Using a Yoga Strap to Improve King of Dancer's Pose

[Oh haha, the freeze frame struggle is too real!]

Working on King of Dancer's Pose from the floor

One of my favorite tips for working on King of Dancer's Pose was from my friend CapFeb--she told me to work on this from the floor. It keeps you from having to deal with balance at the same time that you're simultaneously perfecting that tricky hand grip and working your stretch.

Solution: work on pigeon to King Pigeon

The secret to good form when you're not flexible

How to Perfectly Combine Coffee & Yoga | R'stoyours Review

Some days are must-have-coffee days.

In the true yogi spirit, though, it's hard to stomach the massive amount of trash, clutter (k-cup stash!), and environmental impact of k-cups. Finally having a Keurig to simplify life = not so simple. Well... having a k-cup machine at the school parent group anyways; I'm donating these to the school after writing this.

Being a systems person I am pretty excited to share my solution to yoga happiness + coffee bliss.

Winding down after Stretching--on chilly days | Influenster #Voxbox Review

These cold days are taking a lot more motivation in the workout department. I've been trying some new tricks to get myself out there (more on that another day) and putting in some effort to make my workout time extra special. If it doesn't feel good, we're not going to do it, right?

Something hot

My favorite post stretch (and during stretch!) indulgence is to get some hot chocolate or soup next to my yoga mat.

I've been doing a lot of lunges in the morning sunshine and right up until it got way, way too cold sipping on something hot did the trick. Now I sit in front of the window--anything to get my morning sun--and sip. I would advise against anything solid if you're still doing a little stretching simply because stretches like cobra make it a bit too easy to choke (I should know, ha!).

Here (above) I'm going with Annie's Organic Tomato Soup--which I highly, highly recommend if you like the idea of tomato soup but hate any trace of that canned taste (these come in cartons). I was lucky enough to receive this and the other items mentioned so I could make this review for you all.

A Little Multi-tasking

You know how I love to strive to get everything done.

So of course it makes it just that much sweeter to wash my go-to yoga mat while I stretch on my extra pretty mat. (This I didn't get to review from Influenster, I got the pretty mat  from Yoga Design Lab, in Blush, and the mat I've washed from a local hardware store--really!). I have done this before and it worked, surprisingly.

I put it in on the cold cycle with a few other items (more multi-tasking) and then air-dryed it. It was really, really filthy from going to the beach, sitting in the summer sun and rain, and being dragged everywhere I caught a whim to stretch. Fall is a perfect time to recover from summer chaos and the ensuing dirt!

As you can see, the Tide took off most of the dirt. You can get a better sense by comparing these starting from the sun-bleached strip next to each number. What I love most is that there was no detergent scent afterward.

For finding time for myself

Lately we've been having bathroom catastrophes with one of the kids. Serendipitously, these Fiber Choice gummies came in my #Voxbox from Influenster and saved me from lots of time waiting around in the bathroom. If there are ever kids in your house, you know what I mean--their extra potty time requires morale support. Luckily these are tasty!

Morale of the story: ENJOY

Cold days make steam rising from hot soup and chocolate delicious. They make clear windows a magical portal for morning sunshine, yet not for blasts of wintery air. 

I hope you take a few of these tips to get yourself back into your stretching routines--or to not fall out of them--when everyone seems to be saying the cold air means it's time to hibernate.

How will you get into stretching on these cold days?

I'd love to know which of these ideas  you are planning to try--OR what ideas pop into your head? Let me know by leaving a comment!

How to Make Flexibility Progress When You Have No Time

If you are wondering when you will ever find the time to stretch again you are not alone. I wish I had all the time it takes to get all suited up, warmed up, and have time to relax into stretching. Not going to happen!

Even though I have less time than ever before I have found a few ways to get a little closer to getting back my splits. Scroll down and click it to HD, enjoy!

Answer the mini forum question:

What challenges are you facing on your flexibility journey? Comment below and let's get through them together! #AllOverWednesday is your invitation to ask anything right here in the comment section and get a lot of love.

Remember to subscribe and stay inspired!

How much flexibility do you need for King of Dancer's Pose?

When I got into King of Dancer's pose for the first time I was confused--I had no idea I was anywhere near getting there and was just preparing. I was convinced you needed to have some incredible degree of flexibility absolutely everywhere. And possibly also be a ninja. It always seems those that can do it are human pretzels, after all. Luckily, you need just a few main points of flexibility:



Leg flexibility

You don't need full splits. Really. I haven't done any sort of a stretching routine since before my nine-month-old was born... so my right front splits are missing and if I twist way out of a squared position like I did in the video I am still a handles width away. Obviously, the more the better! The further your legs can split and the  higher you can get your back leg, the less your shoulders need to stretch down and back plus the less your back has to arch. I have about the bare minimum leg flexibility necessary because I can "cheat" with my very flexi shoulders and back.

