Dancers & Runners

Dancers and runners usually have tight rotators because they demand increased stability from these muscles. Dancers, for example, need stable rotators when standing on one leg and lifting the other quite flexible in other ways, but often have tight rotators.

For runners, the increased momentum associated with the forward movement of the legs places greater demands on the rotators to hold the pelvis level.

Try this: Stand up and place the feet a foot or so apart with the feet turned out as in second position in ballet. In order to turn the feet out when standing, you contract your external rotators to rotate the femur. If you hold them in this externally rotated position as if they are tight, you will see how that interferes with forward bending. Hold the buttocks firm by squeezing them together; try to bend forward. Even if you are supple, this will be difficult. if, on the other hand, you turn the thighs inward, stretching as opposed to contracting the rotators, this will facilitate forward bending

Now turn the toes and thighs inward as much as possible. Imagine that you are pressing outward with the heels but actually keep the feet still as you bend. It will be much easier to bend forward with the legs and feet in this position. This is because the external rotators are being stretched and thus are interfering less with the forward movement of the pelvis over the thigh bones.

Stretch Crib Notes

The five rotator stretches presented here are in order of increasing difficulty The benefits they bring to other poses, such as Uttanasana (Standing Forward Bend), as well as to ease of walking, make them worth doing frequently. Because these poses can be deep stretches even for experienced students, attempt them when you are already warmed up by your regular yoga practice or some other physical activity. And remember: Recent research in muscle physiology has found that stretches need to be held for at least one minute in order to be effective. You may feel some of these stretches more on one side than the other. In fact, the longer you practice yoga, the more aware you will be of the differences between your right and left side. You may want to stretch the tighter side longer.

After each stretch, walk around the room to relax the rotators. You may discover that walking is easier as the rotators loosen. Try practicing a forward bend to see how it has changed. You may also notice that your Padmasana (Lotus Pose) improves. Hopefully such observations will encourage you to make these poses part of your regular asana practice.