Yoga exercises on leg flexibility

1. About positive leg

Among the several methods of leg pressing, positive leg pressing is the foundation and it is also the method that practitioners find it difficult. Beginners often have the following problems: lowering their heads, bending over, eager to touch their heads with their feet, a large space between their chest and legs, some people are unstable and seem to fall backward, and even have leg ligament injuries. To solve the above problems, you can pay attention to the following points when pressing the leg:

1. Standardize actions and proceed step by step

(1) During initial practice, it is not advisable to do intensive exercises. Place your legs on an object at the same height as your waist, sit back with your hips flat, the supporting legs are perpendicular to the ground, the knees are straight, the toes of the pressed legs are upward and consciously hook back, and the upper body moves forward with force to align the pressed legs. Toe back hooks help lengthen leg ligaments, tendons, and muscles, and moving the upper body forward can lengthen the trunk, especially the spine. Press one leg for a few minutes before changing the other leg. After a few days, when the leg muscles become soft and elastic, you can proceed to the next step.

(2) Keep the pressed leg and the supporting leg straight, press the knees of the pressed leg with both hands, retract the hips and make the body bend forward as much as possible to enhance the stretch of the fossa muscles behind the knee joint.

(3) Press the knees of the pressed legs with both hands, sit back on the hips, press the upper body forward and down hard, and try to put your abdomen on the thighs. After this step is completed, you can proceed to the next step;

(4) Hold your hands from below and press your legs and calves, and press your upper body forward and downward. Try to put your abdomen on your thighs and your chest on your knees. After this step is completed, you can proceed to the next step of practice.

(5) Stand straight with the pressed and supported legs, hold the soles of your feet with your hands, press your abdomen against your thighs, and press your chest against your knees, and try to touch your toes with your forehead. After this step is completed, you can proceed to the next step of practice.

(6) Hold the soles of your feet with your hands, press your abdomen against your thighs, and press your chest against your knees. Try touching your toes with your mouth. After this step is completed, proceed to the next step.

(7) Hold the soles of your feet with both hands, follow the upper method, and touch the toes with your lower palate. After this step is completed, it means that the positive leg has been completed.

Only by practicing step by step so that the trunk and legs form a one-to-one correspondence, such as the abdomen and thighs, chest and knees, and head and toes, can the space between the trunk and legs be avoided.

2. From light to heavy, from low to high

When pressing the leg, the body applies pressure to the leg ligaments, tendons, and muscles. When you first practice, use light force, and gradually increase the pressure after practicing for a period of time; if you apply gravity at the beginning, you may be able to last for a day or two, but I'm afraid it will be difficult to even walk on the third and fourth days. The height of your legs should be low to high. Place your legs at the same height as your waist, and press until your chin touches the toes, place your legs on an object as high as your chest; then practice until your chin touches the toes, place your legs on an object as high as your shoulders until you place your feet on an object as high as your head.

3. Pull first and then press, from near to far

When I first practiced leg pressing, because the ligament, tendons, and muscles of my legs were not stretched well, I suddenly stretched hard, which was not only in vain, but also caused ligament injuries. Therefore, when you first practice, you should first lengthen the leg ligaments, tendons, muscles and spine, and then apply vibration and pressure; the vibration and pressure should also be carried out step by step, and you should not rush for success. When pressing the leg, you should also pay attention to the contact between the trunk and the legs from near to far. The contact order between the corresponding parts of the trunk and the legs is: trunk: abdomen-chest-head and legs: thighs-knees-toes. Don't use your head to touch your toes at the beginning.

4. Be strong and persevere

Carrying out leg flexibility exercises is really boring, especially if you practice to a certain extent, you will feel sore in your legs and hips. This is a "fatigue period" similar to that of long-distance runners. The most important thing at this time is that you must have a strong will, a heart of perseverance, and cannot stop. Compared with other qualities of leg skills, the flexibility quality of leg skills is easy to develop and fade away. At this time, you should be good at self-adjustment, appropriately reduce the intensity and range of pressing down, reduce the time of pressing down, or perform kicking practice, combined with pressing and kicking. As long as you persist, the soreness will gradually disappear, and you will be excited about your achievements.

5. Prepare for activities before pressing

Before practice, you can do some preparation activities for the waist, hip, knee, ankle, and leg muscles. Because the stretchability of muscles and ligaments is related to the temperature of the muscles, by preparing for activities, the warmth of the muscles can be improved, the viscosity inside the muscles can be reduced, which is conducive to leg flexibility exercises.

