Healthy and Unhealthy Stretching Sensations

by Nina

Flames by Melina Meza

Ever hear someone else groaning in a yoga class? Or maybe that you? Yes, when you are stretching a tight area of your body, you can experience quite a bit of sensation. And while healthy stretches can provoke an intense feeling, it’s a good idea to pay attention to the type of sensation you’re experiencing because this may indicate you should back off the stretch.

As we discussed in previous posts (see What is Flexibility, Anyway?), stretching a muscle or muscle group and fascia is healthy and beneficial, but stretching a tendon or ligament can cause an injury, such as a tear, inflammation, tendonitis, or tendonosis. In addition, compressing a joint when you are stretching can pinch the tissues caught between the bones closing in toward each other, which cause pain and lead to inflammation. So it’s important to learn to tell the difference between the sensations of healthy stretch of a tight muscle versus the pain, pinching, or “smashed together” feelings that are warnings of potential injury. 

Healthy Sensations. You will feel generally feel healthy stretch of a muscle in the mid-portion of a muscle, farther away from the tendons and ligaments are located close to joints. A good place to become familiar with this type of sensation is the hamstring muscle at the backs of your thighs, which you stretch in Standing Forward Bend (Uttanasana) and Reclined Leg Stretch (Supta Padangusthasana). As most of you know, the intensity of the stretch sensation there can be quite strong, and yet it generally doesn’t mean you are injuring yourself. So when you experience this type of sensation, as long as the stretch is a moderate one, take a deep breath and try to relax into the stretch. 

Unhealthy Sensations. You will generally feel an unhealthy stretch of muscle, tendon, or ligaments closer to a joint, such as your hip, knee, shoulder or elbow joint. And the quality of feeling will be different than a healthy stretch, maybe burning, sharp, stabbing, throbbing, or tearing in quality. For example, with the hamstring muscles, if you feel a tender burning sensation up toward your buttocks, this could be an indication you are overstretching the attachments. In all cases, when you experience these types of sensations, you should immediately back off the stretch if possible to see if that helps. If not, come out of the pose entirely.

It is possible to feel this burning, sharp, stabbing, throbbing, or tearing sensation in the muscle body as a result of a sudden, intense, quick stretch, so that is why we always recommend moving slowly and with in control into your stretches. 

Joint Compression. Sometimes when you are stretching a muscle, the joint that is bending can become compressed. For example, when you deeply bend your knee joints, as in Child’s pose (Balasana), the tissues at the back of the knee joint can become pinched together. This is potentially dangerous because the compression could produce tissue damage and inflammation, or even could injure nerves or blood vessels, leading to acute or chronic pain and dysfunction.

In general what you’ll feel when a joint is compressed is either a sensation of muscles, skins, tendons, fascia, and/or bones being “smashed together” or a pinching sensation. For example, some of less flexible folks feel smashed together or pinching sensations in our front hip when doing Extended Side Angle pose (Utthita Parsvakonasana) with our hand on the floor. Both of these sensations indicate that you are overdoing it, and you should back off the stretch, possibly by adding a prop. If you can’t eliminate the joint compression, come out of the pose. 

Compression can also put pressure on blood vessels and nerves, so if you have an unusual pressure sensation in the joint or feel numbness and tingling downstream from the compressed area, that is an indication that you are overdoing it and should back off the stretch or come out of the pose.

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Techniques for Cultivating Flexibility with Yoga

by Nina

De Jur, Age 57

After delving into strength (see Techniques for Strength Building with Yoga), Baxter and I immediately moved onto flexibility. Now, after our usual time spent on research, discussion, and debate, we’ve come up with a basic set of guidelines for how you can use your yoga practice for improving and maintaining flexibility. 

An important thing to consider when you move into flexibility practices is how flexible you already are. Overly flexible people should emphasize strength and stability rather than promoting more flexibility. These people should do what they can do protect their joints by activating the muscles that support their joints (see below) and stretch less intensely than people who are naturally tight or even just average. Tighter people can safely move into a noticeable stretching sensation, as long as they are not feeling that sensation at tendon/bone connections near the joints. 

How Far to Stretch. Be mindful in your stretching not to go beyond the sensation of a healthy stretch into feelings of pain, burning, or compression in your joint. If you experience sensations that seem unhealthy, either back off the stretch or use a prop or different variation of the pose. Overly flexible people should be extra careful, aiming for a lighter feeling of stretch (or even do the pose for strength instead flexibility by actively contracting their muscles instead of allowing them to stretch).

How Long to Stretch. To cultivate long-lasting flexibility in your muscles and fascia, aim for at least 90 seconds. If holding for 90 seconds isn’t possible, it might be an indication that you are: stretching your muscle too far or that the opposing muscles are contracting too tightly, that the initial intensity of your stretch set off a strong stretch reflex, or that you are doing a pose or a version of the pose that is too challenging for you. So start by seeing if you can back off the stretch a bit or modify the pose. But if you just can’t get comfortable, hold the pose until you are fatigued, and gradually over time work your way up to longer holds. 

Static poses held for shorter periods of time will release the overnight tightness that we all experience and bring you temporary flexibility that will enhance the rest of your practice. For example, you could warm up for standing poses by doing leg stretches. Hold these warm-up stretches for 20 seconds or longer to trigger a relaxation in the muscles, allowing a more complete stretch. 

