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What moves are easy/hard for you?
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I found cradle SOO HARD! I could do inverted teddy/hip hold, reverse grab/pretzel and bow and arrow long before I could do cradle! And I’m still very average at it! (I have scarred my thighs from ‘falling’ out of the crable pose so many times and cutting my my leg on my the nails on my bottom hand!)
I was just talking to my teacher a couple of days ago about the way I figured out how to do cradle. This one hurt me a lot — I had so many bruises from trying to do it! So — I spent lots of time obsessing and figured out that the key for me was to focus on bending my body over, not lifting my body to my arms. It started working immediately after that. I hope that makes sense!
Mindy
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Hard… anything requiring hip flexibility:
boomerang spin (can’t get legs to raise any more than parallel to the ground https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_e_sad.gifOh me too Notradaya! It’s so disappointing! I wish I could lift them higher, but for my teddy bear/ boomerange all I can get is them sticking straight out like you. https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_e_sad.gif It’s hard to pinpoint the cause though coz that could be lower back flexibility issues (I have a very bendy upper back, but not lower, nearer where the hips are), or hip flexors or hamstrings. I have been stretching my hammies and hips for about a year now and still no improvement in that area! https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_cry.gif
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Hard… anything requiring hip flexibility:
boomerang spin (can’t get legs to raise any more than parallel to the ground https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_e_sad.gifOh me too Notradaya! It’s so disappointing! I wish I could lift them higher, but for my teddy bear/ boomerange all I can get is them sticking straight out like you. https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_e_sad.gif It’s hard to pinpoint the cause though coz that could be lower back flexibility issues (I have a very bendy upper back, but not lower, nearer where the hips are), or hip flexors or hamstrings. I have been stretching my hammies and hips for about a year now and still no improvement in that area! https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_cry.gif
I am much in the same boat and I am figuring it’s part flexibility issue – the connective tissue in the flexor and abductor must be opened up and partly lack of abductor/flexor strength.
I’ve been using a pilates band for resistance and doing range of motion exercises in hopes to build strength and eventually open up more.
I also bought pilates blocks so I can sit in a lunge position for 10-20 minutes comfortably to open up the connective tissue. It’s an idea I got from a yin yoga instructor. Yin focuses on longer deeper stretches to open the connective tissue as stretching elastic muscles is essential opening up the joints is also essential. SO the idea is to start in an easy stretch and hold that pose and over a longer amount of time allow you body to get comfortable and slowly fall deeper in the pose.
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Yin Yoga is a great call for hip opening – it focuses on opening the tougher connective tissues and ligaments, and you hold the poses for much longer. Muscles can be stretched using more "active" methods, but for connective tissue, long, still holds are the way to go. It requires a ton of patience but is highly effective – especially on tight hips!
And it’s nice to hear that I’m not the only one that has a tough time with cradle. https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_e_wink.gif
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Yin Yoga is a great call for hip opening – it focuses on opening the tougher connective tissues and ligaments, and you hold the poses for much longer. Muscles can be stretched using more "active" methods, but for connective tissue, long, still holds are the way to go. It requires a ton of patience but is highly effective – especially on tight hips!
It looks like hip flexibility is something lots of us are working on! So I made a new thread where we can discuss it in more detail: https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_e_biggrin.gif https://www.studioveena.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=14&t=1786
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Here’s something I’ve been thinking about… We all have unique anatomy and physiology, so some moves are easier than others. There was a girl in my class tonight who is just friggin AWESOME, but she couldn’t do pole sits! It blew my mind.
What "hard" moves came easy to you? Which "easy" ones were hard?
For me:
Easy:
–Pole sits
–Crossed knee release — I could do this way before I could invert
–GeminiHard:
–CHOPPER — errr… they present it as easy in class, but it is still very hard for me. I actually got it a few times, tonight, though!
–stationary V — kills my wrist
–cradle spin
— butterflyMindy
As for the cradle are you using your good hand? I was having problems but as soon as I used my weak hand on top and my strong hand on bottom I got it. I am currently working on the cartwheel move but I can’t get my legs up straight no matter what I do https://www.studioveena.com/img/smilies/icon_e_sad.gif
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