Featured Sequence Bone Strength Practice

by Baxter

As part of my continuing series of special sequences, I’d like to offer a sequence for building stronger bones. To start, please see one of my previous post on osteoporosis Healthy Bones for Men and Women Alike. When practicing the poses I have chosen for the sequence today, remember some of the suggestions I made in that previous post: 

“The research data that shows that we can stimulate new bone growth along lines of stress by holding poses for between 8-72 seconds is, for me, the pivotal nuance to add to the yoga practice you are already doing. Because of this, I have been working recently with holding postures for 30-60 seconds, depending on the physical demands of a given pose (for example, holding Downward-Facing Dog for 60 seconds, while holding Hand to Foot pose (Hasta Padangustasana), a much more demanding pose on many levels, for 30 seconds.” 

So, you will want to experiment with holding your poses in that 30-60 second range. The other key concept to keep in mind relates to the following: 

“Remember that engaging opposing muscle groups while doing the pose increases the stimulation of the underlying bone cells that make new bone (this is essentially an isometric contraction around a joint). So, in Downward-Facing Dog I consciously engage the muscles around all the joints I can think of.” 

In standing poses, I am not only taking advantage of the weight bearing part of the pose, the feet and legs, but using this isometric muscle contraction around the shoulder joints, for example, and in the contraction of the muscles of the back spine to assist in keeping the posture actively upright. So, if you want to add more poses to the sequence, you can include any of your favorite standing poses and apply these two principles for bone strengthening.

Cautions: The Bone Strength Sequence was designed for those with no evidence of osteoporosis or osteopenia. If you have either of those conditions, be mindful to avoid the forward folding action of Cat/Cow pose (the Cat position), although the hands and knees position will lessen the potentially negative force on your thoracic vertebrae quite a bit. Otherwise, the sequence should be safe.

Warm-Up

Cat/Cow: This pose warms up your spine and its joints, as you are also bearing weight on your wrists, the second most commonly fractured area in people with OP. Start on your hands knees, with a blanket or other padding under your knees. On your inhale arch into a gentle backbend, and then on your exhale round your spine towards the ceiling. Repeat for about six rounds. 

Hunting Dog: This pose a great one for building strength in the wrists and spine. See Hunting Dog Pose for basic instructions. Be mindful to keep your chest lifting towards your shoulder blades, especially on the side where your hand is on the ground. And strongly reach your lifted arm and shoulder blade forward, as you reach the lifted leg backward. After you come out, be sure to shake out the wrist of your supporting arm.

Downward Facing Dog: Because you are bearing weight on hands and feet and really working around the hip joints, the third most commonly fractured joint in the body, this is a great pose for building bone strength. From hands and knees position, come up into Downward-Facing Dog pose. See Downward-Facing Dog Pose Variations  for variations that might work best for you. 

Downward Dog Variation

High Plank Pose: This is another great pose for your wrists as well as your arm bones, and also for your spine as it engages the muscles attached to your spine. Start in Downward-Facing Dog pose, and then shift your shoulders forward until your shoulder joints are directly over your wrist joints. Keep your ribcage lifting up towards your shoulder blades and your elbows strong and straight. The rest of your body should be in a Mountain pose-like shape, so you need to keep your core and legs engaged, while maintaining a natural curve in your lower back. To come out of the pose, swing back to Downward-Facing Dog, then to hands and knees. Afterward, give your wrists a good shake out and brief rest. 

Active Poses

Extended Side Angle Pose: This is a great pose for your legs and hip joints, your bottom wrist joint, and your spine. You could substitute Triangle or Warrior 2 pose here, if you prefer those standing poses. From Mountain pose, step your feet wide apart, turn your right foot and leg out 90 degrees and kick out your back heel an inch or so. Bring your arms up parallel with the floor and bend your front knee. Then side-bend your hips and torso over your front leg and put your right hand on a block on its highest height, placed snug up against the outside of your front shin. Swing your top arm up and overhead, completing the side angle from your back leg through your torso and into your top arm. Push down firmly into the block with your bottom hand and feel your right shoulder blade firm into your chest and slightly down toward your waist. Reach your top arm and shoulder blade strongly forward towards your fingers. Be sure to actively engage the muscles around your mid-spine to strengthen your mid spine area. Come out of the pose on an inhalation, relax your arms at your sides, and repeat on the other side. 

