With the race season about to start and the weather cooling down, I am seeing lots of people out running and cycling each day, training for their chosen events. Improving mobility and flexibility is vital for an athlete at any level in order to avoid injury and improve performance. For example, mobility in the shoulders will benefit the swimmer, flexibility of the calf muscles can prevent a ruptured Achilles tendon in the runner and keeping your quads well stretched will prevents knee problems for the cyclists.
– #360fit: The four pillars of motivation
So if you aren’t going to stretch much before or after an activity or sport – and let’s face it, lots of us often don’t – when would be the best time? The best thing you can do is a yoga class in the evening, but if you can’t find an hour or so, find two or three stretches for your priority areas and spend about 10 minutes on them before bed. The benefit of doing them at this time of day is that you are about to rest for a few hours so you won’t finish and immediately create tension in your body.
This week, I have chosen two postures – don’t panic, I have some modifications – that will benefit almost every athlete. The beauty of Eka Pada Rajakapotasana (Pigeon pose) is that it is a multitasker, stretching the front of hip and thigh as well as getting deeply into the hips, buttocks and entire back.
If you can do the advanced version as pictured, you have the added benefit of stretching your upper body too. Most of us can’t do the advanced version, certainly not to start with, so you can leave the back leg straight and have your hands on the ground to help support the upright torso.
If there is space between your pelvis and the floor, fill it up with a rolled up towel. Take care of the back knee: you can rest it on a blanket. Finish by folding down over the front bent leg and relax.
A lovely way to transition to the other side is through Adho Mukha Svanasana (downward facing dog). As an inversion, it is calming; the backs of the legs get an amazing stretch and you can “walk the dog” to get right into the calf muscles; stretches the chest and shoulders.