How Often to Stretch. To cultivate lasting flexibility, stretch a particular muscle or muscle group regularly, at least three times a week and at most every other day. In general, with consistent practice, you can see results after 3 to 8 weeks for muscles. For fascia, however, it takes longer to create lasting changes, from 3 to 6 months.

Muscles need a day of rest between stretching sessions or you could develop an overuse injury. So generally you shouldn’t stretch the same muscle group on consecutive days. However, you can do flexibility poses every day if you focus on different areas of your body on each day, for example, alternating between upper body and lower body or between backbends and forward bends. Or, you can alternate intense stretching days with other types of yoga practice, whether that is active strength, balance, or agility practices, a gentle or restorative practice, or pranayama/meditative practice on your “off days.” 

Static Poses. Entering into static poses slowly will allow elastic muscle lengthening to take place more easily. And, once in the pose, you can add in muscle activation on the opposite side of the joint to enhance the stretch (see below). 

Dynamic Poses. Slow, dynamic movements in and out of poses allow gradual muscle lengthening without triggering the muscles’ protective stretch reflex. So these are a good way to warm up your joints in an easy fashion and can lead to immediate improvements in muscle flexibility, which you can then further with your static hold of the same pose. For example, you practice Standing Forward Bend (Uttanasana) dynamically to temporarily improve hamstring/hip flexibility, which you then further with a long hold of the pose. In general, we recommend a combination of small dynamic sequences of stretches done for 6-8 repetitions, followed by holding the stretch statically for 90 seconds. 

Restorative Poses. Poses where you can relax as you gently stretch your body in a supported position are an excellent way to cultivate flexibility. For example, holding Supported Backbend for at least 90 seconds allows you to gently open your front body. Likewise, holding Supported Child’s pose for at least 90 seconds allows you to gently stretch your back body. And because fascial planes run for long distances through your body, using a supported pose that stretches your entire body (front, side, or back) will help address fascial tightness as well as muscular tightness. 

Balance Your Practice. To balance your flexibility, make sure your practice includes poses of all the basic types: standing poses, seated hip openers, backbends, forward bends, and twists, as long as they are safe for you. Of course you don’t need to do all these basic types within a single practice; just try to get to them sometime each week.

Activating Muscles. In static stretches, intentionally contracting the muscles on the opposite side of the joint—known as reciprocal inhibition—allows the muscle group you stretching to lengthen more effectively. So when you are stretching a particular muscle, bring your awareness to the antagonist muscle, which is the opposite muscle to the one you are stretching, and gently activate it. For example, when stretching your front thigh muscles in a Lunge pose, try consciously activating the back of your thigh. If you’re not used to working this way, it may take some practice. Take it in two steps: 

1. Consciously relax the muscle, allowing it to lengthen. 
2. Gently firm the muscle toward the bone. 

Protecting Your Joints. For people with joint problems, such as arthritis, consciously firming the muscles that support a problem joint will help protect the joint from strain or wear and tear. For example, if you have knee arthritis and are practicing Reclined Leg Stretch (Supta Padangusthasana), you could firm around your knee joint as you bring your top leg into the pose and try to maintain that firmness as you stretch the back of your thigh. 

For people who are overly flexible and can bend easily into deep forward bends and backbends, consciously activating the muscles that are supporting you in the pose will prevent you from hyperextending the joints. For example, in Standing Forward Bend (Uttanasana), you can protect your hip joints by activating the muscles around your hip joints before you enter the pose and maintain as much of that as you can while you come into the pose. While the result will be a stretch that is not as deep as usual, your hip joints will benefit. 

And just as over-stretching can cause joint problems in an active pose, it can also do so in restorative poses. So if you feel any sensations of overstretching, pain, pinching, or compression while you are in a restorative pose, come out and add more support, reducing the stretch you are experiencing. Likewise, if you notice pain in your joints after practicing restorative poses, add in more support the next time you practice.

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What Fascia is and Why You Should Care

by Baxter

Chiara Guerrieri by Melina Meza

Over the course of the last four years, we have written—sometimes at length—about various important components of our physical bodies, including muscles, tendons, ligaments, spinal discs, cartilage, nerves, and blood vessels. But we have only made passing reference to another ubiquitous component that in many ways holds everything together: fascia. Fascia falls into the group of specialized body tissues known as “connective tissue,” which is the material that lies between, cushions, spaces out, provides shape to and surround many other parts of our bodies. Unlike many other non-connective tissues of the body, fascia is made up of a “matrix” of material, almost like a gel, that contains fewer cells in proportion to its overall structure, making it both pliable and supportive. The cells in fascia are called fibroblasts, and they produce a tough fibrous protein called collagen, which gives the fascia shape and strength. 

Fascia is like a specialized kind of plastic wrap that:

• Surrounds all organs, every muscle, and individual muscle fibers
• Narrows from surrounding muscles into the tendons
• Wraps around every bone (the periosteum)
• Is the layer of tissue right under the skin (the dermis)
• Surrounds blood vessels and nerves

So our fascia creates containers that contribute to and support the shapes of other structures. And when one layer of fascia is adjacent to another layer, the fascia permits some sliding, gliding movements between the structures, such as muscle and organs, that it encloses, which contributes to your ease of movement. There are also connections between fascia along the long axis of our body, creating interconnected strings of tissue that can hold tension and transmit force. This contributes to our ability to maintain our overall structure and upright posture, and when we move and change position. For example, when we bend forward, there is an increase in the tension along the myofascial plane on the back of the body, while the one on the front becomes more slack, like an extension of what you would see at an individual joint, but now affecting the whole body. Sounds like amazing stuff!

