yogabook / effects

The effects of the poses on the musculature of the musculoskeletal system are described below. Wherever possible, asanas that achieve this effect are indicated. Click on the map and then on the body region that interests you, or scroll through the effects below. Green numbers on the map represent stretching, red numbers represent strengthening. A ventral and a dorsal view of the human body should make it possible to find all the important effects quickly.

181 Stretching the neck / cervical spine for flexion

As the cervical spine is a „potential weak point“ in the construction of the human body, a more defensive approach should be taken here with strengthening and stretching, all the more so if it is suspected of being pre-damaged. Specialist clarification should then be sought. This applies even more to stretching than to strengthening. If there is a suspicion of disc prolapse or protrusion in the cervical spine, these stretches are contraindicated.

Asanas: – karnapidasana – halasana – sarvangasana – setu bandha sarvangasana – chakrasana

See also:
182: Strengthening the cervical spine muscles in the direction of flexion
glossary: Flexion of the cervical spine

All poses with the effect indicator 181

182 Strengthening the neck / cervical spine for flexion:

Strengthening should also be approached a little more defensively, especially if the cervical spine is suspected of being pre-damaged. Specialist clarification should then be sought. Strengthening and stretching should be less intensive and more long-term. Strengthening the flexors of the cervical spine is primarily achieved in postures in which the face points approximately towards the ceiling and the head is held in a more or less horizontal position against the effect of gravity. Alternating between loading and unloading, i.e. lifting and lowering the head according to gravity, also achieves good results. Another way of strengthening is to press the head to the floor in a prone position. To ensure that the cervical spine does not have to be bent significantly due to the disturbing nose, it is advisable to place an object on the floor that is a few centimetres thick, still comfortable and only moderately compressible, against which the head is pressed.

Asanas: – purvottanasana (when the head is held horizontally) – urdhva dhanurasana (back arch) (when the head is raised) – ustrasana (when the head is actively (more or less) raised)

See also:
181: stretching the cervical spine muscles in the direction of flexion glossary: flexion of the cervical spine

All poses with the effect indicator 182

186 Stretching the neck / cervical spine for reclination

Stretching in the direction of reclination of the cervical spine is often neglected, which can lead to imbalances in the cervical spine. It may be necessary to start practicing this carefully and in small doses, rather over a longer period of time. Purvottanasana is ideal in all variations, especially for the beginning, as the head sinks into reclination purely due to the effect of gravity and no antagonistic muscles need to be used in addition to the stretched muscles, which could possibly develop a tendency to spasm. To a lesser extent, this also applies to urdhva dhanurasana (back arch), especially if the flexibility of the shoulder joints is not yet particularly pronounced but the pose can be held for a short time.

Asanas: – purvottanasana – urdhva dhanurasana (back arch) (only slightly effective with good flexibility)

See also:
187: strengthening the cervical spine muscles towards reclination
glossary: reclination

All poses with the effect indicator 186

187 Strengthening the neck / cervical spine for reclination:

The strength for reclination essentially comes from the autochthonous neck muscles. Strengthening in particularly short sarcomere lengths must be avoided if the muscles become subjectively uncomfortably toned. This can be the case with matsyasana, for example. Similarly, strengthening under long sarcomere lengths, such as in the right-angled shoulder pose, is only recommended with caution and only for advanced performers. Aautochthonous back muscles in the cervical spine and trapezius have more the character of „holding“ muscles than fast-moving muscles. The exercise pressing the head to the floor is well suited and tolerated.

Asanas: – press your head to the floor – matsyasana (if you can tolerate the short sarcomere length ) – right-angled shoulder stand (only recommended for experienced performers)

See also:
186: stretching the cervical spine muscles in the direction of reclination
glossary: reclination

All poses with the effect indicator 187

191 Stretching the neck for rotation:

The rotation of the cervical spine and thus the rotational movement of the head relative to the trunk is mainly due to the effect of gravity or the work of the autochthonous muscles. The contralateral musculature is relaxed or stretched, depending on the intensity of the rotation. If the upper body also rotates, the opposite rotation of the cervical spine can cause a more intensive stretch than the same direction. This applies to many postures, for example jathara parivartanasana, in which the head can rotate in the opposite direction to the rotation of the upper body, largely in accordance with gravity. to

Asanas: – Drehsitz (parivrtta sukhasana) – trikonasana – ardha chandrasana – parivrtta trikonasana – parivrtta ardha chandrasana – parsvakonasana – parivrtta parsvakonasana – jathara parivartanasana (largely gravity-induced rotation) – maricyasana 1 – maricyasana 3 – savasana mit rotiertem Kopf (largely gravity-induced rotation) – ardha vasisthasana – vasisthasana – parivrtta uttanasana

Siehe auch:
192: strenghtning the cervical spine muscles in rotation
glossary: rotation of the spine
glossary : rotation of the head

All poses with the effect indicator 191

192 Strengthening the neck for rotation:

As already described in 191, the two sides of the rotationally active autochthonous musculature are (partially) antagonistic. In contrast to stretching, strengthening of the rotationally active muscles in the cervical spine is rarely successful against the effect of gravity, as the effective lever arm is too small. After all, the human body has adapted to the upright gait in such a way that the gravity perpendicular of the head in standard anatomical position lies approximately in the middle of the foramen magnum and thus on the axis of rotation of the head. Without reclination or flexion of the cervical spine, there is no lever arm. Strengthening against the tension of the antagonists, which is not constant but becomes higher the more forcefully the agonists are used, is more favorable. This provides an effective mechanism for strengthening. However, care must be taken to ensure that the antagonists do not go into spasm. If there is any sign of a cramp, immediate intervention must be made by reducing the intensity or changing another parameter. If necessary, the posture must be interrupted. In the standing postures listed below, the parivrtta variations generally allow the more pronounced strengthening compared to the utthita variations because the upper body, depending on its flexibility, can rotate less far in the vertical direction.

Asanas: – sitting twist (parivrtta sukhasana) – trikonasana – ardha chandrasana – parivrtta trikonasana – parivrtta ardha chandrasana – parsvakonasana – parivrtta parsvakonasana – jathara parivartanasana (largely gravity-induced twist) – maricyasana 1 – maricyasana 3 – ardha vasisthasana – vasisthasana – parivrtta uttanasana

See also:
191: stretching the cervical spine muscles in rotation
glossary: rotation of the spine
glossary: rotation of the head

All poses with the effect indicator 192

196 Stretching the neck for lateral flexion:

Stretching the cervical spine in the direction of lateral flexion is best achieved by gravity, as some of the agonists usually work in such short sarcomere lengths during muscle-induced stretching that they begin to spasm. Postures in which the longitudinal axis of the head is inclined between horizontal and about 20/30° to the horizontal and the face points in a roughly horizontal direction, as is the case in trikonasana without turning the head, are therefore suitable. From this position, the head is then lowered into a lateral flexion according to gravity.

Asanas: – trikonasana (when the head is lowered according to gravity) – ardha chandrasana (when the head is lowered according to gravity) – vasisthasana (when the head is lowered according to gravity) – ardha vasisthasana (when the head is lowered according to gravity) – parsvakonasana (when the head is lowered according to gravity)

See also:
197: strengthening the cervical spine muscles towards lateral flexion
glossary: lateral flexion (side bend)

All poses with the effect indicator 196

197 Strengthening the neck for lateral flexion:

The main postures available for strengthening the lateral flexor parts of the autochthonous musculature are those that work with the gravitational force of the head. This means that the strengthening options are limited and tend more towards strength endurance than gravity. Postures in which the head has to be held more or less horizontally against the effect of gravityare suitable.

Asanas: – trikonasana – ardha chandrasana – vasisthasana – ardha vasisthasana – parsvakonasana

Siehe auch:
196: stretching the cervical spine muscles in direction of lateral flexion
glossary: lateralflexion (sideband)

All poses with the effect indicator 197

221 Shoulder blade – stretching for protraction:

The main muscles involved are the serratus anterior (direct) and pectoralis major (indirect, via the upper arm). These muscles are used to stabilize the shoulder blade during all forward-pushing movements, such as the bar. Garudasana is particularly suitable for stretching the antagonisticretractors such as the rhomboids. Secondarily, if the retractors are significantly shortened, all postures that lateralize the shoulder blades are suitable.

Asanas: – garudasana – elbow stand – caturkonasana – ellbow downface dog – rectangular elbow stand – shoulder opening at the chair – staff pose

Siehe auch:
222: strengthening the protractors of the shoulder blade
glossary: protraction of the scapula
glossary: protractors of the scapula
glossary: retraction of the shoulder blade (counter movement)
glossary: retractors of the scapula (antagonist)

All poses with the effect indicator 221

222 Shoulder blade: strengthening for protraction:

The serratus anterior (direct) and pectoralis major (indirect, via the upper arm) protractors are used firstly to stabilize the position of the scapula in all forward-pushing movements. Secondly, they are also used to lateralize the scapula, for example to support a large partial body weight against a surface, such as in vasisthasana, or thirdly without external resistance in the 2nd warrior pose. Of the three cases mentioned, the greatest strengthening is possible in the first case, followed by the second case. In the last case, no significant strengthening can usually be achieved.

Asanas: – staff pose – vasisthasana – ardha vasisthasana

Siehe auch:
221: Stretching the protractors of the shoulder blade
glossary: protraction of the shoulder blade
glossary: protractors of the shoulder blade
glossary: retraction of the shoulder blade (antagonistic movement)
glossary: Retraktoren des Schulterblattes (antagonist )

All poses with the effect indicator 222

226 Shoulder blade: stretching for retraction:

The powerfully protracting serratus anterior (direct) and pectoralis major (indirect, via the upper arm) muscles in particular can limit retraction. In addition to occupational and sporting activities, incorrect posture with protracted shoulderblades often contributes to this. Stretching of the protractors usually occurs with retroverted arms, so that stretching sensations can also occur in the pars clavicularis of the deltoid.

