What is moderation in yoga? do you have to tuck in your stomach when doing yoga?
- Do you have to tuck in your stomach when doing yoga?
- What's so particular about practicing yoga breathing?
Do you have to tuck in your stomach when doing yoga?
Not necessarily, moderation is better in everything, and some poses are suitable, some are not!
"classmate, keep your stomach tightened inward! "
"classmate, relax your stomach during practice! "
Have you ever heard different teachers give seemingly opposite passwords in yoga class?
Indeed, core training has always been an interesting topic in areas such as rehabilitation, exercise, yoga, and so on, and our ideas about the core have been adjusted as relevant research has been published in recent years.
We should first figure out what abdominal tuck means when doing yoga. What is the purpose?
Most people think that the abdominal muscle is the core muscle group, and the abdominal adduction is to activate the core muscle group, but the strictly defined core muscle group is in a deep, untouchable place. Including: diaphragm, transverse abdominal muscle, pelvic floor muscle, polyfida muscle. The core muscle group wraps the viscera like a balloon, the diaphragm is the pump, and the "pelvic floor muscle" is responsible for the pressure to form the "intra-abdominal pressure".
Indeed, a good "intra-abdominal pressure" can stably support the body, establish a stable body, improve movement efficiency and coordination of the upper and lower extremities.
Whenever you deliberately tighten your abdomen, you create a similar condition of increased intra-abdominal pressure.
The point here is that starting the core is not a simple abdominal tuck.
Imagine, like squeezing toothpaste, the core muscles are like toothpaste tubes, and the toothpaste is squeezed from top to bottom. So when you inhale and shrink your abdomen, it's like squeezing toothpaste, just lifting the diaphragm up and pushing the pelvic floor muscles down, not activating the core muscles.
It's not a good thing to keep your abdomen tight.
If you keep your abdomen tight all the time while practicing yoga, you will constantly press your internal organs against the diaphragm (which limits the range of movement of the diaphragm) and the pelvic floor muscles (which may lead to weakness of the pelvic floor muscles). Do you know why it makes it difficult to breathe after eating and drinking? This is because the volume expansion of the digestive system limits the downward movement of the diaphragm as you inhale, so breathing becomes short. If you do this too often, it will become more and more difficult to take a deep breath because the diaphragm (which is also a muscle) will not fall naturally.
Moderation is best in everything! During challenging physical activity, the increased intra-abdominal pressure caused by abdominal contraction helps to support the spine, but it should not be tightened all the time, which affects the depth of breathing and the tension of the pelvic floor muscles.
How to activate the core? How to practice?
At the beginning, you need to practice alone, which can be divided into three steps.
The first step。 Learn to find the center of the pelvis
Before learning to stabilize, you must find the correct position of the pelvis and lumbar vertebrae so that the core muscles can function in the most efficient position.
At the beginning, you can lie flat on your knees and lean forward and backward from the pelvis to find the middle position of the pelvis.
Note:The correct position of the lumbar vertebrae will have a slight kyphosis, so the back should not be completely flat, there should be a little space between the lumbar vertebrae and the bed, otherwise the multifida muscle will be suppressed.
The second step. Activate the core muscle group
It's time to awaken the core muscles, which is often overlooked. In fact, core training can be done in any position, but when you don't know what core contraction feels like, you often use the surface muscles to compensate. As a result, light practice is wrong, serious is injured.
Because the core muscle group is located in the deeper part of the human body, it is often necessary to rely on different ways of feedback to relearn the contraction mode. We use touch and imagination to train in the knee-bending position.
Let the four muscles contract together.The way to do this is to imagine a line between the navel and the anus, and your task is to bring the two points closer to each other. At first, you can use round lips to exhale into a small circle, exhale slowly and long; hands can be placed on both sides of the abdomen, expand on both sides of the abdomen, and feel the force of contraction extend into a circle from the outside to the inside..