Knowing something about fascia is helpful for your asana practice because just as a muscle can shrink and tighten from environmental factors such as inactivity or habitual ways of standing and sitting, the fascia that surrounds the muscle can suffer the same fate. It turns out that when you are trying to stretch a muscle and create a longer resting muscle length, you are also stretching the fascia that surrounds the muscle. And because fascia not only surrounds individual muscles, but also forms fascial planes (connections) that run for longer distances through the body, the planes can also become tight and restricted. For example, if the myofascial connection from the outer ankle up to the side of the skull became tight, it could cause a subtle or not subtle side-bending of the body. In this case, focusing on stretching the entire side body, such as with dynamic or static New Moon pose, (Parsva Urdhva Hastasana) away from tight side could be an effective way to address that area. This goes beyond the more limited way of looking at one isolated muscle as the cause of tightness, and takes in the greater reality of our myofascial system. 

Although these planes can be lengthened via stretching and movement, it takes take them longer then individual muscles to reset to a longer length—from 3-6 months. In fact, Tom Myers, an expert who studies fascia and fascial lines, recommends that we start looking at these longer myofascial connections instead of individual muscles when we want to release tension and stiffness in our bodies. For example, if we notice that our posture is stooped forward and we think initially that it is mostly a shortness and tightening of the long, vertical abdominal muscles pulling our chest forward and down, we might instead consider that our stooped posture is actually a restriction in the long myofascial connection that runs the entire front length of our body. Our approach to improving our posture might then focus on stretching that entire front fascial connection—from the front neck to the legs and ankles—via a series of active and passive backbends, rather than just stretching the abdominal muscles. Because so many yoga poses address the entire length and circumference of the body, yoga is particularly good for stretching both muscle and fascia. 

So, understanding a bit about fascia expands your overall understanding of the complexity of your body, taking you beyond simply considering individual muscles or joints and expanding to include changing your fascia and fascial connections. Knowing that it may take longer to see significant change in areas of stiffness due to fascial tightness may help you to be more patient with your body. Because slow, gradual, longer stretches, where your muscles finally lengthen after you overcome the stretch reflex, begin to address the fascial tightness, I recommend slow, longer holds, working up to 90 seconds holds, to address both muscle and fascia, and practicing this way consistently. 

Our past recommendations here at YFHA to establish a regular home practice and to stick with it over the long haul, with a patient attitude, will serve you well as you attempt not only to release localized stiffness and restriction in certain muscles, but also to achieve more global improvement in your myofascial connections. 

Note: For those who wish to learn more about these myofascial connections, which run along the front, sides, and back of the body, both near the surface of the body and deeper, and also include spiral connections, consider reading Tom Myers’ book Anatomy Trains. 

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Why and How to Activate Your Muscles in Yoga Poses

by Nina 

Bicep Muscle

Tricep Muscle

For some time now we’ve been suggesting that you add “isometric muscle contraction” to your poses to enhance both strength building and stretching. I, myself, have been experimenting with it quite a bit in my practice, and have noticed some dramatic results. But since we’ve never really explained much about what we meant by that or how to put it into practice, I’ve decided that today I’m going to go into detail about both the benefits of this technique and the best ways to practice it so you, too, can give it a try. 

Why Do It 

Stretching. When you are stretching a particular muscle, consciously activating the agonist muscle (the opposite muscle to the one you’re stretching) will cause the muscle you are stretching to release (though reciprocal inhibition). For example, if you are stretching the your back thigh muscles (hamstrings), activating your front thigh muscles (quadriceps) will release your back thigh muscles, allowing you to increase the hamstring stretch. 

Bone Strengthening. Although a weight-bearing pose on its own will strengthen bones, if you consciously contract the muscles holding you up by firming them toward the bones, you will enhance the bone strengthening effects of the pose. For example, if you’re standing in Tree pose (Vrksasana), firming your leg muscles will enhance bone building in the standing leg. 

Muscle Strengthening. As you work in strength building poses, you can strengthen more than just the obviously active muscles by consciously contracting other muscles as you work in the pose. For example, as you hold you arms out to the sides in Warrior 2 (Virabradrasana 2), you can activate your triceps as well as your biceps to increase all-around arm strength. 

Joint Safety. For people with joint problems, such as arthritis, consciously firming the muscles that support a joint will help protect the joint from strain or wear and tear. For example, if you have knee arthritis, firming the muscles on all sides of your thighs in Extended Side Angle pose (Utthita Parsvakonasana) will help support your knees. And for people who are overly flexible and can bend easily into deep forward bends and backbends, consciously activating the muscles that are supporting you in the pose will prevent you from hanging from your joints, which can cause injury. For example, instead of passively dropping into pose where you bend backward or forward from the hips, such as Camel pose (Ustrasana) and Standing Forward Bend, (Uttanasana) you can protect your hip joints by activating your upper thigh and lower buttock muscles. 