Asanas: – namaste on the back – trikonasana, variation: hand on the inner leg – trikonasana, variation: block in the hand, option: sinking backwards – purvottanasana – gomukhasana

See also:
227: strengthening the retractors of the scapula
glossary: retraction of the scapula
glossary: retractors of the scapula
glossary: protraction of the scapula (countermovement)
glossary: protractors of the scapula (antagonists )

All poses with the effect indicator 226

227 Shoulder blade: strengthening for retraction:

While the retractors are often used in sports, e.g. for rowing movements or tug-of-war, they are mainly used in asanas to stabilize the shoulder blade, for example in jathara parivartanasana to prevent the upper body from tipping sideways. Because of the great leverage provided by the two legs, this offers a good opportunity for strengthening. The pulling movement on the contralateral knee also offers an opportunity to strengthen the retractors in twist pose.

Asanas: – jathara parivartanasana – twisting pose (parivrtta sukhasana )

See also:
226: stretching the retractors of the scapula
glossary: retraction of the scapula
glossary: retractors of the scapula
glossary: protraction of the scapula (countermovement)
glossary: protractors of the scapula (antagonists )

All poses with the effect indicator 227

231 Shoulder: stretching for frontal abduction:

The effect of postures to promote frontal abduction depends on the rotational situation of the upper arm: arms that are turned out further are more effective than arms that are turned out less, so the derivations of the elbow position and the shoulder opening on the chair are the first choice here. This becomes clear when looking at the insertion of the most important restricting muscles, both of which are internal rotating adductors of the shoulder joint: teres major and latissimus dorsi

Asanas: – gomukhasana – hyperbola – raised back extension – downface dog – downface dog wide – urdhva dhanurasana – handstand – rectangular handstand – elbow stand – dog elbowstand – rectangular elbowstand – rectangular headstand – dvi pada viparita dandasana – eka pada viparita dandasana – shoulder opening on chair – caturkonasana – headstand – 1. Warrior pose – lying on a roll – parsvakonasana – parivrtta parsvakonasana – back stretch – raised back stretch – supta virasana – upavista konasana with block – ustrasana: arms stretched overhead (urdhva hastasana) – ustrasana: lean back like a plank – parsvautkatasanakonasana – uttanasana: (S) straighten back

See also:
232: Strengthening the frontal abduction of the shoulder joint
glossary: frontal abduction in the shoulder joint
glossary: frontal adduction in the shoulder joint (countermovement)
glossary: frontal adductors in the shoulder joint (antagonists )

All poses with the effect indicator 231

232 Shoulder: Strengthening for frontal abduction:

In frontal abduction, the monoarticular deltoid (pars clavicularis) and coracobrachialis muscles work together with the biarticular biceps. When strengthening, a distinction must be made according to sarcomere length: in short sarcomere length, overhead postures such as handstand, downface dog, postures with turned out upper arms work even better; in medium sarcomere length, there are only a few postures that work with a greater load than the gravity of the arms, such as the three-point headstand. In the long sarcomere length and therefore particularly valuable is the intensive backward pressing head up dog position as well as the transitions between head up dog position and head down dog position and back, which have a unique selling point in the simultaneity of almost complete ROM, lack of a construction-related limitation of the use of force and alternating succession of concentric and eccentric contraction. In addition, the angle in the elbow joint and, to a lesser extent, the state of overrotation of the forearm(pronation/supination) also play a role in strengthening the frontal abductors due to the biarticular biceps.

Asanas: – upface dog – upface dog: dips – downface dog: transition to upface dog – headstand – threepoint headstand – staff pose – upavista konasana with a block – urdhva dhanurasana (back arch) – urdhva dhanurasana (back arch): dips – utkatasana

See also:
231: stretching for frontal abduction of the shoulder joint
glossary: frontal abduction in the shoulder joint
glossary: frontal adduction in the shoulder joint (countermovement)
glossary: frontal adductors in the shoulder joint (antagonists )

All poses with the effect indicator 232

241 Shoulder joint: stretching for frontal adduction:

Frontal adduction brings the arm from the frontally abducted position back towards standard anatomical position, so apart from hypothetical cases of a pathological nature, no special stretching is required to bring the arm into this position. However, if the arm is moved further dorsally, this is a retroversion that requires specific flexibility.

Asanas:

See also:
242: strengthening the frontal adduction of the shoulder joint
glossary: retroversion in the shoulder joint
glossary: retroverters of the shoulder joint
glossary: frontal adduction in the shoulder joint
glossary: frontal abduction in the shoulder joint (countermovement)
glossary: frontal abductors in the shoulder joint (antagonists )

All poses with the effect indicator 241

242 Shoulder: Strengthening for frontal adduction:

Frontal adduction essentially requires the same muscles as those listed for retroversion, into which it merges seamlessly in Anatomical Zero, but here the pectoralis major is added. Frontal adduction and retroversion are mainly performed by the teres major, latissimus dorsi, the middle head of the triceps and the posterior head of the deltoid. In the case of the middle head of the triceps, the angle in the elbow joint and the rotation(internal rotation/external rotation) in the shoulder joint must be taken into account, as when the elbow joint is more or less extended, the triceps become very short in sarcomere length during retroversion, which easily causes it to spasm. This is exacerbated by turning out the upper arm. The head-up dog position with the feet turned over often shows this effect very clearly.

Asanas: – downface dog with the hands on a piece of carpet – uttanasana: table variation – back extension increased when the hands are pressed down firmly

See also:
241: stretching for frontal adduction of the shoulder joint
glossary: retroversion in the shoulder joint
glossary: retroverters of the shoulder joint
glossary: frontal adduction in the shoulder joint
glossary: frontal abduction in the shoulder joint (countermovement)
glossary: frontal abductors in the shoulder joint (antagonists )

All poses with the effect indicator 242

246 Shoulder joint: stretching for retroversion:

Retroversion is hindered primarily by the anterior part of the deltoid and, if the arm is extended rather than flexed, also by the biceps. In addition, a shortened pectoralis can also limit movement, especially if the arm is turned out, as the pectoralis turns in the arm. The other frontal abductor muscle, the coracobrachialis, hardly plays a role as a limiting muscle in practice.

Asanas: – purvottanasana – uttanasana with arms behind the body – prasarita padottanasana with arms behind the back – gomukhasana – namaste – karnapidasana – halasana – shoulder stand – parsvottanasana – setu bandha sarvangasana – trikonasana – uttanasana: Arms behind the body

See also: – 247: strengthening retroversion of the shoulder joint
glossary: fetroversion in the shoulder joint
glossary: fetroverters of the shoulder joint
glossary: frontal adduction in the shoulder joint
glossary: frontal abduction in the shoulder joint (countermovement) glossary: frontal abductors in the shoulder joint (antagonists )

All poses with the effect indicator 246

247 Shoulder: strengthening for retroversion:

Retroversion is the continuation of frontal adduction and is mainly performed by the teres major, latissimus dorsi, the middle head of the triceps and the posterior head of the deltoid. In the case of the middle head of the triceps, the angle in the elbow joint and the rotation(internal rotation/external rotation) in the shoulder joint must be taken into account, as when the elbow joint is more or less extended, the triceps become very short sarcomere lengths in retroversion, which easily causes them to spasm. This is exacerbated by turning out the upper arm. The head-up dog position with the feet turned over often shows this effect very clearly.

Asanas: – upface dog with feet upside down – jathara parivartanasana – parivrtta trikonasana – ardha chandrasana – parivrtta ardha chandrasana – parivrtta parsvakonasana – maricyasana 3: press only with the arm against the thigh

See also:
246: Stretching for retroversion of the shoulder joint
glossary: retroversion in the shoulder joint
glossary: retroverters of the shoulder joint
glossary: frontal adduction in the shoulder joint
glossary: frontal abduction in the shoulder joint (countermovement)
glossary: Frontal abductors in the shoulder joint (antagonists )

All poses with the effect indicator 247

251 Shoulder: stretching for lateral abduction

The ability of the humerus to abduct laterally is clearly dependent on the rotation of the humerus: maximum abduction is only possible with more or less complete external rotation. In the internally rotated state, the joint structure does not allow lateral abduction to go much beyond 90°. Any further movement of the upper arm relative to the trunk would then come from the external rotation of the scapula. The 180° laterally abducted position with external rotation is identical to the 180° frontally abducted position. With good flexibility, however, further degrees of abduction are possible in both dimensions of movement, so that the limits are not identical. It is virtually impossible to differentiate precisely between postures that specifically promote frontal and lateral abduction, which is why reference is made here to the list of postures given under (231) to promote frontal abduction.

Asanas:

See also:
glossary: 252: Strengthening lateral abduction of the shoulder joint
glossary: Lateral abduction in the shoulder joint
glossary: Lateral adduction in the shoulder joint (countermovement )

All poses with the effect indicator 251

252 Shoulder joint: strengthening for lateral abduction

lateral abduction is mainly performed by the supraspinatus during the first 90°, then by the deltoid and weakly by the long head of the biceps.

Asanas: – ardha vasisthasana – vasisthasana (when the supporting hand is pushed away from the feet) – parsvakonasana (when the supporting hand is pushed away from the feet) – 2nd warrior pose (rather weaker and in terms of endurance)

See also:
glossary: 251: stretching for lateral abduction of the shoulder joint
glossary: lateral abduction in the shoulder joint
glossary: lateral abductors of the shoulder joint
glossary: lateral adduction in the shoulder joint (countermovement) glossary: lateral adductors of the shoulder joint (antagonists)
glossary: shoulder joint

All poses with the effect indicator 252

256 Shoulder joint: stretching for lateral/transverse adduction

To achieve this stretch, the arm must be moved significantly and permanently medially, either actively, mainly through the strength of the pectoralis major, which then tends to develop a tendency to spasm in a very short sarcomere length close to active insufficiency, or passively by constructing the posture as in garudasana. In this pose, the movement of the arm is due to both the lateral adduction of the arm and the protraction of the scapula.

