Legs in Yoga Poses | Wellness Connection Yoga

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1 Boskykloof Road Hout Bay Cape Town
cell 072 290 9203
catherine@ wellnessconnection.co.za

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⁣Huge straight arm push strengthening drill for

⁣Huge straight arm push strengthening drill for me. It is really, really tough so be prepared to push hard to get those legs to lift.⁣
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⁣Great strengthening drill for press to handstand and all arm balances. ⁣
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⁣I got this exercise from @thebodyweightwarrior check out his YouTube channel for superb tips on many bodyweight movements. ⁣
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⁣The lighter your legs the easier it is, the heavier - really hard!⁣
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⁣1. Depending on hamstring flexibility place your sit bones against the wall and your heels RIGHT against the wall. ⁣
⁣2. If that is not possible place sit bones against the wall BUT have your feet further away from the wall - knees can be a little bit bent too.⁣
⁣3. Place your hands about 1 hands distance from your toes, hands are lined up with your shoulders⁣
⁣4. Come up onto the tippy toes tops of your toes⁣
⁣5. PUSH! PUSH REALLY. HARD. ⁣
⁣6. Lift legs out to a straddle - out to the side⁣
⁣7. It doesn’t matter if you can lift your feet - just push hard.⁣
⁣8. Hold for as long as you can. ⁣

#handstandpresspractice
#handstandshapedrills
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Pose Hamstring Flexibility Test.⁣ ⁣ ⁣Test th

Pose Hamstring Flexibility Test.⁣
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⁣Test the feel of your hamstring flexibility in a wide legged forward fold pose - any version.⁣
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⁣Test before the previous posts weighted hamstring exercises then try the wide legged forward fold again.⁣
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⁣If you are truly committed do an 8 week test. ⁣
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⁣Test weekly.⁣
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⁣Do the exercises every second day. ⁣
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⁣10 reps of each exercise. ⁣
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⁣Increase the weight progressively. ⁣
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⁣Test the poses again each week. Let me know what happens

#forwardfoldvariation
#forwardfold
#forwardfolds

⁣Some favorite hamstring stretching exercises th

⁣Some favorite hamstring stretching exercises that I love. ⁣
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⁣We can just stick to our normal Yoga forward folds but adding weight and potentially further range challenges us more. ⁣
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⁣And has added benefits!!⁣
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⁣Adding significant weight can increase muscle and tendon strength so we are building strength and stretching all at the same time. And increasing range of motion (flexibility) if we practice enough. ⁣
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⁣Weights on chairs are my favorite.⁣
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⁣The straight leg roll down aka the Jefferson curl is great but I really a love a wide legged straight back fold on the chairs too.⁣
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⁣I am using a 15 kg weight here but you can use less to begin with and increase steadily.⁣
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⁣And remember once you can come up easily you need to increase the weight. Progressive loading ⁣💪

#hamstringstretch
#hamstring
#forwardfold
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⁣Today’s kick up is helping us to focus on the

⁣Today’s kick up is helping us to focus on the bottom leg. The spring leg. ⁣
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⁣By building up strength in our spring up leg ⁣
⁣we use less swing in the top leg which can help us to balance more easily as the momentum is reduced.⁣
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⁣It can take time to build up spring strength so be patient and play as you jump.⁣
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⁣Version 1:⁣
⁣Bent top leg. Bending the top leg and taking it high up moves the load of our leg and pelvis towards the actual Handstand shape. Which means less spring required. ⁣
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⁣Version 2:⁣
⁣Focus on bottom leg spring to get you up. Stop your top leg around about shoulders over wrist. Counting helps to bring the bottom leg up quickly. 1 AND 2! ⁣
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⁣If we were doing a top legged focus kick up we would normally arrive in a split shaped handstand which is a slower count. See Day 3 and 4.⁣
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⁣Play play play and remember this takes a long long time so you might as well enjoy it along the way. ⁣

#learnhowtohandstand
#hanstandforbeginners
#handstandjourney
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⁣I shared this as a Story and so many people res

⁣I shared this as a Story and so many people responded saying they found Francoise so inspirational that I thought I should share as a post.⁣
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⁣Francoise came to us to do her Yoga Teacher Training at 58 - and was terrified of going upside down - even on her forearms walking up facing the wall.⁣
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⁣So we helped Francoise develop upper arm and shoulder strength and she built confidence and was able to hold a wall facing forearm balance but still feared kicking up.⁣
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⁣But Francoise really wanted to do a Handstand. ⁣
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⁣So Francoise did the first Handstand Program with incredible dedication and she improved bit by bit. BUT then her wrist started to hurt so she backed off for a while ⁣
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⁣Which made Francoise worried that she had lost her improvement and the first couple of days back into the second Handstand program brought huge frustration. ⁣
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⁣Learning to Handstand is like that, mentally challenging, frustrating, scary, and so annoying. More so for us oldies who haven’t learned it as children.⁣
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⁣Francoise kept going. Now Francoise kicks up into handstand 9 out of 10 times and is balancing for up to 20 seconds. The fear of being away from the wall is still there but it will go. With practice.⁣
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⁣Don’t think that once you learn to Handstand and balance that is it - you move on to more challenging ways of getting up and staying up. And the new ways take you right BACK to the frustration, fear, mental challenge and annoyance.🤣🤣⁣
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⁣If we could do Handstand immediately we would lose the journey and challenge and that would be no fun at al.⁣
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⁣Well done Francoise we are so proud of you ❤️💜⁣
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#strongatanyage
#strongat50
#strongerthanyesterday

