Hi Esther,
I took your Foundations Class two weeks ago. Thank you very much for your class. I took a yoga class today and the teacher suggested to expand on stretching my hamstrings by first starting with one leg up, like in your book, and then:
a) holding that stretch for a few breaths, and
b) pushing back a little the other way, like a counter action for a breath, and
c) then going back into the stretch deeper than the initial stretch
He said something to the effect that Olympic gymnasts (from Germany?) have done this in the past to get greater flexibility and that the muscle has a little further room to go after that initial stretch.
I wanted to ask you your thoughts though as your book says to not overstretch the hamstrings. Thanks for any thoughts or suggestions.
Louis
2 hours 36 min ago
09/10/2008 - 8:36pm
If you want to augment your results, take a look at the book Relax Into Stretch. It's awkwardly written by an ex-Soviet guy who likes to call his readers "comrades," but it has helpful techniques to lengthen muscles fast. Especially useful for tight hamstrings. It involves pressing back against resistance and then going into a deeper stretch (without forcing).