Warrior 1: This a good pose to strengthen the spine, as it contracts the back muscles that pull on the vertebrae of the entire spine. See Warrior 1 Pose for instructions. You will use this pose to transition into your next pose.

Warrior 3: This pose adds in a balance challenge to weight bearing on the standing leg and isometric work on the lifted hip and along the spine. See Warrior 3 Pose for instructions and easier variations. Since the  pose can be quite challenging, start with shorter holds and gradually work up to 30 seconds or more. 

Forearm Dog Pose to Forearm Plank Pose: See Downward-Facing Dog Pose Variations for instructions on Downward-Facing Dog pose with Headstand Arms for instructions. From that pose, move into Forearm Plank by swinging your shoulders directly over your elbows and bringing your body parallel with the floor. When you come out of the pose, release down onto your belly in a prone position.

Locust: See Locust Pose for instructions. Even though those instructions are for dynamic Locust, practicing this pose dynamically will give you a good way to ease into full, static Locust pose, in which you lift both legs, your chest and your head and hold the pose for 10 seconds to start. Gradually add more time until you can do a 30 second hold. Rest for a few breaths before moving on. 

Simple Seated Twist: It is theorized that twisting helps nourish the spine—movement of the spine helps maintain the health of the discs—and also strengthens the bones themselves as your back muscles pull on the bony insertions of the spine. If you already have osteoporosis, you may need to be a bit more cautious, so I recommend that you twist to a bit less than your potential maximum. Start by sitting in a comfortable crossed-legs position, on a prop such as a folded blanket if needed. Sit tall and on an exhalation, rotate your chest and upper belly to the right, placing your left hand on your right knee and your right hand on the floor behind you. Stay for 30-60 seconds before releasing and changing the cross of your legs and twisting to other side. 

Bridge Pose: This pose will engage your back body muscles, so it's a good one for strengthening your spinal vertebrae as well as your legs. Starting on your back, bend your knees to come into Constructive Rest pose, with your feet about four inches from your hips. Warm up by lifting your hips up as you inhale and lowering them down when you exhale, up to six times. Then inhale and stay in the pose for 30-60 seconds, breathing gently in and out the entire time. Press down evenly into your feet, and lift both from your hips and the lower tip of your breastbone. Optionally, you can turn your upper arm bones under the pose, being mindful not to put strain on your neck. On an exhalation, release your arms and come out of the pose.

Before moving on to Relaxation pose (Savasana), take a moment to do bring your knees to your chest or rock your knees and hips side to side to release your back muscles. 

Cool-Down

Savasana: If time permits, take a generous 10-minute rest before heading into your day. Bring attention to your bones and imagine them heavy, dense and strong. 

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Benefits Of Strength Training Program Santa Cruz Ca

By Peter Foster

Everybody needs to work out to look solid yet the greatest mistake that you do is begin doing it through lifting weights magazines yet what happens is that taking after those schedules don't make your muscles construct quick. Strength training program santa cruz ca helps people get their desired body shape.

In the event that you have, then you don't need to dream any longer. Possibly you were tired of eating up each and every bit of muscle-building material with various muscle-building systems and techniques, all asserting to have the arrangement to manufacture muscle quick.

What you generally do as a fledgling is that you don't learn legitimate systems and begin off only rashly without knowing the real strategy. In any case, what you should do is to get more quality first keeping in mind the end goal to develop your muscles in light of the fact that the more grounded you will get, the more muscles you can develop.

Ensure that you will invest some energy and look for the counsel of fitness coach, since that is the main individual, will's identity ready to make an uncommon practice program, which will address every one of your issues. After you get the exercise program, ensure that you will tail it and furthermore to invest more energy resting.

To fabricate muscles quick, you ought to do these activities and this is the point at which you can get the most extreme out of your exercise. You can blaze more calories amid work out, can do full body exercise in a little time, can fabricate more quality and control and can decrease the muscle weakness by doing these activities.

Swimming may fabricate muscle quick yet without a doubt don't leaved others work out. There is the motivation to take your exercise to the swimming pool. While swimming we utilized all our body compartment particularly hand and legs. The most vital advantages of swimming is to reinforce bear muscle and also your back muscles. Swimming likewise may build lung limit and enhanced cardio framework.

