Matt Chung Posted October 22 Author Posted October 22 Day 159 of stretching and flexibility journey Summary: Targeted hamstrings with lunge (followed by elephant walk) but was unable to successfully target hamstrings with forward fold (see previous post). Ended session with 4 minutes of squatting Session reflection Almost every time I do the hamstring lunge and think I hit a wall, I'm surprised that I can continue pushing a few centimeters/inches; continuing to take it slow as to avoid my ambition to trigger an unnecessary injury When targeting the hip flexors / quads with the lunge, I wiggled around for a few minutes to find my "tight" line and bring awareness to the rectus femoris Forgot to C+R on hip flexors and will make a note to cue myself next time; forgot mainly because I was just so surprised in the moment that I could actually FEEL the rectus femoris being stretched Though not completely eliminated, the pain experienced when leaning towards my right leg while in the squat position has reduced. Again, when the pain begins, if I direct my attention towards my hamstring and engage/flex it, the pain reduces even further. Odd 1
Nathan Posted October 22 Posted October 22 3 hours ago, Matt Chung said: Edit: Doing some more research, going to try and place a bolster underneath my butt and also use straps. Will give this a crack next session Was going to say this. Just raise your bum. If you have trouble sitting at 90 degrees, then you simply tilt your whole 90-degree angle forward (if that makes sense). This will also put gravity on your side, as it will be pulling your torso forward (downward, in this case). Just keep in mind that this will make support under the legs more difficult to achieve, so grab all your extra pillows and blankets. Also, be sure to remember that all of this complexity is not necessary. We're just playing with positions here, so that we understand what is happening in the body. You can keep making progress without making it this complicated. But experimenting is fun too 1
Matt Chung Posted October 22 Author Posted October 22 Okay, I may have been over-complicating things 😅 Just sat on the ground with and without a bolster and actually think I've been actually performing the anterior pelvic tilt during the forward fold, just not realizing it. Yes, there is still a slight curve in my back, however, I think if I draw more awareness to hip flexion (instead of trunk flexion) I'll be able to straighten out my back and shift the stretch away from the back and more towards the hamstring. Will continue playing with this tomorrow after some rest since my hamstrings are already cooked from today's session. 1
Matt Chung Posted October 23 Author Posted October 23 Day 160 of Stretching and Flexibility Journey Day 03 of my program and I targeted calves (C+R), ankles, followed by 3 minutes of squatting Summary Was able to "feel" the (RIGHT) calve muscle being stretched this week while last last week unable to sense any tension (very odd, last week being an outlier) Of all the target body parts, ankle stretching tends to be the one that sends me to that "special" place, the pain cave, the stretching sensation feeling more like a burning / firey sensation Noticable discrepancy in ROM between right and left ankle, the right having less flexibility; perhaps related to me snapping (well, someone else snapping) my ankle years ago during mixed martial arts Stretching the calve and ankles before squat reduces the pain in right knee when learning towards the knee during the squat position Huge increase of ROM in both left and right ankle over past few weeks and I suspect a few more months (maybe weeks, who knows) away from comfortably sitting in the Seiza position 3
Matt Chung Posted October 24 Author Posted October 24 Day 161 of Stretching and Flexibility Journey Day 04 of program is what I call my "light" day, more limbering on (what I consider) non primary/target muscles for my program: piriformis, spine rotation, lat, waist, frog squash, (recently added over last couple weeks) seated hero's pose (with blocks) Observation and follow up - When performing the seated piriformis stretch, crossing my left leg over my right and rotating my trunk to the left, I feel stiffness and a slight muscle spasm in my left hip flexor This is the same location (I think rectus femoris) that pesters me in the morning when getting into the child's pose Stiffness has dramatically decreased over last few months since beginning routine stretching routine Today, however, the sensation was stronger than usual and unsure if either (or perhaps both) I'm more able to sense the restriction or the restriction demands more attention. 2
Matt Chung Posted October 24 Author Posted October 24 Perhaps others have experienced this too but as of the last couple weeks (i.e. 5 months into stretching) I can no longer tolerate sitting in the (Western) default sitting position , in a chair with legs dangling (or touching the ground), hips flexed at legs/knees producing a 90 degree angle. As such, I started working out of a local (London) Starbucks café that has cushioned long bench (with a wall for back support), where I can sit in a variety of positions, including crossed legged; I'm also able to alternate my seating position every 10-15 minutes or so (if/when I'm mindful), as to avoid sitting in any one particular position for too long. In any case, just ordered a wide seated chair for my flat, allowing me to sit crossed legged. 3
Kit_L Posted October 24 Posted October 24 13 hours ago, Matt Chung said: I can no longer tolerate sitting in the (Western) default sitting position , in a chair with legs dangling (or touching the ground) Exactly the same here, for both Liv and myself, and has been for many years. Add to that the thousands of hours spent sitting the Burmese position for meditation, and you realise that sitting on a chair is the unnatural position. 2
Matt Chung Posted October 25 Author Posted October 25 > Add to that the thousands of hours spent sitting the Burmese position for meditation, and you realise that sitting on a chair is the unnatural position. That's a gnarly pose that I hope to be able to achieve one day! At the moment, I'm sitting crossed and suspect to be able to get into Brumese position, will need to somehow unlock quite a few muscles that would allow me to rotate my shins (in I think what's called the sagittal plane). Goals!
