Ned's log

[Ned]

Bodyweight squats, wrist work (white elastic, yellow band),  bar hangs, stick walks.

Program 9 – Hip flexors + quads, back bend, seated rotation, neck flexion extension

The lunge today felt very good.  That’s still a tight area for me, but it’s loosened up a huge amount from where it was when I started.  I’m contracting more strongly now as well.  I find that feels better for me.  The leg straightening contraction also seemed to open up (just a touch) something there that hasn’t moved in that way in a long time.  I also feel a lot stronger in that contraction than the first time I did it, I could just lift the knee off the mat without moving my hips instead of only taking a little of the weight off of it.  It was more noticeable on the right side than the left.  But ti felt lovely to stretch both sides today.  There wasn’t quite as much intensity in the quad part of the stretch today as sometimes but the hip flexor intensity was fairly high.

The back bends today both felt pleasant.  I’m getting much better at relaxing in those positions than when I first started, and even since the last time I did them.  The straight arm variant is a little more intense than the bent arm one for me but I just focused on relaxing and breathing and letting the belly soften onto the floor.

The seated rotations were free of knots today, and I’m finding a much greater awareness of my shoulders during this stretch than I had before and I found a little bit of tension there that I could relax as I did it.  My range of motion is also much greater than when I started, and in some spots where I’d noticed knots previously I just felt a pleasant stretch. 

The neck work is pleasant, as usual, but not an especially tight area for me at this point. 

I also worked through program 7.  The right little toe is still the stubborn one as far as spreading them goes.  But it's getting easier as time goes on, and I'm able to work my fingers deeper between my toes during the interlacing exercise. 

I finished the session feeling much more relaxed and joy filled than when I started it. 

LRP.

 

[Ned]

Snow shovelling. 24kg kettlebell swings, cleans and presses (20kg).  

Program 10: Chair hamstring, tailor pose, lunge hamstring, wall legs apart, chair piriformis

The chair hamstring seemed to work better for me this time, it was mostly on the outside of the hamstrings today.  But it was easier to push myself backwards today instead of the foot wanting to slide forward.  

The tailor pose felt very tight today.  I think my feet are coming a little bit close to my body than when I started and that makes it harder to get my knees down.  After the first contraction and relaxation sequence, I tried a second one with no further increase in the range of motion so I guess that was as far as I could go today.  My belly stayed soft though which is a plus.  I also know that the inner thigh is a fairly tight area for me generally.  

The lunge hamstring went well.  I’d say it's almost equal parts hamstring and hip flexors on both sides.  I’m much more comfortable going deeper into the stretch now.  I’m also sure my range of motion has increased quite a lot from when I started, since I’m mostly using the floor and starting to bend my arm instead of being up on supports for it.  My contractions in this position are quite a bit stronger now than when I started and I still get a surprising increase in my range of motion after doing them. 

The wall legs apart stretch was intense today.  Lots of pulling sensation on the inside of my knees again.  I was a little closer to the wall than last time which makes it more intense I think.  It’s a very tight line though on both sides (though the right more than the left).  But my straddle is also wider than I thought it would be.  

The chair piriformis stretch was a little more intense today than it has been previously.  But it's still a very comfortable way to end the session.  in the last several weeks, I’ve gotten much better at working with how the body is today instead of where I want it to be and that makes the sessions much more enjoyable and much safer than they would be otherwise.

I also spent a little bit of time after this session feeling around gracilis.  At some point I’m reasonably sure I’m going to have have to release it and I’m not looking forward to doing that.

LRP.

[Kit_L]

5 hours ago, Ned said:

But it was easier to push myself backwards today instead of the foot wanting to slide forward.  

This happens—and this is why I say, "try this, and see what happens"—because this cannot be known before it happens. Lovely insight!

5 hours ago, Ned said:

I think my feet are coming a little bit close to my body than when I started and that makes it harder to get my knees down.