Putting the calf on a chair or yoga ball and tilting the pelvis slightly will be easier for beginners to learn, but of course our goal is to activate these muscles naturally in any posture, whether in exhale or inhale, which can help us stabilize the lumbar vertebrae, so the next step is to introduce advanced dynamic training methods, and if there is pain, Please note that these actions should be performed within the scope of pain.
The third step. Training method
1. Bridge + elastic belt
Action:Keep the abdominal breathing, exhale with both hands to open the elastic band to both sides, and do the bridge movement of lifting the butt.
Number of groups:Lift for 5 seconds each time, repeat 8 times for 10 times, and do 3 groups for 5 times a day.
Note:Members with small strength can grasp the elastic band a little wider and keep their wrists straight.
two。 Semi-kneeling position + elastic band
Action:Keep the abdominal breathing, keep the positive body in the pelvis from askew, bring the elasticity up and down, and keep the body motionless in the process. If the difficulty is too low, you can add body rotation.
Number of groups:Pull in one direction for 3 seconds, repeat 8 times for 10 times and then change the side. The two sides are divided into 1 group and 3-5 groups every day.
Note:During the process, there should be no movement of pelvic skew or unstable center of gravity. The slower the process, the better.
3. Leg swing + elastic band
Action:Keep the abdominal breathing, pull the elastic band to the side of the body to induce the deep core muscles, stand firmly, lift one leg and swing slowly.
Number of groups:Swing back and forth 3 times, repeat 8 times 10 times, then change feet, both sides are done into 1 group, 3-5 groups a day.
Note:Do not shake the upper body during the process, stand on your feet and point your knees at your toes to avoid inner buckle. You can try not to take the elastic belt for once, then you will find that the body is easier to shake and the balance becomes worse, which is the difference between the deep core and the force.
It takes effort to practice, but after a long time, you can accurately start the core in yoga practice.The main purpose of abdominal retraction in yoga practice is to activate your core through abdominal retraction, which is used to stabilize and support your spine. The teacher's main target is the lumbar vertebrae and abdominal cavity with high range of motion.In fact, human beings are born with the core contraction, but with life style or injury and disability, so training for a few weeks can usually see the effect, daily life, even without deliberate contraction, the core can still be in a state of activation.
Yoga should not tuck in any asana.
Abdominal retraction increases abdominal pressure, which will oppress the internal organs. Tucking in your belly and keeping your chest out may be the biggest misleading from common sense.
Women's long-term hip entrapment will also cause irregular menstruation and so on.
If when doing abdominal exercises, the abdominal retraction process is: slowly feel the f abdominal skin to the viscera, and the navel slowly to the spine. If you see this passage, you can feel the difference between the two. Direct abdominal compression is different from progressive layer by layer.
When doing strength exercises such as flat plate support, it is not the strength coming out of the abdomen, but the balance of the whole body and the correct tightening of the abdomen.
When doing yoga, yoga teachers often ask students to tighten their abdomen before moving on to the next step. why? There are also many students who think that abdominal closure is inhalation, in fact, it is also confused. Tightening your abdomen can give you more strength when you practice and make your body more balanced and stable.
1. Lotus sitting posture
↑ many people always worry about knee or ankle injuries or pain when doing this pose, which is actually caused by our bad habits in daily life.
Main points of asana: sit on the ground, bend your knees, bend your calves inward, the soles of your feet face up, place your feet on the base of the corresponding thighs, keep your upper body straight and hold your head high.
2. Standing stereoscopic flexion
↑ forward flexion is a must for every entry-level student, and it is also the secret of humility, elegance and patience.
Main points of asana: stand on the ground, straighten your legs, then take a step forward with your right leg, inhale, fold the upper body forward and downward, until the upper body fits completely with the right leg, and finally extend your arms to the left and right, and grab the ground with your fingers.
3. Standing backward bend
When ↑ first practiced this pose, did he feel that he couldn't breathe in his chest? The lumbar vertebrae are squeezed again, but also easy to wobble?
Main points of asana: stand with your back to the wall, then raise your arms parallel to the wall, and drive the body slowly backward, showing a certain degree of curvature on your back, with your arms straight back until your palms are pressed against the wall and your head is leaned back.
