Are you someone that lives on the edge and takes risks? Or are you someone that’s afraid and scared and holds back? Maybe you do both! I was. I was either, all out, or, nothing at all…I would swing frequently between the 2 extremes.
These are two ends of a continuum as Annie carpenter would say…and our life, our body, and our practice is overflowing with continuums!
I just completed Sama sadhana with Annie carpenter. The intention was cultivating an even/balanced practice. No extremes! Something I am learning to appreciate more and more. 🙂
I am grateful for Annie and for her smartFLOW method. A method that is rooted in classical yoga, yet blends in functional anatomy and energetic awareness. This method allows the student to embrace their own unique circumstances to find their ‘return to center’ as they cultivate clear, bright, and strong lines of energy, and returning to ones center over and over again..
The more I practice, I understand more deeply how I practice on the mat is a reflection of my life off the mat. ‘For how we do one thing is how we do everything’…another one of Annies’ sayings that I love.
As I mature and grow more and more into myself I’ve learned to just show up do my best, be more conscious of my edges on my continuum, let go of what i cannot control and connect to my ‘center’ in all the ways.
AND if you are stuck in an extreme – maybe try to cultivate the opposite.
Do you remember who you are at your core? What makes you, you? Can you stay connected to who you are in relationships and stay true to you?
Where is your center when you move in and out of certain postures? Where is your center in the transitions? Can you maintain your sense of balance and center as you move in and out of postures?
I believe that we are as strong in our core as much as we are open in our hips. To find a beautiful posture and superior balance in our bodies, we need both. For, if our hips are stuck tight and bound with no space we will not be able to access and use our strength in our daily functional movements.
2 tools to help you unwind tension in your hips is the hip hinge and finding a neutral pelvis.
When you perform a hip hinge -notice if your back rounds and bends when you hinge. You should instead aim to keep your back long and lifted. It seems simple to hinge the hips but our hips can hold a lot of tension and sometimes this simple exercise is harder that you may think.
A neutral pelvis is a position where the pelvis is neither too arched, nor too tucked. For me I sense balance on all my sides of my pelvis and one side is not working more than the other.
Understanding and executing these 2 actions in our movements will encourage more space and balance in our hips and will help us engage the bottom of our lower powerhouse (aka pelvic floor muscles) that are easily neglected in today’s modern world of sitting too much.
One scenario of why you may experience a lot of muscular tension in your hips and groin area is possibly because your thigh bones live more forward toward your quadriceps, instead of back toward your hamstrings. If this is your reality, welcome to the club! This is not uncommon. Being more quadricep dominant, usually indicates imbalanced pelvic floor muscles, and weaker hamstrings and gluteal muscles. When there is an imbalance between front and back bodies, poor balance, especially on one leg is usually a consequence. Poor balance happens when you are not able to integrate your body as a whole and connect to your midline. You may still have lots of strength but it is not balanced in your body side to side, front to back, and upper to lower body through your pelvic center!
To work on opening your hips to connect your upper and lower bodies better and enhance your balance, I recommend practicing your hip hinge, as well as being mindful to connect to a neutral pelvis!
As you hinge in your hips you can concentrate on drawing the root of your thigh bones back into the back of your hip socket. When you do that you should feel your quadriceps soften and find more connection of your gluteals and hamstring muscles. Maintaining a neutral pelvis where you are not tucking nor arching can help you integrate your whole body as one piece and feel connected on all your sides. Notice when you stand….do you feel more quadriceps or more hamstrings? Can you stand and notice both sides?
I have made a short video on my YOUtube channel to help you unlock your hips, (especially if you are, one of the many, who live more in your quadriceps than your hamstrings)! I demonstrate a hip hinge lying supine, and show you what to watch out for when sustaining a neutral pelvis! I hope this will be useful for you.
The 3 stretches I demonstrate are called, reclined hand to big toe pose – Supta padangustasana 1,2,3
These 3 stretches, done with neutral pelvis, release the muscles surrounding your pelvis to unlock your hips and therefore create better balance!
Once you think you found a neutral pelvis, its’ interesting what happens when you move. remember the pelvis is connected to your lower and upper body , so it is easily pulled around all day!
It takes time and patience to notice your pelvic tendencies. Not an easy thing to do if you are always in a hurry.:)
Finding neutral in my pelvis still a mindful practice for me. Neutral pelvis serves me well in all my activities. I feel grounded and integrated head to toe and more connected and balanced front to back and side to side.
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