Hello, I have been practicing yoga for over 6 years now and love it but I find that it does not sem to cater much for the glutes and a lot of the posterior chain (except with all those hamstring stretches). Modern life means we are much more likely to be forwad being all day with chairs, laptops and devices and I feel like yoga causes an imbalance by tightinening our quads and hip flexors more and not strenghtening our glutes and opening the middle of our backs. I feel it weakens my hamstrings with all that pulling and barely feel my glutes except during some poses i.e. wheel, head to knee, dancers etc.
Does anyone recommend classes and exercises to counterbalance this problem?
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Absolutely!
And yes, I agree that often teachers do focus more on the hamstring and spine and less on the outer hips and hip flexors.
Here are a few classes that you can try. We have many more, so let me know how these go and I can suggest others. Maybe others in the community have suggestions too!
Bow Pose: Hip Flexor Release with Rachel Scott (or any from this series)
Hip Flexor Heaven with David Procyshyn
Yoga for Cyclists with David Procyshyn (you don’t have to be a cyclist)
Dancer’s Pose: Supple Spine and Shoulders with Fiji McAlpine (or any from this series)
Challenging Backbends for Beginners with Anastasia Hangemanole
I hope you enjoy them!
David
DoYogaWithMe Founder
Why does yoga love "down dog’ so much? This asana peppers so many more advanced routines & by the end of them, I suffer from increased blury vision for a few days. I’m a very fit mid-lifer in all but this respect, but I wont be able to maintain these levels unless I stay on the intermediate/advanced perimeter which all thes DDs are threatening. What asana could I substitute for all those DDs? :)
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Hi there. If you’re experiencing problems with downward facing dog, you can substitute it with child’s pose.