How to Do It 

To achieve the benefits I’ve described, you should contract your muscles gently rather than strongly. Strongly contracting a muscle shortens the muscle, which seems to prevent you from moving as freely in the pose. On the other hand, gently firming a muscle toward the bone provides muscular support without interfering with movement. If you’re not used to working this way, it may take some practice. Take it in two steps (thank you, Donald!): 

1. Consciously relax the muscle, allowing it to lengthen. 
2. Gently firm the muscle toward the bone. 

Stretching. When you are stretching a particular muscle, bring your awareness to the agonist muscle (it is already contracting), which is the opposite muscle to the one you are stretching. Gently relax and then firm the agonist muscle toward the bone, and feel whether the opposite muscle stretches a bit more. For example, if you are stretching your tricep muscles (underarm muscles) with arms overhead, try gently firming your biceps toward to the bone. (I realize that which muscle is the “opposite” to the one you are stretching is not always obvious but that is an anatomy lesson for another day.)

Another technique I just learned about is that if you are targeting a particular muscle, you can contract the muscle you want to stretch BEFORE you go into the pose. For example, if you want to stretch tight hamstring muscles, you could practice Locust pose (Salabasana) to contract the muscles just before practicing Standing Forward Bend (Uttanasana).

Strength Building. If you are practicing a strength-building pose, rather than contracting only the most obviously active muscle, firm all the surrounding muscles around the bone as well. For example, in Downward-Facing Dog pose (Adho Mukha Svanasana), firm all your arm muscles and shoulder muscles toward the bone. When you want to strengthen your hip area, in a standing pose, for example, you can slowly engage the muscles all around your hip joints, ensuring that this action does not pull you out of good alignment. 

Joint Safety. For joint safety, you want to emphasize strength and stability rather than promoting more flexibility. So practice as you would for increasing bone or muscle strength by firming the muscles that support your joints. For example, to protect your front knee in Warrior 2 pose, you might shorten the distance between your feet so you are not bending your front knee through such a deep range of motion, and then, when your knee is positioned over your ankle joint, focus on firming the muscles on all sides of the knee joint toward the bone. 

If you decide to experiment with any of these techniques, either in your home practice or in a class you're teaching, please let me know how it goes!

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Yoga and Flexibility: An Overview

by Baxter

As with the other essential skills of Yoga for Healthy Aging (strength, balance and agility), we have looked at flexibility in different ways over the course of time here at YFHA. I thought it was high time to have another look at this essential skill and give it its proper due! Now, a lot a folks on the street already consider modern yoga mostly a practice of “stretching,” so flexibility is on their mind as soon as the word “yoga” is uttered. And most of the men I meet on the street and ask if they have tried to do yoga, respond, “No, I’m too stiff and inflexible!” To which I usually reply, “then yoga is just what you need!”

In the grand scheme of things, maintaining flexibility is essential for living a full, active life. From the simplest daily activities, like bending down to put your shoes and socks on or buttoning up a shirt, to the more skillful actions of playing a musical instrument or doing detailed bead work, big and small muscles need to be able to contract and lengthen effectively, and our joints, the pivot points of all movement, need to be able to move through their full range of motion. For the joints, moving through the full range of motion goes beyond their job as movement pivot points, but extends to being able to move the synovial fluid, which lubricates and cushions the joints, all around the joint surfaces. Synovial fluid also delivers nutrition throughout the joint space and removes waste from inside the joint. In other words, movement helps maintain the health and function of the joints!

Most of us know from experience and observation that flexibility can decrease as we age. The American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons notes the following realities about our aging muscles:

• As muscles age, they begin to shrink and lose mass. This is a natural process, but a sedentary lifestyle can accelerate it. 
• The number and size of muscle fibers also decrease. Thus, it takes muscles longer to respond in our 50s than they did in our 20s. 
• The water content of tendons, the cord-like tissues that attach muscles to bones, decreases as we age. This makes the tissues stiffer and less able to tolerate stress.

And they note that joints are also affected:

• Joint motion becomes more restricted and flexibility decreases with age because of changes in tendons and ligaments.
• As the cushioning cartilage begins to break down from a lifetime of use, joints become inflamed and arthritic.

However, on a positive point, they note that individuals who maintain regular physical activity can slow down this process dramatically, and potentially maintain near normal function of both muscles and joints! In addition to activity and diet, a positive mental attitude can also contribute to maintaining good flexibility as we age, something we have also addressed on these pages as well.

In past posts, we’ve looked at several neurological reflexes that connect the muscles to the spinal cord and brain that are involved in how the muscles lengthen, due to their elastic ability to stretch beyond their resting length, and how they contract or shorten beyond their resting length. Shari did a thorough job of discussing the three main reflexes that affect how our muscles respond to our “stretching” poses in yoga: the stretch reflex, autogenic inhibition, and reciprocal inhibition (to get the details, see Flexibility and Aging).

Some of these reflexes have evolved to help the brain effectively monitor the amount of stretch a muscle is experiencing, so as to determine if it is safe for the muscle to be stretching, and, if not, to try to protect the muscle from potential injury. Still others have evolved to allow one muscle group to contract while its antagonist on the other side of the joint is told to remain uncontracted, so as to permit a desired action to take place. A good yoga example of this is if you are lying on your back and lift your right leg up in the air, the quadraceps muscle contracts and shortens at the front of the hip joint to create the movement, but simultaneously, the brain tells the hamstring muscle to relax, so there is little or no resistance from the back of the hip joint. We take advantage of this in yoga to actually lengthen the hamstrings more.

