Elephant walk: best lower back and hamstring stretch | Kit Laughlin from Stretch Therapy
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- Опубліковано 22 сер 2024
- For more in-depth guides please visit stretchtherapy...
Today's video shows one of the best prep. exercises to loosen the hamstrings (and lower back). This is an every-day exercise (or limbering) for me. We distinguish between "stretching" (where new range of movement is momentarily gained during a practise session) and "limbering", often called mobility, where yesterday's range of movement is regained. Limbering can be done every day; stretching, done the way we recommend, and because it is more intense, can leave the body feeling a bit stiff and sore, and there is no point stretching sore muscles-limber instead!
This is a deceptively simple, and very effective, lower back and hamstring stretch that can be dome anywhere and any time.
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“Straighten, feel, relax.” Can’t say how many times I’ve heard that valuable phrase in cuing and still I forget it from time to time! The older I get, this capacity to relax whilst experiencing strong sensations is the key to my enduring flexibility. Thanks Kit for these videos.
Sir I'm serious. I've looked up so many stretching videos on UA-cam. You're a master in this and truly some kind like a old shaolin monk from an kung fu movie. Sounds weird but that's what I think :) thank you for your effort
I feel like an old monk, most days! Thanks, sincerely.
Stretching is very interesting ib Somatics, i was taught why stretching is not good. As Kit teaches with the contraction and. release to relax the muscle is called Pandiculation similar to what Kit teaches
Good explanation
Eric was a teacher of nice Hanna Somatics for a short time
Backs been hurting all day and I just tried this and my back feels much better,thank you
What we try to do!
great cueing for coming out of the pose/position -for those prone to orthostatic hypotension
Exactly why we cue it the way we do. This is quite common, and more common among women, as you know.
It´s great to see you back on youtube. Thanks a lot.
"The essence of the feeling of being able to rest on something" what a marvelous verbal cue !
Thank you.
Great tips! Thanks
Thank you for sharing.
What we do! Thank you for commenting.
@@KitLaughlin I will try doing this and will revert with my feedback.
Really good, thank you for uploading this video!
Wow just found your channel subbed !👍👍👍
That was just what I needed fell so much better
Thanks Tyron; this is the first limbering movement I do, every day.
LOVE! thanks Kit x
It is such a simple-looking movement that many people think it can't be all that effective-but anyone who tries this will find that it's the fast track to the standing full pike. Thanks for commenting!
Awesome thanks!
Is this exercise safe for someone with low back pain and flexion intolerance?
Try it gently and carefully (use your arm strength to lower yourself into the start position), and stay completely relaxed as you play with the movement. Use the arms to come out of the position, too, so you are not using your back muscles to come up with. Please do report back.
one of my favs
Thanks for posting this. Looks like a good exercise. I'll have to try it. If you don't mind me asking, where do you get those pants?
The company is "Prana". Best gear I have ever worn, can be washed in a hotel sink and dry overnight, and stretchy in one direction. I teach in these all the time. Actually, I live in them; Prana and tracksuit pants!
No matter how much I let my knees bend I don't seem to be able to bend forward enough for my tummy and ribs to make contact with my thighs. Is there a modification I should make or do I need to work on something else like my hip flexors first?
Your glutes and the outer hamstring may be too tight to allow this. Lie on your back on a comfortable form surface, and bring one knee back to the chest and hold it in to the body as much as you can. Make sure your whole spine and the other leg stays on the floor. Now, while holding the thigh as close to the body as you can, try gently pushing the thigh away (this is an isometric contraction) for five seconds or so. Stop, relax completely (let the body really go soft) then see if you can pull the thigh a bit closer. This ROM will come, in time.
@@KitLaughlin Thank you! My father's legs are as tight as mine (can't reach past our knees if keeping our legs straight, can't lean forward even to 90 degrees for a staff pose, etc.) and what you're describing is actually the one stretch he does, minus the C-R. I'll just work on this for the next few weeks.
@@KitLaughlin When you say the whole spine, does that include the vertebrae in the neck? I'm having trouble getting them aligned with the floor.
@@dsrguru Everyone does, pretty much. Align the head with the neck so that it's comfortable (usually there will be a gap between the curve of the cervical spine and the floor). The lower back is the important part: it must be on the floor. If your hip flexors are too tight to allow the lower back to contact the floor, then put a cushion under the knee of the straight leg, so it bends slightly. Then do as i suggest. The goal is to get each thigh onto the rib cage in turn, one at a time. Then try the Elephant Walk again.
@@KitLaughlin Thank you! One last thing, should I be feeling the stretch more on the inside of the thigh by the groin or outside by the hips? I'm noticing it's a very different feel depending on the angle of my knee as I pull.
Is it ok to do this exercise with scoliosis?
Like all recommendations for people with scoliosis, try cautiously and gently, and see what the effect is. Do please get back to us when you have tries this.
I feel this almost entirely in my quads. Is that normal, or should I feel it in my hamstrings? I keep my torso touching my quads as I do the elephant walk, but I only feel the stretch in my quads when I do so
Is it possible that you were inadvertently using your quads to pull you closer to your legs? If you do use your quads (rather than the weight of your upper body, or pulling with your hands) then it's likely that one of your quads (rectus femoris) is cramping, because it's in its shorted range of movement; all muscles do this-think about the last time you pointed your foot hard). Try the exercise again, keeping the quads completely relaxed, and please report back.
@@KitLaughlin I just use the strength of the quadriceps to straighten the leg. in fact after some time my legs shake a little (not a bad feeling). it's wrong? I misunderstood?
@@nautilus6996 Not at all; shaking or trembling in muscles is common if you're working hard. If it worries you, press with less effort, but longer time-this helps the body get used to the process.
For how much time do we do this?
Until you feel you've done enough.
interesting