To Bend or Not to Bend (the Knees in a Forward Fold*)
I am not sure how or why this division came about, but whether or not to bend the knees during a hamstring stretch is a fiercely contested topic in the yoga community. Perhaps it is because injury at the proximal tendon (yellow part of photo below) is quite common among yoga teachers and students. When I lead biomechanics workshops for yoga teachers, I often ask who in the room has experienced, or knows someone who has experienced, proximal hamstring tendon injuries. The show of hands is staggering.
Transitions in Yoga Asana: A Guest Blog
Don’t you just love it when worlds collide? I have been friends with a #bodynerd on facebook who posts the most awesome “Wednesday Musings” about her observations while working with clients, but I didn’t actually know who she was. In February, we attended the same seminar and I finally got to meet Jenn! The following weekend, I was in a marketing seminar hosted by the awesome peeps over at Udaya, and they urged us to find guest bloggers. Shortly thereafter, Jenn boldly commented on one of my facebook threads, questioning a particular transition we commonly encounter in yoga classes. She had I shared a similar view and had an interesting dialogue right there in the thread. Turns out, she writes a fantastic blog of her own. I asked her to turn our thread into a blog so I could share it here, after which we go into a short Q&A to somewhat recreate our original conversation.
Biomechanics ≠ Anatomy
When I first registered for Calculus as an undergrad, it had been several years since I had taken it in high school. For some reason, I avoided taking Math in college, but then ended up choosing it as my minor (my major was Women’s Studies). Anyway, on the first day, the professor started lecturing, writing what he was saying on the blackboard. When he finally paused, I looked up and saw that he had written simple line of symbols but I had composed an extensive paragraph written in actual words. I had to relearn the alphabet of mathematical symbols if I was going to succeed in this class.
How Muscles (Actually) Work
As you all know, the conversations I treasure most are those I have with #bodynerd colleagues. This week, my friend, Charlie Reid, put aside a couple hours to discuss titin with me. As all our conversations go, we start with some previously selected research...