighter pelvic floor. But a pelvic floor can be too tight, which can ironically lead to some of the same problems as a pelvic floor that isn’t tight enough. Functional strength includes the ability to yield.
There is nerve damage in various portions of my pelvis; my sensation there is intermittently fucked up. Sometimes I feel what I expect to feel based on past experience in a posture. Other times, the sensation is sharply more painful, or else it might disappear completely. Because of that, I’ve found it increasingly helpful to use chairs as props when exploring new poses.
In realigning my pelvis in warrior I, I liked having the chair to support me while figuring out:
What precisely I could expect to feel in the stretched muscles (on most days).
How to compensate if something out of the ordinary happened.
How to engage the rest of my muscles to support the new positioning.
The chair meant that if I miscalculated, I might be jarred off balance, I might fall a few inches to one side or the other — but I wouldn’t go so far as to hurt myself or scare myself out of trying the pose again:
[Video from Expert Village via YouTube.]
Effectively, the chair supports the hips and torso here while the legs work out their positioning. It’s also possible, using the hands and legs, to incrementally shift the torso weight from the chair to the legs. Again, falling here — should I miscalculate — is decidedly shorter, gentler, and less potentially damaging to the knees than is falling all the way to the ground.
And I realize this might go against the cultural expectation of a warrior as brave, possibly to the point of being foolhardy. But in real life? I would totally want to go into battle with a warrior who is resourceful and smart.
My second monthly links round-up. These are links to blogs or other writings that I found thought-provoking in some manner. Generally, I do like them, but that’s not to say that other authors’ views are equivalent to my views.
Sex & The Spectrum: Autism and Gynaecological Health by nominatissima — Folks who know me from other online realms know that I’m a huge advocate of sexual and reproductive health and wellness. Folks who know me from… pretty much anywhere… know that I’m a huge advocate of health care accessibility. This is part of that.
On Athletic Bodies by Autumn at The Beheld — On how limiting “athletic” to one type of female body is, well, limiting.
Yes, more feet! I have been walking a lot, even more than normal, which was no small amount to begin with. I’ve guilty-pleasure-spent on three pairs of minimalist shoes and have been traipsing all over Hellfire — you know, Arizona in the summer — in them. So I have been paying more attention to my feet than I ever have before. (I have also been typing more than I ever have before, so I predict some chair wrist yoga in the not-too-distant future.)
Also, this particular video offers up a few different foot exercises as well as a good explanation for why folks might want to use them.
All told, more feet!
(Video from ALL Yoga via YouTube.)
I am a fan of these exercises predominantly because I find them mentally stimulating. In other words, yes, my feet are working, but mostly it’s my brain working hard, trying to figure out how to make my feet move like this. For approximately 2/3 of the sequence, with either foot, I’m still developing the mental muscle awareness much more than I’m developing the physical muscles.
But still. Things to do with my body that make me think = fun!
Since the last chair yoga post focused on calf stretching, it made sense to me to center this post on calf strengthening. Not only is it a nice complementary posture, but it’s sometimes just nice to have chair yoga designed to strengthen rather than just loosen and stretch.
Small derailing rant: I sometimes feel like some yogis (and other people) view chair yoga as “pretend yoga.” In some cases, they do it with pity, as in, “Those poor people who are too fragile to do real yoga.” In others, it’s derision, as in, “Those pathetic people who are too lazy to do real yoga.” If you are aware in the moment and making a choice to do what is best for you in that moment, then that is Real Yoga.
Ahem.
To continue, this is basically a seated version of toe raises. It places less strain on the calves and also the knees because most of the upper body weight is supported by the chair (though this can change a little as described in the video clip):
(Video from Expert Village via YouTube.)
One aspect I love about this exercise is its versatility. For some other chair yoga postures, I need to “take a break” from what I’m doing at my desk in order to focus on the asana. Sometimes that’s exactly what I need, but sometimes, I need to multitask, to devote some part of my attention still to what is at my desk. With this pose, I can do exactly that.
I will not tell you in what other circumstances I find this exercise an efficient use of time….
Warning: If attempting this exercise while sitting across the table from someone, it is possible to kick that person in the shin. What you do with this knowledge is up to you.
One (more) thing about my new running shoes: They work my calf muscles noticeably more than my old ones did. Since my calves are a large and strong muscle group that can handle more work, I consider this change to be a good thing.