Likely. To test this, stretch quads first (use the floor exercise) then as you pull your feet closer to the body, watch the knees come further back (hence more stretch on the adductors; knees will be higher). Then, one day, you'll see that your lower legs, instead of forming a straight line from above, when the quads are loose enough, will form a small angle when the feet are right next to the body, and you will not be stretching the adductors quite so much! This is just an example of the interaction between different ranges of movement – few people suspect that by stretching their quads they could improve their tailor pose, but you can.

Your other insight, in the following paragraph, is simply to be aware that your body is different today – if you really pay attention, you will see that your body is different every day, and we need to approach today's body today. When you really pay attention, as an Abbot said to me once, "you are changing with every breath—or perhaps you didn't notice?" 😒 You just have to laugh!

This is a deep insight when you know it to be true. There's more, but you get the trend! Keep going and excellent work.

 

[Ned]

Program 11 - Cat sequence, elbow backbend, half-bridge, [piriformis], squashed frog, standing legs apart

What an incredible difference between this time through and my first attempt through this session.  I wasn't especially looking forward to this session given how it went the last time (lots of things to work on).  But it went very well.

The cat sequence was quite a bit deeper today than I think I've ever experienced.  Especially the arched back recruited some muscles that were long dormant I think.  A very nice introduction to the session.

The elbow back bend had quite a stretch pleasant stretch in my abdominals.  I think more than I've noticed previously with it, but it's nice just to relax here a little and see how it feels today.

The half bridge was much more comfortable than the last time.  Much less pulling on the inside of the left knee compared to last time and no pulling at all on the right knee (which is where I'd spent more time feeling around gracilis at the end of the last session).  Also some hefty recruitment of those newly awakened parts of my back that I discovered in the cat sequence.  The forward bend afterwards was quite welcome, and also a reasonably intense stretch today.  It's very nice to be more comfortable in the half bridge than the last time. 

I did a floor variant of the piriformis stretch on both sides before the squashed frog today.  It's a pleasant stretch, I didn't do any contractions, just held it for some breaths after I'd moved deeper into it with relaxation and pulling my chest up along the thigh.

The squashed frog was also much more comfortable today than the first time.  More depth today.  I also used a much thicker cushion which made it easier on my knees.  Its still an awkward position for me, but I felt the bulk of the stretch in the groin area and had much less cramping on the outside of my hips.  I'm still not great at contractions here though.  I felt a painless popping sensation on the outside of my left hip in this one.  I'm not sure what it was from and the area feels like it's getting a little stiffer as I write this up, but I'll see what it does in the next few days.  I'll probably avoid this stretch in the future if it turns into anything though.

The wide leg elephant walk today also felt very good.  Some nice, moderate intensity, stretches that come on gently.  The cue from Olivia to relax the head and neck was very timely. 

LRP.

[Kit_L]

LRP!

And what wonderful progress you have made. Keep going. It will be so good for you to look back on this in year's time – you'll be a different person and that process has already started

[Ned]

Program 12: Wall calf, squat, quads, toe point, sit on heels

The calf stretch today was a nice, I think I'm getting fairly close to the end range of motion of the joint given the amount of compression on the front of the ankle, (bent or straight leg).  But I did a fair bit of skiing yesterday and the muscles were a little tighter than usual today.  I like the contraction here too, there's something I find satisfying about them and I always find the relaxation afterwards deeply pleasant.

The squat is a squat.  I admit I didn't use the chair here, but it's a very pleasant resting position for me at this point. 

The quad stretch was intense today.  I'm tighter on my right side than on my left (there's a hefty difference looking at my knee position between the sides).  my contractions have to be more gentle in this position too which tells me I still have a long way to go in this stretch generally. 

The toe point was a nice stretch today too.  It still runs right up the top of my ankle, but the top of my feet feel a little softer compared to the last time I did it so it's a start of being able to relax them a little. 

I opted to do this one on the floor instead of a up on a cushion.  Today I was able to sit on my heels directly for the first time in a very long time.  It still isn't a position I could sit in indefinitely, but my front of my ankles (which were the main limiting factor) weren't upset about it.  I also had a pleasant biceps stretch when leaning back. 

LRP.

