Yoga Therapeutics - Giant Steps
by Michael Stein

To an outside observer the numerous Hatha Yoga styles may appear very different in their pace, postures and alignment, but one fundamental movement seems to link most major traditions. Whether you enjoy practicing Sivananda, Iyengar, or Ashtanga Yoga you will eventually find yourself taking a giant step forward with one foot while keeping the other foot grounded for support. This stepping action takes on many names and variations but in essence they are all Lunges, one of the most beneficial and therapeutic poses that the average person in our culture can practice daily.

Consider for a moment how we stand, sit, walk, and sleep. Throughout a twenty-four hour period of everyday life we may move in many directions but we generally don’t take a long step forward or backwards. Furthermore, we live in a culture that spends more than half of its waking hours sitting in either a chair or a car seat. Each time we sit in this way, with our knees at right angles to our pelvis, we are shortening our Hip Flexors, the muscle group responsible for raising our knees towards our chest, the most powerful of this group being the Psoas muscle. As Dr. Ida Rolf (founder of the Rolfing method) stated: “The legs do not originate movement in the walk of a balanced body; the legs support and follow. Movement is initiated in the trunk and transmitted to the legs through the medium of the Psoas.”

If you’ve ever watched a child of 3-6 years of age sit on the floor you may have noticed how easily they can contort their knees and hips into almost any shape. But by the time the same child is thirteen years old they will generally find it difficult to sit cross legged on the floor at all. The main reason for this is the tightening that occurs while sitting in a chair or even by prolonged running without adequate stretching. This is why even the most athletic among us is not immune from this type of stiffness and limited range of motion. Repetitive sports such as jogging or biking will of course strengthen the Hip Flexors and Quadriceps, but without a complementary stretching routine they will quickly become hyper-tonic. When any muscle group becomes this tight it pulls upon the skeletal bones that it is attached to, causing - at best - bad posture. However, more often the result is an injury in a seemingly unrelated part of the body that must compensate for this imbalance.

In the Aug./Sept. issue of NY Yoga we discussed the large Hip Flexor known as the Rectus Femoris (the only Quadricep that crosses 2 joints at the hip and knee). There are many muscles that act as synergists to the Rectus Femoris, helping it to raise up the knee, but by far the most powerful is called the Iliopsoas. Really two muscles in one, this deep core muscle includes the much discussed Psoas muscle, which originates on the front of the lower spine, and the Iliacus muscle, which originates lower down in the hip bowl. Both muscles then cross over where the hips meet the femur (thigh) and form a common insertion on the inner femur bone, at a point called the Lesser Trochanter. Together they create the Iliopsoas, one of the deepest of our core muscles (which makes it very difficult to feel or massage) and the only Hip Flexor muscle that has a direct link to our spinal column.

These muscles were built for strength but they were not designed to sit in chairs for hours at a time. By forcing them into a contracted state over decades of misuse we wind up pulling our lower spine forward towards our thighs, causing our lower back muscles to compensate and often resulting in lower back pain. This might feel as though gravity has tripled its force upon an otherwise healthy body. To counter the lower back pain many people will immediately try to strengthen their abdominals, but if the Iliopsoas is the true culprit then only a steady routine of stretching will alleviate the problem; in fact sit-ups or crunches will likely make it worse because the Psoas will become even shorter.

When we observe tightness in the Hip Flexors during the practice of yoga we find that all seated postures are compromised due to the difficulty of lowering the knees to the floor with our sitting bones grounded. So what does yoga asana have to offer a culture that is so addicted to chairs and cars? While there are many postures that stretch the Hip Flexors - Ustrasana (Camel pose), Supta Virasana (Reclined hero’s pose), etc. – one of the greatest therapies is the basic Lunge, a pose that everyone can practice in one form or another no matter what their age or fitness level may be. All Lunges will safely stretch the Hip Flexors of the back thigh, but be sure that you are not over-arching your lower back region while practicing them. Because of the angle of our pelvis and the pull on the Iliopsoas there is a tendency to compress the vertebrae of the lower back. So move slowly into each variation and try to flatten the lower back by tucking your tailbone underneath your spine (aka the posterior pelvic tilt), which will also help to further stretch the Psoas.

Sequence #1

From a standing position in Mountain Pose (Tadasana) lift your arms out and up towards the sky on an inhale and then swan-dive into a standing forward bend over both legs on your exhale. Look forward on an inhale and then exhale as you step your left leg as far back as you can, placing your left knee on the floor. Point your left toes backwards and take both hands to your right knee which should be directly over your ankle.

Pause and breathe here, trying to rock gently at the pelvis, feel as though each inhale lifts your sternum and upper body while each exhale lowers the hips slightly.
If this is comfortable try raising your arms up overhead, thereby stretching the large Latissimus Dorsi muscles of the back which also attach to the posterior hip bowl. At first simply look straight ahead and keep your arms shoulder distance apart to avoid straining the neck region. In time you might feel comfortable looking up and touching your palms together, coming into Crescent Moon.

Once Crescent Moon becomes a natural opening that you can hold for five deep breaths you might try one last variation. Check first that there is no undo stress being placed upon your lower back, then exhale as you slowly open your arms apart and down behind you, either interlacing your fingers behind your buttocks or bringing your fingers towards the floor. This will increase the backbend as well as the hip opening.

Sequence #2

We’ll begin this sequence in the same way as the first but once you come into your basic Lunge tuck your back toes onto the floor and lift up your back knee.

You can pause here with your hands still on your front bent knee to support your Quadriceps and again rock gently at the pelvis. When ready, exhale as you bend your front knee over your heel, creating a ninety-degree angle between your shin bone and thigh, and inhale as you raise your arms straight up overhead. If you are comfortable you might look up and touch palms.

Once again this Lunge stretches the Hip Flexors of the back thigh but it also strengthens the Quadriceps of the front thigh. If you find yourself struggling, try softening the back knee a bit so that you can more easily square your hips.

And finally, for more experienced practitioners, place both forearms and elbows on the inside of the front foot and take your shoulder under the bent knee in front. Press the front knee further forward with the help of the shoulder and try to arch your mid-spine as you gaze forward. To complete the pose take your arms out to the side in a T-position which will help you to engage your core muscles as well as your Quads.