More in how these reflexes apply to yoga practice in a minute. First, I wanted to also share with you some newer information that gets at the molecular level of how we improve elasticity of the muscles. This is mostly for you science geeks out there, but even if science is not your thing, it is still very cool that scientist are still working on unraveling how we stretch and maintain or lose flexibility in our muscles. An article in Science Daily reports that a team of researchers at Columbia University report the discovery of a new form of mechanical memory that adjusts the elasticity of muscles to their history of stretching. It involves a complex protein molecule called titin that was thought to be inactive for a long time, and a chemical process called oxidation that occurs as the titin molecule lengthens during stretching. As one of the researchers (who is a yoga practitioner) noted:

"As a yoga aficionado, I believe that we are starting to understand the increase in flexibility induced by yoga. A pose like downward-facing dog is a highly effective way to unfold the knots in titin, enabling modifications that make the protein remember that it has to remain unfolded and soft."

So if we practice regularly, we are likely taking advantage of this mechanical memory of our titin molecules. The practical application of the muscle reflexes and new research to improve our flexibility is distilled in the following recommendations:

• Slow, dynamic movements in and out of poses can allow gradual muscle lengthening without triggering the muscles protective reflex. This could be a good way to warm up for static stretches.
• With static, held stretches, entering into the stretch slowly will again allow for elastic lengthening to take place more easily. According to Shari, if we hold a pose for more than 6 -20 seconds, we can stimulate the autogenic inhibitory reflex to trigger a relaxation in the muscle, so the timing of the hold is important.

In static poses, intentionally contracting the muscles on the opposite side of the joint will actually allow our desired muscle group to lengthen more effectively. As an example, if I am trying to lengthen my quads in Bridge pose, if I actively contact my hamstrings and gluts, I’ll take advantage of the reciprocal inhibition reflex and get more stretch and length in my quads.

If you stretch a particular muscle or muscle group regularly, probably at least every other day (we don’t want to overdo it and cause overuse injuries!), we can take advantage of the molecular changes that can lead to more sustained flexibility over time. With big gaps in practice, however, our muscles are likely to return to our pre-practice length more quickly.

So if you needed yet another reason, the importance of regular home practice has a direct impact on gaining and maintaining flexibility in your entire body. Have you had your flexibility practice today?

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Muscle Tightness and Yoga

by Baxter

I got this intriguing question recently from one of our readers and thought it a good one to address this week:

Baxter, I've been curious lately about the idea of differentiating between tightness due to activity and muscle engagement/contraction, tightness that results from tension or stress, tightness from inactivity and lack of varied movement, and tightness due to overstretching. I'm finding that there are many subtle differences and also different ways to approach these in my practice. Thoughts?

What follows are simply my personal observations of my self and my students as it relates to the “experience” or “perception” of tightness from different causes. My suggestions in no way represent a scientific explanation for the way I or you may experience tightness, but could influence your approach to changing that tightness, which could be by stretching the tight area so you have a greater range of movement at the joint that is restricted by the tightness, or by a regular yoga practice diminishing the intensity of sensation you experience at the point you previously would “feel” the tightness. The purpose of releasing physical tightness could include, but is not limited to, improving range of motion, diminishing physical discomfort brought on by the experience of tightness, or simply feeling generally more comfortable in your body in each moment.

Now I’ll go through each type of tightness our reader mentioned, one by one. I hope that the recommendations I provide for each type of tightness are helpful to you! 

Tightness Due to Activity and Muscle Engagement/Contraction

I’ve recently been doing a bit more aerobic activity than previously, as I am going on a trip soon to Peru where I expect to do some hiking at altitude. To get ready, I’ve been hiking up a pretty steep hill in a local park that takes about 25 minutes to crest. As an expected consequence, I am noticing that my hip and leg muscles are feeling tighter when I do my asana practice, and I have lost a bit of range of motion in certain joints, especially when I do forward bends and backbends. When new students attend class and tell me that their other physical exercises are activities like running, biking and such, I notice, in general, more limited range of motion in these students than in others, and they seem to “experience” the tightness sooner in their journey into certain poses. These students have plenty of drive and stamina, but need to be encouraged to go slow and let things release gradually. 

Tightness from Tension and Stress

This is a useful concept, as you can start to ask yourself: where to I hold physical tension or muscular tightness that I feel is a result of my perceived level of life stress? Many of my students, especially those who have sedentary jobs involving computers or driving, note that their tightness is in the upper back, shoulders and arms.  However, because they are sitting a lot, the lower back can also be a vulnerable area. They often complain about the tightness at the start of class, and will comment on the improvement (that they note as less tightness) by the end of class. I generally suggest that these students work with their tightness by doing short mini-practices at work, as well as taking frequent breaks to stand and walk a bit at work. 

Tightness from Inactivity and Lack of Varied Movement

This situation could apply to the group I just discussed, since sedentary work has a lack of activity for most of the body, as well as limited movement. But this could also apply to a variety of other situations. A common one is with people who are recovering from a significant injury, like a fractured limb, or a bout with serious illness, like cancer or a long-standing chronic illness. So, in addition to possible tight muscles from lack of putting the body’s joints through their full range of motion regularly, you will have underlying weakness of the muscles. Not only will these people experience tightness as they reach their stretching limits, but they may also tire quickly, experiencing shakiness in the limbs affected, and a need to rest frequently. The appropriate kind of practice for these people might include gentle classes and restorative poses mixed in with general all-level classes to give them time to physically recover and very gradually re-build their stamina as they work on diminishing tightness in the muscles and connective tissue. 