Asanas: – garudasana

See also:
257: strengthening lateral adduction of the shoulder joint
glossary: lateral adduction in the shoulder joint
glossary: lateral adductors of the shoulder joint
glossary: lateral abduction in the shoulder joint (countermovement) – glossary: lateral abductors of the shoulder joint (antagonists)
glossary: shoulder joint

All poses with the effect indicator 256

257 Shoulder: Strengthening for lateral/transverse adduction

Lateral adduction (also known as transverse adduction) is mainly performed by the powerful biarticular latissimus dorsi and pectoralis major muscles, which originate from the trunk. The teres major and teres minor muscles originating from the shoulder blade also play a role, as do the upper arm muscles biceps with its short head, triceps with its middle head and coracobrachialis. The pars spinalis and clavicularis of the deltoid also adduct, while the pars acromialis can only abduct. Of the muscles belonging to the so-called rotator cuff, the subscapularis adducts, while the infraspinatus abducts with its cranial parts and adducts with more caudal parts. In other words, all strengthening of the muscles mentioned increases the force with which adduction can be performed. If the upper arm is to be adducted beyond neutral zero, a distinction must be made between adduction in front of and behind the trunk. When adducting behind the trunk, the latissimus dorsi and the pars spinalis of the deltoideus work well, while the pectoralis major and the pars clavicularis of the deltoideus tend to be more restrictive; similarly, adduction in front of the rib cage is performed by the pectoralis major and pars clavicularis of the deltoideus, while the latissimus dorsi and pars clavicularis of the deltoideus tend to be more restrictive.

Asanas: – ardha vasisthasana (stabilizing, rather less effective) – staff pose

See also:
glossary: 256: stretching for lateral abduction of the shoulder joint
glossary: lateral adduction in the shoulder joint
glossary: lateral adductors in the shoulder joint
glossary: lateral adduction in the shoulder joint (countermovement)
glossary: lateral abductors in the shoulder joint (antagonists)
glossary: shoulder joint

All poses with the effect indicator 257

271 Shoulder joint: stretching for external rotation

To improve the ability to externally rotate in the shoulder joint, the antagonistic internal rotators must be stretched. The strongest of these are the subscapularis, followed by the pectoralis major, which is also quite strong, the teres major, pars clavicularis of the deltoid and, rather weakly, the biceps. The greatest restrictions on external rotation are to be expected from the pectoralis major and, to a lesser extent, the teres major, although this depends on the angles of lateral abduction and frontal abduction. The ability to externally rotate decreases with increasing frontal abduction and usually also with transverse abduction. As many postures have externally rotated arms, those that externally rotate the arms more powerfully are indicated in particular.

Asanas: – dog elbow pose – right-angled elbow pose – elbow pose – shoulder opening on the chair – garudasana

See also:
272: strengthening for external rotation of the shoulder joint
glossary: external rotation in the shoulder joint
glossary: external rotators of the shoulder joint
glossary: internal rotation in the shoulder joint (countermovement) – glossary: internal rotators of the shoulder joint (antagonists)
glossary: shoulder joint

All poses with the effect indicator 271

272 Shoulder joint: strengthening for external rotation

Although many poses have rotated arms, there are hardly any asanas that exercise the strength of the external rotators during the pose; only when assuming dog elbow pose from downface dog is the arm rotated with force, which is also performed by internally rotating adductor muscles of the shoulder joint such as the pectoralis major due to the fixed hands.

Asanas: – handstand – upface dog – downface dog – downface dog: Transition to dog elbow stand

Siehe auch:
glossary: 271: stretching for external rotation of the shoulder joint
glossary: external rotation in the shoulder joint
glossary: external rotators of the shoulder joints
glossary: internal rotation in the shoulder joint (antagonistic movement)
glossary: internal rotators of the shoulder joint (antagonists)
glossary: shoulder joint

All poses with the effect indicator 272

281 Shoulder joint: stretching for internal rotation

The improvement in internal rotation ability is achieved by stretching the muscles that cause external rotation. These are the teres minor, infraspinatus and pars spinalis of the deltoid. They are less powerful than the internal rotators and also less powerful in total, but sports with throwing movements can lead to an internal rotation deficit (GIRD).

Asanas: – maricyasana 1 – maricyasana 3 – trikonasana with hand on the inner leg – namaste on the back – gomukhasana

See also:
282: Strengthening for internal rotation of the shoulder joint
glossary: internal rotation in the shoulder joint
glossary: internal rotators of the shoulder joint
glossary: external rotation in the shoulder joint (countermovement)
glossary: external totators of the shoulder joint (antagonists)
glossary: shoulder joint

All poses with the effect indicator 281

282 Shoulder joint: strengthening for internal rotation

Subscapularis, then the pectoralis major, which is also quite strong, the teres major, pars clavicularis of the deltoideus and, rather weakly, the biceps. The greatest restrictions on external rotation are to be expected from the pectoralis major and, secondarily, the teres major, although this depends on the angles

Asanas: – namaste (when performed with strength ) – namaste on the back (when performed with strength )

See also:
glossary:
281: Stretching for internal rotation of the shoulder joint
282: Strengthening for internal rotation of the shoulder joint
glossary: internal rotation in the shoulder joint
glossary: internal rotators of the shoulder joint
glossary: external rotation in the shoulder joint (countermovement)
glossary: external rotators of the shoulder joint (antagonists)
glossary: shoulder joint

All poses with the effect indicator 282

291 Stretching the trapezius:

Due to its course, the trapezius is less easy to stretch than many other muscles of the musculoskeletal system. As all three parts attach to the spina scapulae (scapular spine), they benefit from the lateralization or protraction of the depressed (pars descendens) or elevated (pars ascendens) scapula for stretching. The subjectively greatest need for stretching is regularly in the upper (for the pars descendens) and middle (for the pars transversum) part of the trapezius. If the stretching effect is not sufficient when the shoulder blade is maximally lateralized, additional pressure must be exerted transversely to the course of the muscle. The pars ascendens of the trapezius is an important shoulder blade depressor, which means that all overhead postures with anelevated shoulder blade, those in which the upper body moves away from fixed hands in accordance with gravity, e.g. raised back extension, hyperbola, stretch it significantly more than those in which the pars descendens of the trapezius performs this work, e.g. downface dog, handstand. See also the postures listed under stretching frontal abduction, which stretch the pars ascendens due to their elevatedshoulder blade.

Asanas: – head side bend – karnapidasana on rolls – shoulder stand – halasana – karnapidasana – 2nd warrior pose

See also:
292: Strengthening the trapezius
glossary: trapezius
glossary: protraction of the scapula
glossary: retraction of the scapula
glossary: depression of the scapula
glossary: elevation of the scapula
glossary: external rotation of the scapula
glossary: internal rotation of the scapula
glossary: scapula

All poses with the effect indicator 291

292 Strengthening the trapezius:

Pars descendens is strengthened by overhead postures with the shoulder blade elevated, preferably against the body’s gravity, such as in a handstand. For this part, see the postures listed under frontal abduction of the shoulder joint. Pars ascendens of the trapezius is an important shoulder blade depressor, so all postures that depress the shoulder blade strengthen it. Pars transversa is strengthened in jathara parivartanasana when maintaining the protraction of the shoulder blades.

Asanas: – downface dog (Pars ascendens) – downface dog (Pars decendens) – tolasana (Pars descendens) – handstand (Pars descendens) – rectangular handstand (Pars descendens) – elbow stand (Pars transversa) – jathara parivartanasana (Pars transversa)

See also:
291: stretching the trapezius
glossary: trapezius
glossary: protraction of the scapula
glossary: retraction of the scapula
glossary: depression of the scapula
glossary: elevation of the scapula
glossary: external rotation of the scapula
glossary: internal rotation of the scapula
glossary: depression of the scapula
glossary: elevation of the scapula
glossary: external rotation of the scapula
glossary: internal rotation of the scapula
glossary: scapula

All poses with the effect indicator 292

301 Stretching the triceps:

In the triceps, a distinction must be made between the middle, biarticular part, which also performs the retroversion of the arm, and its two monoarticular neighboring heads, which only stretch the elbow joint. All are stretched by wide flexion of the elbow joint, but this should not be done under heavy load. A wide frontal abduction in the shoulder joint is also required to stretch the middle head. By far the best posture for stretching is gmokukhasana, which stretches both the monoarticular heads (both arms) with complete flexion of the elbow joints and the biarticular head (upper arm) through very wide frontal abduction.

Asanas: – gomukhasana

See also:
302: strengthening the triceps
glossary: elbow joint
glossary: shoulder joint
glossary: biceps (most important antagonist )

All poses with the effect indicator 301

302 Strengthening the triceps:

The triceps are strengthened in all three heads when the elbow joint is extended, whereby the extension should not be performed from a maximally or almost maximally flexed elbow joint. In addition, actively performed retroversion in the shoulder joint strengthens the middle head of the triceps, such as in upface dog with feet turned over. The sustained stabilization of the three-point headstand also has a strengthening effect.

Asanas: – staff pose – downface dog: transition to staff pose and back – downface dog: dips – handstand: dips – urdhva dhanurasana: dips – upface dog with stretched feet – bhujangasana – jathara parivartanasana

See also:
301: stretching the triceps
glossary: elbow joint
glossary: shoulder joint
glossary: biceps (most important antagonist )

All poses with the effect indicator 302

306Stretch the biarticular triceps:

In the triceps, a distinction must be made between the middle, biarticular part, which also performs the retroversion of the arm, and its two neighboring heads, which only stretch the elbow joint. All are stretched by wide flexion of the elbow joint, but this must not be done under a heavy load. Frontal abduction in the shoulder is also required to stretch the middle head.