[Kit_L]

8 hours ago, Ned said:

Today I was able to sit on my heels directly for the first time in a very long time.

Noice. Very noice. 

[Ned]

Wrist work, xc skiing, shovelling. 

Program 13 - Floor biceps + leg behind, “reverse chicken”, lying rotation, chest + biceps
Program 14 - Piriformis, chair forward bend + sumo, shoulder flexion, three neck exercises

This session was quite relaxing today.  A lot of the positions are ones that aren't especially tight for me at the moment. 

My shoulders were right on the ground today during the floor biceps stretch and my rotation to deepen the stretch is increasing.

The reverse chicken was tight today.  I’ve done a lot of shovelling, and more skiing than often in the last few days and that’s probably part of it.  The tops of my ankles get a very good stretch in this position.  I used a cushion for part of it, and just sat on them for some as well.  That part of my foot is starting to relax and it’s nice to feel the progress.

The lying rotation is very relaxing at this point.  

The chest + biceps stretch was mostly a biceps stretch today.  It’s interesting to me how different this one felt compared to previous times. 

The piriformis stretch was okay. It’s not a super tight area for me today.  I still need to keep a little tension to avoid my knee dropping down too low.  

The chair forward bend + sumo is a wonderful stretch.  I’m much more relaxed in it after my first encounter.

The shoulder flexion was tighter today than previously (or maybe I’m going deeper).  It’s a very pleasant stretch for me and definitely an area I’ll keep working on.  I like it though, it just lets me relax into it over time.  

The neck exercises are pleasant.  I’m feeling more muscular effort as my rotational range has gotten larger.  The neck sideways bends are still tight, but less so than when I first started doing them.

LRP.

[Gareth O Connor]

Skiing are you in a cold area?

[Ned]

16 hours ago, Gareth O Connor said:

Skiing are you in a cold area?

Canada.  I'm not sure I'd call it cold where I am now (-2C), but we have snow at least. 

[Ned]

Program 15 - Fingers, hands, wrists, and forearms

Kit said: “In the beginning you’re going to feel as though every stretch is just painful, but then something strange and miraculous happens.  At some point, the sensation of the stretch itself turns into a pleasure.”  It's a perfect description of my experience with pretty well every new stretch I've encountered in a tight area.  Usually, "some point" is after I've done the stretches a few times. 

This particular area is one that needs a lot of work for me.  There are muscles in my forearms that I don’t ever remember being anything other than tight (even as a kid).  As I'm prodding at some of them after this a few of them do seem very slightly softer than when I started, and that's something at least.  When I was doing the stretches, I kept waiting for the point where the muscles would relax and they didn’t.  Even spending a few minutes in a position often brought no noticeable relaxation.  So it’s probably going to be a while before I experience the stretches as enjoyable.  I've experienced similar with pretty well everything else that I found tight, so I know the process works as long as I'm patient with myself and just enjoy discovering tension that I know will relax eventually. 

My right side is quite a bit tighter than my left, which isn’t a surprise since that’s the one that I’m rehabbing.  I appreciate the contractions though since they bring a little more awareness.

I was also expecting this session might go much worse than it did (especially on the right side), so being able to do all of the positions and just spend some time getting used to the different them while appreciating that I can feel where I'm tense even if I don't know how to relax that tension is a win.  I could at least keep my belly soft and my shoulders and upper back from tightening up throughout. 

LRP.

[Ned]

I tweaked the outside of my left knee skiing a couple days ago.  It's feeling pretty good, but I’m giving it some more time before I do any leg stretches since it isn’t quite 100% yet.  I've been doing some gentle limbering and exploring the range of movements with it including resting squats. My unstable wrist (old scapholunate ligament injury that causes some instability but thankfully no issues with typing) is also not real thrilled at the moment--unrelated to the last stretch session--I caught some cast-iron on a weird angle the other morning. 

I'm going to see if I can find a spot indoors that I can attach a band to and look at doing some of the shoulder mastery course until I’m in a spot to finish off the starter course.  Until then, I'm just exploring movement, relaxation, and staying open and connected to bodily sensation. 