Tightness from Over-Stretching

I’d call this kind of experience “rebound” tightness that can occur after a particularly deep or focused asana practice. Sometime my teacher will be doing a class that focuses on backbends almost exclusively. I may not have been doing a lot of backbends in my home practice that week, but will decide to try to do everything offered in class. It is not uncommon for me to notice the next day that the areas that just the day before felt very open and more flexible at the end of class are now super tight and more inflexible. The muscle has a “stretch reflex” that works in a way that if you stretch with too much force or too quickly, the muscle contracts to fight or neutralize the stretch, so as to protect the muscle from tearing or injury. 

It almost feels like my body does a giant delayed “stretch reflex” by the way I feel after one of the classes. For me, the take-home message is to be more mindful while doing the practice for subtle or obvious signs, like pain, and not let my desires to “keep up with the Joneses’” lead to that unwanted side effect. And of course, over-stretching could lead to unwanted ligament damage, which can put joints at risk of injury—not the goal of a smart asana practice!

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How Much Stretch is Enough?

by Baxter

Reclined Leg Stretch

Last week I looked at the concept of “compression” both as a perceivable event in your body and as a potential problem for your body when doing asana (see Tension Versus Compression). After that post, one of our readers requested information about the other sensation producer, muscle tension, and the usually desirable event that occurs when we do asana, stretching in the muscle.

In the vast majority of our yoga classes in the US, we are continually asked to notice the sensations arising from the various yoga asana as we perform them. We are encouraged to find our “edge,” a place or perception of muscle stretch before which we don’t feel much, and beyond which we feel too much or begin to encounter pain. We are led to believe that stretching our tight muscles is highly desirable, but often are not clearly told where the “finish line” of this process might be. So how much stretch is the right amount? How much is too much? And how can we tell the difference? I have an opinion on all of these questions, but I took a look around to see if there was any objective evidence that might give more credence to my opinions.

The first interesting article I came across was How Necessary is Stretching? a New York Times article from 2009. Here Gretchen Reynolds reported on at some new information about stretching that had just been discovered. One study looked at a group of runners at a university in Nebraska. Researchers measured the runners' hamstring flexibility, then compared hamstring flexibility to a measure of their success as runners (known as “running economy”). They found that runners with tighter hamstrings were actually faster and stronger runners. Reynolds noted that, “In fact, the latest science suggests that extremely loose muscles and tendons are generally unnecessary (unless you aspire to join a gymnastics squad), may be undesirable and are, for the most part, unachievable, anyway.” She went on to quote a sports medicine expert:

“To a large degree, flexibility is genetic,” says Dr. Malachy McHugh, the director of research for the Nicholas Institute of Sports Medicine and Athletic Trauma at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York and an expert on flexibility. You’re born stretchy or not. “Some small portion” of each person’s flexibility “is adaptable,” McHugh adds, “but it takes a long time and a lot of work to get even that small adaptation…””

This made me consider what purpose my yoga “stretching” was for. I tend to think that stretching is going to give me more success and less discomfort in performing my asana. The above article did mention one benefit of a regular stretching of the muscles. If done regularly, even if the length of your muscle does not change much, your perception of the intensity of the stretch sensation diminishes. In other words, you don’t feel so tight anymore. So stretching regularly will make your asana more comfortable, and if you are practicing asana to prepare for seated meditation or pranayama, you will also find it easier to sit comfortably on the floor.

For healthy aging, stretching is important for maintaining flexibility as you age. Without regular stretching, your muscles will become stiffer, potentially interfering with your ability to go about the normal activities of daily life, including dressing yourself, driving, walking unassisted and even getting in and out of a chair (see Transferring and Yoga), and can impact your ability to balance. For all these reasons, stretching is very beneficial for you whether or not your muscles actually become more flexible.

Before I go much further with that train of thought, let’s look at what else I found. When a muscle is stretched, it not just the muscle cells themselves that do the elongating, but also the connective tissue or fascia that surrounds and penetrates each muscle of the body. Where the muscle has pretty amazing ability to elongate and contract and change size dramatically, the ability of the fascia is more limited, even when it contains some elastic cells. And when the connective tissue is over-stretched, it can lose its supportive properties for the muscles and lead to increased chance of the muscle itself getting micro-tears that heal more slowly. In addition to the fascia, the other connective tissues, such as the tendons that attach the muscle to bone, are more vulnerable to injury as well.

So, I think common sense regarding stretching muscles is to work up to a point discomfort, but not into frank pain. Try to get the sense of stretch in the center of a long muscle and try to avoid sensation closer to its bony attachment at (or near) the joint.  On occasion, you will know you have overdone it by the sudden quality of pain that accompanies your stretch, but often you won’t know until the next day, when inflammation sets in and the pain is there more persistently. Shoot for taking your stretches slowly and mindfully, keeping your personal goals in mind as you work in your poses.

And as Paul Ingraham points out in The Unstretchables: Eleven Major Muscles You Can’t Stretch, No Matter How Hard You Try, some muscles aren’t actually stretchable the way muscles like the hamstrings—which are quite literally made for stretching—are. I know there are a lot of thoughts on this topic out there, so feel free to add your insights here. I believe in our collective wisdom!

