Today I will show you 7 standing yoga poses that help runners, cyclists and triathletes to flex their leg muscles.
If you are doing a lot of cycling or running, it is also probable that you have stiff legs. This stiffness in the legs, ranging from the foot up to the gluteus maximus, can cause different problems as for instance the iliotibial band syndrome. Other problems that can arise from stiff leg muscles are back problems. Please check my web site for more posts about knee problems and their prevention.
The poses described in this post are especially for newcomers to yoga. They will help you getting more flexible leg muscles and thereby reduce the risk that you will suffer from overuse injuries like Iliotibial band syndrome. The asanas are named in english and sanscrit to make it easier for you to find videos or pictures of the postures on the web.
Leg flexibility is important to be able to perform the sport specific motions with as little resistance as possible. This will make your run or cycle efficiency better. Another important aspect is, that these poses will help you avoiding overuse injuries, as IT-band syndrome. My knee pain is gone since I started doing yoga regularly.
In the beginning it is normal that the muscles are so stiff that you can't get into the poses. Don't give up because of that! Just do your yoga regularly and you will gain flexibility. It will take some time, but it's very rewarding.
I recommend the following postures for increasing your leg flexibility:
Standing forward bend (Uttanasana): This is an excellent pose to extend your hamstrings. It will stretch your gluteus maximus, medius and minimus as well as your spinal muscles too. Precaution is to be made by people with back injury. These people should approach this bend very cautiously. It is important to let gravity do the work, don't push your body into the pose. If your hamstrings are very tight, bend your knees. That will make the stretch better.
Warrior I (Virabhadrasana I): In runners and cyclists, the hip flexors is a normal weak point. The Warrior I works on those flexors. The Warrior I will increase your flexibility in the hips, back and front groins.
Warrior II (Virabhadrasana II): This is another asana that will stretch your hip joints. It will also open the groins and stretch the inner thigh muscles.
Side Angle Pose (Parsvakonasana): Stretches the back side of the legs and opens the groin. It will also stretch the upper body. Is a very good follower to the Warrior II.
Triangle Pose (Trikonasana): A follow up of the Warrior I posture. Above all the hips are getting worked on here.
Intense side stretch (Parsvottanasana): One more extraordinarly stretch for your hamstrings. This asana will work your hamstrings even more than the standing forward bend. The flexibility in your gluteus maximus will be increased as well.
Wide stance forward bend (Prasarita Padottanasana): This posture stretches your hamstrings and gluteus maximus efficiently. It is also called wide-legged forward fold and is a relative to the standing forward bend with the difference that in this pose you have your feet wider apart.
In every of these 7 postures remain for five deep breaths in position. If you do these poses regularly they will give you much more flexibility in your legs and they will open your groin and hips. I recommend doing them at least 3 times a week. When you have done them for about 2 months we can go to the next level.
I hope these Yoga asanas will help you enjoying your sport!
Gunnar
If you are doing a lot of cycling or running, it is also probable that you have stiff legs. This stiffness in the legs, ranging from the foot up to the gluteus maximus, can cause different problems as for instance the iliotibial band syndrome. Other problems that can arise from stiff leg muscles are back problems. Please check my web site for more posts about knee problems and their prevention.
The poses described in this post are especially for newcomers to yoga. They will help you getting more flexible leg muscles and thereby reduce the risk that you will suffer from overuse injuries like Iliotibial band syndrome. The asanas are named in english and sanscrit to make it easier for you to find videos or pictures of the postures on the web.
Leg flexibility is important to be able to perform the sport specific motions with as little resistance as possible. This will make your run or cycle efficiency better. Another important aspect is, that these poses will help you avoiding overuse injuries, as IT-band syndrome. My knee pain is gone since I started doing yoga regularly.
In the beginning it is normal that the muscles are so stiff that you can't get into the poses. Don't give up because of that! Just do your yoga regularly and you will gain flexibility. It will take some time, but it's very rewarding.
I recommend the following postures for increasing your leg flexibility:
Standing forward bend (Uttanasana): This is an excellent pose to extend your hamstrings. It will stretch your gluteus maximus, medius and minimus as well as your spinal muscles too. Precaution is to be made by people with back injury. These people should approach this bend very cautiously. It is important to let gravity do the work, don't push your body into the pose. If your hamstrings are very tight, bend your knees. That will make the stretch better.
Warrior I (Virabhadrasana I): In runners and cyclists, the hip flexors is a normal weak point. The Warrior I works on those flexors. The Warrior I will increase your flexibility in the hips, back and front groins.
Warrior II (Virabhadrasana II): This is another asana that will stretch your hip joints. It will also open the groins and stretch the inner thigh muscles.
Side Angle Pose (Parsvakonasana): Stretches the back side of the legs and opens the groin. It will also stretch the upper body. Is a very good follower to the Warrior II.
Triangle Pose (Trikonasana): A follow up of the Warrior I posture. Above all the hips are getting worked on here.
Intense side stretch (Parsvottanasana): One more extraordinarly stretch for your hamstrings. This asana will work your hamstrings even more than the standing forward bend. The flexibility in your gluteus maximus will be increased as well.
Wide stance forward bend (Prasarita Padottanasana): This posture stretches your hamstrings and gluteus maximus efficiently. It is also called wide-legged forward fold and is a relative to the standing forward bend with the difference that in this pose you have your feet wider apart.
In every of these 7 postures remain for five deep breaths in position. If you do these poses regularly they will give you much more flexibility in your legs and they will open your groin and hips. I recommend doing them at least 3 times a week. When you have done them for about 2 months we can go to the next level.
I hope these Yoga asanas will help you enjoying your sport!
Gunnar
About the Author:
Gunnar is a two time triathlon finisher and has a blog about triathlon training and Yoga for athletes. He has written several articles about Yoga and the IT band syndrome. Get a totally unique version of this article from our article submission service
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