Asanas: – gomukhasana

See also:
301: stretching the triceps
307: strengthening the biarticular triceps
302: strengthening the triceps
glossary: elbow joint
glossary: shoulder joint
glossary: biceps (most important antagonist )

All poses with the effect indicator 306

307 Strengthening the biarticular triceps

In addition to the postures mentioned under 302, the retroversion movement in the shoulder joint is particularly important here. This can generally be performed with the elbow joint flexed, for example with the forearms resting on the floor, but then only the biarticular middle head of the triceps is strengthened. For a more complete strengthening, postures with the elbow joint extended must be selected, such as upface dog with feet turned over. When the arms are rotated out, the elbow joint is not mechanically locked in the plane of the force vector during retroversion (which would place a load on the joint), but the monoarticular heads of the triceps must cancel the flexion moments in the elbow joint caused by the retroversion with the forearm or hands fixed, which causes them to work in a very short sarcomere length. As monoarticular heads, however, they should not have a tendency to spasm, unlike the biarticular head. However, the smaller the angle of frontal abduction in the shoulder joint and, moreover, the greater the angle of retroversion in the shoulder joint, the greater the tendency to spasm. The triceps are primarily strengthened when the elbow is extended, whereby the elbow should not be extended with the elbow flexed to the maximum or almost to the maximum. Active retroversion in the shoulder joint also strengthens the middle head of the triceps

Asanas: – upface dog with feet upside down – bhujangasana – jathara parivartanasana

See also:
307: strengthening the biarticular triceps
301: stretching the triceps
306: stretching the biarticular triceps
glossary: elbow joint
glossary: shoulder joint
glossary: biceps (most important antagonist )

All poses with the effect indicator 307

311 Stretching the biceps:

As the biceps is biarticular in both heads, stretching it requires retroversion in the shoulder joint with the elbow joint extended or extension of the elbow joint in wide retroversion in the shoulder joint.

Asanas: – uttanasana: arms behind the body – prasarita padottanasana: arms behind the back – purvottanasana: all variations with outstretched arms – setu bandha sarvangasana with outstretched arms

See also:
312: strengthening the biceps
glossary: triceps (most important antagonist)
glossary: elbow joint
glossary: shoulder joint –

All poses with the effect indicator 311

312 Strengthening the biceps:

There are few yoga poses for strengthening the biceps, as working against the body’s gravity (without a pull-up bar or similar) requires stretching and not flexing movements of the elbow joint. This means that the only resistance that can be used is your own body, i.e. the pull on the leg or foot in forward bends, and the use of the biceps in its function as an antevertor (frontal abductor).

Asanas: – upface dog – uttanasana mit Zug an den Unterschenkeln – Drehsitz – Bizeps anspannen – Schulterstand – setu bandha sarvangasana – janu sirsasana – ardha baddha padma postimottanasana – postimottanasana – tryangamukhaikapada postimottanasana – prasarita padottanasana mit aufgestützten Händen

Siehe auch: –
311: stretching the biceps
glossary: triceps (most important antagonist)
glossary: glossar: elbow joint
glossary: shoulder joint

All poses with the effect indicator 312

321 Stretching the supinators/for pronation of the forearm:

There are no postures in which powerful pronation of the forearm takes place from or with the help of external forces that would stretch the supinators. The possibilities are limited to the stretch limited by the force exerted by the pronators. Postures such as downface dog, upface dog, handstand, right-angled handstand, dog elbow stand, urdhva dhanurasana (back arch), vasiasthasana and ardha vasiasthasana achieve this. They therefore have a slightly different effect to those poses, where the elbow joint is bent, such as elbow stand, rectangular elbow stand and tripod headstand.

Asanas: upface dog • downface dog • handstand • right-angled handstand • dog elbow stand • elbow stand • right-angled elbow stand • urdhva dhanurasana (back arch) • vasiasthasana • ardha vasiasthasana • tripod headstand

See also:
322: strengthening the supinators of the forearm
glossary: supination of the forearm
glossary: supinators of the forearm (agonists)
glossary: pronation of the forearm (countermovement)
glossary: pronators of the for earm (antagonists)
glossary: wrist

All poses with the effect indicator 321

322 Strengthening for supination of the forearm:

The grip on the lower leg to turn it and therefore the whole leg out in the hip joint enables the supinators to be strengthened in postures such as trikonasana standing against the wall, as part of the upper limb has to work against resistance from the lower limb. The situation is similar in hip opener 4.
The supinators are strengthened in some forward bends not by rotating the lower leg but by the sustained pressure of the inner hand on the floor, in which the hands are placed on the floor pointing backwards, such as uttanasana 1 or prasarita padottanasana with hands up.

Asanas: – trikonasana standing against the wall – hip opener 4 • uttanasana 1 • prasarita padottanasana with hands up

See also:
321: stretching the supinators of the forearm
glossary: supination of the forearm
glossary: supinators of the forearm (agonists)
glossary: pronation of the forearm (countermovement)
glossary: pronators of the forearm (antagonists)
glossary: wrist

All poses with the effect indicator 322

331 Stretching to pronate the forearm:

A certain degree of stretching of the pronators is achieved with postures such as three-point headstand or prasarita padottanasana, in which the hands are placed on the floor in a supinated position. Other poses include namaste on the back and downface dog transition to staff pose, downface dog: Transition to dog elbow pose, which also require a certain amount of ulnar abduction. However, these postures hardly stretch the pronators, which originate at the medial conlylus, as the elbow joint is flexed in these postures. If these long pronators are to be included, the elbow joint must be more or less extended, as in urdhva dhanurasana (back arch) with inverted hands. In all the poses listed, there is no stretching beyond that caused by the hands once they are fixed at the beginning of the pose.

Asanas: – three-point headstand – prasarita padottanasana – urdhva dhanurasana (back arch) with inverted hands

See also:
332: strengthening the pronators of the forearm
glossary: wrist
glossary: pronation of the forearm
glossary: pronators of the forearm (agonists )
glossary: supination of the forearm (countermovement)
glossary: supinators of the forearm (antagonists)
glossary: wrist

All poses with the effect indicator 331

332 Strengthening for pronation of the forearm:

Trying to keep the base joints of the index fingers pressed to the floor offers the opportunity to strengthen the pronators in many postures with hands on the floor. Other, non-final strengthening exercises are not known except for the variations of the handstand and its derivatives, in which the hands are not turned forwards but to other angles.

Asanas: – downface dog – dog elbow stand – elbow stand – right-angled elbow stand – right-angled handstand – handstand with hands placed at different angles

See also:
331: stretching the pronators of the forearm
glossary: pronation of the forearm
glossary: pronators of the forearm (agonists)
glossary: supination of the forearm (countermovement)
glossary: supinators of the for earm (antagonists)
glossary: wrist

All poses with the effect indicator 332

341 Stretching the dorsiflexors of the forearm (stretching the extensors):

The classic way of stretching the dorsiflexors is dorsal forearm stretching, whereby the closed fists stretch the finger extens ors more than the actual (non-finger-moving) dorsiflexors. As a rule, a lot of work is required on the stretching ability of the finger extensors before the actual dorsiflexors can also be stretched in this posture. If the finger extens ors are to be bypassed, the fist must be opened. This usually increases the achievable angle of dorsiflexion by more than 10-20° and enables efficient stretching of the actual dorsiflexors. No other postures for stretching the dorsiflexors are known, which is due to the fact that leaning on the back of the hand is neither particularly physiological nor particularly comfortable.

Asanas: – dorsal forearm stretch with open fist

See also:
342: strengthening the dorsiflexion of the wrist
glossary: dorsiflexion of the hand
glossary: dorsiflexors of the hand (agonists)
glossary: palmar flexion of the hand ( countermovement)
glossary: palmar flexors of the hand (antagonists)
glossary: wrist

All poses with the effect indicator 341

342 Strengthening for dorsiflexion (strengthening the extensors):

In contrast to the palmar flexors, there is no asana that strengthens the dorsal flexors. For example, the back of the hand would have to be pressed against the floor, another object or a part of the body. At best, moderate strengthening can be achieved by gripping the lower leg with the hand in trikonasana and pulling the lower shoulder forward with a retroversion movement. This can be achieved much more effectively with functional weight training, for example with bicep curls in the overhand grip. This can also be used as light regenerative training for tennis elbow.

Asanas: – trikonasana wie oben beschrieben

Siehe auch:
341: stretching the dorsal flexors of the wrist
glossary: dorsal flexion of the hand
glossary: dorsal flexors of the hand (agonists)
glossary: palmar flexion of the hand (countermovement)
glossary: palmar flexors of the hand (antagonists )
glossary: wrist

All poses with the effect indicator 342

351 Stretching the palmar flexors:

The palmar flexors are stretched in various postures supported by the arms, such as head-up dog pose, right-angledhandstand and handstand. In urdhva dhanurasana, the angle of 90° dorsiflexion can also be significantly exceeded depending on shoulder flexibility. Another option is namaste on the back, in which the angle of 90° dorsiflexion can be exceeded if the hands are held lower than normal.

Asanas: – head up dog pose – right-angled handstand – handstand – namaste on the back – palmar forearm stretch in upavista konasana – palmar forearm stretch

See also:
352: strengthening the palmar flexors of the wrist
glossary: palmar flexion of the hand
glossary: palmar flexors of the hand (agonists)
glossary: dorsiflexion of the hand ( countermovement)
glossary: dorsiflexors of the hand (antagonists)
glossary: wrist

All poses with the effect indicator 351

352 Strengthening the palmar flexors:

In addition to all postures supported on the floor and on the wall with a dorsiflexed wrist at around 90°, such as head-up dog pose, right-angled handstand and handstand, in which the dorsiflexors are used to achieve a stable posture on the one hand and a certain movement of the shoulder (in the direction of further frontal abduction) on the other, tolasana is also suitable, in which the balance work is performed by the palmar flexors, among others. These muscles also work continuously in the three-point headstand to maintain balance.

