Ned's log

[Ned]

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

This program works on a lot of my tightest areas for sure.  I'm either not strong enough, or still not quite comfortable enough with some of the inner thigh stretches to relax the tension in them the way I'd like to.  The increased awareness in particular areas is usually a good sign that my mind is connecting with that area of my body though.  I added some shoulder exercises as well since it's been a while since I've done those and they're a persistently tight area for me.  I did the floor shoulder stretches, one with my arms on a chair kneeling to get them overhead, and the arms behind the my head/behind my shoulder blade ones at the end.  

The tailor pose is a tight area for me.  The contractions helped get me into a new range of motion, and I waited quite a while before the muscles loosened a little before the final set of breaths in the end range of motion.  I have a long way to go.  When I've recovered from the current session, or maybe when I finished this run through module 3, I'm going to spend a longer period of time in this pose to explore it and see what happens. 

The elephant walk is always a nice stretch.  Surprisingly intense in my quads this morning, which I think is a sign that I'm working into a new range of motion.  My legs are able to straighten entirely when I'm leaning over to one side, but doing it centrally is still beyond where I'm at. 

The wide leg elephant walk is also a pleasant one.  I'm feeling it a little more in the groin than sometimes, and I think that may be from going a little bit deeper into the tailor pose earlier. 

The bent-leg Cossack is difficult for me.  I'm able to get into and hold the position without any difficulty.  But my right leg doesn't want to straighten very much once I'm there.  It was comfortable to do than the last time though, an my left leg is able to very nearly go straight.  My right foot tends to turn outwards a little bit (ankle sprain many years ago) when I'm at rest (it points forward when walking) and I suspect that may be at least a partial cause of the difference in tension between sides so I'll try to address that. 

I don't find the floor legs apart intro stretch very relaxing yet.  But some areas in my hips are opening up more than they were which is nice.  I'm also feeling a little less pulling from what I think is gracilis in my knees than I have previously, so it's just a matter of time and practice until it becomes part of my usual movement pattern.  My legs are able to straighten a little more than before.  My right side is a whole lot tighter than my left though, but I'll definitely be working on this one a lot in the future until I find it comfortable. 

LRP.

[Ned]

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

I went through this one yesterday. 

I enjoyed the standing side bends.  After doing the kneeling ones, I'm getting a better sense of the alignment of my shoulders and hips and that helps me stay relaxed.  I'm not especially tight here this session.  I'm amazed at how much that changes from day to day depending on how recently I've stretched and what else I've done.  The standing back bend was easier this time than previously when I think I was trying to do more of a backwards hip hinge, but maybe it just feels a little easier. 

I think my range of motion was about the same as the last time I did the elephant walk, but my quads didn't have the same intensity to get there.  Lots of intensity in the hamstrings during the stretch though. 

The floor back bends both felt lovely today.  The straight arm version was much less difficult than the last time I tried it and gave me quite an intense stretch through my abdomen, especially when breathing in. 

The 1/2 bridge felt much better than the first time I did it.  I can do it without a strap around the ankles, but I find it harder to moderate the intensity and used one for it this session.  There was a pleasant stretch in the quadriceps and no significant pulling in my knees this time around.  I'll have to work on this one for a while before I find it comfortable to do though. 

The seated rotation felt good.  There were a few spots that it stretched out in a pleasant way.  I think I generally push the range of motion here less than at the beginning and am very much guided by how it feels on a given day instead of where I'd like to eventually be, in part because my default now seems to be more than sufficient for what I encounter day to day. 

Like before, my jaw doesn't carry very much tension in it.  The sequence is good to know, but not significantly relaxing in the way that some other sequences are since I don't have a whole lot of tension there to begin with.

LRP.

