My dear friend who fell 20 feet from scaffolding a few weeks ago, showed me photo's of his pelvis yesterday. It's held together with a chain link, plates and pins. It is honestly a work of art. The trauma surgeons are very pleased. He is at the start of a long road to recovery.
It's coincided with me looking at hand to big toe pose this week and the position of the pelvis and femur.
In an inclusive yoga class, I would suggest that if you want to stand on one leg and hold your big toe then you might have to start off with your knee bent. But if you want to use the pose to lengthen the hamstrings with the correct positioning of the femur and pelvis, the legs need to be straight. In both lying down and standing variations.
Here's a tutorial from Purple Valley Yoga looking at the more accessible lying version of the pose. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZjV8RC-KKrk
The version with the leg straight out in front is flexion of the hip joint. The movement out to the side is the external rotation of the femur. The top head of the femur is the ball which sits inside the socket of the pelvis. To fully roll the head of the femur around, without the pelvis tipping to one side or backwards, the trochanter major at the most outside edge of the femur has to drop.
Trochanter major (greater) and minor (lesser) are not often mentioned in a yoga class. The bones are of course surrounded by groups of muscle and connective tissue, which all support and control the range of movement.
Here's another really good tutorial about this specific rotation from Kino MacGregor (which I included in my reel this week)
https://www.google.com/search?q=kino+sitting+down+uttitha+hasta+padangustasana&rlz=1C5CHFA_enGB870GB870&sxsrf=ALiCzsahXBGhnzxFGcHoYrZHm9_7_nLHdA%3A1665064797382&ei=Xd8-Y6f9FoqDgQbdj4vYDA&ved=0ahUKEwjnn5re4cv6AhWKQcAKHd3HAssQ4dUDCA4&uact=5&oq=kino+sitting+down+uttitha+hasta+padangustasana&gs_lcp=Cgdnd3Mtd2l6EAMyBwghEKABEApKBAhBGAFKBAhGGABQrQZYwucBYJj4AWgGcAB4AIABowGIAcwQkgEENDQuMZgBAKABAcABAQ&sclient=gws-wiz#kpvalbx=_i98-Y9yOOeyUhbIPwJ6X6A4_27
When looking specifically at this movement it's worth knowing that this area can become tighter and more vulnerable, especially for women, (due to having wider hips), as we get older. Prolonged periods of sitting as well as a lot of impact, (maybe from running), or being obese can all have an effect.
I've seen several runners over the years use a foam roller to relieve strain in this area.
It goes without saying that keeping the joint as mobile and strong as possible is going to help. This is where these type of yoga poses can make a difference.
I've also been looking at another more accessible version using a chair. Either the seat of the chair or the back depending on your flexibility. (Which you can also see in my 'Tuesday Tips' insta reel). I used this in my gentle yoga class in Holloway yesterday. Even my over 80's were having a go! I think they felt extremely pleased with themselves. They are pretty fit 80 year olds it has to be said. The fact that they're doing yoga says it all.
Here's to a good bit of hip action.
Namaste
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