Asanas: – head up dog pose – right-angled handstand – handstand – tolasana – three-point headstand

See also:
351: stretching the palmar flexors of the wrist
352: strengthening the palmar flexors of the wrist
glossary: palmar flexion of the hand
glossary: palmar flexors of the hand (agonists)
glossary: dorsiflexion of the hand (countermovement)
glossary: dorsiflexors of the hand (antagonists)
glossary: wrist

All poses with the effect indicator 352

371 Stretching to elevate the shoulder blade:

The ability to elevate the shoulder blades depends to a lesser extent on the flexibility of the direct depressors such as the trapezius pars ascendens and the pectoralis minor, which pull from the trunk to the shoulder blade and therefore only move in the scapulothoracic glenohumeral joint, but above all on the indirect depressors, which pull from the trunk via the scapulothoracic glenohumeral joint and the glenohumeral joint to the upper arm, such as the latissimus dorsi. The adductor muscles of the upper arm, which pull directly from the shoulder blade to the upper arm, such as the teres major and teres minor, do not play a role.

In all cases, the position of the arm plays a more or less pronounced role. If the upper arm is raised by at least 90° laterally or frontally (or mixed), the shoulder blade will have performed an external rotation, the further the abduction, the more. As a result, the muscles connected to the shoulder blade from the trunk are under a different tension than without external rotation. The rhomboids, even elevators, would not offer increased resistance to elevation, but the pars ascendens of the trapezius and caudal fibers of the serratus anterior would.

The influence of the position of the arm is much more pronounced in the case of the biarticular ( scapulothoracic glenohumeral joint) latissimus dorsi, which acts primarily as a lateral adductor and slight retrovertor from large parts of the dorsal trunk to the upper arm and can therefore represent a very significant restriction against elevation when the arms are raised. The influence of the pectoralis major will be somewhat less inhibitory, as it itself tends to contribute more initially to frontal abduction. In most cases in which the arm cannot be frontally abducted 180° or laterally abducted (with sufficient external rotation) when the shoulder blade is elevated, the latissimus dorsi is likely to set this restriction, just as it does when the shoulder blade can no longer be elevated in 180° abduction in one direction, or only to a very limited extent. This becomes even clearer if the restriction of elevation diminishes when leaving wide abduction.

In this category 371, all postures with 180° frontal abduction and elevated shoulder blade should be mentioned, a combination that can be found in many yoga postures, be it dog pose head down, urdhva hastasana, handstand, hyperbola or bridge.

Asanas: –

See also: – 372: –

All poses with the effect indicator 371

372 Strengthening for elevation of the shoulder blade:

In this section, the same movement is performed as in 371, but with force, i.e. against a greater partial body weight. In the handstand, for example, the aim is to lift a partial body weight, which corresponds to the total body weight minus the two arms, approximately 1:1 against gravity. The limit of the movement is set softly and elastically, usually by the latissimus dorsi, more rarely by the pectoralis major. As explained above, these two biarticular muscles represent the greater restriction of movement compared to the monoarticular muscles that move the shoulder blade from the trunk. In terms of posture execution, this means that – if flexibility in the direction of frontal abduction is at least moderately good – an even and barely increasing development of force against the force of gravity occurs first, and then rapidly increasing forces are required for further lifting of the body, without a firm or hard limit being noticeable. On the other hand, the three-dimensional flexibility of the shoulder joint and the overlying muscles, which set a limit to movement here, result in evasive movements, i.e. in the two important biarticular indirect depressors of the shoulder blade, pectoralis minor and latissimus dorsi, an outward evasion of the upper arm and a reduction in external rotation.

The most important elevators are the pars descendens of the trapezius, which also performs the external rotation of the scapula required for wide frontal abduction or lateral abduction of the arm, the two rhomboids, rhomboideus major and rhomboideus minor, the levator scapulae and cranial fibers of the serratus anterior.

Asanas: –

See also: – 371: –

All poses with the effect indicator 372

376 Stretching for depression of the shoulder blade:

Stretching that allows further depression of the scapula is far less common and usually far less necessary than stretching that allows further elevation. This is because the gravity of the arms pulls the shoulder blade in this direction in anatomically zero and many everyday postures and activities with the arms hanging down. Furthermore, unlike in the case of elevation, biarticular muscles do not restrict the movement. This stretching may be necessary if a person habitually holds their shoulder blades raised to some extent, which is not uncommon. In many cases, this may be due to psychological factors. If you want to improve your capacity for depression, all you need to do is hold a dumbbell of an appropriate weight in your hand with your arm hanging down.

Asanas: –

See also: – 370: –

All poses with the effect indicator 376

377 Strengthening for depression of the shoulder blade:

In contrast to stretching in the direction of depression, strengthening in this direction is quite often necessary or useful. This strength is required, for example, when the body is moved relative to the arms, such as in upface dog, tolasana or pull-ups. Here, the indirect depressors such as the pectroralis major and the latissimus dorsi and the direct depressors of the shoulder blade such as the trapezius muscle can be used.
the shoulder blade such as the trapezius and pectoralis minor can work quite well from the respective position of the arm.

Asanas: –

See also: – 376: –

All poses with the effect indicator 377

381 Stretch for external rotation of the shoulder blade:

The external rotation of the shoulder blade is a movement that is necessary to be able to lead the arm into wide frontal abduction or, with external rotation, into lateral abduction, whereby the limits of both movements are very similar or, in the case of maximum external rotation, identical. In order to exercise stretching in this direction, it therefore makes sense to exert force in the direction of an overhead position of the arm. The main external rotators of the scapula are the trapezius with its three parts and, to a lesser extent, the serratus anterior. The serratus anterior often has a noticeable tendency to spasm, especially in the pars descens when the shoulder blade is elevated against resistance, which is certainly partly due to increased basic tone caused by habitual factors in everyday postures, so that postures with further external rotation of the upper arm from the class of elbow postures ( elbow stand, right-angled elbow position, dog elbow position, shoulder opening at the chair) may be more favorable, as the greater external rotation of the upper arm further lateralizes the shoulder blade and thus shifts the sarcomere length of the trapezius into a slightly less short range.

Among the stretched muscles are mainly those retractors of the scapula that lift the external rotation: Latissimus dorsi (medial), levator scapulae, pectoralis minor, pectoralis major (medial), rhomboideus major and rhomboideus minor. However, some of these muscles can also be stretched well by protracting the scapula at only 90° abduction instead of in the overhead position of the arm, such as the levator scapulae and the rhomboids: Rhomboideus major and Rhomboideus minor.

Asanas: –

See also: – 412: –

All poses with the effect indicator 381

382 Strengthening for external rotation of the shoulder blade:

External rotation of the scapula usually takes place with further lateral abduction or frontal abduction of the arm. However, it can also be performed independently of this. It is then somewhat reminiscent of trying to „flap your wings“. However, this is not easy to practise as any effort to move the slightly abducted arms outwards against resistance usually leads to the supraspinatus and deltoid muscles being used. However, if you abduct the arms a little and do not work against any resistance, the movement is easy to find. To strengthen the external rotation, it is advisable to abduct the arms laterally as a pure punctum mobile, i.e. to move the elbows overhead in a medial direction. If the arms were positioned as a punctum fixum, for example in a handstand, the extensor of the elbow joint, the triceps, would work on the movement in the event of significant flexibility restrictions when attempting to move the elbows towards each other and the effort would be kept at least partially away from the external rotators. Of course, this effect depends on the given flexibility and the distance between the hands.

Asanas: –

See also: – 412: –

All poses with the effect indicator 382

386 Stretch for internal rotation of the shoulder blade:

Stretching in the direction of internal rotation, i.e. stretching the external rotators of the scapula, may be necessary if parts of the trapezius have too high a tone for habitual reasons and the scapula can therefore never return to full internal rotation. The muscles responsible for this are the levator scapulae and the rhomboids: Rhomboideus major and Rhomboideus minor. However, these are also elevators of the scapula. Complaints about a tense trapezius are common and can usually be traced back to everyday posture in which the shoulder blades are held slightly raised or the arms are held slightly raised and twisted for various activities. Postures and exercises that depress the shoulder blades are helpful in these cases. Many people find it difficult to distinguish between exerting force in the direction of lateral adduction and internal rotation. Therefore, postures that perform these movements together should be practiced. The most important internal rotators are the rhomboids, which are also retractors of the shoulder blade.

Asanas: –

See also: – 412: –

All poses with the effect indicator 386

387 Strengthening for internal rotation of the shoulder blade:

Asanas: –

See also: – 412: –

All poses with the effect indicator 387

390 Dyskinesia of the scapula:

Asanas: –

See also: – 412: –

All poses with the effect indicator 390

411 Stretching for dorsiflexion in the wrist:

Here, the wrist palmar flexors together with the finger flex ors are boundary-setting. It is not uncommon for the finger flexors (usually the superficial flexors) to set the boundary a little earlier than the palmar flexors, which then becomes visible in the proximal finger joints lifting off the ground.

Asanas: – palmar forearm stretch – palmar forearm stretch in upavista konasana – upface dog – vasisthasana – ardha vasisthasana – handstand – right-angled handstand – parsakonasana – urdhva dhanurasana – purvottanasana with outstretched arms, both hand positions – three-point headstand

See also:
412: strengthening the dorsiflexors of the wrist
glossary: dorsiflexion of the hand
glossary: dorsiflexors of the hand (agonists)
glossary: palmar flexion of the hand ( countermovement)
glossary: palmar flexors of the of the hand (antagonists)
glossary: wrist

All poses with the effect indicator 411

412 Strengthening for dorsiflexion of the wrist:

Dorsiflexors are not significantly strengthened in yoga poses except to stabilize the wrist, e.g. the lower arm in trikonasana, when the upper body is rotated through arm strength, and in arm balances such as tolasana for balance work. The postures on fists also use the dorsiflexors to stabilize the wrist.

