Yoga for Strength Challenge - Day #4
Hey Yogi,
Welcome to Day #4 of your Yoga for Strength Challenge!
The theme for Day 4 is: Legs!
In this class, we'll be working the front of the thighs (quadriceps), back of the thighs (hamstrings) and also the booty (glutes)
Quick tip: It's common to get sore knees when starting to do a lot of leg exercises like squats or anything where the legs are loaded. To avoid injuries and to start to build good technique, get into the habit of consciously switching on all of your leg muscles. It sounds easy but sometimes we are only using the front of the legs and the hamstrings and glutes are not firing. The more active the muscles are the more supported your joints are.
There are a few ways to help activate your leg muscles when you're in a pose.
The first is by actively pressing your foot down into the earth, particularly the heel of the foot. When you do this, notice if you can feel the backs of the legs and the glute muscles switch on and start working harder.
The second is to notice if you have a habit of leaning your weight forward when in a position like a squat or chair pose. Try shifting your body weight back into the heels of the feet, you should be able to lift your toes. By doing this, you should hopefully start to use the back of the legs (hamstrings and glutes) AND the front of the legs (quads)
The third is to keep a little bend in your knee instead of completely straightening your leg and locking out the joint. This can be particulary helpful in poses like, triangle, dancers, warrior 3 etc. By bringing a little bend into your knee, it forces your leg muscles to activate, helping to support your knee joint. Bending your standing leg in a balancing pose like dancers will also help you balance and have more control in the pose. Bending your knee will make your leg muscles work harder but that's a good thing - the more you use your leg muscles, the stronger they will become!
Okay, let’s do this!
Click the button below to take you to the music playlist for this class
Welcome to Day #4 of your Yoga for Strength Challenge!
The theme for Day 4 is: Legs!
In this class, we'll be working the front of the thighs (quadriceps), back of the thighs (hamstrings) and also the booty (glutes)
Quick tip: It's common to get sore knees when starting to do a lot of leg exercises like squats or anything where the legs are loaded. To avoid injuries and to start to build good technique, get into the habit of consciously switching on all of your leg muscles. It sounds easy but sometimes we are only using the front of the legs and the hamstrings and glutes are not firing. The more active the muscles are the more supported your joints are.
There are a few ways to help activate your leg muscles when you're in a pose. The first is by actively pressing your foot down into the earth, particularly the heel of the foot. When you do this, notice if you can feel the backs of the legs and the glute muscles switch on and start working harder.
The second is to notice if you have a habit of leaning your weight forward when in a position like a squat or chair pose. Try shifting your body weight back into the heels of the feet, you should be able to lift your toes. By doing this, you should hopefully start to use the back of the legs (hamstrings and glutes) AND the front of the legs (quads)
The third is to keep a little bend in your knee instead of completely straightening your leg and locking out the joint. This can be particulary helpful in poses like, triangle, dancers, warrior 3 etc. By bringing a little bend into your knee, it forces your leg muscles to activate, helping to support your knee joint. Bending your standing leg in a balancing pose like dancers will also help you balance and have more control in the pose. Bending your knee will make your leg muscles work harder but that's a good thing - the more you use your leg muscles, the stronger they will become!
Okay, let’s do this!
Click the button below to take you to the music playlist for this class
