Lesson 2
Why is it important to breathe correctly during stretches?
Sometimes breathing is difficult to coordinate with the person's movements during stretching. Especially if it is new for you.
Failure to do so will also impair the performance technique, and may leave the muscles overstretched, which can lead to injury.
Very often people just hold their breath and suffer from exercise. In this case, the body is in tension and the chance of injuries increases. Try to exhale while soothing.
Furthermore, breathing is directly related to our mental and emotional state. Having learned how to control breathing, we can easily control our emotions, which will help get rid of excess stress and stress in life.
Blood flow.When we breathe properly while doing exercises, our hearts produce oxygenated blood, which removes lactic acid from our muscles and helps them work more efficiently. Oxygen-enriched muscles become more elastic.
During deep breathing the muscles are limp, so it is easier to stretch them.
It is important to continue breathing during stretching exercises, because breathing helps to “wake up the center” - the diaphragmatic muscle, multifidus, latissimus dorsi, abdominis and pelvic floor muscles.
Proper breathing during exercise helps to activate the deep muscles and attract them to work. This is very important for the correct distribution of the load.
In addition, breathing can help focus attention on an upcoming workout. Changing the breathing cycle involves additional small deep muscles.
Muscles of the leg and foot
One of the important things in working on flexibility is to pay attention to your feet muscles! When we start working with the muscles of the feet, we also activate other muscles and learn to control them!
Our leg and foot feature numerous muscles. Usually their names reveal a great deal about their actions.
Actually, we can divide these muscles into four groups:
1. “Calf muscles” of the posterior leg formed by the large gastrocnemius and soleus.
2. Along the lateral side of the leg the peroneus longus and brevis are situated.
3. The extensors of the ankle and toes (front tibia, an extension of the toes, and of the big toe) are located together on the anterior leg and the dorsum of the foot.
4. The flexors of the ankle joint and the big toe are located under the calf muscle. Include tibialis posterior, flexor digitorum longus, flexor hallucis longus.
1. Gastrocnemius and Soleus
Gastrocnemius
The large muscle mass of the posterior leg consists of the gastrocnemius and the soleus muscles. The superficial gastrocnemius has two heads and crosses two joints - the knee and the ankle. It emerges from between the hamstring tendons, and goes down to merge with the calcaneal tendon (Achilles' tendon).
The Soleus
The soleus is located under the calf muscle, yet its medial and lateral fibers extend further than the calf muscle is attached. This muscle is sometimes called the “second heart” because it plays an important role in returning blood from the leg to the heart.
When do we use Gastrocnemius and Soleus?
-
Standing on the toes
-
Walking, running,climbing
-
Dancing
2. Peroneus Longus and Brevis
Peroneus longus is located on the lateral side of the fibula bone.
Peroneus brevis lies deep to the peroneus longus.
These muscles help in eversion of the foot, assisting to plantar flex the ankle.
3. Extensors of the Ankle and Toes
Tibialis Anterior - helps to invert the foot, dorsiflex the ankle
Extensor Digitorum Longus - helps to extend the second through fifth toes ( extremely important for dancers and athletes), dorsiflex the ankle, and evert the foot.
Extensor Hallucis Longus - extend the first toe ( extremely importand for dancers and athletes), dorsiflex the ankle, invert the foot.
When do we use our extensors?
-
Balancing on one foot
-
Putting on and taking off our socks and shoes
-
during the swing phase of our walking (while lifting the foot after toe off so that the foot clears the ground)
4. Flexors of the Ankle and Toes
Tibialis Posterior, Flexor Digitorum Longus, Flexor Hallucis Longus
Buried deep to the gastrocnemius and soleus on the posterior leg and three slender muscles primarily responsible for inverting the foot and flexing the toes.
When do we use flexors?