Your eating routine has a great deal of impact on your weight training so you have to change your dietary patterns for your lifting weights too. You need to eat more than ordinary in light of the fact that the all the more preparing you do, the more sustenance your body requires. Protein guarantees quick muscle development, quicker recuperation and accelerates your digestion system too. More often than not, weight lifters take six suppers a day which implies that you need to eat your dinner at regular intervals.

Legitimate and satisfactory rest may incite or empowered creation of normal male sex hormone in the body known as testosterone and dihydrotesterone. They expanded muscle creations by improving protein union. Rest soundly for no less than 8 hours for every day guaranteed to be superior to rest for 5 to 6 hours for every day in the creation of male sex hormones and muscle building.

About the Author:

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Building Upper Body Strength the Easy Way

by Nina

Plank Pose

It’s only natural, I guess, that when you start blogging about yoga, your friends are going to ask for your advice, even when you’re on vacation. Luckily for me, I love helping my friends and truly enjoy giving them short private lessons, and seeing their eyes light up when they realize there are some easy yoga solutions to their problems in one of my ideas of FUN.

This time my friend Carol asked me about her right shoulder and wrist, the ones she over-uses when she spends so much time in front of the computer moving her mouse around. She was under the impression that to protect her shoulder and wrist she should not use them very much, even when she was doing yoga. To baby them, in other words. I assured her that, to the contrary, to protect her shoulder and wrist she should be both strengthening and stretching her shoulders, arms, wrists, and hands. Then I gave her a quick private lesson to show her some easy poses she could do on a regular basis.

For her wrists, I showed her the wrist flossing sequence (see Featured Sequence: Wrist Flossing) that is so helpful for preventing carpal tunnel syndrome and other wrists problems. For stretching her shoulders, I showed her a passive backbend over a blanket roll, with her arms overhead and straight, using a strap around her upper arms to make it easier to stay in the pose for around three minutes. I also taught her the doorknob version of Upward Plank pose (Purvottanasana) because she could easily do this in her work place and it’s a nice counter-pose to sitting hunched in front of a computer (see Upward Plank variations). Of course there are many other shoulder stretches, many of which we’ve been covering in our office yoga series (Arm Circles, Eagle pose Arms, Cow-Face pose Arms, etc.).

But what about building upper body strength? I assured her that, no, she didn’t have to do handstands or arm balances, and there were many easy yoga poses that help build upper body strength. Then I quickly ran through a lot of suggestions for her that I thought I share with you today. Hopefully, in the near future, we’ll be able to explore some of these poses in greater depth.

Any pose where you put weight on your arms builds upper body strength, including Cat pose, Downward-Facing Dog, Upward-Facing Dog, Plank pose, Sideways Plank pose (Vasithasana), Upward Plank pose (Purvottanasana), and so on. If you are worried about putting weight on your wrists, you can use a wedge to change the angle of your wrists, do some of the poses with your forearms on the floor instead of just your hands (for example Downward-Facing Dog with forearms on the floor). You can even do Sideways Plank pose standing a few feet away from the wall, with one hand on the wall, your outside leg in Tree pose, and your second out to the side or overhead (I swear, I will take a photo of this one of these days). One of my favorite upper body strengtheners, which I learned from yoga teacher Julie Gudmestad, is to move back and forth, several times, between Downward-Facing Dog and Plank pose.

Also, any pose where you hold your arms up or out to the side builds upper body strength, including Warrior 1, 2, and 3, Tree pose, Triangle pose, Extended Side Angle pose, Half Moon pose, and so on. Do you doubt me? Try keeping your arms in position instead of releasing them as you change from the first side to the second side of Warrior 2 (or any other pose). I bet you’ll find it’s harder than you expected.

There are so many possibilities that I once taught an entire workshop on the subject. Here is the mini practice I sent those students home with:

1. Cat pose
2. Downward-Facing Dog pose
3. Standing Forward Bend
4. Two Sun Salutations with Plank instead of Chaturanga
5. Side Plank pose (Vashithasana)
6. Upward Plank pose (Purvottanasana)
7. Child's pose

I hope this inspires you to incorporate some upper body strengthening into your home practice!

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