[Ned]

I realized that I haven't been noting much of usual wrist work, knee rehab, or the like, but that has continued.  I did my first wobble board session in weeks yesterday to get a sense of where I'm at with things there.  Deep squats on it are good, so are the various movements in all planes of motion.  I also did some partial (and supported) one legged squats and spent some time in the bottom of them.  I have the range of motion, but it's probably going to be months of training before I'll be able to put enough force through the knee I'm rehabbing to do them again.  That knee is otherwise feeling normal at this point though. 

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

The wall stretch felt wonderful today.  There was a little compression in my shoulders, but Kit's cue to press away from the wall more alleviated that. 

The 3 amigos stretch hit my left side particularly well.  I've noticed a little more tension there with the kettlebell work that I've been doing lately.  I'll work to incorporate this one a little more frequently into my days since it's an improvement on a movement I do mostly by instinct to stretch that region.  I just need to remember to add the rotation. 

The lat stretch was intense today, and ran down my side to the top of the hip. 

The kneeling side bend is still my favourite variant.  It was also quite intense especially breathing into the stretched region. 

The lunge hamstring was also intense today.  I find I'm getting more and more relaxed even in the presence of that intensity.  I stuck a yoga mat under the sheet I used to slide on and it was more comfortable for me knees.  The contractions are quite effective in increasing the range of motion in this stretch as well.  I find I've been doing contractions quite strongly lately and it seems to be working nicely. 

LRP. 

[Ned]

Thanks Kit and Olivia.  I appreciate the quality of your instruction and programming with this course.  I really enjoyed working through it, learned a lot, and feel much better for it. 

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

The classic toe touch stretch was easier at the end than the beginning of this session and much easier (and less nerve intense) than when I started the course.

The wide leg elephant walk was mostly in my hamstrings today and not so much in my adductors. 

The Q-L stretch was quite intense today.  More on the left side than the right.  I'm tempted use the rod of correction on that area to see what happens.  I took advantage of a brief window of warmth to do some bar hangs yesterday and my lats are relatively relaxed from that. 

The hip flexor stretch/strengthening is also quite intense.  The toe stretches ahead of this one were comfortable on both sides today.  I'm able to do it better than my first attempts without the shaking, but I can feel I'm still not quite strong enough to explore what feels like my full range of motion should be.  I kept having to walk my foot backwards more as I straightened my leg though so I think there's a fair bit of remapping that happened in this session and a lot more strength from my first time through. 

The forward fold stretched my lower back nicely.  I grabbed a sheet so my feet could slide forward without sticking to the yoga mat.  I felt this one a little bit in my knee (not a bad way), just an awareness that I'm working it in a different way than usual.  I added a few side to side movements and liked the added stretch on each side of the spine those brought about. 

I added the fingers between the toes and the wringing/other toe stretches at the end of today's session.  My right foot (especially the little toe) resists spreading under conscious control, but my left has made significant progress.  I'm planning to incorporate more frequent sessions working on that.

LRP.

[Ned]

I started the mastery courses.  My plan is to do them all eventually, but to focus on the squat, shoulder, and early part of the pancake one for now.  I'll probably do various other ones from the starter course for different areas depending on how I'm feeling on a given day. 

It's suggested that I have some goals, and in the short term my main priorities are a right foot toe spread, sumo squat, tailor pose, to work towards the combined exercise 12/13 from Stretching & Flexibility (I think called cow face pose in yoga), and becoming comfortable with the one arm hangs from the shoulder mobility course. 

I started off with limbering sumo squats, squat limbers, boxing the compass, and 'baby flops'.  I did one exploratory session of those a couple months back (and may or may not have noted it in this log at the time).  I'm quite a bit more flexible for the 'baby flops' now than I was then.  The sumo squat was intense on my quads towards the end.  I enjoyed the variety in sensations with boxing the compass and how the stretch moved to different areas as I went through it.   I noticed some tightness in the outside of my left hip with the baby flop and added the seated piriformis to loosen it up afterwards.