Back flexibility

Try this: stand next to a wall, pole, or other support and stand on one leg. Hold your leg so the thigh is parallel to the floor and your foot is pointed to the ceiling. Push your chest out and up and your toes to the ceiling (or to the stars, that's what I like to think of). Does your back resist the position? How much? You need to be able to hold this position, more or less. (More if you want to breathe I it, less to just snap a picture and celebrate. And yes, both are huge accomplishment!) A good indicator that you have enough flexibility for it is being able to do a nice backend like wheel pose (usually called a bridge but wheel pose is really like cow pose upside-down). If you're still working on it, keep faith that you will get there gradually.

Shoulder and arm flexibility

From what I hear, this is the major stumbling block for most. You absolutely do not want to force your shoulders into this. I can grasp my hands behind my back easily and without a warm up so I recommend that if you are working towards shoulder flexibility you should warm up with arm rolls, arm and shoulder stretches, and only then go for it. If you have better leg flexibility than I do you will not need as much shoulder flexibility. You do absolutely need to be able to do an external rotation of the shoulder (that's the twisting motion I make with my shoulder). Biceps also need to be flexible--your biceps need to allow your hand to move down your back and then stretch away from your back.

This pose may seem daunting, but do not underestimate the value of repetition for this one. Trying it out gives you a better indicator of which areas need the most work on your body and gets your brain trained for making the right motions. Remember that a lot is going on in this one, with different muscle groups working together so you can get it even with slightly less flexible areas. Keep at it and you'll get there!

Stretch Anywhere: The Toe Pointing Edition

Since I have those toe pointing issues I definitely had to include toe stretches to do anywhere (and everywhere!). Lately I have been doing these stretches every time I have a spare moment, taking rest days of course. I have gone from having foot cramps every time to only getting foot cramps every so often. As always, make sure to warm up a little.

Where to do these:

• At the office or during lecture, with some discretion
• Waiting in line, virtually any waiting room
• The toilet: (don't ask, if you take care of children you spend a lot of time waiting in the bathroom)
• Watching TV: For the horrible moments you are watching live TV on commercials (I know I know, what an awful thought ;)
• Sunbathing--bonus: already warm feet
• At the red light: as a passenger or if you're waiting to cross the street
• On a window: I don't have much of a toe point and wanted a nice shot for the February #PDBloggers Photo-A-Week Challenge. As usual, I didn't get to it until the sun was setting so I had to sit right at the window to catch some natural light. I cheated and pushed into the window for a faux foot point, haha!

Stretching your feet anywhere:

Push your arch down: This one is best done on a chair, unless you have a strong core and good balance. Place the heel of your hand midway between your ankle and toes; push into your arch. Grab your arch: You can alternatively grab your whole foot and shove it down. This works best for me. Either of these can be done with some stealth under a desk and do not attract much gawking in waiting rooms, compared to the shoulder stretches. (If you've got a willing participate handy you can also have them stretch your foot. You may want to save this for home.) Push into the floor (windows work, too). Sit or stand with one leg bent slightly at the knee (think ballerina-ish). The first time you try this you might catch yourself crunching your toes. Avoid that! With a few tries you will get the hang of curving your arch with less pressure on your toes. If you have heels/shoes that slip on and off you can do this outside by putting your toes in the middle of your shoe and pushing your arch down in it. Ta-da! Now you can really do this anywhere!

Where will you start stretching your feet now?
Don't forget to check back on Wednesdays for more Stretch Anywhere posts during #FlexyFebruary!

Shoulder Flexibility: Stretch Anywhere

This is one of my favorite stretches to do in otherwise wasted time. Before I run through how to stretch your shoulders let just point out that you can do this at any level of flexibility. As always, get good and warmed up (body rolls are excellent for this, I find that long runs are perfect).

Where to use this stretch:

• Waiting for the doctor. Seinfeld jokes that you go to the waiting room, and then get called to wait in a smaller waiting room--this is perfect! No one to stare.
• In line--if you hate being watched no one will notice if you're at the end of the line. Who knew there were perks for being last? I like to do this at fairs where everyone is too busy to care.
• Long trips. Not driving? This will keep you busy, just leave a little seat belt room.
• Watching TV. Just scoot to the edge of the couch.