-
Walking on the tiptoes
-
Hiking on a rocky trail (small, specific stabilizing movements of the foot and ankle)
-
Turning the water tap with the toes when lying in the bathtub (flexion of the toes with subtle movements of the foot and ankle
-
When we make a point and flex while dancing
Practical part
Exercise 1
1. We stand straight, legs together.
Retract the stomach and tighten the tailbone inward, squeezing the gluteal muscles. Transfer body weight from your fingertips to your heels and vice versa. Keep your heels together and your stomach tucked in. Do 8-10 times.
2. Transfer the weight to your fingertips, move the weight on one leg. The supporting leg is strong, we push the fingers to the floor. We find balance on one leg. Do 4 reps on each leg.
3. Pressing the footpads and point. Repeat several times. In the end, we remain in the point position and push the thumb to the floor. We do 8-12 repetitions on each leg.
4. We rise to your fingertips. Heels together, abdomen retracted, straight line of the lower back, pelvic bones in a neutral position. We transfer weight on one leg. The supporting leg is straight and strong. We reach the top of the head. Remaining on the toe of one leg, press the point of the other to the floor. Repeat 4-8 times on both legs. Buttocks work diligently as if holding a sheet of paper between the legs.
5 We stand on one leg and stretch the other right in front of us. We press the footpad to the floor, then we extend the foot lift so that only the fingertip touches the floor, and again we return it to the footpad. Repeat this exercise 8-12 times on each leg.
Exercise 2
Another great exercise to improve your ability to control your foot.
We stand on one leg, the foot of the other leg is flexed, then we open the toes and make a movement similar to the way we would like to take something from the floor with the foot.
Create a “bridge” - the space between the middle of the foot and the floor. After that, we raise the foot again. This exercise creates the feeling that you want to lift something off the floor. Repeat at least 10 times on each leg.
You can also lift beads, pebbles, or something else with your foot, which will make your foot muscles wake up and work.
Exercise 3
1. In this exercise, the legs are quite wide. Take a deep breath and when exhaling put your hands to the floor. Bend your legs and straighten. While tilting, pull the tailbone up and try to bend in the lower back and lower the head as far as possible between the legs. The goal is to stretch the muscles of the back of the thigh. Try to get your elbows closer to the floor. You can also put your hands on the cube (for those who still do not reach the floor with their hands).
2. The legs are pretty wide. Put your hands on the floor away from your legs and transfer the weight to your hands, fingertips, and back on your heels. Do 8 reps. It is also possible with a yoga block.
Exercise 4
Stretch the back of the thigh and add the rotation.
1. We begin, as always, from a neutral position. The feet are the width of the hip bones, the tailbone is twisted inward, the tummy is assembled.
A small step forward. The body leans forward to a line parallel to the floor line. Hands through the sides go forward and continue the straight line of the body. Keep your back straight and try to stretch your neck as much as possible as an extension of the spine line.
Stay in this position for 3-4 deep breathing cycles.
2. After that, put your hands on the floor (for those who do not reach the floor, you can put your hands on some object - a yoga block, a chair - so as not to leave your hands in the air). From this position, we bend the knees and slowly straighten them, trying to bend in the lower back and lengthen the back of the thigh as much as possible. We do a few repetitions. Then we flex the front foot and smoothly move the bodyweight back. On an exhalation, we try to reach the floor with our elbows.
3. From the previous position, put your hand on the outside of the opposite leg. Try to relax your neck and head, turn the chest up and open your hand to the ceiling.
With your lower arm, you can help yourself a bit by pushing off your lower leg. It is important to turn the upper shoulder up and maximize the thoracic rotation. This exercise involves stretching and rotation 😉👍🏻
Exercise 5
Bend your legs and hug them outside with your hands. While holding your legs, try to lengthen the back of the thigh and feel the stretch in this area. The abdomen is always tightly attached to the hips, even if they are not yet able to straighten to the end. Do 3-4 repetitions.
Have a nice learning !!! 😉👍🏻💪🏻🏠
