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LAUREL BEVERSDORF

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Pigeon Pose and Tight Hips—A Remake of a Classic Tale

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For every time I get a question about shoulder pain in chaturanga, I get two for what students describe as “tight hips.” “How can I stretch my hip flexors?” they ask, pointing to the front of their pelvis.

In essence, they are asking for a recommended hip opener. But, what are hip openers?

Most of the time, when people think of the hip-opening asanas, they tend to think of asanas that don’t stretch the front of their hips, like the image above does, but rather asanas that involve a position of external rotation and flexion of the hips. Also, they don’t imagine active/dynamic stretching like the example above, but more passive, static stretches. You know them as well as I do—postures like baddha konasana, thread the needle/figure four, or pigeon (single or double, take your pick!) that have been given all sorts of magical powers in yogaland.

The truth is, any pose or movement that asks your hips to move beyond what is your “normal” range of motion, has the potential to feel like a stretch and could constitute a “hip opener.”

Meaning, it might cause you to feel your hip tightness. And, if you do the stretch enough, it can lead to you having a larger “normal” range of motion.

Side note: an interesting feature of pigeon pose, pictured above, in terms of its joint positions is that it is a pose that stretches both the lateral hip compartment (of the front hip), but also the hip flexor muscles (of the back hip.) These are both areas students often report feeling “tight” but when we think of hip openers, we’re often thinking of poses that explore positions like that of the front hip in pigeon.

I myself spent a ton of time in pigeon pose when my own hips felt “tight.” I also had the idea that by opening my hips I’d somehow be happier, unplagued by stressful emotions, and a better person. Having tight hips meant something was wrong with me, and gosh darn it I was going to fix that.

Spoiler alert: pigeon pose didn’t help me feel happier or less plagued by stressful emotions. It didn’t make me a better person. In fact, as the years went on, the more I did pigeon, the less of any of those things I felt. In fact, I felt more stress and more pain.

Around 6 years into my yoga teaching career, I also started to hear from a lot of senior yoga teachers coming out about hip pain that they’d kept secret for years. Many ultimately required hip replacements. I laid in bed at night wondering when I’d have to schedule my surgery, since I was convinced that I had the same problem they did.

After that freak-out, I went through a phase where I demonized all passive stretching and stopped practicing and teaching it. I believed that passive stretching overstretched ligaments and caused my joints, like my SI joints, to dislocate or slip out of place.

However, after learning more about pain, as well as the difference between flexibility (total joint range of motion) versus mobility (the joint range of motion our nervous system can actively control) I settled on what I think is a more nuanced understanding of the role passive stretching played in my hip pain.

You see, the perception of tightness I had might have been a message from my nervous system, not the outcome of too much irresponsible passive stretching.

Ligaments and joints, like the SI joint, are incredibly tough, and they get tougher through tensile load (stretching them!) so it doesn’t make sense that a relatively low tensile load, like a passive stretch, would be enough to overwhelm them.

In actuality, the tight feeling I experienced was a way of limiting my range of motion in a stretch, in essence saying, “Hey there, not so fast, you’re not going to move that way. It’s not safe.” Sensing a lack of control in my joints (mobility, which involves being strong in end range positions), my body was tensing up.

The way to calm it down wasn’t to passively stretch more. It wasn’t to plop down in pigeon and hope for the best.

I had to improve my hip joint strength and control to enforce a feeling of safety in my joints that would allow the joints to expand their range of motion—i.e., “open” them. Hence I began my journey of exploring loaded movements—the kind with weights and bands and other fun things that expanded the vocabulary of how my hips (and my whole body) could feel beyond “tight” and “open.” 

Now, when a student asks me for help with “tight hips” and wants some passive stretches, I don’t automatically start ringing alarm bells and tell them to “abort!” like I once did. Instead, I encourage them to do the poses that feel good, while also asking them to consider adding in more active mobility and strengthening work (which their yoga practice and daily life probably wasn’t giving them enough of.)