Kit_L Posted October 25 Posted October 25 One way I have seen done on retreats by relatively new meditators is a combination of using a cushion that's high enough (higher/thicker makes the pose significantly easier) and if the knees do not rest on the floor, then by "building a nest". This means using rolled towels or other kind of supports under the knees, so both legs can rest on something. Being able to relax completely is essential. In time, the body adapts with little discomfort. The two key poses to master for this position are the tailor pose, and the advanced piriformis pose. This usually is unsuspected—but it is length in piriformis when in this position that allows the pelvis to tip forward far enough for the spine to be straight without any effort in the spinal muscles. I have a "How to sit for meditation" 60' free video on YT that goes into this in detail. You may have seen it! 1
Matt Chung Posted October 29 Author Posted October 29 Quote a "How to sit for meditation" 60' free video on YT that goes into this in detail. You may have seen it! Thanks for sharing this Kit. I have not seen that and just hopped around a few frames of it and fortunately, some of the exercises demonstrated there are ones that I am currently practicing already. So — staying the course! Quote when in this position that allows the pelvis to tip forward far enough for the spine to be straight without any effort in the spinal muscles That makes sense. Thanks for elaborating. 1
Matt Chung Posted October 30 Author Posted October 30 Day 166 of stretching and flexibility journey Note: I caught a cold from this past weekend and still recovering. Though I'm still stretching, my ability to concentrate and focus has diminished greatly. I’m now on the 5th (or 6th) week of this block that I created and today’s focus was hamstrings and quadriceps. I definitely adequately pushed myself today; I’m feeling sore, specifically in my upper hamstring, right below my buttocks, predominately in my right leg. The soreness could be a result of either (or combination of) practicing the forward fold while hinging at the hips (versus bending in the lower back) and the deliberately longer holds in the lunge position. Speaking of the lunge position, today I wore knee pads (originally purchased for floor work in dance). I haven’t experienced this sort of discomfort before but now, when I stretch my right (target) leg back and rest the knee on the floor — even with the Pilates mat — there’s discomfort in the knee and that distracts me from feeling the stretch in the quadriceps. Also, I noticed a painful sensation around my knee but not in the same spot as usual (i.e. behind the knee), the pain triggered when I stand on that one leg and bend: feels like too pressure. This pain might just be a result of “too much volume” from this past weekend (i.e. about 10 hours of dancing in total). To keep it short, I actually am quite excited about feeling this new pain. Sounds ironic but the way I see it is that due to stretching and increased range of motion, I’m able to move and dance in ways I couldn’t before. And so I believe that I’m now stressing different muscles (in a good way). 2
Matt Chung Posted November 2 Author Posted November 2 Day 168 of stretching and flexibility journey This is day 4 of my block (6th week now): piriformis, lats, spine rotation (limbering, since I currently don't know how to yet apply C+R here), frog squash, wall straddle (this one feels so good on my inner thighs, a recent addition that I felt my body calling for) The block I program is Monday-Friday (5 days), Saturday and Sunday reserved for mainly limbering and taking it fairly light. For the programs through the week, I almost always add a C+R component and I find for myself by end of the week, my body is quite fatigued from the stretching so I tend to just limber. Finally, I was perusing the forums and found a thread in which (yet another) forum member was asserting that they did not have the cycles to adopt a relaxation practice and enjoyed Kit's response; as such, I embedded his comment in my video. I saw a part of myself in that other forum member; practicing less judgemental position, less to do with "making excuses" and more to do with the brain/thoughts telling you that there are more important things then to sit down and relax for a few minutes a day. There ARE days where life gets the best of me and I forget to relax and yet, I'm reminded every time I come back to it, I not only enjoy it, but it "helps build persistence and determination." 3