Asanas: – trikonasana – tolasana

See also:
glossary:- 412: Stretching the dorsiflexors of the wrist
glossary: dorsiflexion of the hand
glossary: dorsiflexors of the hand (agonists)
glossary: palmar flexion of the hand (countermovement)
glossary: palmar flexors of the hand (antagonists)
glossary: wrist

All poses with the effect indicator 412

416 Stretching for palmar flexion in the wrist:

The ability to flex the palmar flexion clearly depends on the condition of the fingers: in a flexed state, i.e. with a closed fist, the finger extensors place the greatest restriction on movement in the direction of palmar flexion. If the fingers are more or less extended or at least not actively flexed, the movement is only restricted by muscles that do not move the fingers, such as flexor carpi ulnaris, flexor carpi radialis and palmaris longus. Accordingly, the dorsal forearm stretch is the most important posture for stretching; if the finger flexors are not to be stretched, the fist can simply be opened.

Asanas: – Dorsal unterarmdehnung

See also:
417: strengthening the palmar flexors of the wrist – –

All poses with the effect indicator 416

417 Strengthening for palmar flexion in the wrist:

All postures that provide powerful support on the floor are relevant here, the more balancing character they have, the more so. Finger flexors and, secondarily, wrist palmar flexors are strengthened.

Asanas: – palmar forearm stretch strengthens lightly – palmar forearm stretch in upavista konasana strengthens lightly – upface dog – vasisthasana – ardha vasisthasana – handstand – right-angled handstand – urdhva dhanurasana with both hand positions – purvottanasana with outstretched arms, both hand positions

See also:
416: Stretching the palmar flexors of the wrist

All poses with the effect indicator 417

421 Stretching the finger flexors:

For a good stretch of the finger flex ors, the fingers must be stretched as fully as possible plus a wide dorsiflexion of the wrist, as achieved in isolation by the functional exercises forearm stretch palmar and forearm stretch palmar in upavista konasana. A range of motion in the metacarpophalangeal joints that exceeds 180° would not be used to stretch the finger flexors for physiological reasons. Firstly, it is far too inconsistent between individuals, so that it is impossible to predict its effectiveness and side effects, and secondly, there is a risk of further loosening the ligament structure of the hand. If stretched finger joints(proximal and distal) and metacarpophalangeal joints are set, the stretching of the finger flexors can only be intensified by further dorsiflexion of the wrist. In doing so, 90° should be reached and, if possible, exceeded. In addition to the above poses, other suitable poses include those with the fingers extended and the wrist at an angle of around 90°, such as handstand, right-angled handstand, three-point headstand, ardha vasisthasana, tolasana, upward facing dog. Depending on shoulder flexibility (the lower the more), urdhva dhanurasana (back arch) can also work excellently, as the angle of dorsiflexion must exceed 90° if the shoulder joints are less mobile.

Asanas: – palmar forearm stretch – palmar forearm stetch in upavista konasana – handstand – rectangular handstand – three point headstand – ardha vasisthasana – tolasana – upface dog – urdhva dhanurasana (back arch)

Siehe auch:
422: strengthening der finger flexors
423: tonus of the finger flexors
glossary: fingerbeuger / fingerflexoren
glossary: finger extension / finger extensors (antagonists)

All poses with the effect indicator 421

422 Strengthening the finger flexors:

Finger flexors are mainly strengthened in variations with the fingertips up. Postures in which pulling movements are performed with flexed fingers are also suitable, such as the twisting pose or seated forward bends. Of course, the sarcomere length in which the finger flexors work is shorter in the latter, so that other postures are preferable in the event of increased tone, as otherwise a further increase in tone and a cramp can easily result.

Asanas: – downface dog on fing ertips – upface dog on fingertips – staff on fingertips – handstand on fingertips – right-angled handstand on fing ertips – vasisthasana on fingertips – ardha vasisthasana on fingertips – twisting pose – janu sirsasana – pascimottanasana – tryangamukhaikapada pascimottanasana – table-top variation of uttanasana – table-top variation of uttanasana – parivrtta variation of uttanasana – parivrtta trikonasana

See also:
421: Stretching the finger flexors
423: Tone of the finger flexors
glossary: finger flexors / finger flexors
glossary: finger extensors / finger extensors (antagonists)

All poses with the effect indicator 422

423 Tone of the finger flexors:

The tone of the finger flexors can be increased to such an extent that they are prone to cramp even with short-term strain. This occurs in particular when they work at a short sarcomere length, such as in a twisting position or in seated forward bends where the outer foot is pulled. Stretching these muscles naturally reduces tone, but in some cases postures in which the sarcomere length is moderate also have a positive effect. This includes all postures in which the fingers are extended and the wrist is in any position (including dorsiflexion).

Asanas: – forearm stretch palmar – forearm stretch palmar in upavista konasana – handstand – right-angled handstand – three-point headstand – vasisthasana – ardha vasisthasana – tolasana – upface dog – urdhva dhanurasana (bridge )

See also:
421: Stretching the finger flexors
422: Strengthening the finger flexors
glossary: finger flexors / finger flexors
glossary: finger extensors / finger extensors (antagonists)

All poses with the effect indicator 423

426 Stretching the finger extensors:

Stretching the finger extensors requires the fingers to be flexed as fully as possible plus palmar flexion of the wrist. As there are no postures that support the body weight on the back of a closed fist, the functional exercise dorsal forearm stretch is particularly suitable. If the fist is sufficiently closed, the finger flexors are flexed significantly more than the dorsiflexors of the wrist, as opening the fist in the posture and the immediately resulting increased dorsiflexion ability of the wrist quickly shows. The finger extensors are the greatest limitation when the wrist is flexed palmarward with a closed fist.

Asanas: – Dorsal forearm stretch

See also:
427: strengthening the finger extensors
428: tone of the finger extensors
glossary: finger extensors / finger extensors
glossary: finger flexors / finger flexors (antagonists)

All poses with the effect indicator 426

427 Strengthening the finger extensors:

Strengthening the finger extensors is atypical for yoga poses. There are no poses that open a closed fist against resistance, nor are there poses that support the back of the hand and use the finger flexors to stabilize the angle in the wrist. Only a trikonasana, for example, in which the hand resting on the lower leg pushes forcefully backwards to move the corresponding shoulder forwards, can contribute a little to strengthening the finger extensors, depending on the grip technique.

Asanas:

See also:
426: Stretching the finger extensors
428: Tone of the finger extensors
glossary: finger extensors / finger extensors
glossary: finger flexors / finger flexors (antagonists)

All poses with the effect indicator 427

428 Tone of the finger extensors:

In addition to the stretching exercises listed above, postures with supporting fists and an extended wrist can also moderate excessive tone.

Asanas: – dog on top of fists – right-angled handstand on fists – handstand on fists

See also:
427: strengthening the finger extensors
426: stretching the finger extensors
glossary: finger extensors / finger extensors
glossary: finger flexors / finger flexors (antagonists)

All poses with the effect indicator 428

501 Stretching the latissimus dorsi:

The latissimus dorsi is the most important and strongest adductor muscle in the shoulder joint and often restricts frontal abduction, which stretches the latissimus dorsi accordingly. The stretch benefits from the external rotation of the upper arm, as the latissimus dorsi is one of the internally rotating muscles due to its attachment to the humerus. In addition to the classic postures with 180°+ frontal abduction, postures with an inflected spine and a grip on the outer foot of an extended leg can also cause a stretch.

Asanas: – gomukhasana – hyperbola – raised back extension – downface dog wide – urdhva dhanurasana – handstand – right-angled handstand – elbow stand – right-angled elbow stand – dvi pada viparita dandasana – eka pada viparita dandasana – shoulder opening on the chair – janu sirsasana – parsva upavista konasana – parivrtta parsva upavista konasana – parivrtta janu sirsasana

See also:
427: strengthening the latissimus dorsi
glossary: latissismus dorsi
glossary: lateral adduction in the shoulder joint
glossary: frontal adduction in the shoulder joint

All poses with the effect indicator 501

502 Strengthening the latissimus dorsi:

While pronounced strengthening of the latissimus dorsi is atypical for yoga poses, there are certainly opportunities to use strength for this muscle, such as seated or standing forward bends with pulling on one or both legs. Pressing the palms together in caturkonasana is also suitable for strengthening the latissimus dorsi, although not in the same way as pull-ups. A more exotic variation is parsvakonasana with a block in the hand, in which an appropriate dumbbell is held instead of a light block. This is also less of a pronounced strength training exercise and more of a strength endurance training exercise, especially as the muscular capacity of the latissimus dorsi in such a long sarcomere length as in parsvakonasanais rather low.

Asanas: – trikonasana (as lateral flexor and when using the lower arm for adduction) – uttanasana with traction on the lower legs – ardha chandrasana – janu sirsasana – parsva upavista konasana – caturkonasana – parsvakonasana with block in hand

See also:
426: stretching the latissimus dorsi
glossary: latissismus dorsi
glossary: lateral adduction in the shoulder joint
glossary: frontal adduction in the shoulder joint

All poses with the effect indicator 502

511 Stretching of the pectoralis major:

As one of the most important adductor muscles of the shoulder joint, the pectoralis major is stretched in wide frontal abduction or often even better in wide lateral abduction. As the pectoralis turnd in in the shoulder joint, an external rotated arm clearly supports the effect, while internal rotation is often observed as a classic evasive movement. A wide retroversion can also stretch the pectoralis, especially if the arms are external rotated. The functional exercise in which a horizontally outstretched arm presses against a fixed object such as a wall while the body rotates sideways away from it is also well-known. A very similar effect is achieved with a variation of trikonasana in which an object is held in the upper hand while the arm slowly sinks dorsally.