In short, we don’t need to demonize pigeon pose (or any other asana, for that matter) when we reconcile the limitations of the postures with our need for more strength, variable loading, and pain science.

Rather, getting creative with our yoga will do the body lots of good—adding strength, adaptability, mobility, and a healthy dose of fun.

Here’s a video I made in partnership with Yoga Journal for my course Resistance Bands 101. In it, I share a banded version of Eka Pada Apanasana with a looped resistance band. The purpose of this banded pose is to actively target strengthening (rather than passively stretching) the hip flexor muscles. Give it a try!

 

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Initial gains in strength in split lunge likely in Initial gains in strength in split lunge likely involve improvements in balance and coordination.Improvements in balance and coordination are not only outcomes of getting stronger, they are strategies for getting stronger.Since strength is specific, how we strengthen matters for what kind of strength we build.It makes sense we’d want to practice the shape that’s gonna be the most optimal to load (depending on our goal) because that shape then supports increasing load over time.Floppy lunge might be okay in Vinyasa flow, but it’s not balanced or coordinated for heavy weights.When we focus first on form and tension within that form, we make progress in our strength sooner. We build a strong foundation to load later.This does not mean our body position needs to be *perfect* before we load it—what does that even mean?In fact our body position likely won’t be the same (and shouldn’t be) in bodyweight versus loaded positions, just like we don’t look the same when we jog versus sprint.Form checks, like where the back knee goes in a yoga versus split lunge and proprioceptive cues to find more global tension can simply be a good way to prepare before loading.Try these 3 tips to de-floppify your split lunge.1️⃣ perch one tush on a stool and line your back knee up somewhere under its hip. Lift off, hold, then step forward and backward. Aim your butt to the seat, and your knee under your hip.2️⃣ squeeze a bolster to generate global tension and balance your trunk better between your feet.3️⃣ add a heavier thing to squeeze like a med ball.If all goes well, in time, add back that kettlebell! And then another. 😉 💪Pssst! I’ve created a new program.It’s called Kettlebell Progressive Program: Strength, Power, Plyometrics. 15 weeks, 3 training blocks.Classes + recordings start Aug. 16.This is one of many strength & conditioning programs, 100s of yoga, yoga with bands, self-massage, and somatics practices.Right now I’m running a discount on annual membership. Pay $360/year—all access. Offer ends 9/14. I won’t be offering an annual membership discount again in 2022.Link in bio 👀
Listen to the latest episode on the Movement Logic Listen to the latest episode on the Movement Logic Podcast about the best (not body-building!) exercises for strength, delivered to you by yours truly, Laurel, a non-bruh yoga teacher and strength coach.Short on time? Here are the 5 tips I name for *how to think about* strength exercises when making your choices:#1 — train movements not muscles, namely the squat/lunge, hinge, upper body push & upper body pull.#2 — decide how many exercises you can do in a session. Be realistic about how much time it takes for the sets (and rest in between). Typically for me, realistically, 1 set takes about about 3-4 minutes on average.#3 — based on your answer for #2, prioritize selecting multi-joint exercises over single joint exercises because they train more muscle mass and are a better use of your time (especially if time is limited.)#4 — train full body and hit all the “macronutrients for strength” (those movement categories I named in tip #1) rather than doing a split routine like leg day, back and chest day, biceps and triceps day. Split routines are a body-building thing, ya know? The benefit of full body is every session you train strength in the major movements and because of that, every week, you’ll hit those movements more frequently (every workout) which is key for building strength if you don’t have 4-5 days a week to workout.#5 — order your exercises strategically so that it’s logical in terms of the exercise demands, but also so you’re putting your individual strength priorities first (sorta like triage.)Listen to the whole episode via the link in my bio. 👀