That internal work to me is in a lot of ways more significant than the development of particular external forms.  As much as I want to become more flexible, it strikes me that grace and ease in the body require (among other things I’m sure) inhabiting and accepting the body as it is now rather than how I would like it to be.  I’m experiencing in real time that the distance between the ought and the is inhibits grace and ease in the body and watching tensions come and go and how my whole experience of being changes as they do is providing me with insight into patterns of mind, body, and mind-body and some subtleties of sensation and experience I've missed in the past. 

Lying relaxation practice. 

[Gareth O Connor]

Good going 

[Ned]

Lying relaxation practice, limbering, and planks have been my focus since my last post.  My wrist is back to normal--it's actually feeling a little better than usual at the moment so hopefully it stays that way.  I've been doing light wrist work with the white elastic and yellow band.  My left knee still isn't 100% and I'm not going to rush stretching it, but it's improving so I'll see where it's at in another week.  I've started some strengthening exercises along with the general range of motion stuff I've been doing to work on rehabbing it. 

I did some shoulder stretches and the daily five today along with some general whole body limbering. 

[Ned]

I stretched yesterday and wrote it up, but I didn't post it until today so I could include whether or not there were any effects on my knee as a result.  There aren't any that I noticed.  Generally, my knee seems pretty much back to normal except for a painless click coming from (I think) the bottom of my knee cap around 45 degrees when straightening it.  I'm continuing the strengthening exercises for it. 

Program 16 - Hips, hip flexors, piriformis, rotation

In the hip warmup, I experienced a significant difference in comfort and tightness between the left and right sides.  I tend to sit in that posture in one direction only and had to stop to figure out how to do it (more) comfortably with my legs reversed.  I like discovering that kind of asymmetry since it’s the beginning of dealing with it.  I felt these ones more in the middle/upper back than the hips on the first side, and then in the hips more strongly on the other side.  

The hip flexor stretch felt tighter than the last few times I did it (no doubt in part from the time off).  I liked the rotations to find the tightest line for me.  It’s just nice to open up different positions a little more to see what’s tightest.  The contractions and relaxations gave a little added depth, but not a whole lot.  I probably could have pushed a little more, but my priority this session is mostly to see how the stretching feels and whether there are unexpected side effects for my knee or not.

This piriformis stretch was quite strong today—especially after the contractions.  I’m tighter on the left side than the right today, but not by a significant amount.  I was surprised by the different that the position of the back leg had on the sensation of the stretch and experimented a little bit with that and rolling the hips to see how things changed.  I also liked the releasing movement after this one.  My left leg isn’t quite as flexible as my right one today, but that’s okay.  

The rotation was a nice way to end the session.  It wasn’t particularly intense, but it was a nice awakening for parts of my back. 

LRP.

[Kit_L]

11 hours ago, Ned said:

I like discovering that kind of asymmetry since it’s the beginning of dealing with it. 

This is key, Ned: more to come.

[Ned]

Program 17 - Calves, hip flexors, quads, spinal flexion, squat

I like this calf stretch.  I felt it in the hamstrings about as strongly as the calves.  I was a little bit shaky (not a balance thing, just a muscle not used to what I’m using it for) when straightening the leg held out behind me.   

The standing hip flexor stretch was quite strong.  I couldn’t really do too much with my left leg without feeling it in my knee so I didn’t really stretch that side much.  The right side had a very good stretch though.  

The quad stretch (and top of the ankle) were quite strong for me today.  There’s also a significant difference between sides (left is tighter).  My left knee also noticed this one a bit so I didn’t push it on that side either.  But the right side had a very good stretch.  The top of the ankle on both sides also had a nice stretch in the introductory part of this exercise.

The spinal flexion is pleasant.  I particularly enjoyed the emphasis on different sides of my back from pulling my head towards one knee and then the other.  I no longer feel particularly tight in my back.  It's not perfectly relaxed by any means, but it's no longer an area that I find holds a significant amount of tension or tightness and much of what's there is very easy to release.