2. About positive kicking

Kicking is the most important step in leg flexibility training. It can consolidate the effects of leg pressing, leg splitting, and leg hanging, and also lays a solid foundation for actual leg training. Problems that often occur in kicking include: 1. The center of gravity is unstable, or even falling;2. The heel of the supporting leg is lifted or the knee of the supporting leg is bent;3. Bend over and convex back. To solve the above problems, pay attention to the following points when kicking:

1. Lift your legs lightly

When the leg is about to kick, quickly move the center of gravity to the other leg to relax the leg muscles that are about to be kicked, so that the leg will be lifted lightly and the kick will be as fast as the wind. To prevent falls, you can also practice with your back against the wall or ribs.

2. Play quickly

Swing your legs quickly towards your face from bottom to top, where there is an acceleration process. When kicking, sit back on your hips and swing your legs with an inch of strength. When you first practice kicking, you must maintain the standardization of your movements. You would rather kick just above your chest than lift the leg heel that supports the leg or bend the knee, or bend your back and use your head to meet the toes. These all show that the flexibility training of the leg is not in place and the ligaments have not been pulled open. As long as you insist on combining pressure and kick and practice constantly, you will definitely reach the point where your feet touch your forehead.

3. Falling legs should be stable

Beginners often kick the other leg as soon as they land, resulting in the phenomenon of heavy legs and crooked bodies. This is because when the kicked leg just lands, the center of gravity of the body is still on the original supporting leg, and when the leg falls, the center of gravity is shifted, and the above phenomenon is bound to occur. The correct way is to wait until the leg is implemented and the body's center of gravity has been changed before kicking the other leg. In fact, this kind of practice is also conducive to the application of serial kicking methods in actual combat.

To improve your ability and avoid injury, warm-up and stretching are just like the basic internal skills in martial arts novels. They must be consistent and solid; however, many people only know one thing but don't know the other, or cannot grasp the key points; instead, they suffer from it; therefore, in order to maximize the benefits of stretching and ensure safety, the following principles must be observed:

1. You must warm up before stretching; for example, use small running to increase your body temperature and keep your muscles and tendons in a ready state of preparation. This will improve the effectiveness of stretching and reduce the chance of injury caused by improper stretching.

2. Don't pause your breathing when stretching; breathe very slowly and deeply; pause your breathing and hold your breath and concentrate, which will increase your oxygen debt, uncoordinated movements, and increase the chance of stretching injuries.

3. Stretch the muscles before and after exercise; most people only remember to stretch the muscles before exercise; after exercise, they are tired and don't want to move; in fact, after exercise, although the muscles are sore, they still need to be gently stretched. This can re-regulate the muscle fibers, accelerate the recovery of fatigue, and the condition of the muscles will be better during the next exercise.

4. The action of lacing the tendons should be slow and gentle, and never press hard or hard. The purpose of stretching is to use the elasticity and extension of muscles and tendons to stimulate the neural signals of muscle spindle nerves and tendinoreceptors, and gradually increase the potential and tolerance of stretching. Whether it is a rhythmic movement or a fixed movement (for more than 30 seconds in a row), as long as it is relaxed, it will be effective; the most taboo is to press muscles that cannot be stretched and pressed hard for quick progress, or others apply external force to help; as long as you use your force improperly, it will cause harm.

5. Replace the muscle group that fastens the tendon; for the same action, there may be many muscles that form a group with the same function and complete the action collaboratively; but these muscles, due to their different anatomical positions, may need to rely on different tendon movements to stretch them one by one; in addition to the synergy muscles, the grasping muscles with opposite directions must also be tightened in the same way; if the synergy muscles have a tendon, they may fail to reach the top and be injured in some extreme movements; If the grasping muscles do not stretch some, they lose balance during strong contraction and can also cause injury.

6. The degree of stretching should be to the point where it feels a little "tension" or "sour", but it must not be to the point of "pain." Having a "tension" or "acid" means that the muscles feel that the neurons correctly reflect the effect of stretching the muscles; but when the muscles are stretched to the point of "pain", the degree of Binjin's injury will be very close. Successful warm-up and stretching is a propeller for smooth exercise and a protective cover to avoid injuries; everyone must grasp the above principles and establish the most suitable personal routine steps to make it a habit; it is like tying a seat belt when driving a car. It is not just thinking about it to get on the highway, nor is it necessary to be afraid of the police issuing a ticket; but for your own safety, you fasten your seat belt as soon as you get on the car, and warm up and stretch your muscles when you want to exercise; The key is not to take chances and enjoy the fun of it; in this way, happiness and security are both in it.

Good flexibility does not hinder growth and is conducive to growth. Protect bones and muscles and effectively prevent injuries. (Internship Editor: Wu Jinyu)