I followed that up with elephant walks, wide legged elephant walks, tailor pose, and the seated piriformis stretch.  I stayed for a few more minutes than usual in the piriformis stretch to let it relax and in the tailor pose as well--though I'm still tight enough with this one that the softening is relatively subtle.  The contractions in the tailor pose increased the depth, but session to session it's hard to progress.

I did the shoulder limber exercises.  I really enjoyed Olivia's shoulder mobility drills and will probably use them often.  The bands I used were probably a little light, but I'll need to wait until the weather is warmer before I use any that are much stronger since my anchor point inside isn't something that I'd trust to hold the amount of force that Kit was suggesting.  The long stick is going to be helpful, but it's going to take a little bit of practice before it starts to feel normal. 

I added the arm up behind the shoulder blade and arm behind head stretches with contractions.  I'm much more flexible with the arm behind the head stretch, and the compression in the shoulder I had before was completely gone even without the forward reach first.  The arm up behind the shoulder blade has also improved, but it's the harder of the two for me.  I think my shoulder is reasonably flexible, but my arm doesn't cooperate when I try to reach my hand up instead of just sideways without some help first, and then I can move it back there.  Remapping at work.

Toe interlacing, twisting, and movement back and forth. 

LRP.

[Ned]

Limbering session today. 

I did the shoulder limbering movements.  It was warm enough yesterday that I shovelled my way over the where I usually do hangs.  Today it's back below freezing, but I did 2x60s passive hangs and a few passive <-> active transitions afterwards. 

I worked through the other four squat limbering movements (to the extent that I can).

The Cossack squats are difficult for me.  I can do the free standing one if I get my stance just right, but I haven't done enough of them to be consistent with it.  The wall and kettlebell ones are probably what I'll stick for the next little while though.  I also find it much easier to start at the bottom and then go up since my stance is correct.  I get a pretty good adductor and gracilis stretch from both in the bottom position.  I think my issue isn't so much the ankle flexibility (bottom position is fine and I can balance there) as not having quite enough strength in the bottom range of motion yet, there's also a sensation of some compression on the outside of the hip I'll have to pay a little more attention to the next time to see what's causing it. 

The Yuri Cossack is a little beyond me at the the moment if I want to do it well, so I'll keep it in mind for after the free standing versions are easier.  Although it's a movement that definitely works that bottom range of motion where I'm not quite strong enough to be comfortable yet.

The figure 4 needs some work, I did some easy contractions to increase the range of motion.  But keeping my hips down through the range of movement and getting my knees onto the floor will take some practice. 

The inside squat is similar to the figure 4.  I can pretty easily shift my weight back and forth between legs, but my knees aren't going to be touching the floor for a while and I'm not comfortable enough to try contractions yet, so I'll probably come back to this one a little later on. 

These squatting movements are quite a bit more difficult for me to do than the first 4 so I'll probably focus on the sumo squat, Cossack squat, and figure 4 and mix the others in when it feels right. 

Neck movements through all planes of motion, back rotations, back bend, and sitting c-shape slump. 

I also worked on spreading the toes of my right (and to a lesser extent left) foot.  I spent most of the time just working to actively control muscles (and pull my toes where I wanted them to see how that changed the feeling), find the stiff and sore spots and work them carefully through a full range of motion.  I did succeed in separating all of my toes with muscular effort today, but it's still far from where I'd like it to be and much less than I can do with my left foot.  I did notice that my toes are bending much more easily than when I started and the discomfort from interlacing my fingers is nearly gone.  I expect that regular sessions here will quickly make a difference. 

LRP.

[Ned]

I was fairly sore the day after the last session. 

I started with the sumo squat, wall Cossack squat,  and the seated figure 4 stretch.  I spent a lot of time at the bottom of the Cossack just waiting to relax.  I did a few short holds on the way down, but I think it's mostly going to be a matter of time and persistence. 