Asanas: – namaste auf dem Rücken – Schulteröffnung am Stuhl – trikonasana: Klotz in der Hand – trikonasana: Hand am Innenbein – purvottanasana – setu bandha sarvangasana – schulterstand – uttanasana mit Armen hinter dem Körper – prasarita padottanasana mit Armen hinter dem Rücken

Siehe auch:
512: strengthening the pectoralis major
glossary: pectoralis major
glossary: lateral adduction of the shoulder joint
glossary: frontal adduction in the shoulder joint
glossary: glossar: internal rotation in the shoulder joint

All poses with the effect indicator 511

512 Strengthening the pectoralis major:

The pectoralis major is strengthened during adducting movements, especially from the side (i.e. as transverse adduction), e.g. from retroversion as in the bar position. All ventrally pushing movements are therefore classic. In principle, frontally adducting postures are also strengthening, such as upface dog with feet upside down or functional exercises such as pull-ups. The pectoralis major of the arm whose hand pushes forward on the floor or presses against the wall is strengthened in the twisting position.

Asanas: – Staff – downface dog: Hands on carpet – Twisting pose

See also:
511: stretching of the pectoralis major
glossary: pectoralis major
glossary: lateral adduction in the shoulder joint
glossary: frontal adduction in the shoulder joint
glossary: internal rotation in the shoulder joint

All poses with the effect indicator 512

551 Stretching the quadratus lumborum:

As the quadratus lumborum runs dorsally from the iliac crest to the medial 12th rib, it easily supports backbends and is therefore stretched by spinal flexion, especially if they have a rotational component such as parsva upavista konasana. Furthermore, trunk side bends in particular are a good way to stretch it, such as parivrtta parsva upavista konasana or seated trunk side bend.

Asanas: – sitting sidebend – parsva upavista konasana (due to the inclined pelvic position towards the front leg) – janu sirsasana – parivrtta parsva upavista konasana – parivrtta janu sirsasana – karnapidasana – parsva karnapidasana – rolling up the back

Siehe auch:
552: strengthening the quadratus lumborum
glossary: lateral flexion of the spine
glossary: extension of the spine
glossary: flexion of the spine (countermovement)

All poses with the effect indicator 551

552 strengthening the quadratus lumborum:

The quadratus lumborum is involved in maintaining the extension of the back and in extending or reducing its flexion, so it is strengthened, for example, by taking and leaving the 3rd warrior pose backwards against the wall3.Warrior pose, deadlift, utkatasana, right-angled uttanasana, salabhasana, urdhva dhanurasana. It is also strengthened by postures that prevent the body from falling into lateral flexion due to gravity, such as trikonasana, ardha chandrasana, ardha vasisthasana, vasisthasana

Asanas: – 1st warrior pose: transition to parsvottanasana – 1st warrior pose : transition to hip opener 1 – 1st warrior pose: transition to hip opener 5 – halasana – 3rd warrior pose backwards against the wall – 3rd warrior p ose backwards against the wall – 3rd warrior pose backwards against the wall – 3rd warrior pose backwards against the wall – 3rd warrior pose backwards against the wall Warrior pose – deadlift – utkatasana – right-angled uttanasana – salabhasana – urdhva dhanurasana – trikonasana – ardha chandrasana – ardha vasisthasana – vasisthasana

See also:
551: stretching of the quadratus lumborum
glossary: lateral flexion of the spine
glossary: extension of the spine
glossary: flexion of the spine (countermovement)

All poses with the effect indicator 552

601 Stretching of the erector spinae:

The erector spinae or back extensor is a colloquial term for the autochthonous back musculature, the developmentally oldest and „actual“ back musculature in the sense that it controls the spinal column. All other back musculature is the musculature of the extremities. The functions of the autochthonous back muscles are extension of the spine, rotation of the spine and lateral flexion of the spine. This means that the term stretching of the autochthonous back musculature must refer to one or more of its functions or movement dimensions. Stretching can occur when a movement dimension is utilized to the greatest possible extent or the demand results from a wide movement in more than one movement dimension. With regard to rotation and lateral flexion of the spine, the contralateral muscles are (partial) antagonists. Extension of the spine has no antagonists in the autochthonous back muscles. Stretching can therefore result, for example, from a maximum flexion of the spine as in karnapidasana or from a combination of two dimensions of movement such as wide flexion plus rotation or wide flexion plus lateral flexion. In the case of wide lateral flexion, as in seated trunk side bend, the oblique abdominal muscles often set a limit rather than the autochthonous back muscles. They are also often more likely to limit rotation.

Asanas: – karnapidasana (relating to flexion) – malasana forward bend (relating to flexion) – parsva upavista konasana – seated torso side bend (relating to lateral flexion) – twisting pose (relating to rotation)

See also:
602: strengthening the autochthonous back muscles
glossary: autochthonous back muscles (also: erector spinae, back extensors)
glossary: extension of the spine
glossary: rotation of the spine
glossary: lateral flexion of the spine
glossary: flexion of the spine (countermovement )

All poses with the effect indicator 601

602 Strengthening the erector spinae:

In line with the explanations under 601, we must differentiate between the strengthening of the mainly extensor, mainly lateral flexor and mainly rotator muscles, although their functions mostly overlap. The extensor component is strengthened through active backbends and holding the upper body or lifting the upper body with the back pointing upwards against the effect of gravity, such as in the right-angled uttanasana or the 3rd warrior pose backwards against the wall.

Asanas: – deadlift – 3rd war rior pose – 3. Warrior p ose backwards against the wall – uttanasana: table variation – right-angled uttanasana – salabhasana – handstand: dvi pada variation – trikonasana – ardha chandrasana – right-angledshoulderstand – right-angledheadstand (moderately strengthening) – right-angledheadstand – utkatasana – halasana – sarvangasana – urdhva_dhanurasana

See also:
glossary: autochthonous back muscles
glossary:
601: stretching the autochthonous back muscles
glossary: autochthonous back muscles (also: erector spinae, back extensor)
glossary: extension of the spine
glossary: rotation of the spine
glossary: lateral flexion of the spine
glossary: flexion of the spine (countermovement )

All poses with the effect indicator 602

621 Stretching the (autochthonous muscles in the area of) the cervical spine:

The stretching of the neck and the muscles of the cervical spine in the various dimensions of movement has already been discussed under
201: Stretching for flexion,
206: Stretching for reclination (extension),
211: Stretching for rotation,
216: Stretching for lateral flexion.

Asanas: – karnapidasana – shoulder stand – halasana – setu bandha sarvangasana

See also:
622: strengthening the autochthonous muscles in the cervical spine area
glossary: autochthonous back muscles (also: erector spinae, back extensors )

All poses with the effect indicator 621

622 Strengthening the (autochthonous muscles in the) cervical spine:

Strengthening the neck and the muscles of the cervical spine in the various dimensions of movement has already been discussed under 201: Strengthening for flexion, 206: Strengthening for reclination (extension), 211: Strengthening for rotation216: Strengthening for lateral flexion.

Asanas: – press your head to the floor – right-angled shoulder stand

See also:
621: Stretching the autochthonous muscles in the cervical spine area glossary: autochthonous back muscles (also: erector spinae, back extensors)

All poses with the effect indicator 622

631 Stretching the (autochthonous muscles in the area of) the thoracic spine:

When stretching the muscles in the area of the thoracic spine, the three dimensions of movement in which the spine can move must again be taken into account: 1. flexion/extension, 2. rotation and 3. lateral flexion. Most aspects have already been discussed in 601. In particular, the(oblique and straight) play a major role here.

Asanas: – karnapidasana

See also:
632: strengthening the autochthonous muscles in the thoracic spine area
glossary: autochthonous back muscles (also: erector spinae, back extensors )

All poses with the effect indicator 631

632 Strengthening the (autochthonous muscles in the area of) the thoracic spine:

When strengthening the muscles in the area of the thoracic spine, the three dimensions of movement in which the spine can move must again be taken into account: 1. flexion/extension, 2. rotation and 3. lateral flexion. Most aspects have already been discussed in 602. In particular, the(oblique and straight) play a major role here.

Asanas: – rectangular uttanasana – 3rd warrior pose – front lift – halasana – deadlift

See also:
631: Stretching the autochthonous muscles in the thoracic spine area
glossary: autochthonous back muscles (also: erector spinae, back extensors )

All poses with the effect indicator 632

641 Stretching the (autochthonous muscles in the) lumbar spine:

When stretching the muscles in the lumbar spine, the three dimensions of movement in which the spine can move must again be taken into account: 1. flexion/extension, 2. rotation and 3. lateral flexion. Most aspects have already been discussed in 601. In the lumbar spine, some muscles come into play that do not play a role in the thoracic and cervical spine, such as the quadratus lumburum and the psoas major. The abdominal muscles(oblique and straight) relevant to the thoracic spine also play a role here.

Asanas: – rolling up the back – janu sirsasana – pascimottanasana – tryangamukhaikapada pascimottanasana – parsva uttanasana – parsva upavista konasana – parivrtta janu sirsasana – parivrtta parsva upavista konasana – karnapidasana

See also:
642: Strengthening the autochthonous muscles in the lumbar spine area
glossary: autochthonous back muscles (also: erector spinae, back extensors)

All poses with the effect indicator 641

642 Strengthening the (autochthonous muscles in the) lumbar spine:

When strengthening the muscles in the lumbar spine, the three dimensions of movement in which the spine can move must again be taken into account: 1. flexion/extension, 2. rotation and 3. lateral flexion. Most aspects have already been discussed in 601. In the lumbar spine, some muscles come into play that do not play a role in the thoracic and cervical spine, such as the quadratus lumburum and the psoas major. The abdominal muscles(oblique and straight) relevant to the thoracic spine also play a role here. The autochthonous muscles of the lumbar spine are strengthened well when they have to hold a roughly horizontal and stretched upper body with the legs stationary, such as in the 3rd warrior pose, but also when the upper body is stationary and the legs have to be held roughly horizontal, as in the right-angled headstand. A third possibility is to generate bending moments at both ends of the spine from restrictions in the flexibility of the cervical spine/upper thoracic spine and the back of the legs, which must be stretched against, as in shoulder stand and halasana.