The squat is, as usual, a pretty comfortable position for me.

LRP.

[Ned]

Program 18: ‘Tailor pose’, z-pose recovery, standing legs apart, bent-leg Cossack, floor legs-apart intro

This particular session worked a lot of very tight lines for me.  I noticed parts of it a little bit in my left knee today.  Unlike the quad stretches in the last session where I think I was wise to refrain from going deeper on that side for the time being, the sensation today wasn't at all troubling or inhibiting.  That gives me a better idea of what I need to work on generally. 

My tailor pose today felt quite tight in comparison to sometimes.  But the contractions helped with that a lot.  I’m also getting much lower into it than when I started with my legs much closer to my body.  

The recovery pose from this one was fine, easier than when I did it the last time for sure and both my knees could touch this floor this time.  I don’t really expect to see a noticeable change from one session to another, but this one was pretty obvious.

The elephant is a nice stretch.  I felt a pretty intense burn in my quadriceps doing it again today.  Which might be from an increasing range of motion, or maybe just from the length of the break since the last time I did it.  The wide leg elephant walk, particularly with the torso over the legs was a very pleasant bunch of sensations.  I’m definitely more flexible when warmed up than when I started, but until that range of movement happens when I’m not warmed up I know that I’m just kind of experiencing it as a temporary phenomena until the remapping happens.

I enjoyed the bent leg Cossack squats.  My left side was quite a bit looser than my right for some reason.  I also experienced a significant relaxation on both sides where I’m sure I stretched my hamstrings quite a bit more than they’ve experienced in many years so I’m fully expecting to feel quite sore from that tomorrow or the day after.  The stronger variation using the other arm on the foot is still beyond where I’m at now though.  

The floor legs-apart stretch is one of my tighter areas.  I was amazed at how much addition depth the reaching gave.  The pelvis movement warmup was pretty helpful in knowing a little bit more what to move and what muscles should be involved with it.  I felt some of the usual pulling (I think from gracilis) on the inside of my knees in the straight leg variation.  I’m going to have to release that at some point.  The getting my body down onto my leg in the straight leg variation is still a ways beyond me, but doing it in the bent-legged version gives me a better sense of what’s involved in the position.

LRP.

[Kit_L]

2 hours ago, Ned said:

I was amazed at how much addition depth the reaching gave. 

This is what our colleague Emmet Louis calls "active compression"—the deliberately reaching (with all the muscles that uses) activates something called the "reciprocal inhibition reflex" (activating one half of any pair of muscles inhibits the other half). This reduces the tension in the muscles we are stretching; sometimes a small effect; sometimes a large efect. It's one of the three great neural reflexes our work uses. Great observation.

[Ned]

Program 19: Side/back bend, elephant walk, floor back bend, 1/2 bridge, seated rotation, jaw sequence

I liked the side and back bend sequence today.  The side bends were pleasant stretches today.
 I had a fair bit of compression in my lower back with the back bend initially and then realized it was more a back fold than a bend and added a little more curve.

I’m enjoying the elephant walks quite a bit at the moment.  I like how the sensations of the stretch change depending on the amount of sway and the range of intensity during the straightening actions.  

The floor back bends felt a little stronger than often today.  Especially the straight arm variation.  I like the looks back towards the heels in this exercise.  There was a particular pleasant spot in my upper back that stretched out a little during that (and more in the seated rotation later).  

The ½ bridge is a tough one for me.  There was some intense quad stretching the second time through and my left knee wasn’t real thrilled about it.  It's another thing to work on when rehabbing it which is good to know and there was no lasting discomfort so I should be fine to work in that position some more.  It’s also a nice back bend and familiarity will bring more comfort and relaxation eventually.  

The seated rotation felt wonderful today.  It was just what I needed. 

My jaw is an area where I don’t really hold very tension generally.  So that sequence wasn’t significantly impactful for me today.  If I ever need it though, I'll know how to alleviate it is always a good thing. 

LRP.