I did the tailor pose part 1 afterwards and spent several minutes there as well.  My knees are still quite far off the floor (thumb to pinky extended out from the floor to the bottom of the knee).  I can't keep my lower back against the wall either unless my heels are farther away from my body or I sit on a cushion.  I suspect there's a strength issue there or some kind of inhibiting reflex since I can't engage the muscles at all to start tilting the pelvis forward when I'm on the floor.  I tried it on a cushion, and can keep my lower back against the wall and can move my pelvis.  My knees end up the same distance off the floor regardless.  I did contractions and stayed in the position for a few minutes to wait for the relaxation afterwards. 

I did the seated piriformis stretch afterwards.  It's a stretch, but it's nowhere near as intense as anything related to the adductors at the moment quite pleasant by comparison. 

I tried the standing knee lift and there was a significant amount of activation in the glute/outer hip of the straight leg during this one, and to a lesser extent in the hip flexors of the raised bent leg.  I like this one quite a bit though, it feels like it's working on some areas that feel like they need to be stronger than they are to do the tailor pose and the Cossack squat. 

I finished off the leg sequence with the "relaxed" lunge.  It was quite intense today with more shaking as I pressed the leg straight.  I think that my hip stayed still this time during that leg straightening action and that in previous attempts it probably moved up a little despite my best effort to keep it still. 

Toe interlaced stretches + movement drills.  Active toe spreading/movement.  For reasons unknown, I can't actively move the right little toe outwards at all, although I can press in, up, and down with it.  It also moves quite freely if I pull it over with with my hand or push it over with the toe that's next to it, so it's definitely able to move sideways, I just can't control it.  I'll keep working on it since I'm seeing a general improvement with the increased frequency. 

Shoulder limbering drills.  90s + 30s (5s rest) bar hangs.  I stuck a towel over the branch I use which fixed the problem of pointy spots digging into my skin, but made the grip quite a bit more challenging. 

LRP.

[Kit_L]

On 3/10/2025 at 5:50 AM, Ned said:

I started with the sumo squat, wall Cossack squat,  and the seated figure 4 stretch.  I spent a lot of time at the bottom of the Cossack just waiting to relax.  I did a few short holds on the way down, but I think it's mostly going to be a matter of time and persistence. 

The Cossack squats are a remarkably effective and very powerful exercise, even if only done with body weight. If it's any consolation for you, this week about four days ago I did a couple of sets of 10 Cossack squats (so five a side) and then the working set of 20, onshore, off the boat. Those 20 Cossack squats left me sore for three days – most people don't realise that the adductors are extensors of the hip when you're in that deep squat position on the working leg. They are an absolutely fantastic exercise, and spending time in the bottom position (as you did) will stretch a large number of very practical things. Keep going, the body will adapt. And, you might care to try this, the exercise is substantially easier if you are standing on a slope that's facing down away from you – even a few degrees makes a difference and gives you additional ankle flexibility (the slope moves your balance point further forward than flat ground) making holding the bottom position much easier.

A note for readers of this blog – the DOMS that you will feel after your first big set of Cossack squats will be mostly in the glutes, then hamstrings and adductors, and there'll be some quad effect as well – but it's mostly the posterior chain muscles. Getting these active and strong is gold.

As for that recalcitrant little toe, just keep gently pulling it to the side whenever you think about it and at some point you will regain control over that movement. In my case it took years!

[Ned]

It was warm here yesterday, so I went for a barefoot walk along the lake in the afternoon and enjoyed a nice mix of snow, ice, sand, rocks (big and small), water, and driftwood. 

My right little toe is starting to get some consciously controlled outward movement.  It's still unusual on my first try in a given session, but once I've done it once I can generally repeat it, so I think it won't be too much longer until it's consistent and able to move over as far as I'd like it go.

On 3/10/2025 at 6:56 PM, Kit_L said:

And, you might care to try this, the exercise is substantially easier if you are standing on a slope that's facing down away from you – even a few degrees makes a difference and gives you additional ankle flexibility (the slope moves your balance point further forward than flat ground) making holding the bottom position much easier.