Matt Chung Posted November 6 Author Posted November 6 Day 173 of stretching and flexibility journey Date: November 5th, 2024 Target muscles: hamstrings During the hamstring (lunge) exercise, I hold and prop myself with my arms, my tummy constantly making contact with my (target) thigh. I notice that when I try to deliberately relax my upper body and arms, the intensity of the hamstring stretch violently increases. As I type this, I think this makes sense since during relaxation of upper my body, I'm probably shifting the work onto the hamstrings. In any case, I was reflecting on today's session and was curious and compare yesterday's lunge range of motion compared to that of 2 months ago and though I know and feel a difference in my body, seems to me that the increase range of motion is probably a few small degrees. I will say I do notice what I consider for me significant gains in the hip flexor range of motion and as a result, I'm inching my way closer and closer to a forward split. Also, still trying to experiment with the forward fold — emphasizing hamstring, not lower back — and by hinging at the hips, though I still feel the stretch strongly in my hamstrings, I also now feel the stretch not in my lower back, but towards the middle. And, even with the assistance of the band wrapped around my feet, I'm not fully able to relax in the stretch and feel that hinging in the hips requires more "effort" of the hips, and I actually produce a sweat every time I attempt the forward fold. Image on the left from September 20th 2024; Image on the right November 5th, 2024. Separately, yesterday my body signaled to me that during the hamstring lunge, to point the toes since that increased the stretch for me in location of the hamstring that isn't targeted when I am flexing my foot back. 2
Kit_L Posted November 7 Posted November 7 Outstanding, Matt, and your GIF says it all. And I think you've got about 10° extra extension in that position – that is much more important as you observed than the hamstring length improvement. Keep going! Excellent. 1
Matt Chung Posted November 7 Author Posted November 7 Day 175 of stretching and flexibility journey day 5 of my block: piriformis stretch, lats, (recently added) waist and TFL stretch, frog squash, walled pancake Some notes I took throughout my stretching session today (no video or photo footage for the day) Will look into more "advanced" piriformis stretch since I'm feeling less of the stretch when compared to 6 months ago - I doubt that I've hit the range of motion (ROM) limit and suspect there are other variations of this move (will refer to PDF) Felt some unanticipated joy because historically, my left hip flexor would spasm during the piriformis stretch and I think (both) my hip flexors are getting not just more flexible but stronger as well (with the C+R) The Spontaneous waist stretch felt amazing, reaching each arm overhead to the opposite side of the body - I think I also feel a stretch around my TFL area, which has been problematic (on my left side) for years Today's frog squash position sent me to another universe - right groin was very much feeling the stretch and I was praying (to who knows what) and really really concentrating on the breathing sensations, more than usual 1
Matt Chung Posted November 7 Author Posted November 7 Separately, I love how pain tends to migrate around in the body: you fix one place of pain and then like wackamole, it pops up somewhere else. A couple months ago, I had reported painful "bunionette" in my left foot and had worked with a physical therapist who prescribed foot exercises. All is well with that foot. However, last Monday (October 28th), I started feeling pain in by right heel and seems like plantar fascistic. I've never experienced this sort of sensation before and I suspect it has to do with one (or both) of the recent changes: Increased amount of dancing - that weekend before the onset of pain, I had danced vigorously for about 10-12 hours across three days Removed the soles from my Vivo Barefoot shoes Reintroduction to strength training - jump rope, ankle weights In a nutshell, again, probably "too much volume". What I'm finding adds some relief in the morning is that the night before, I drive my heel into this massage ball (screen shot below) that's a bit spiky. It hurts like hell throughout the entire exercise but in the AM, when I wake up, the "pressure" felt in the heel of my foot feels less and less. Ultimately though, I think I need to reinject some other foot strengthening exercises that will address the heel of the foot. 1
Matt Chung Posted November 11 Author Posted November 11 Long story short: it appears that my tight calves (right in particular) appears to be the main culprit of my plantar fasciitis. During my meeting with a (ST) friend/mentor/teacher yesterday for a periodic consultation, we were initially going to work on the IT band but I was unable to straighten my leg due to sciatic nerve pain which we believed was due to tight calve muscles Did some research via YouTube, many suggesting tight calves being the main culprit Plantar Fascitis feeling substantial release after 1) heavy calve stretch and 2) my friend (a sports massage therapist in training) worked my calves and hamstrings 1
Kit_L Posted November 12 Posted November 12 Do a search on "nerve tethering, tibial plateau"; you might be surprised. This is more common than many practitioners think. Here's an image (of a fracture, but the anatomy I want to mention is shown): See the peroneal nerve? There is a fascial loop that holds it close to the tibial plateau is not shown ("Fascia is what anatomists cut away to show the real structures!"), but in some people adhesions can develop here. If they do, the nerve sticks there, instead of gliding; if so, the pain of stretching the posterior chain can be excruciating. Massaging the local area can help, as well as v. careful stretches that emphasise the neural dimension. The best of these, by far, is the single-leg dog pose; long exposition with images here: https://stretchtherapy.net/unlocking-the-yoga-poses-or-what-stops-you-doing-a-pose-perfectly/ 1