[Ned]

Program 20: Thoracic extension and flexion, lats, side bend, and lunge hamstring

I like this thoracic extension.  There is a kneeling version on a chair that relaxed a part of my back and this one hits a similar spot a little bit deeper.  

The thoracic flexion exercise here is a much more effective version of a movement I’ve done for years to loosen up that area of my upper back.  I like the rotations a lot too, it just feels fantastic to do.  

The lat stretch stretch was very pleasant as well.  I spent some time exploring it to find the right position to get the intensity I wanted in the spot I wanted it.  I often use bar hangs to stretch the lats, but the things I can hang from are outside and tend to cover me in snow this time of year so I haven’t done any in a while.  Lots of intensity with the breathing into the spot as well.

The kneeling side bend is my favourite variation I think.  The ease of keeping shoulder and hip alignment and my tail tucked is what does it, although the challenge in the standing version probably means I should practice that one some more.  I particularly enjoyed it today after the lat stretch just before.  The stretch felt like it was more even in intensity through my sides than it has before.  

The lunge hamstring was a pretty intense stretch today.  I have a giant sheet that I put on top of my yoga mat so I can slide and it seems to work pretty well.  I like this variation a lot and the contractions (both the agonist-antagonist technique and the C&R) increased the depth pretty significantly.  I looked back at my back leg at one point and was surprised at how much closer to the floor it was than when I started this course.  In the rest time here I had a few moments on each side where the hip flexors of the back leg softened up as well as the hamstrings in my front legs.  It’s interesting to me how the sensation of stretching is changing and how much more I’m able to relax during pretty intense stretching sensations compared to when I started. 

LRP.

[Ned]

I'm quite tired this evening, so just a brief write up.  I probably also should have taken another day off before this session though.  I was recovered from the last program, but just and I noticed that when I was going through today's so if I'm in a similar place in the future I'll know to just take an extra day or two.

Program 21: Hamstrings, adductors, Q-L, hip flexors, toe-touch

The toe touch feels much more pleasant than when I started the course.  It was quite a bit stiffer when I started today's session than when I ended it. 

I quite enjoyed the wide-leg elephant walk today. 

The Q-L stretch was nice too.  It was fairly intense in the side with the arm reached out overhead. 

[Added later: I also quite enjoyed the toe stretch before the hip flexor one.  I was able to sit vertically on the right side but not the left which was unexpected since my left foot generally tends to be a little more flexible than the right one.]

This hip flexor stretch is intense.  I'm not quite strong enough to hold myself still when I do it (leg shakes like when I first did the elephant walk). 

The toe touch was quite nice in my lower back, but my legs weren't straightening out much.  I was working on a yoga mat and I think there was too much friction to slide them forward.  When I work this one again I'll do it on a sheet so my heels can slide a little more easily. 

I'm planning to go through module 3 again. 

LRP, I had a hard time staying awake today. 

Edited February 11 by Ned
forgot something

[Ned]

Program 15: Fingers, hands, wrists, and forearms

I’m amazed at how much more movement I’ve maintained and how much more natural it feels since the first time through this program.  It’s particularly obvious to me in the finger exercises on my right hand which are much more mobile than they used to be.  I still have a fair bit of asymmetry between my wrists (no surprise given the history on the one) but it’s less than it used to be.  After doing this, I seem to have a little less clicking in the wrist I’m rehabbing than often, but the clicking is pretty fickle at the best of times so I’ll just enjoy it for what it is at the moment and try to notice if that pattern persists when I go through this program in the future.  I was also able to spend a little more time sitting on my heels in seiza for the introduction in free space.  I’m still not going to be sitting there for long periods of time, but I’m definitely getting better at it for 1-2 minutes here and there. 

Program 16: Hips, hip flexors, piriformis, rotation

I really enjoyed this session today.  We’ve had a fair bit of snow the last few days so the volume of shovelling has been higher than often (as well as having to shovel around the fences of some fruit shrubs to keep the rabbits from being able to hop in and eat all of the buds.  

