Hope you feel better soon! I totally recommend an accupressure mat, if you don’t already have one. I have never seriously injured my back but I do get upper back stiffness after sitting at desk for most of the day and not holding great posture, this mat is a life saver. Here is the product details which seems like it could provide you some relief even for a serious injury:
-IMMEDIATE back and neck pain relief in the comfort of your home in as little as 20 minutes per day
-ELIMINATES the need for expensive treatments as well as therapist, masseuse and chiropractor visits
-EFFECTIVELY induces a state of complete relaxation while reducing aches, pain, stress and tension
-RELIEVES not only back, neck, shoulder and sciatic pain whether mild or chronic but also relieves headaches
-OTHER BENEFITS include improved sleep, circulation, and mood as well an increase in energy levels
When you first get on it, it feels terrible, like pins and needles. To really feel a difference I try to lay on it until it doesn’t feel terrible anymore and my muscles are completely relaxed. You feel as if the mat almost becomes one with you 😉
If I understand correctly, you want to be more upright in this pose? To do that I’d say pelvic tilts, where you pull your abs back and push your butt forward. Hope the challenge is going well for you, sorry for the delay in response!
I’m excited to follow your journey and watch your flexibility increase! I agree middle splits are the worst. The only way I can stand to be in them long enough to see results, is by doing muscle isolations, breath in squeeze all my leg muscles, breath out relax all my leg muscles.
Welcome LeRaih, glad to have you here! You’re looking good already, yoga is such a wonderful foundation!
For the poses you can start with the “core goals” list on this page http://flexibility.purifiedlifestyle.com/stretch/
Or if you already have those, look for variations and other poses in the pose section, here is the one specific for backbends. http://flexibility.purifiedlifestyle.com/stretch/poses/backbends/
There is no one list fits all, if that’s what you were looking for, rather you get to pick and choose. I usually aim for about 10 pose goals per year or 100 days.
Glad to have you here, I look forward to watching you progress! I promise the more you build strength in your flexibility, the more comfortable everything will be. When I first started I couldn’t believe how much muscle concentration was involved in flexibility! 🙂
You can certainly do the static stretching routine with no movement whatsoever. In this case the movement will serve as a way you can alter each static stretch after holding, as well as how to cycle through good form points. I can recommend you hold each specific movement within 1 gif for 10-20 deep breaths, or however long you’d like. Sometimes I’ll do the movement exactly as shown with each breath for 10 seconds and then hold it as a static stretch for 10-20 breaths, contracting on the inhale and relaxing on the exhale. There are so many static stretching techniques to choose from! http://flexibility.purifiedlifestyle.com/types-of-stretching/
I’ll definitely add a front bending routine to my list for the next update! Let me know if you have any other suggestions or questions.
Oh yes, your practice is diligent and that is definitely the right track. Looking back at your progress I’d say your post titled “back bending day” from January 23rd looked the best shoulder wise, your were pushing through the shoulders nicely, and your hands were very close to being stacked under your shoulders. I know from having tight shoulders myself that being up on the toes really helps you push up and back, even though everyone told me to keep my feet flat 😉
I would start focusing on trying your backbends with your arms against the wall, so you can see how much farther you need to push your chest upwards. Sometimes it is a little easier to push up and backwards when on your tippy toes, then try to maintain your shoulder position and slowly bring your feet flat to the ground. Good luck!
I definitely see a huge improvement as well! The only thing I can say, other than keep doing what you’re doing, once you push taller out of your shoulders and push back into the armpits, slowly try to pull your heels down, thinking about releasing your quads, just like you do in the shin up against wall lunge forward move.
You should be very proud of your backbend progress!!
Did you ever get your hip flexors to release?
How did it go? Do you have any after photos?
I’d love to know if you stuck to it and made any progress.