One thing about the first week of school: At no other time do I wear high heels (I consider any dress shoe that’s not a flat to be “high heels”) for so many days consecutively. They shorten my calf muscles and never let me really stretch them with each step, like I would if I were wearing flats.
All in all, time for some under the table calf stretching — which, as shown on this video via YouTube and The People Sanctuary, does not actually require a table at all:
When I want a more intense stretch, I like to loop a strap (or belt or whatever) around the ball of my foot to add some resistance. That is, if I’m in a place where I can do so within the bounds of etiquette. It doesn’t work well at, say, fancy restaurants or staff meetings.
When I want a less intense stretch or when I have to operate in stealth mode (see location note above for examples), I don’t bring my lower leg all the way horizontal. Moving it 50% or 75% of the way still stretches the calf more than does not moving it at all.
So I’m over my foot fascination — for the time being, at least, and not necessarily by much. While the last chair yoga post focused on the feet but incorporated some ankle movement, this one concentrates primarily on the ankles.
Why ankles? The muscle and ligaments there connect the lower leg to the feet. Not only can this tissue become tight in itself, but it can also accompany discomfort in the shins, calves, or feet. For folks with good lower limb mobility and little to no ankle (and, for part of the movement, knee) pain, this tends to be an approachable, gentler movement that is less about muscular effort and more about releasing tension and getting synovial fluid moving through the joints. (This is not to say what this pose might be about for folks with significant pain or mobility issues in the lower leg. With respect to that, I don’t know what I don’t know.)
After much introduction, courtesy of Expert Village and YouTube:
(If the ankle won’t move by itself, it’s totally cool — for all the exercises — to hold the toes or ball of the foot in the fingers and use the hands to facilitate movement.)
I realize the circles might seem a little simplistic — and in my experience, they actually are. While they tend to work nicely on any short-lived surface tension I might be experiencing, they often don’t help me work through deeper muscular and myofascial issues. That whole writing the alphabet with my feet thing, though? Made of pure effing win. It is one of the two major exercises I use to help relieve my shin pain (since I tend to carry my tension in front there, not in back) from running. I think it’s the irregular motions that get at a variety of angles and levels, but the alphabet thing helps me work through ankle, foot, and lower leg tension I didn’t even know I had.
Sometimes, spreading my toes is not enough. It can get me through a boring training where people are paying kind of a lot of attention to me (even if it’s mostly not to my feet), but at some point — particularly after walking around in non-walking shoes all day, I am going to want some additional foot stretching.
The exercise in this video (via Expert Village) is one of my favorites:
Despite the fact that it’s categorized as office chair yoga, I’m not going to lie: My favorite place to do this one is while I’m reading in bed. It’s kind of a nice thing to do to release tension in my entire body as I’m getting ready to sleep.
Pointing my feet and toes together stretches along the front of my ankles and shins, a place on me that’s tight from years of horseback riding and now running.
Pointing my toes while flexing my feet releases the tops of my feet, a place that’s sometimes tight from wearing flip flops or dress shoes.
Flexing my toes and my feet stretches into my calves and — if I engage my heels strongly enough — my hamstrings, both muscle groups I use during yoga and running.
As for pointing my feet while flexing my toes? That is like exponential toe-spreading. It relaxes the whole of each foot, underside and on top, and is more than enough to start moving energy or endorphins or whatever all throughout my body.
I’m writing this on the verge of leaving for a week-long professional conference — where, I imagine, I am going to be expected to don women’s dress shoes at least part of the time. Yes, they give my feet and legs a more conventionally attractive appearance, but truth be told, I hate wearing them. Even though I try to avoid heels and shoes with no structure (mass market ballet flats are not my friends), I never seem to find dress shoes that are comfortable to wear and walk in for an entire day.
Then the problem dawned on me: Most dress shoes do not let me spread my toes. At best, they tend to assume that my toes are exactly as wide as the ball of my foot. Other styles seem to think my toes are a lot narrower. While this is true in some positions, it is not true of the way I move and use my feet throughout the day. Pushing off to take a good stride, powering myself up flights of stairs or other inclines, and even finding a solid base of standing support all require me to be able to stretch my feet and spread my toes more than a lot of my shoes really allow.