That does make the Cossack squat quite a bit easier (I used a thin board under the bent leg's heel).  I did some like that and some flat on the floor kettlebell ones with long holds at the bottom.  There's less tension in the inner thigh and knees today than the last time, but I'm still not strong (or flexible) enough to do the free standing ones without the kettlebell. 

Elephant walk.  My calves were tight, so I stopped and stretched them and then went back to it for a much better experience. 

Wide leg elephant walk.  Very pleasant today as well.

I ended up doing some unplanned but very much needed stretches/limbering as well--seated floor piriformis, kneeling side bend, bent and straight arm back bend, 1/2 bridge, seiza, and bent toe stretches. 

Tailor pose.  This one is definitely one of the tightest areas I have.  I did two sets of contractions and a long hold afterwards just waiting to relax.  I'm impatient about progress with this one (even though I know impatience is counter productive).

Hamstring + hip flexor lunges.

Shoulder limbering drills.  Exercises 12 + 13 from Stretching & Flexibility.  Bar hangs.

LRP.

 

 

[Matt Chung]

> Elephant walk.  My calves were tight, so I stopped and stretched them and then went back to it for a much better experience

Good reminder (for myself) to step away from an exercise if its feeling unnecessarily difficult, warm up some other muscles, then return.

[Ned]

When I moved to the mastery course, I made a critical mistake in thinking that I already knew where I was tight and ignored the sage Lesson 1 advice: "The first few weeks you do these, try not to use them to ‘get more flexible’; instead, ask yourself, “Where do I feel this?”, and “What bits feel tight?”, and “How can I do this while relaxing more?” As you practice, you will become aware that some ranges of movement are easy for you and some are harder (and some might be impossible!)."  The result is that I overdid it a little bit in the session in my last post--though I didn't know that when writing it.  My right adductor ended up a little too sore coming out of a very gentle pre-limbering limber a few days later and it's still prone towards soreness when limbering (but no impact on range of motion or soreness through the day otherwise), so I'm just exploring movement with it and doing some contractions (not to expand range of motion on where it's sore, just to strengthen it) when it seems right. 

I've been dabbling with some whole body limbering/calisthenic sessions to get a sense of where I'm at on a given day and then using that as a starting point to stretch where I'm tight.  The form those sessions take is still evolving (and probably always will since no two days are the same).  I'm still working on Sumo squats, Cossack squats, and exercises 12/13 from S&F, but much more as a part of the whole rather than as my focus with everything else as an afterthought.  I've found that the desire to be somewhere other than where I am was making the quality of my stretching poorer (more tension, less relaxation).  This post from @Matt Chung and @Kit_L's reply to it reminded me that exploration is a good thing, and in hindsight I've noticed that my approach since moving from the starter course to the mastery courses was too goal driven (too much desire to achieve some external form and not enough awareness for what my body was telling me).  So my approach needed to change a bit back into awareness and exploration.  I'm using the goals as a rough guide for where to spend some of that exploratory time, but not worrying about achieving the end result at all. 

My last bunch of sessions have largely consisted of gently exploring movement and resting where I find tension until it relaxes or becomes obvious to me that I need to stretch (C&R) and then doing that if it feels right (with a much broader focus on whole body sessions).  Sometimes, I'll find a spot and gently increase the range with small/short contractions and relaxations (as one might with the elephant walk).  I've also been venturing outside of the provided stretch therapy exercises--though keeping very much with the ideas and techniques of the system--and often stumbling across (or recalling) an exercise from one of the courses with a much better understanding of how it works, where it fits, and how I can adapt it than I had before.  So my sessions are more spontaneous than they were, but developing the awareness will be helpful in the long run and it feels like a much better approach.