⁣Little Chair (Utkatasana) squat tuck on the wal

⁣Little Chair (Utkatasana) squat tuck on the wall. ⁣
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⁣Super shoulder strength drill for Handstand, Downward Dog and Arm Balances like Bakasana (Crow/Frog).⁣
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⁣You will need to figure out how close you can be to the wall.⁣
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⁣This depends on your confidence level and your shoulder flexion (arms up) range of movement. My confidence in my arms is at a happy level - my shoulder flexion range is not the best despite years of trying to improve it. ⁣
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⁣You can measure your shoulder flexion by standing with your back to the wall, arms STRAIGHT up, without flaring your ribs. ⁣
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⁣If your arms (keeping them straight) comfortably touch the wall you may be able to go closer in than I can. ⁣
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⁣The idea is to stack your shoulders over your wrists in a straight line BUT it’s totally fine if that is too tough. You can be further away than I am. You will still build up fantastic strength. ⁣
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⁣Wear socks!!⁣
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⁣Bend your knees into your chest. ⁣
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⁣And UP again!⁣
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⁣Slowly....

#handstandpractice
#handstandeveryday

Strengthening for Yoga Pose practice and Handstand

Strengthening for Yoga Pose practice and Handstands doing other training that looks like Yoga Poses 💪⁣
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⁣Helpful for Bakasana (Crow in Yoga or Frog in Callisthenics) and jumping to Handstand or Jumping to seated in Yoga. ⁣
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⁣This movement drill can really help strength horizontal shoulder protraction (The Push) that is needed as well as abs and hip flexors as you have to fight to keep thighs drawn in to your chest. ⁣
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⁣Its great to try this movement using higher props than blocks as it gives us more space to clear the ground. ⁣
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⁣You can do this using 2 chairs too! ⁣
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⁣Only had Rafia chairs handy in our beautiful safari lodge ⁣ @singita_ at Ebony Lodge.
⁣I promise I used them gently and briefly, with the utmost respect. 🙏

#yogastrength
#crowpose
#frogpose ⁣
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⁣ ⁣Today’s Handstand Post is about Focus. Aw

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⁣Today’s Handstand Post is about Focus. Awareness. And constant Practice. ⁣
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⁣It’s so easy to fall into the trap of practicing Yoga Poses without awareness, by speeding through a flow without thought and concentration. And that’s ok, it’s fun sometimes just to move. ⁣
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⁣But in my humble opinion those 3 elements are the very reasons we practice Yoga Poses. ⁣
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⁣I have practiced so many different styles of Yoga through the years. Iyengar and Ashtanga Yoga really emphasised the mental aspects of awareness and focus and repeated practice. ⁣
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⁣I once attended an Iyengar workshop where we spent an ENTIRE morning just on Trikonasana (Triangle). Ashtanga Yoga Primary Series was repeated again and again and again. ⁣And again.
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⁣In the discipline there is enormous freedom. Once you accept that this thing we call our Yoga Practice is forever, there is no end, no perfection, just Practice, you are free. ⁣
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⁣This is why I love Handstand Practice. It never ends. You have to bring your full awareness and focus to the moment. And it’s damn hard and takes years and years. ⁣
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⁣Today’s balance is about focus on the legs whilst upside down. ⁣
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⁣Pay full attention to where your legs, feet and toes are in space. ⁣
⁣Focus on keeping your legs completely rigid. ⁣
⁣Keep your body rigid.⁣
⁣Focus point. Dhristhi.⁣
⁣Take your wall leg off very slowly. Only a little ⁣
⁣Keep it dead straight.⁣
⁣Grip Grip Grip.⁣
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⁣If you aren’t ready to kick up yet practice facing the wall as on Day 2.

#handstandpractice
#handstandbalance

I have been pondering these questions posted by @t

I have been pondering these questions posted by @themovementmaestro (see post in Stories).
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⁣What’s my message? The Wellness Connection Yoga Schools message.⁣
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⁣What do I believe should be standard for the field I am in? Why do I exercise the way I do? ⁣
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⁣What’s your message as a Yoga Teacher? ⁣
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⁣I believe that Yoga Teachers should be trained to be able to teach their clients to build strength in their Yoga practice progressively. ⁣
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⁣EVERYONE can get stronger in their Yoga Practice, no matter how unfit, old, injured etc we claim to be. ⁣
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⁣I believe that Yoga Teachers should be trained to teach movement from a movement science perspective. Bringing progressive training into our clients Yoga Practice.⁣
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⁣I believe that Yoga Teachers should be trained well and not just instruct a flow. Or say ‘if you can do Crow please go ahead. Everyone else just stay in Malasana and breathe’.⁣
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⁣Often to get stronger for our Yoga Practice we need to do other work in the background. ⁣
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⁣Often to be able to do Handstand balances we need to put in work at the wall or with weights. ⁣
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⁣I believe Yoga Teachers should advise their clients, should they need it, to do some extra strength training to help them in their downward dogs, planks, Chaturangas and arm balances. ⁣
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⁣Adding other movement practices has helped my Yoga Practice and my overall health. I know many of my fellow teachers like @ananda.capetown @spine_shine @beverleyslauck_yoga @lauranorton_aerialyoga @tarrynjames11 love other movement practices too. ⁣
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⁣I love these weighted back extension exercises - my back feels amazing when I do them, especially after lots of Handstand Press work. ⁣
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⁣The single leg versions are great for bringing my attention to the tension in my leg for the handstand split balance in the Day 14 handstand post. ⁣

#fitover50women
#fitover50
#yogastrength
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