I found the warmup hip stretch more comfortable with the swapped legs than the first time and made it quite a bit closer to the floor than the last time as well.  I can feel the part of my pelvis and lower back opening up a little more.  I’m still missing the hamstring flexibility to do it with legs straight, but there are a lot of muscles that are being stretched and strengthened with that opening going on.  

The hip flexor stretch felt wonderful today.  It was a little more hamstring heavy than sometimes.  I picked up on the cue to move my front leg forward to get my hips closer to level, and my hamstrings (today at least) are more limiting than my hip flexors for going lower.  I did enjoy the twists from side to side to explore where my tight lines are and just to experience the stretch in a way.  

The piriformis stretch is lovely.  My left one was a little tighter than the right one today.  I was also able to relax on my elbows in the final position today after the contractions which I don’t recall doing before (or if I did as comfortably as I could today).  I also really enjoyed the hip loosening movement afterwards.  

The rotation was a great way to finish the session.  I’ve been moving enough snow in the last few days that my back had a few tighter spots (nothing compared to how it used to be) that this stretch relaxed wonderfully.  

LRP. 

[Ned]

Lots of shoveling again today.  We had to clear a bunch of the well packed stuff that the shovels don’t really like going through.  It is the right kind of snow to make an igloo from though, so if I can summon the motivation for some more recreational shoveling I may attempt to build one. 

Program 17: Calves, hip flexors, quads, spinal flexion, squat

There was a significant difference in my experience of this program compared to the last time.  My knee has recovered quite a bit more.  I was aware of a few spots where I’d injured it, but there wasn’t any real discomfort or strong pulling sensations today so it's no longer limiting.  The movements are also more familiar.  One of the things I'm happiest about doing with this course is going through each module again before moving on.  I've learned so much more than I would have otherwise and enjoyed the experience significantly more than I probably would have if I'd just gone straight through. 

I felt quite a bit steadier in this calf stretch than the last time.  It’s still a hamstring stretch for me, about as intense there as it is in my calves.  My calves don’t seem especially tight while my hamstrings seem to be generally.  The cue to drop the hip down down makes a notable difference in the intensity, but it’s still not quite as intense as I’d like (awkward position in the space I’m in).  Keeping my back leg up and straight was easier today as well.  I’m going to experiment with doing this one with a stool (and perhaps the floor) to hopefully increase the intensity a little more.  

The standing hip flexor stretch felt intense today.  I was stronger in the position today than last time.  I’ve been doing some supplementary kettlebell work (deep goblet squats, swings, and Turkish getups with the 24kg) in the last few weeks as part of rehabbing my knee.  The Turkish getups include a similar enough movement that I decided to start doing them again after the last session to acclimate to moving in this kind of position again without the pause of this stretch and that seems to have worked well since I could do this one on the left side as well as the right this time.  I really appreciated the location of the stretch (it’s a spot I feel in the resting squat sometimes) and the strengthening action of this movement.  It was very pleasant to do today. 

The top of the ankle stretch was lovely today.  I’m noticing that area gradually softening and opening up over the last little while.  The quad stretch was also much more comfortable on the left side today than the first time.  I like the side to side movements in this one to find tighter lines and will incorporate that exploration into more movements where it seems right.  

I added in exercise 1 from Stretching & Flexibility (floor clasped feet middle and upper back) after doing the chair version in the course since the chair version was requiring quite a bit of convoluted effort today to feel much of a stretch. 

I’m typing this from the squat at the end of the program.  There’s been a little bit of tightness in the hip flexor end of my squat for a while and the standing hip flexor and quad stretches today seem to have reduced that sensation somewhat. 

LRP.

[Kit_L]

2 hours ago, Ned said:

I've learned so much more than I would have otherwise and enjoyed the experience significantly more than I probably would have if I'd just gone straight through. 

Excellent. This is the real core of the ST system: repetition with increased awareness each time you re-encounter the material . @oliviaa has said this many times, but the class situation where we would repeat previous exercises many, many, man,y many times is still the best way to learn the system – because your body learns it, not your mind.

And in time you will not need any lesson plan or video to follow – you'll get down on the floor and your body will simply talk to you about what it needs today. This is mastery.