Constraints are cues you give yourself.Constrain Constraints are cues you give yourself.Constrain a joint’s movement to move from another joint more. This is a key that unlocks deep understanding for movement in yoga, but also strength training! 🔑 🧠 💡Temporarily working with an incline (or negative heel) can make squatty deadlifts more hip hingey. This can help you work and feel more hip and hamstring effort (and less quad effort.)But let’s remember that a deadlift can work all of these muscle groups including the quads and it’s not wrong to have a squatty deadlift.After all, the deadlift is only an abstract concept like a yoga pose.You can’t hug a deadlift.Meanwhile, your body is not abstract. It’s huggable.There are many ways to deadlift depending on what you want your body to experience and what change you want to make. The deadlift can help depending on how you apply the concept. Squatty and hingey will each give you different results.Lots of yoga people want to strengthen their glutes and hamstrings. They want to feel those groups working more for strength.Here I’m showing how you can bias more hips and less knees by limiting ankle dorsiflexion and (then also) knee flexion. This constraint create more opportunity for your glutes and hammies.Try it and feel it in your body (booty!) 🍑Pssst! I’ve created a new program in my Virtual Studio. It’s called Kettlebell Progressive Program: Strength, Power, Plyometrics. Classes + recordings start Aug. 16.This fresh program is one of many programs and 100s of yoga, yoga with bands, self-massage, and somatics-based practices.Right now I’m running a discount on annual membership to my Virtual Studio. Pay $360/year (or $1 day) for all access. This offer ends Sep. 14 and I won’t be offering a discount on annual membership again this year.Link in bio 👀
Sort of funny sounding but one of the ways I pract Sort of funny sounding but one of the ways I practice self-care is that every year I get the interior of my car detailed.The person comes to my house and cleans every little nook and cranny inside my car. It is 100% worth the cost.As the mother of a toddler, this service creates significant, happiness-making enhancement to the interior look, smell, and feel of my car. It is absolutely wonderful.This year, before getting our car detailed Eli and I also cleaned the outside of the car together.It was easy—dish soap—effective, and also satisfying.I highly recommend this activity as a way to get your young children to work! 💪
In Episode 8 of the Movement Logic podcast I’m j In Episode 8 of the Movement Logic podcast I’m joined by my friend and colleague @TrinaAltman. Together, we discuss Trina’s experience with perimenopause. Trina shares her personal story along with tons of resources for women going through this change of life.
—What is perimenopause?—Doctors have a tendency to minimize women’s suffering—Brain fog and hot flashes—Challenges women face when navigating the medical system—Finding a doctor that spends more time with you AND is evidence-based AND is current on the research—The Women’s Health Initiative and fear they created (through highly questionable handling and interpretation of the data) around estrogen replacement therapy (ERT) and hormone replacement therapy (HRT).—Weight gain and perimenopause—Scope appropriate advice for movement teachers working with perimenopausal and menopausal students
TRINA’S BIO:Trina received her training through STOTT Pilates® and is an E-RYT 500. She created Yoga Deconstructed® and Pilates Deconstructed® to show teachers how to take an interdisciplinary approach to foster an embodied understanding of yoga and Pilates in relation to modern movement science.Link in bio to listen and subscribe to Movement Logic: Strong Opinions, Loosely Held 👀
In Episode 8 of the Movement Logic podcast I’m j In Episode 8 of the Movement Logic podcast I’m joined by my friend and colleague @TrinaAltman. Together, we discuss Trina’s experience with perimenopause.Trina shares her personal story along with tons of resources for women going through this change of life. We discuss:
—What is perimenopause?—Doctors have a tendency to minimize women’s suffering—Brain fog and hot flashes—Challenges women face when navigating the medical system—Finding a doctor that spends more time with you AND is evidence-based AND is current on the research—The Women’s Health Initiative and fear they created (through highly questionable handling and interpretation of the data) around estrogen replacement therapy (ERT) and hormone replacement therapy (HRT).—Weight gain and perimenopause—Scope appropriate advice for movement teachers working with perimenopausal and menopausal students