Beginning

• Get a long strip of fabric. (I used one of those ribbons that come on belted-look shirts) and tie knots in it. You may want to double knot these as they shrink as they pull tight. I have also seen people recommend belts or rulers but fabric is much easier to grip and pull your hands along.
• Warm up. Do at least 5-10 minutes of exercise in the back and shoulder area. 
• Pull! Hold the fabric with the smallest gap possible while still being comfortable. Pull gently and slowly; don't be above easing back slowly if you feel too much strain. 

Progressing

• Reach behind your back, inching your fingers close. Try to hook your fingers, easing off slowly and relaxing then slowly pulling them closer. 
• Once you can grasp close your hands slowly to increase the stretch.
• If you can't grasp but come close it can be helpful to bend your elbow behind your back (like the top arm) and push your elbow gently so that your hand moves down the center of your back.

And there you are! I hope this gives you somewhere to start and inspiration to keep getting more flexible. Also, can I brag? When did my back hulk up, right? lol. Make sure to check back here every Wednesday for my #FlexyFebruary series: Stretch Anywhere. For backbend inspiration check out KiKi's Pole Blog this month, too.

Wishing you a #FlexyFebruary,

It's #FlexyFebruary!

You guys know I love KiKi of KiKisPoleBlog.com--one reason is that she always gets us focused on steady progress. Last year she started #FlexyFebruary and she's invited me to get all Flexines in on posting progress photos! You do not have to spend hours warming up and stretching to join in (but do be sure to do at least 5-10 minutes of warm up for safety reasons!). Just get posting--you may be surprised by your results. Share on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, & Pinterest.

Check back for "Stretches To Do Everywhere"

In honor of #FlexyFebruary I am going to be posting a different stretch every Wednesday that can be done virtually anywhere, plus tips. My goal is to show you all how to get started if you are less-than-flexy or give you inspiration if you are already well on your flexy journey. KiKi's #BackBendSunday challenge is still going so you can really hashtag away!

And if you're feeling extra gung ho? Aerial Amy is also running Fearless February for tackling old fears and WeFly has Stand Up going for handstand improvement. Something for everyone.

Stop Trying for Flexibility Progress

Just. Stop. Possibly the worst focus you can have while trying to increase your flexibility is the progress itself. Flexibility is s-l-o-w. While in two weeks of regular physical activity you should increase your intensity by about 15%, in two weeks of flexibility training you will be doing essentially the same stretches. Your progress will seem so minute that it is easy to give up. So forget progress.

When I stopped trying

This is one of my favorite flexibility tricks, all the sweeter because I just got it back after giving birth in November. I think if I had focused on recovering all that I lost in terms of pole, I would probably be drafting a Craigslist listing right now instead of a blog post. I did not stop stretching but I also did not over stress my mind or body; I stopped trying for progress and started trying for routine. The day I first achieved this pose it was more like suddenly feeling a cold, disembodied limb touch my head and hands--I was not expecting it. I was working towards it, but not working towards progress.

Learning to enjoy the process

Stretching sucks. It takes forever, it can be weird to do in front of others, and it hurts. Okay, so I don't completely mean that--I love stretching but I think it is more that I love the process. I make plans to stretch and my fellow Flexines keep me accountable but I also play music that gets me inspired and wear cute outfits so I feel the part. I definitely share my milestones and I brag (as you should, be proud and celebrate yourself, how many other people can do what you can?). For my photography guru friends... I apologize for my fuzzy video screencapture and all-too-slowly evolving image editing, er, skills. This too is a learning process I am trying to enjoy more and criticize less; we'll see how that goes. I believe it is critical to love the progress but do not lose sight of the fact that imperfection is part of the journey. You will have messy, uncomfortable poses before you have clean lines.

Love that, too.

How to Choose Music for Stretching

"Music" (c) thomselomsen
CC Attribution 2.0 License

This might be a no-brainer for some people, but choosing stretching music is a little more involved for me. There are a few things I consider: tempo, what it reminds me of, and mood. The main goal is to choose music that will help you keep your motivation to stay in your stretches long enough and to keep working on them until you've finished them all.

Tempo
Some days this is the biggest factor in how music affects me personally. It's harder to want to hold a stretch when the music is crazy fast so after my normal warmup (running) I tend to switch to slower music. Try to pick something you enjoy but can still zone out to, maybe some old favorites (80's for me) or something soothing like classical or country. After a super powerhouse workout I might just leave my current playlist running since I'll be too spent to care.

Association

Can pregnant women do that?

pregnant silhouette (c) mahalie
CC Attribution 2.0 License

When I found out I was pregnant the first time I mourned the loss of my then-erratic jogging routine. That is, until I dove into the internet to see what other moms, physicians, and experts had to say. I was surprised to find that most women can continue at the same level of physical activity, usually decreasing intensity in the later months. In fact, a lot of Olympic athletes continue the same level of activity through their whole pregnancy. I hardly felt pregnant at all until my eighth month when I couldn't breath well in certain positions and had to wake up to flip over in the middle of the night. I was actually in the best shape of my life. Every week I alternated strength training and cardio (running) on week days, resting on weekends. I aced my personal fitness class--which went right through my due date!