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Friday Q&A: On Your Feet All Day

Q: I liked the comments on flexibility (see Flexibility and Aging).  I would love it, since you addressed the couch person or the sitting person, if you could address the person that stands all day. Is on their feet all day.

A: The area that gets tight from standing is your low back. So any type of back-bending is good for counteracting a day spent on your feet. You can do conventional backbends or even bend over the edge of your bed, a table or a counter (the way you back-bend over a yoga horse). Seated forward bends may also help relieve your low back.

Stretching your hips (external rotators) is also helpful, so try the standing twists as well as the seated Marichyasana variations. After you release your hips, you may want to work on your legs. You could try standing lunges with your arms up the wall (a modified Warrior 1 pose). Standing Padangusthasana also works well for this. Any type of calf stretch is also good. Basically, any standing pose will help counteract the static position of standing all day. So how about Triangle pose (Trikonasana), Extended Side Angle pose (Parsvakonasana), and Intense Side Stretch pose (Parsvottanasana)?

—Shari

A: Because your hips and legs get tight from standing, Baxter recommends his dynamic leg stretch and hip opener series (see Dynamic Reclined Hip Stretches). Lying on the floor as your stretch your legs and hips will relax your lower back at the same time as you encourage the blood to flow back toward your torso from your legs and feet (which is helpful if you have any swelling).

My favorite way to stretch my legs and rest my back after spending a lot of time on my feet is to practice the Reclined Leg Stretch series (Supta Padangusthasana) followed by an inverted pose, such as Shoulderstand on a chair or Legs Up the Wall pose (Viparita Karani). The inverted poses use gravity to stretch your legs (how cool is that!) at the same time they return the blood back to your torso, reducing swelling in your feet and ankles.

Because the tightness in your torso, shoulders, and neck is the similar to that created by sitting all day, the two poses Shari recommended for counteracting sitting will also be very helpful for standing (see Flexibility and Aging).

—Nina

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How to Stretch

by Nina

I’m conducting a little experiment this month. Every day, I’m going to be sitting in Gomukhasana (just the leg position) to stretch my piriformis muscle, a muscle that runs from the back of my hip (my upper buttocks) to my hip joint. I have restricted mobility in my right hip joint, and it was recommended to me by an expert that stretching my piriformis muscle, which appears to be tighter on the right than the left, might help me gain more mobility in my hip. I’m not sure it’s going to work, but to tell you the truth, I like challenges like this one. And in the past, when I’ve focused on increasing my flexibility in a certain area, I’ve had a lot of success. For example, when I was frustrated with my lack of ease in backbends (okay, okay, that’s the nice way of putting it), for about a year, every time I practiced, I did a long passive upper backbend over a blanket roll to open up my chest and upper back. That was very effective, and my backbends soon became much more enjoyable.

I decided to post about this today because I know that some of you who have tight muscles are just resigned to it. Students sometimes sigh and say things like, “My legs are really tight.” But if there is a certain restriction you have that is having a negative effect on your yoga practice and maybe even your physical wellbeing, you can actually use yoga to target that area. For example, people with very tight hamstrings are not only uncomfortable in forward bends, but they may also have ongoing lower back problems because their leg muscles pull on their lower backs. But by stretching their hamstring muscles regularly and holding the stretches from 90 to 120 seconds, these people will not just release more in their yoga practice, they can also permanently lengthen their muscles to find more comfort and health in their everyday lives. Here's a leg stretch you could practice regularly to permanently lengthen your hamstrings.

Reclined Leg Stretch Pose

In general it is recommended that you hold your stretches from 90 to 120 seconds, in order to obtain permanent results. There are several theories about why this is true, some having to do with fascia and others with the muscles themselves. If you’re interested in learning more, there is an excellent article on stretching on the Yoga Journal web site called What Science Can Teach Us About Flexibility. (Baxter says that some of the recommendations in this article are well supported by science, while others are not, so he suggests you read it with a critical eye.)

In order to hold your stretch for longer periods, you need to make sure you are properly aligned and that you are comfortable enough in the pose to relax and breathe. So be sure to use props if you need them! Remember, a long, relaxed stretch is much more effective than a short battle with your tight muscles. Not to mention, much more fun!

So, have I convinced you now that you’re not stuck with being tight? Just follow these three basic guidelines:

1)    Use props to make yourself comfortable in the stretch.
2)    Stay in the stretch 90 to 120 seconds.
3)    Practice the stretch at least three times a week.

Because I’m not comfortable sitting in Gomukhasana flat on the floor, I’m going to be using a folded blanket under my hips so I can relax in the pose. And I’m going to be staying in the pose for two minutes on each side. I’ll let you know in a month how my experiment goes! And if any of you decide to experiment on yourselves, do tell us about it.

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Accepting Reclined Leg Stretch

by Nina

An excellent time to combine acceptance with active engagement (as Baxter discussed in his post yesterday) is when you are doing yoga poses. By far, the healthiest and most effective way to do yoga poses is to cultivate an awareness of your body’s current state while at the same time actively working toward making changes to it, such as stretching or strengthening. This is one of the best ways to protect yourself from injury. And it also helps you reap the most benefits from your poses.

When I was trying to think of a pose that epitomized this need for both acceptance and active engagement, Reclined Leg Stretch pose (Supta Padangusthasana) sprang to mind. To be honest, that’s because every time I've taught the pose, I’ve seen people “cheat” (yes, I’m talking about you with the bent leg over there), a sure sign that the “acceptance” side of the equation is lacking.

