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Member
Posts: 8
| I read a book by Andy Thomas called, why and how yoga works which discussed muscle fascia contration and how through yoga but particularly holding the pose for a minimum of 30 secs but ideally for up to 2 mins gradually we can regain a great percentage of our original flexibilty along with mumerous other benefits.
my question is put here because a lot of oyu seem to be expereinced in yoga practice and maybe could debate this,i have been using a dvd by Gary Krafstow called viniyoga therapy for back hips and sacrum and none of the poses are held for more than a few seconds and it does seem to help my stiffness but im wondering if a longer pose holding practice such as iyengar would in the long term be more beneficial?
thankyou |
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| give it a try.
it worked for me.
static and dynamic practices give different results to different people.
i wouldn't want to go quickly into and out of postures, but a lot of people would rather do it like that.
...
a dedicated practitioner will make progress.
it is up to that practitioner to choose which practices are the most beneficial and discard the ones that bring negative effects. |
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Extreme Veteran
Posts: 574
 
| Just dont fall asleep in a headstand. |
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| Gary's practice is based on the Desikachar lineage (his teacher) and of course that traces back to krishnamacharya who also taught Iyengar, among others.
The practices are very different. Gary teacher a gentle therapeutic practice. What most people see of an Iyengar practice is not a therapeutic practice.
There may be times for both:-) |
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Member
Posts: 8
| thankyou all,but is it coorect that to get any lasting change in the contracted fascia a pose/stretch must be held for at least 30 secs? |
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| Snake,
I don't know specifically about Andy Thomas' book or his claims, or his research. However I'm often a it leery when a kinesiologist or anatomist try to explain yoga. Often they know the body well but do not know yoga very deeply so I tend to steer clear of those.
We have, periodically, discussed the nature and release of fascia. And while I don't have a citation handy, what I recall was something about 90 seconds. However in yoga is it far more fruitful to explore these things within your own body, having your own experience, making your own determination. No one rule fits everyone other than "we will all die". |
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Member
Posts: 8
| thankyou Gordon,I shall listen to my body more closely. |
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Extreme Veteran
Posts: 574
| Simple as this. It's about quality and the process not quantity. |
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| I do a lot of stretching. I tend to hold the poses for a long time while at the same time focusing on relaxing the muscle being stretched so that the connective tissue within the belly of the muscle gets stretched. I move into each stretch slowly and smoothly and give my self a stable foundation so that the muscle I am stretching is able to relax. It is slow but it is working.
On occasion, and this is more and more, I do "rhythmic movements. In general they involve straightening the spine or bending it backwards while inhaling and then relaxing while exhaling. In a forward bend for example, this technique adds weight to the stretch each time I inhale and lift up, helping to stretch the target muscle. This technique feels nice, especially when done slowly and smoothly.
Yet another technique which I've just read about and am now investigating is as follows. While in a forward bend, standing, engage buttocks, and then release and repeat. I find that this helps me release quite deeply.
Generally I don't "warm up" before stretching. I do enter stretches slowly and mindfully though. As a result my "flexibility" seems to be more a result of my fascia being more flexible. In addition it may be because I am now more relaxed.
If you are moving in and out of poses mindfully, slowly and with control, you may or may not be improving flexibility. What I think is that first and foremost you are improving your control over your muscles, being better able to activate them and relax them. That may be the reason you appear to be in better shape. (and that's not a bad thing.)
If you want to measure your flexibility and then check to see if you are indeed getting more flexible, then do a split, or a forward bend and notice where you are now, and then repeat daily, or weekly and notice any changes. Then you can truly measure if your fascia is limbering up.
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Expert Yogi
Posts: 2479
 
Location: A Blue State |
How many of you have fallen asleep in Sarvangasana?
I have!
And do you know what happens then?
You fall!!
... bg
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holding poses