Hope you feel better soon! I totally recommend an accupressure mat, if you don’t already have one. I have never seriously injured my back but I do get upper back stiffness after sitting at desk for most of the day and not holding great posture, this mat is a life saver. Here is the product details which seems like it could provide you some relief even for a serious injury:
-IMMEDIATE back and neck pain relief in the comfort of your home in as little as 20 minutes per day
-ELIMINATES the need for expensive treatments as well as therapist, masseuse and chiropractor visits
-EFFECTIVELY induces a state of complete relaxation while reducing aches, pain, stress and tension
-RELIEVES not only back, neck, shoulder and sciatic pain whether mild or chronic but also relieves headaches
-OTHER BENEFITS include improved sleep, circulation, and mood as well an increase in energy levels
https://www.amazon.com/Nayoya-Back-Neck-Pain-Relief/dp/B0049Q0P9M/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&qid=1502207014&sr=8-2&keywords=acupressure+mat&linkCode=ll1&tag=amanicsmi-20&linkId=bb5398de1bed3a7fb2fcfc658d3b149c
When you first get on it, it feels terrible, like pins and needles. To really feel a difference I try to lay on it until it doesn’t feel terrible anymore and my muscles are completely relaxed. You feel as if the mat almost becomes one with you 😉
Hope this helps, sending you healing vibes!
If I understand correctly, you want to be more upright in this pose? To do that I’d say pelvic tilts, where you pull your abs back and push your butt forward. Hope the challenge is going well for you, sorry for the delay in response!
I’m excited to follow your journey and watch your flexibility increase! I agree middle splits are the worst. The only way I can stand to be in them long enough to see results, is by doing muscle isolations, breath in squeeze all my leg muscles, breath out relax all my leg muscles.
Happy Stretching!
Welcome LeRaih, glad to have you here! You’re looking good already, yoga is such a wonderful foundation!
For the poses you can start with the “core goals” list on this page http://flexibility.purifiedlifestyle.com/stretch/
Or if you already have those, look for variations and other poses in the pose section, here is the one specific for backbends. http://flexibility.purifiedlifestyle.com/stretch/poses/backbends/
There is no one list fits all, if that’s what you were looking for, rather you get to pick and choose. I usually aim for about 10 pose goals per year or 100 days.
If you have any suggestions, let me know. 🙂
Happy Stretching!!
Thank you so much Shakir, that means a lot to me 🙂
Glad to have you here, I look forward to watching you progress! I promise the more you build strength in your flexibility, the more comfortable everything will be. When I first started I couldn’t believe how much muscle concentration was involved in flexibility! 🙂
You can certainly do the static stretching routine with no movement whatsoever. In this case the movement will serve as a way you can alter each static stretch after holding, as well as how to cycle through good form points. I can recommend you hold each specific movement within 1 gif for 10-20 deep breaths, or however long you’d like. Sometimes I’ll do the movement exactly as shown with each breath for 10 seconds and then hold it as a static stretch for 10-20 breaths, contracting on the inhale and relaxing on the exhale. There are so many static stretching techniques to choose from! http://flexibility.purifiedlifestyle.com/types-of-stretching/
I’ll definitely add a front bending routine to my list for the next update! Let me know if you have any other suggestions or questions.
Happy Stretching!
Oh yes, your practice is diligent and that is definitely the right track. Looking back at your progress I’d say your post titled “back bending day” from January 23rd looked the best shoulder wise, your were pushing through the shoulders nicely, and your hands were very close to being stacked under your shoulders. I know from having tight shoulders myself that being up on the toes really helps you push up and back, even though everyone told me to keep my feet flat 😉
Keep up the good work!
I would start focusing on trying your backbends with your arms against the wall, so you can see how much farther you need to push your chest upwards. Sometimes it is a little easier to push up and backwards when on your tippy toes, then try to maintain your shoulder position and slowly bring your feet flat to the ground. Good luck!
I definitely see a huge improvement as well! The only thing I can say, other than keep doing what you’re doing, once you push taller out of your shoulders and push back into the armpits, slowly try to pull your heels down, thinking about releasing your quads, just like you do in the shin up against wall lunge forward move.
You should be very proud of your backbend progress!!