I found a hybrid of tailor pose and a straddle a couple days ago (it's probably more like a very regressed half pancake) that, if the DOMS it caused from the pretty low perceive intensity, seems to be working pretty well for me.  The tailor pose side has my knee on the ground and the bottom of my foot (also on the floor, somewhat across the mid-line of my body since I'm not flexible enough otherwise) pushing against on a heavy kettlebell so it can't slide over more, and the straddle leg is straight with another heavy kettlebell on the ground that I can use to pull my torso upright a bit (which adds a pelvic tilt so if I were able to lean forward more would become the half pancake) and deepens the stretch on the straddle leg.  I added some exploratory muscle activations there to see how the sensations change and think it's working on a lot of areas that overlap with Cossack squats, tailor pose, and pancakes.

LRP.

[Matt Chung]

> I've found that the desire to be somewhere other than where I am was making the quality of my stretching poorer (more tension, less relaxation)

Preach! This resonates: I feel that the above rings true for many different areas in my life. That is, "I've found that the desire to be somewhere other than where I am was making the quality [XYZ]" where XYZ can be replaced with dance, relationships, about different forms of art and crafts, etc.

> I'm using the goals as a rough guide for where to spend some of that exploratory time, but not worrying about achieving the end result at all. 

That's a great way to put it. Similarly, I have a rough "vision" of where I want to be and at the same time, I'm spending less time (key word here) worrying about the end result and reminding myself to relegate control and just continue turning up and enjoying the process, even the set backs etc.

[Kit_L]

“Be here now” is the title of a famous book by Baba Ram Das (formerly Richard Alpert). Distraction is the mantra of the modern era, and many forces play into this to make it most people‘s way of being in the world. One of the great virtues of doing the kind of work you’re both doing is that your attention is directed to sensations in the body – which, by definition, are ephemera and exist only in the continually unfolding present.

I could go on, but these are only words pointing to direct experience. Dwelling in the direct experience more often, as you two are, is the way forward.

[Ned]

I don't have a whole lot to report here as far as my stretching goes, but it's been a couple weeks so I'll give an update.  I'm doing limbering most days (squats, Cossack squats, knee raises, shoulder mobility, baby flops, bar hangs and some short one arm bar hangs, and whatever else feels like it needs it) often throughout the day rather than in a specific session.  I do a few stretching sessions a few times a week for things that could use it (mostly hamstrings, calves, side bends, back, neck, quads, and hip flexors).  I'm practicing being aware of sensations and using that as my primary guide during limbering and stretching.  I'm noticing more moments of spontaneous peace and joy and some moments of awareness of absences of discursive thought as I go through my days.  Sometimes they are just a breath away when I can let some layer of conditioning go--though it's quick to return and sporadic in when it goes.  

Day to day I don't really notice too much change betwen sessions.  Sometimes I'm more flexible than the day before, sometimes I'm less flexible, and others I can't see any difference at all.  I'm not worried about it.  Compared to when I started everything is getting easier and my active range of motion has increased (a few inches higher in the case of the knee raises, and a few inches lower for the freestanding Cossack squats before I need to rely on a counter weight for balance).  I am noticing increased muscle activation and awareness as I go through the exercises so I'm (slowly) waking up the mind-body connection.  

I did a set of 5 pullups today (a 3-4 reps short of my max I think) for the first time since the fall.  I'm trying to give myself some time to acclimate to doing them again before I increase the volume.  I've gone on some short (1-2km runs) on the beach in the last couple weeks as well which I'm mostly feeling in my calves and feet and might be a little bit at odds with increased flexibility in the short term while I get used to it.  I'll probably use the rod of correction on my calves when I finish writing this.

I've been a little more sporadic in my lying relaxation practice lately for no good reason, but it's probably related to the warmer weather here and more of my free time being spent outside (either doing things or just enjoying it).  I'll work on doing it daily again since I miss it when I don't do it.  LRP.  

[Kit_L]

Ah: the rod of correction... a genuine game changer for calf muscles. Go slowly.