Reclined Leg Stretch (Supta Padangusthasana) is a very beneficial pose because it revitalizes your legs while it eases tension in your lower back. It stretches your hamstring muscles and your hip joints, which is important for maintaining physical health if you sit at a desk or walk a lot. It is also helpful for lower back pain and maintaining a healthy back. And it’s a great way to begin a yoga practice or even to do as a “single pose practice.” Plus, you get to do it lying down! 

Baxter prescribes it for: 

• leg fatigue or weakness 
• lower back conditions 
• arthritis 
• knee pain 
• swelling of feet and ankles 
• maintaining flexibility of the legs and hip joints as you age

However, most people are too tight in their hamstrings to do the pose like their teachers or the pictures they’ve seen, so some (not naming any names here) cheat by bending the knee of their top leg or by lifting their pelvis off the floor in order to bring their toe closer to their head.

Can you do it like this? (From "Moving Toward Balance," Rodney Yee with Nina Zolotow)

But while cheating may make you feel more flexible, bending your top knee means that you won’t be getting the full hamstring stretch that’s so beneficial. So the next time you do this pose (and it’s a great one to practice at home), use a strap or belt around the arch your foot and hold the right side of the strap in your right hand, the left in your left hand. Now be honest with yourself. Is your upper leg truly straight? And is your pelvis resting evenly on the ground? If not, let your leg go until your knee is straight, your pelvis is even, and your leg reaches its natural angle (90 degrees or less, even much less).

Using a strap. (From "Moving Toward Balance," Rodney Yee with Nina Zolotow)

That’s the acceptance part. The active engagement part is to stay in the pose for 45 to 90 seconds and to practice regularly. Although we can’t promise it, there’s a very good chance that over time this pose will increase your flexibility, making many other poses more comfortable and enhancing your physical health.

Some helpful variations:

• If your head and shoulders aren’t resting comfortably on the floor, use a folded blanket under your head. 
• If you are so tight that it’s hard to hold your leg with a strap, do the pose with the bottom leg extending through a doorway and your top foot resting on the wall next to the doorway. 
• If you want to strengthen your bottom leg as your stretch the top one, you can practice with your bottom foot pressing against a wall.

Cautions: If you have lower back issues, you may need to keep your bottom leg bent. If you have wrist issues, you may need to change the way you hold the strap.

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Friday Q&A: Stretching, Science and Autoimmune Diseases

Q: I'm wondering to what extent, and at what rate, we should expect to be able to increase our flexibility as we continue to age. I've made significant progress over the years, and have generally learned how to be mindful enough not to overdo. However, every so often I overstretch without realizing it - whether it's my back trying to get a fuller forward bend, or my Achilles tendon while pushing the envelope. I'm in my 50s and have been doing regular yoga for about 5 years. It's made an immense difference in my core strength and balance and flexibility and I'm much less injury prone now. And yet, every so often, it's my yoga practice that puts me out of commission. 

A: Baxter and I discussed your question, and he agrees with me that there is no fixed extent or rate for increasing flexibility as we age, as this will differ from person to person. His advice is to maximize the effectiveness of your stretches while minimizing potential injury by holding your stretches longer rather than pushing harder. He mentioned that it takes at least 45 seconds to get your muscle to fully release. And my kinesiology teacher taught me that in order to change the resting length of the muscle (the length the muscle returns to after stretching), you need to stretch it for 90 seconds. So I use a timing of 90 seconds for many of my stretches. —Nina 

Q: Does yoga have any good stretches for a 60 year old stiff person?

A: Yoga has a very large number of poses that allow you to stretch a very wide variety of muscles, no matter how stiff you are. So the first question to ask yourself is: where exactly am I stiff? Some of us are stiff all over and some of us are flexible all over, but it turns out that many of us are flexible in some areas and stiff in others. Identifying which areas you need to stretch will help you chose the poses that will be most helpful to you. That being said, there are a couple of poses that we highly recommend for their versatility. Downward-Facing Dog pose is especially wonderful because it stretches your legs, hips, shoulders and arms, all at the same time.

If this pose is too demanding, you can do an easy variation, Half Dog pose (also called Right Angle pose). With your hands at shoulder-height on the wall or resting on the surface of a table, walk back so your hips are directly over your feet and your arms are parallel to the floor.

Baxter recommend that you warm up for these poses with some dynamic movement, such as swinging your arms above your head or moving your legs around in your hip joints. —Nina

Q: How would one go about investigating the effects of yoga on aging scientifically?

A: This question is intriguing and so important that Brad will devote an entire post to the subject sometime soon.

Q: Just curious about how autoimmune diseases are related to aging? Some seem to be inflammatory conditions I think, and that makes me wonder about allergies, yoga and aging. 

A: This is a very big and complicated question! And there’s no quick, simple answer, as the mechanisms behind many of these diseases (not to mention aging itself) are not fully understood. But Baxter says, “Not all autoimmune diseases are created equal.” Different autoimmune diseases arise at different stages in life, so not all are related to aging. Also, not all are related to inflammatory conditions. So that’s why we’ve decided that on this blog we’ll discuss the autoimmune diseases associated with aging individually, over time. Is there any particular disease that concerns you? 

We are going to try to do a Q&A every Friday, so keep the questions coming. You can leave a question in a comment or you can email us at nina@wanderingmind.com.

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