TRINA’S BIO:Trina received her training through STOTT Pilates® and is an E-RYT 500. She created Yoga Deconstructed® and Pilates Deconstructed® to show teachers how to take an interdisciplinary approach to foster an embodied understanding of yoga and Pilates in relation to modern movement science.Link in bio to listen and subscribe to Movement Logic: Strong Opinions, Loosely Held 👀
I started hurting while practicing yoga asana. I r I started hurting while practicing yoga asana. I realize now, my hurty joints weren't necessarily *from* practicing yoga asana.They were from *not practicing anything else.*After many years of practice, I no longer even broke a sweat during pretty strong Vinyasa flow classes. I’d plateaued in strength. I wasn't loading my body in a wide enough variety of ways. I wasn’t externally loading it. I wasn't doing any pulling, only pushing.The flip side of my issue with overload was my issue of under load. Overload and under load are two sides of the pain coin.Today, I'm practicing the asanas without pain. I didn't have to stop practicing. Instead, I started regularly lifting weights and incorporating resistance bands and weights into my practice.I added movement. I didn't subtract it.When we have pain, of course we want it to go away. To achieve this, we stop doing the things we think cause it. It makes total sense! The thing is, while often necessary in the short-term, this is rarely a long-term solution.The activity we put on pause is often not the root issue. Our body’s capacity to handle the loads of the activity is.And, unlike hobbies, sometimes it's not possible to put something on pause. If I suspect driving my car is causing me pain, I still have to drive to work. If carrying my toddler is causing me pain, I'm probably going to keep carrying my toddler.Instead of eliminating the activity that's causing pain, we can make our bodies more capable of managing the loads of that activity by adding loads that we’re missing progressively over time.Adding resistance bands and weight not only increases the magnitude of load my body is capable of managing, but also how I load my body in the poses—variability!Adding external load changes the practice for sure. You can also have a complimentary practice and that can also be your practice.
This lumbopelvic-focused progressive sequence (SWI This lumbopelvic-focused progressive sequence (SWIPE 👈) is called Gentle Hip Unwind.The lumbopelvic region is an “intersection” of our body where our low back & pelvis negotiate, coordinate, initiate, and control movement of our spine and lower extremities (ya know, so only about most of our whole body.)The lumbopelvic region is Grand Central Station for movement and load management!Since it’s such an important and often sore area of our body, sometimes it’s good to gently explore “unwinding”
it.There are many ways to go about unwinding this area. This series of short, sped up videos, shows parts of a progressive sequence I taught Tue.I note the general body position in each video (seated, crab, supine, standing). This is akin to “chapters”.The chapters are basic body positions and within them, I bring in and develop key movement relationships + points of awareness.My sequences often go from the ground to standing, but they often deviate too, like starting standing and moving to the ground. It depends. What’s often the case is an element of repetition of the same or similar movement relationships in each stage.If the body positions are like chapters, the movement relationships and repeat points of focus are like dialogue between characters.Because this sequence is relatively passive, I refer to it as ‘gentle.’ You could certainly make this sequence more active by changing some things, and that wouldn’t necessarily make the sequence whatever the opposite of gentle is. ( ;The word gentle is a shared language within communities that practice yoga, and people tend to associate it with more passive or “mellow” work that isn’t just static but mixes dynamic and static work.What do you think of when you think of a “Gentle” practice?If you’d like to try membership to my Virtual Studio, you can pay for one month all-access (sign up and cancel) or recurring subscription (sign up and stay.) $40/mo link in bio 👀