So do you know how to tighten your abdomen? It is the strength of the abdominal muscles, and when you press your fingers on your abdomen, you can feel the feeling of hardness.
What's so particular about practicing yoga breathing?
Focus, put awareness on breathing, inhale and open your chest, feel the air fill your abdomen, exhale slowly, and feel that all the fumes and turbid air are slowly exhaled out of your body.
Breathe evenly, exhale and inhale for as long as possible. Whether it is abdominal breathing or laryngeal breathing, you should pay attention to the problem of uniform breathing.
Different breathing methods have different details, but the most basic thing is to pay attention to your awareness, concentration, and evenness in one breath after another.
Yoga breathing is a method of effectively massaging the internal organs through a variety of different breathing methods (determined according to the physical and mental condition of the individual). It can effectively massage the internal organs, stimulate the benign secretion of various physiological glands, activate the potential power of pulse and chakra (which may also be equivalent to what traditional Chinese medicine calls meridians and acupoints), and better clean up the body, thus laying the foundation for more advanced spiritual cultivation and spiritual development.
When can I practice?
Breathing, like many exercises in yoga, can run through life. The generally recommended age for learning breathing is 8 to 10 years old, and you can begin to take a moderate approach to deep breathing exercises. However, the practice of suspending yoga does not begin until after the age of 14. Adults can start practicing yoga breathing at any age, with no age limit. Breathing method has a good effect on the prevention and treatment of asthma, arthritis, diabetes, digestive system disorders, depression and other diseases.
With different genders, does breathing practice have any effect?
Breathing is equally useful for men and women. Some people might say that breathing is more effective for women than for men. This may be because women exercise less than men than men, and most of their activities are indoors. So women are more likely to lack exercise, breathe more shallower, and get faster and more obvious results from breathing. For women, abdominal and pelvic exercise is more important. Breathing training can promote blood circulation and strengthen muscles, which is of great help in the treatment of menstrual disorders, uterine displacement, the formation of natural birth and the improvement of health.
In what environment do you go down to practice?
The environment in which ancient practitioners practice yoga is difficult for modern people to find. The best environment should be in nature, without interference, in a quiet place, directly under the guidance of the yogi, to absorb the energy nurtured in the pleasant environment. If it is difficult to find such an environment, it is best to make sure that the practice area is not disturbed by noise, visitors and other factors, and that it is peaceful, clean and ventilated. According to the current environment and conditions, it may be the home that can meet the above requirements. Sometimes, you can enjoy breathing exercises in peaceful places such as riverbanks, parks or temples. If the room is crowded, it is best to choose a yoga institution where the environment can meet the requirements of the practice. Of course, if conditions permit, the office can also become a place to practice yoga. When traveling, you can also practice breathing on trains, buses and airplanes.
What's the point of dressing?
When practicing breathing outdoors, clothing should ward off cold and keep warm. When the weather is fine, especially when practicing indoors at home, underwear is enough. When the weather is very hot, the clothes can be shorter. The clothes should not be too thick or too thin. A general principle is to avoid feeling uncomfortable because the clothes you wear are too tight, too much, and too little.
Specific practice time and frequency?
For general purposes, breathing training can be done once a day, sooner or later. At night, after finishing the day's work, the brain is relaxed and the muscles and joints are no longer tense, so choose a breathing posture and hold it steadily for the required length of time. In the morning, the joints are tense, and if you do breathing training, you need to do some postural exercises to soften the stiff body. However, there may be out activities in the evening, and the rules of practice are easy to be disrupted. From this point of view, morning is a better time to practice. In addition, when practicing breathing, the stomach must not have a heavy burden, which is a very important point. The stomach is empty before breakfast, so it is more suitable to practice breathing in the morning (2 hours before meals and 4 hours after meals are better). Usually, it takes 20 to 30 minutes to practice breathing; on busy days, if you have too much work, just 10 minutes of practice can make you feel good.