Matt Chung Posted November 12 Author Posted November 12 > The best of these, by far, is the single-leg dog pose; long exposition with images here: Thanks for the tip @Kit_L. Tried this stretch position out for first time today and ... my ... calves ... were ... screaming. Up until now, I've been doing the calve exercise where one props themselves up against a wall (I believe it is the first exercise listed in the mastery program). But this ... the single-leg dog pose, it's something else. The sensation nearly sent me to another dimension, particularly on my right calve. Next time, I'll move a little more slowly because sharp pain had come on suddenly. And looking at the footage (below), I'm a little embarrassed by how restricted my calves are (at the same time: 20+ years of tennis and NEVER once stretching them ... that will do the trick, I think). Moreover, this position seemed to hit a different part of the calve then the aforementioned wall calve stretch. (which I *think* was strictly targeting the soleus) and now I'm feeling the stretch in a place I never felt the stretch before: the gastrocnemius (also, it's entirely possible that I may have inverted the muscle names) 1
Matt Chung Posted November 12 Author Posted November 12 Just a little elaboration on having tight calves and my friend's observation during our sports massage yesterday. As you may have recalled, she's a sports massage therapist in training and so she had noticed (though neither of us are unsure whether this is "normal" or not) that when I'm laying face down, my legs / ankles at rest tend to ... I think ... internally rotate? Put differently, my Achilles tendon does not naturally form a straight line when relaxed. And as you may see from the photos on the right, she grabs my foot and rotate my foot then the Achilles tendon lines up. If I had to guess, there's probably tension somewhere in my body (maybe related to all the calf discussions recently) that's causing my ankles to rest in this way — this occurs on both sides but more drastic on my right leg, where I have recently for the first time developed plantar fasciitis (but am happy to announce it's being addressed). I'm not concerned. Just sharing and out of curiosity, we compared her resting leg position and seems as though her Achilles tendon does not form this angle at rest. 1
Kit_L Posted November 13 Posted November 13 Very poor connection today, so will be v. brief. If what you show above is not painful, don't give it a thought. I am sure your intuition is correct (tension somewhere). No one in my experience is symmetrical. I think that as you keep going, this will likely change too. 2
Matt Chung Posted November 14 Author Posted November 14 Day 182 of Stretching and Flexibility Journey Today's target muscles / exercises: piriformis (added a new variation), frog squash, (impromptu) forearm and wrist, calves (single legged downward dog), wall assisted pancake Summary Starting at the beginning of this week, I've started including a set of single legged downward dog limbering exercises Will be VERY interesting to see how the body evolves over the next couple months now that I'm targeting my calves The SLDD is (again) excruciatingly painful, in a good way; able to target part of calves that the wall calve stretch does not access I'm particularly excited about SLDD because I can see overtime I will be able to perform the downwards dog, something that previously I found WAY too painful every time I attempted the position When performing seated cross legged piriformis stretch, still feeling my left hip flexor spasm Today, tried a variation of Piriformis stretch (normally I only do the seated stretch, crossed legs) and feel that I'm definitely hitting different part of the piriformis I drew inspiration from the two videos below (i.e. floor piriformis stretch by Kit and Standing Piriformis Stretch) and ultimately did not use a bolster because (for whatever reason) was unable to feel the piriformis stretch so I ultimately experienced a strong sensation with the position (below) Used Olivia's cues (from the video below of her demonstrating the standing kitchen piriformis stretch) of sticking the tail out and straightening the (non stretched) leg and that brought on a very strong sensation in the target piriformis 1