Remember when everyone was so 😱 about people me Remember when everyone was so 😱 about people memeing themselves.That was always confusing to me.Some folks hate the public intimacy of social media. I get it. It’s weird.But  a lot of folks also want to share what they really think on social, but are afraid to, and then get resentful when someone else does it. Hence the “can you believe so-and-so memed themself?”Fear is no fun at all.I’m glad I live in a bubble where I can pop off about shit (AKA meme myself) without too much second guessing.Here I go again!#RepostAs movement teachers, when we suggest certain movements and positions (that human bodies do) are bad, wrong, dangerous, or just less than, we perpetuate fear of movement, or this idea some ways of being in our bodies or not acceptable.Our words are powerful. We are highly influential. When students hear us imply certain positions or movements (things bodies can do/are built to do) are “less than” part of what we communicate is “don’t go there.” “Don’t learn about this part of yourself. Don’t explore it. It’s not safe in your body in this place. And, you need me (the teacher) to help you find the good places and avoid the bad places.”This fosters fear and dependence in our students, not curiosity and agency.The most effective teachers make themselves obsolete. They don’t TEACH students *what* to think, they MODEL for students *how* to think, which means they share their process, doubt, and uncertainty.Instead of pitting movements against each other we can imply BOTH have value and then organize learning the difference between.What if we created space for inquiry for students to explore befriending all of themselves? What if we fostered inquiry around those ways that feel better, worse, more/less interesting, more/less useful and asked students to decide?This is, I feel, movement optimism. It’s fostering inquiry, curiosity, courage, and playfulness in learning about how our bodies move, in addition to fostering acceptance of our bodies and other bodies’ existence, value, and right to be here. It’s teaching choices rather than teaching right v wrong, good v bad.That’s religion.I’d rather learn to move.
Episode 7 of the @movementlogictutorials podcast i Episode 7 of the @movementlogictutorials podcast is up! In this solo episode, @sarahcourtdpt tackles the tricky subject of pain, and whether it’s always bad if our clients and students have pain. She discusses the situations in which pain might be acceptable, and gives concrete tools and approaches for you to use with your clients who are having pain.
➡️What’s the difference between acute and chronic pain?➡️When might it be ok - and when would it not be ok - for your students to have pain?➡️How to avoid generating fear for your students around their pain experience➡️How much pain would be acceptable for someone to have?➡️How to tease out different sensations to help your client have greater discernment around what they’re feeling in their body🔗Click the link in bio to watch the episode on our website, or listen and subscribe anywhere you get your podcasts!#yogaclassesonline #onlineyogaclasses #mobilityclasses #bodynerd #yogatherapy #movementtherapy #liveonlineyoga #practiceyoga #movementlogic #pilatesinstructor #yogateacherconed #yogateacher #painrelief #movementteacher #physicaltherapist #strengthcoach #mobilitycoach #worksmarternotharder #movementlogicpodcast #laurelbeversdorf #sarahcourt
Episode 7 of the @movementlogictutorials podcast i Episode 7 of the @movementlogictutorials podcast is up! In this solo episode, @sarahcourtdpt tackles the tricky subject of pain, and whether it’s always bad if our clients and students have pain. She discusses the situations in which pain might be acceptable, and gives concrete tools and approaches for you to use with your clients who are having pain.
➡️What’s the difference between acute and chronic pain?➡️When might it be ok - and when would it not be ok - for your students to have pain?➡️How to avoid generating fear for your students around their pain experience➡️How much pain would be acceptable for someone to have?➡️How to tease out different sensations to help your client have greater discernment around what they’re feeling in their body🔗Click the link in bio to watch the episode on our website, or listen and subscribe anywhere you get your podcasts!#yogaclassesonline #onlineyogaclasses #mobilityclasses #bodynerd #yogatherapy #movementtherapy #liveonlineyoga #practiceyoga #movementlogic #pilatesinstructor #yogateacherconed #yogateacher #painrelief #movementteacher #physicaltherapist #strengthcoach #mobilitycoach #worksmarternotharder #movementlogicpodcast #laurelbeversdorf #sarahcourt
Hey, when @sarahcourtdpt tags you and tells you to Hey, when @sarahcourtdpt tags you and tells you to show her your kaftan because @yogawalla told her to show her HER kaftan, you do your best. You find your best kaftan and if you don’t have one, you find your best almost-a-kaftan, and you find a good wall, and you try to match the vibe.I nominate @caitlincasella @greatoakcircle and @nychristiane#movementlogic #showmeyourmumu #showmeyourhousedress #showmeyourkaftan
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