Yoga poses in class leg stretching

URDHVA PRASARITA PADASANA is a yoga pose for abdominal practice. Its benefits are as Master Aiyanga said in "Light of Yoga":

"This pose is a very good exercise to reduce fat around the abdomen. It strengthens the waist area of the back, regulates abdominal organs, and relieves the pain of stomach disorders and flatulence."

However, if you have lumbosacral disorders or abdominal organ disorders, such as lumbar muscle strain, lumbar disc herniation, etc., you should carefully consider practicing this pose.

In addition, this pose should not be practiced at the beginning of the yoga practice series. It should be practiced after the standing pose and the inverted pose.

Both standing poses and inverted poses can strengthen the muscles and ligaments in the lower limbs, buttocks, abdomen and other areas, and have a certain role in regulating and protecting abdominal organs.

Practice standing and inverted poses first to prepare for some abdominal yoga poses. If the abdomen is not adjusted or adjusted, and the abdominal yoga poses are blindly practiced, some problems or even injuries may occur.

The muscles and ligaments involved in the upper leg extension are mainly the psoas deep in the back of the abdominal cavity, the rectus femoris in the front of the thigh, and the hamstrings in the back of the thigh. It is not just to exercise the abdominal muscles.

In this asana practice, it is important to adjust the position of your legs when you exhale.

When exhaling, retract the lower abdomen inward and downward (the navel towards the spine), so that the pelvis, which has been tilted forward due to the gravitational traction of the lower limbs, returns to a neutral position, and stabilize your pelvis. On the mat or the floor, let your lumbar vertebrae fully stretch and press against the mat or floor.

We know that the sacral segment of the spine has been cured on the pelvis, keeping the pelvis stable, which stabilizes the foundation of the spine. The lumbar segment will not leave the mat or floor, and no stress concentration will occur, avoiding unnecessary pain and injury.

Maintaining stability in the pelvis requires protection and support from the thighs and buttocks muscles. If these muscles are loose or atrophied, then the pelvis may become excessively flexible or very stiff, and there may be problems such as leaning forward or backward, tilting left and right.

To adjust and strengthen the thigh and hip muscles, practicing standing poses and inverted poses is undoubtedly a very good way.

The practice of lying on your back, raising your legs together, and then rotating clockwise and counterclockwise is generally called the exercise of rotating your legs. It is mainly an exercise of moving the hip joint. It belongs to the digestion (abdominal) exercise series of traditional hatha yoga and wind-dispelling exercises.

The upper leg stretching pose, in accordance with traditional hatha yoga, is also included in the digestion (abdominal) exercise series of exercises in the Wind-expelling Series.

According to the warnings of traditional hatha yoga, people with high blood pressure, severe heart disease, sciatica, lumbar disc herniation, etc., or abdominal organ disorders or diseases should practice these two yoga poses very carefully. (Internship Editor: Wu Jinyu)