So sometimes, I like to slip my feet out of my flats, even one foot at a time, and do this:
For a lot of us, our feet are our physical base. When walking, they’re what bear most or all of our weight, and they’re one of our primary points of contact with the earth. Because of this, any tension or stiffness in the muscles or connective tissue of the feet can affect muscles or joints higher up on the body.
Which is why it sometimes makes sense to start from the ground up.
This first exercise is a bit of self-massage, to stimulate and loosen the plantar fascia (the main connective tissue in the soles of the feet). You will need something like a tennis ball or golf ball.
Generally, I prefer a tennis ball for this self-massage. The slight squishiness of the ball makes it easier for me to control while working on tile ground. Alternatively, I find that a firmer ball (like a golf ball — the dogs won’t let me use their fetch balls) lets me use a little bit more pressure to release my fascia.
I find that a lot of typical yoga postures (chaturanga, down dog, all of the warriors), place stress on my feet and contribute to foot cramping. Not cool. Additionally, heaven help me on any day I have to wear honest-to-goodness dress shoes (let alone pure evil visiting my feet high heels). Though I don’t tend to get many breaks in those kinds of days, I always at least try to sneak a minute or two to give my feet a break.
Foot strain or tightness can affect how we place the feet on the ground, which can in turn affect calves, knees, hamstrings, hips, low back… you see where I’m going with this. So even for folks who don’t feel pain in their feet, it might be worth trying this anyway, to see if it relieves other discomfort.
In the past year or two, my body has become decidedly less tolerant of sitting in one position for more than about 10 minutes. So I’ve been entertaining the idea of a series on chair yoga for a little while. When I discovered there might be some reader interest (when I discovered I had readers!) in such a series, I decided now would be a good time to start one.
I tend to use “chair yoga” as a term that incorporates both postures that are done sitting in chairs and postures that are done standing next to chairs, using the chair as a prop. This tends to make the postures more accessible to people with limited mobility, but it’s not a perfect fit. It also tends to include postures that are suitable for an office environment (in public, maybe not wearing stretchy yoga clothes), but again, it’s not a perfect fit. If at any time, you see a pose that makes you go, “Hey, that looks nifty, but I’m not sure how to make it work for me,” feel free to let me know. I am a big fan of learning about different ways to modify asanas and also of internet research.
The first pose I’m going to detail is the seated version of tadasana, mountain pose. The simplest way to describe it is “sitting up straight.” I also like to call it “look like you’re paying attention pose,” suitable for feigning interest during boring meetings.
It’s a useful pose to examine both because it’s a good foundation for other seated postures and because it’s a position that we sometimes overlook as just “sitting.” Obviously, there are lots of different ways bodies can sit, and each one involves different proportions of effort and ease for various parts of the body. This is not to say that tadasana is the One True Way to sit or even that there is such a concept. But one benefit of observing alignment during sitting is that it lets us check in to our bodies rather than checking out.
On that note, a few points of body awareness that help me in this posture:
My Feet — Having my feet grounded is a balance point that keeps me stable. I can find a good alignment for me with my feet off the ground, but it’s way easier for me to maintain for long periods if my feet are solidly on the floor (or on something like blocks or a stool in cases where I’m in a higher seat).
My Pelvis — Sitting on my “sit bones” (the two sort of knobby bones at the bottom of my pelvis) rather than on my tailbone takes a lot of the strain out of my low back and the front of my pelvis. It also gives me a greater range of motion to help me find my neutral spine (see point 3). Most days I have to move the flesh of my butt to the sides to come to sitting on my sit bones; some days it also helps if I’m sitting on some kind of folded blanket or wedge.
My Spine — I like to find a neutral spine, where my spine in its natural curve, and my torso muscles (front, back, and sides) are lightly and evenly engaged for support. This is sort of the balance point of my spine — the hub of a lot of different types of spinal motion — so it’s a good place for me to come back to frequently.
And I do have to come back a lot. Especially sitting at a computer desk or grading papers or even driving, my unconscious inclination is for my abs to disengage, my neck to flex forward, my heart center to collapse, my upper back to round. Even when sitting, I cannot stay in tadasana the entire time, nor am I sure I should. But when I can come back to it, even for a few seconds, once every five minutes or so, it gives me a place where I can check in to see what else my body might need.