Matt Chung Posted November 19 Author Posted November 19 Day 187 of stretching and flexibility journey Read a little bit more on the stickied thread around "nocebo" (truly fascinating concept) Today's block targeted hamstrings and hip flexors and quadriceps (new stretch that was introduced to me by an in-person ST consultation in London) Still very sore from Sunday (today is Tuesday) vigorous 1.5 hour workout (recently started incorporating cardio and strength training and my muscles are on fire) Listened to wise mind today and skipping out on my Tuesday night ritual of dance class due to quadricep being so sore I can barely walk I had a thought today, "Because my calves have been so tight, I wonder if my limited range of motion for forward fold or toe touch has been due to limited flexibility not in hamstrings, but the calves themselves since it's normally the sciatic nerve pain behind knees that stop me from progressing" I'm continuing to limber calves every day and still will dedicate 1-2 twice a week of C+R Finding it quite fascinating that each muscle stretch FEELS different; that is, the "pain" (or sensation) from a hamstring stretch differs to "pain" from calve For today's hamstring stretch, I tried something new: when I'm at the end range of motion, instead of just statically holding the position and trying to relax after a C+R, I am doing these little micro movements that seem to (after a few seconds of doing them) feel like they are adding "warmness" and allowing me to increase my range of motion even further 1
Kit_L Posted November 20 Posted November 20 12 hours ago, Matt Chung said: "Because my calves have been so tight, I wonder if my limited range of motion for forward fold or toe touch has been due to limited flexibility not in hamstrings, but the calves themselves since it's normally the sciatic nerve pain behind knees that stop me from progressing" Yes! I have written pretty extensively on this. Usually the limitation is in the fascia (posterior chain) and while you may feel the restriction there (in the calves), loosening the fascia in the mid-back (or wherever that's stuck in you), can change that feeling forever: https://stretchtherapy.net/rollstretch-for-thoracic-fascial-release/ There's more though. In every stretching class where hamstrings are going to be a focus, we would always do some kind of straight leg calf stretch as well – gastrocnemius and the sciatic nerve itself are the main limitations to flexion at the hip. And your comments about the single leg dog pose, above – do take your time with that one and I don't think you'll loose enough yet to do that with your hands on the floor, so use the wall instead or even a high support like the seat of a chair (with the back of it up against the wall so it can't slide) or something like that, you'll find that the pose is far more powerful and effective in the straight leg version of it even if your hands are not on the floor. This is the maximum stretch for the whole posterior chain. If you look at the photograph that accompanies the article that I sent you above, you'll see that I have my head on the ground with a perfectly straight back and the heel is on the ground as well. Once you master this pose, you will own the posterior chain! It takes most people years to master this pose, and that's the reason why the two leg downward dog pose (as it's called in Yoga) is usually very poorly done. Mastering the single leg dog pose first is absolutely the key to that pose as the article discusses. The single leg dog pose is one of our better inventions I believe. 2
Matt Chung Posted November 21 Author Posted November 21 > Yes! I have written pretty extensively on this. Usually the limitation is in the fascia (posterior chain) and while you may feel the restriction there (in the calves), loosening the fascia in the mid-back (or wherever that's stuck in you), can change that feeling forever: https://stretchtherapy.net/rollstretch-for-thoracic-fascial-release/ Fascinating. Watched the video yesterday and felt inspired. Although I don't have a partner to assist me with this, I am going to try this out with my Yamana ball and report back. Actually, I have a friend (same one who gave me sports massage last week) who may be able to test this out with me. > And your comments about the single leg dog pose, above – do take your time with that one and I don't think you'll loose enough yet to do that with your hands on the floor, so use the wall instead or even a high support like the seat of a chair (with the back of it up against the wall so it can't slide) or something like that, you'll find that the pose is far more powerful and effective in the straight leg version of it even if your hands are not on the floor. This is the maximum stretch for the whole posterior chain If there's anything I learned in the past 6 months, it's the importance of being able to relax in a position. I bring this up because my initial reaction to the above was, "Maybe if I just TRY harder in the single leg dog pose, and TRY and hold it longer..", internally viewing Kit's comment as a way to challenge myself. However, I'm currently unable to hold my current single leg dose pose for more than 3-4 breathes, an indicator that I could really benefit from a prop or adjustment. So, in reality, he's probably right and I'll want to try out a support of a chair and then work my way towards the (floor version) of the single leg dog pose. Finally, I think because I was able to the first time ever (literally, in my life) stretch the gastrocnemius, I got really excited about being able to target that muscle with the single leg dog pose. With this type of work (i.e. stretching), there's this constant fine line I am walking between relaxing and pushing.
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