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Back flex stretches – help?!
Hi all,
I need some help with a couple of stretches/moves and I don't know the technical 'dance'terms for them so bear with me! A little about where I am upto with stretching – I can do my front splits and a little oversplitting in them fine, I'm nearly there with my middle splits (I think!) and in terms of general flexibility I am ok, I can do an ok frontbend and can do backbends if I push into it or have the pole to help but I can't drop into it yet. I stretch as often as I can but results vary on the day. I do a mixture of yoga, pilate, ballet and beginner contortion stretches. I find the cobra stretch doesn't stretch well enough for me and my wrists get sore real quick 🙁
What I need help is with bending my back leg up whilst I am in the splits like so:
http://0.tqn.com/d/gymnastics/1/5/3/2/-/-/ringsplitsPaulaTribble.jpg
when I do this stretch, my leg always slips into the 'incorrect' position even if I do it against a wall and I don't have anyone that can hold me in place. What stretches can I do? I can't really do it when my front leg is bent with, I rock about and find it hard to balance and it doesn't feel right. Is it supposed to feel that uncomfy??
Then I want to be able to do an elbowstand from the back bend like this:
http://bwog.com/uploads/n1227211217_31338224_114.jpg
I go into my backbend and I struggle to lower my arms because I tend to lose balance when I am trying to move 1 arm down and also panic when I worry my head isn't clear of the floor because my chest doesn't feel like it can bend any further. I can't balance on my elbows and handstand against a wall either because I can't get the weight balanced right. How can I start practising it without jumping into the deep end (and possibly smashing my face into the carpet?!)
And last but certainly not least, my nemesis:
http://www.emwpoleevents.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/felix.jpg
…not Felix but that back leg bend. I can grab it quite high but only with 1 hand. For the life of me I can't reach with 2 hands and my leg isn't always straight which means I am turning out from my hips or my leg is weird. How do I practice this?! The last time I tried it, I split on the pole and tried to grab behind my legs but my chest felt like it was going to pop 🙁
I know all these moves come with time but I've been stretching for a while now and I don't see any improvements 🙁 help!!
Sorry if I repeated another post, I had a quick look through the forum but couldn't find specifically what I wanted.
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15 Replies
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I would strongly suggest that you get in touch with either David Owen (StellarMotion) or Stephanie Vera.
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i am not pretending to be a master stretcher but this is how my flexibility instructors have taught me to do the stretches you have below:
1- backbend in split: we use stretchy pilates bands in class, but i guess you could use a towel or a yoga strap depending on your flexibility. place the band so it crosses the top of your foot (and/or wraps once around your ankle), grab an end in each hand, and pull the band taut so that your hands are overhead and your elbows are together in front of your face. kick into the band with your foot and arch your head all the way back.
2- go into your regular bridge with your hands and feet on the ground and your stomach up in the air. then slowly lower yourself onto your head first. once your head is steady THEN bring your arms down and go into an elbow stand.
3- the needlescale, felix pose- this is not something that you practice unless you are able to easily touch your head to your foot and you can do oversplits and lean BACK in them. you need extreme hip flexibility, openness in your chest, and back flexibility. picture the image turned 90 degrees clockwise, as if she was splitting on the floor instead of on a pole. you need to be able to do a split on the ground, and have enough back flexibility to essentially lay down over the back leg and grab your foot. start with the first stretch first (backbend in split). that's the practice.
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Is Stephane Vera sapphirecatzeye? If so, she has a few tutorials online at youtube. I've pasted the link to one of her introductory stretching tutorials. Hope that helps.
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Yes! That's her. I didn't know she had done tutorials, must have been to busy to notice or something. I'm gonna check those out right away. Thanks for sharing!!!
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EVamp – yeah she rocks! I've been using her tutorials to stretch out for splits. https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_flower.gif
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thanks guys 😀 I'll work on them and let you know if I manage to achieve any of those!
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When I was looking for contortion streching instruction, I first found sapphirecatzeye on you tube too! I fel your desire as well- I really want to be able to get into some of these beautiful poses!! You may also want to look into the Valentino Brothers backbend download- they do all of those stretches in their dvd. I cannot do them yet either- but I am using a long sock to stretch with the move in the directionof those ones. I love them and have seen a tremendous increase in my flexibility. They dont give instruction on how to modify the poses, but I found the sock works great and allows me to stretch for those contortion poses safely without over doing it. only problem I have run into is that I have an old shoulder injury- I broke it in the 8th grade and I have discovered some real stiffness there. I am modifying to compensate. Curious if anyone has suggestions for that area- it is preventing me from really pushing into my backbend through that shoulder and doesnt feel anything like a muscle stiffness. Just taking it slow and trying to be consistent w it. My left arm can extend straight up, but feels like a barrier when I try to arch back- right arm has full mobility. I havent even thought of this injury until moving into these stretches and discovered it is there still!
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I had the same issue with my leg moving into the “wrong” position. Ito fix it I focused on my hip flexors and quads. These muscles can sometimes be too tight that you cannot move the hips into a squared position. Stretching these muscles also helped me with my advanced ballerina! Amy has a great suggestion for the back bend! When doing a bridge try to keep the legs in line with your hips and don’t allow the knees to flare out to the sides. Good luck!
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This is how I stretch for eagle.
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@Ember- I love your videos! You have such amazing flexibility!! I couldnt see your link though..
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What I did in your first stretch was: I started with pigeon pose (half split – front leg bent). I used my hand to pull the leg behind & put it at my head. After practicing a few times on different days, I could keep my front leg straight. After some more practices (about 10 times), I could do like in the photo with both hands at my head holding the back leg. I don't have to use the hands to keep me from falling into one side anymore. I practice alone. No one is here to help me.
My sister says never stretch when you feel uncomfy. You can stop where you are, try again in another day, and it will come without an effort. It's like, even if you can't do something, you build up strength for it by trying, and you will achieve it in the future. Good luck!
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I just found out that I gave you the wrong answer. You need the back leg to stay in the right position without being held by hands. Sorry.
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Thanks guys 🙂 I've been slacking a bit with stretching but seeing your tips and Ember's photo has motivated me to give these moves a try again. If I get there I will try get a photo 😀 😀
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Yes Ember, I can see it now. Thank you- that is a great idea using the frame!
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