So yes, pregnant women can strength train. And run. Having discovered pole fitness and started flexibility training I had to wonder if I could still do those now. After all, I am three years older than last time and I was horribly sick for two months. I remembered last time all sources warned against lunges and squats--would that mean my more intense stretching had to stop? Would pole climbs be too intense? I met with my doctor with dire expectations and it

I lost flexibility! Now what?

So you've been working hard at getting crazy flexy when life happens. Suddenly there is no time for stretching, or you have health issues, or just plain old fall off the wagon. Lost splits, back flexibility--it happens. But now what?

 It's time to find motivation again. 

 For some people, this might mean watching videos of your favorite muses or searching flexy pictures. Maybe you just need to listen to the right music, like the songs your favorite flexible dancers perform to. For me it is most helpful to combine those ideas with scheduling time to stretch. Just do it. Stretching for the sake of repeating tried-and-true stretches and for that happy, good stretching pain.

Don't look back.

The splits I could get before,
without a proper warmup.
Taken in chat (hence mess + blurriness)

This is horrible for me since I have a couple fuzzy pictures of myself in my front

Underwear for Stretching: Problems & Solutions

This is one of those areas that I learned by making some uncomfortable choices. Who knew you need to choose underwear for stretching? Sorry men, I don't know much about men's underwear so I'll stick to ladys' options :D I'll also note that while I'm not going to be graphic by any means, remember this is an underwear topic =D

"Pantyart" (c) 2006 by fekaylius
Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 License

Problem #1: Restricting

I never thought such a small piece of clothing could be so restricting! Especially when I'm wearing a semi-opaque leotard to stretch I tend to err on the side of coverage. I get to stretch with friends but the thought of

Why Stretch? Ways Stretching Has Improved My Life

Since many of us are pole dancers at Flexines, we all stretch in the hopes that, one day, we'll nail our favorite moves, like Scorpion or Extended Allegra. Stretching has had some other benefits for me, and I hope that sharing them with you might help you enjoy your stretching a bit more.

Stretching & Decreased Back Pain

I spend a lot of time online. Seriously. I work, play, go to school, and stretch here, among many other things. Add that to school days, couch potato time, and my nasty little habit of carrying a side bag, only on my right shoulder, and it is no surprise my lower back knots up. Before I used to have to weedle hubby into massaging out the knots--quite the chore for him because the entire time I squirm and scold him that it hurts lol :) Muscle relaxers work quickly, but I don't like to depend on medication. Tylenol Precise heat patches work amazingly, but take time to heat up.

Enter stretching.

"Cobra" (c) 2009 by Lululemon Athletica,
CC Attribution 2.0 License

Not leg stretching, that seemed to get my back going right away. Aerial Gypsy recommended, maybe scolded a bit (haha,) that I should stretch everything. I half listened and it helped tremendously. I find that back stretches that stretch me backwards, such as cobra or pidgeon stretch (pushing back,) worked faster than pills and helped longer, if I did enough repetitions. A good self-massage method utilizes your pole. Sit with your back to the pole and roll your back hard into your pole. Try from side to side and top to bottom to pinpoint the knot, then push into that spot to knead it out.

Oh BTW, I Got My Splits... But...

This entire blog owes its existence to our mutual quest to get the splits. We have met countless times with each other and even had the chance to add more ladies to our Flexine Army. Our pets are "furry Flexines" (especially Elle, Butters, and Griffy--these furries don't miss a single meeting that their human counterparts go to!). Despite my frugality, I've even managed to gather a whole host of flexy tools/gear and everyone in my house knows what's next when I start carting them around.

Bought Extra Long Legwarmers!

I'm excited, so excited!

I just bought a pair of 36" leg warmers!!!
This is a flexy big deal, no kidding!!!

Who knew it would be so hard to find leg warmers 33" but not 40"+? Seriously, you wouldn't believe how far I dug into Google. My legs are only 33" long (yep, I measured). They're going to be so perfect. ❤ I really needed some stretching gear, and these are going to be so 80's hot on me. Plus I wear a lot of skirts and it is bone-chillingly cold out here in MN so I can wear them ALL the time!

PNF Time! Part 1: Intro

The mouthful version: Proprioceptive Neuromuscular Facilitation
(Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious!)

Lol : )

Those familiar with stretching terms will immediately recognize those, but for everyone else, this is a way to work a deeper, more effective stretch. Or so they say.