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| Monday, we did a reclining twist using straight legs rather than bent. Despite my efforts to use my core strength to bring the legs out to the side, my quads were burning. The next day, I felt like I'd been out running the 50 yard dash. I experience the same thing when I've tried the pose where you sit between your hands with your legs stretched out and lift yourself off the floor.
Any ideas on what I'm not doing? |
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| Jathara Parvitasana?
And the latter? Are you in uphavista konasana, leaning forward, hands between legs, to lift up back to chaturanga?
As to what you're doing? Not using your core.
If your core can't handle it, your quads and lower back will take over. This pops a lot of people's sacrums out, as a matter of fact, which is why many people do it with bent knees and/or a block between their knees. That is, if it is Jathara Parvitasana. (I could be spelling that wrong; I'd have to check.)
I can't imagine, though, a reclining twist that's going to access your quads. Normally, with what I can imagine right now, it's your lats or back that would be working. Can you find a picture?
Christine |
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Expert Yogi
Posts: 8442
    
| It does sound like Jathara Parivartasana - a very hard pose with straight legs. We often do all knees bent or at least knees bent until the legs are straight up, perpendicular to the floor then only over as far as possible without losing the contact of the opposite shoulder to the ground.
We recently did a sort of beginner version of lolasana with the legs straight in dandasana which was actually quite nice. It got the action of the arms going quite well. |
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| Where are your arms while doing this pose? If they are tight at your sides, you will have more difficulty and have to use more core strength. If they are out in a "T" position, you can use the arm leverage to help your core out a bit.
Sounds like you must have pretty strong quads and not a ton of core awareness (yet). Try some poses (perhaps seated forward bends) and consciously relax your quads and hamstrings. Use your core to keep your back straight and supported as the same muscles work to pull the torso down and over the legs. Or, you can also try just laying on your back with your legs straight up in the air, and focus your attention on engaging the core while relaxing the upper thigh. You can even reach up and give your quads a little massage to help cue them to relax, and/or tie a strap around your calves - that way you can relax your legs without worrying about them dropping open. Just use the core to hold them up.
Experiment with that for a while so you can get a feel for which muscles you should be using in the straight-legged reclining twist. Then give it another go and let us know how it feels! |
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| I also cannot figure out why your quads are burning. I assume that by burning, you mean lactic acid burn as opposed to "I just ripped a muscle fiber" burn...
Do you have any other symptoms of an illiac/psoas issue? Does the upper leg or the lower leg experience the burning?
Until this gets easier, you might want to go into & out of the twist one leg at a time. From vertical, bring one leg down, & then the other leg. Ditto going up. Much easier that way :-).
Cheers! |
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Reclining Twist