Asanas: – 3rd warrior pose – 3rd warrior pose backwards against the wall – right-angled uttanasana – deadlift – salabhasana – right-angled shoulder stand – right-angled headstand – – dvi pada variation of the handstand

See also:
641: stretching the autochthonous muscles in the lumbar spine area
glossary: autochthonous back muscles (also: erector spinae, back extensor)

All poses with the effect indicator 642

661 Spine: stretching for rotation

The ability to rotate is primarily restricted by the oblique abdominal muscles and the autochthonous back muscles, and to a lesser extent by other muscles such as the quadratus lumborum. These are stretched in rotational postures in which other parts of the body or gravity are used to generate torques in the vertebral segments. The force for this can come from the rotationally active muscles themselves, the upper or lower extremities, either by actively using them or by using their gravity, as in jathara parivartanasana.

Asanas: – twisting pose – maricyasana 1 – maricyasana 3 – jathra parivartanasana – parivrtta uttanasana – parivrtta trikonasana – parivrtta ardha chandrasana – twisted back stretch – parivrtta janu sirsasana

See also:
662: strengthening the rotatory part of the autochthonous muscles
glossary: rotation of the spine
glossary: autochthonous back muscles (also: erector spinae, back extensors)
glossary: oblique abdominal muscles (agonists and antagonists )

All poses with the effect indicator 661

662 Spine: strengthening for rotation

The rotatory muscles are strengthened in every pose that actively rotates the upper body and not just through the strength of the extremities. Strengthening also takes place in jathra parivartanasana, but in a very short or very long sarcomere length, and also purely through the use of gravity in the legs. In many other classic seated and standing twisting postures, the rotation of the upper body is supported by the upper limbs. If you are primarily looking to strengthen the rotator muscles, the force exerted by the arms should be limited.

Asanas: – jathra parivartanasana – trikonasana – parsvakonasana

See also:
661: stretching the rotatory part of the autochthonous muscles
glossary: rotation of the spine
glossary: autochthonous back muscles, also: erector spinae, back extensors (agonists)
glossary: Oblique abdominal muscles (agonists and antagonists )

All poses with the effect indicator 662

666: Spine: stretching for lateral flexion

The lateral flexor muscles of the spine are stretched in every posture that actively (through the strength of the contralateral lateral flexor muscles) or passively (by gravity or through an external influence such as a supporter) brings the spine into a pronounced lateral flexion. There are very few asanas for this. In addition to parighasana, which has not yet been described, the seated trunk side bend does this very simply and effectively. This stretches the lateral flexor muscles that are contralateral to the side bend, i.e. if the upper body bends to the right, it stretches the muscles on the left side or those performing the lateral flexion to the left. The stretched muscles are primarily the oblique abdominal muscles and the autochthonous back muscles, followed by muscles such as the quadratus lumborum, latissimus dorsi and psoas major, depending on the constitution and in order of probability.

Asanas: – Side bend sitting

See also:
667: strengthening the lateral flexor part of the autochthonous musculature and other lateral flexors
glossary: lateral flexion of the spine
glossary: autochthonous back muscles, also: erector spinae, back extensors

667 Spine: strengthening for lateral flexion

The lateral flexor muscles are strengthened in any posture that actively lateral flexes the spine or prevents gravity-induced lateral flexion, which would be the case in trikonasana, ardha chandrasana, ardha vasisthasana and vasisthasana. In all of these postures there is a gravity-induced lateral flexion tendency that must be balanced with the contralateral lateral flexors. These muscles are of medium sarcomere length, as the position of the upper body is close to standard anatomical position, so a tendency to spasm in these muscles is not to be expected unless pathological factors predispose to it.

Asanas: – trikonasana – ardha chandrasana – ardha vasisthasana – vasisthasana

See also:
666: stretching of the lateral flexor portion of the autochthonous musculature
glossary: lateral flexion of the spine
glossary: autochthonous back muscles, also: erector spinae, back extensors

671 Abdominal muscles: Stretching the rectus abdominis:

The rectus abdominis flexes the lumbar spine and lower thoracic spine due to its connection between the pubic bone and the sternum. It is therefore stretched when these two areas move away from each other, as is the case in backbends. Tension and shortening of the rectus ab dominis can make inspiration more difficult.

Asanas: – upface dog – ustrasana – urdhva dhanurasana – setu bandha sarvangasana – bhujangasana

Siehe auch:
672: strengthening the rectus abdominis
glossary: rectus abdominis
glossary: flexion of the spine
glossary: extension of the spine (countermovement)

All poses with the effect indicator 671

672 Abdominal muscles: Strengthening the rectus abdominis:

In accordance with the function of the rectus abdominis explained in 671, it is strengthened when it shortens the distance between the pubic bone and the sternum, i.e. in actively performed flexions of the lumbar spine and lower thoracic spine or during postural work to prevent extension of the lumbar spine. The tendency to do this can be induced by gravity acting on the upper body, as in navasana, or by gravity acting on the pelvis and legs, as in pasva sarvangasana and tolasana. This applies not only to medium sarcomere lengths, but also to holding the upper body at a long sarcomere length, as in unsupported ustrasana.

Asanas: – navasana – ustrasana: arms stretched overhead – ustrasana: lean back like a plank – parsva sarvangasana – tolasana with legs stretched out

See also:
671: rectus abdominis stretching
glossary: rectus abdominis
glossary: flexion of the spine
glossary: extension of the spine (countermovement )

All poses with the effect indicator 672

676 Stretching the oblique abdominal muscles obliqui abdomini:

This list contains the postures listed under point 661. In addition, there are those listed under point 671 and all postures with lateral flexion of the spine.

Asanas: – seated torso side bend – parivrtta janu sirsasana – parivrtta parsva upavista konasana

See also:
661: stretching for rotation of the spine
671: stretching the rectus abdominis
677: strengthening the obliqui abdomini
glossary: rotation of the spine
glossary: flexion of the spine
glossary: lateral flexion of the trunk

All poses with the effect indicator 676

677 Strengthening the oblique abdominal muscles obliqui abdomini:

This list contains the postures listed under point 662. In addition, there are also postures with lifting or limiting of the lateral flexionsof the spine.

Asanas: – jathra parivartanasana – trikonasana – ardha chandrasana

See also:
676: stretching of the obliqui abdomini
glossary: rotation of the spine
glossary: flexion of the spine
glossary: lateral flexion of the trunk

All poses with the effect indicator 677

681 Stretching the intercostal muscles:

The (expiratory) intercostal muscles are stretched during backbends of the thoracic spine, regardless of whether they are actively stretched during the thoracic spine backbend, such as urdhva dhanurasana, or passively, such as when lying on a roll or in an elevated back extension. By stretching the expiratory muscles (not just the intercostal muscles), deep inhalation in particular can be facilitated and increased and a greater inspiratory reserve volume and therefore a greater vital capacity can be achieved. .

Asanas: – lying on a roll – urdhva dhanurasana – dvi pada variation of the handstand – ustrasana – setu bandha sarvangasana

See also:
682: strengthening the intercostal muscles
glossary: inspiration / inhalation
glossary: expiration / exhalation

All poses with the effect indicator 681

682 Strengthening the intercostal muscles:

A slight strengthening of the (inpiratory) intercostal muscles is achieved when inhaling is significantly more difficult. This is particularly the case in postures with a compressed rib cage, which can be achieved either by applying pressure to the rib cage or by a widely flexed thoracic spine; a typical example is karnapidasana. Similarly, in postures with a tense rectus abdominis or with tense oblique abdominal muscles, the sternum, which can only be lifted against greater resistance, can strengthen the inspiratory muscles. The expiratory muscles are strengthened when breathing out against resistance. This is taught in a mild form as a lip brake for asthma. Other options include blowing up balloons or exhaling against resistance. All postures in which the sternum is pulled cranially by a wide frontal abduction of the pectoralis major are also suitable. cranial pulls

Asanas: – karnapidasana

See also:
681: stretching the intercostal muscles
glossary: inspiration / inhalation
glossary: expiration / exhalation

All poses with the effect indicator 682

711 Stretching the hip flexors:

All postures that stretch the iliopsoas are listed here. Those that mainly stretch the rectus femoris are listed there.

Asanas: – upface dog – setu bandha sarvangasana – urdhva dhanurasana – hip opener 1 – hip opener 2 – hip opener 3 – 1. Warrior pose – quadriceps stretch 2 – dvi pada viparita dandasana – eka pada viparita dandasana – hanumanasana – kapotasana

See also:
712: strengthening the hip flexors
glossary: iliopsoas
glossary: rectus femoris

All poses with the effect indicator 711

712 Strengthening the hip flexors:

The hip flexors are usually strengthened in the asanas by lifting one or both legs against gravity, for example in navasana and tolasana with outstretched legs. However, gravity is not the only resistance here; with increasing flexion in the hip joints, the hamstrings in particular provides increasing resistance to further flexion. There are also transitions that train the quick strength of the hip flexors and therefore also increase muscle performance, examples include jumping from ustrasana into downface dog and jumping from supta virasana into downface dog.

Asanas: – navasana – urdhva dhanurasana: eka pada variation – setu bandha sarvangasana: eka pada variation – eka pada prasarita tadasana – tolasana with outstretched legs – jump from ustrasana into downface dog – jump from supta virasana into downface dog

See also:
711: stretching the hip flexors
glossary: iliopsoas
glossary: rectus femoris

All poses with the effect indicator 712

721 Stretching of the hamstrings:

To stretch the hamstrings, the hip joint must be flexed and the knee joint stretched as far as possible. This stretches all biarticular parts: biceps femoris (caput longum), semimembranosus, semitendinosus. The only monoarticular muscle in the hamstrings is the biceps femoris caput breve; this is already – and only – stretched and kept mobile by fully extending the knee joint. When weighing up flexion of the knee joint and flexion of the hip joint, it becomes apparent that the latter is the more significant due to the greater lever arm, i.e. the distance of the muscle or its tendon from the center of rotation in the joint. The rotation of the lower leg also has a minor theoretical influence, as the hamstrings contains the rotators of the lower leg: Semimembranosus and semitendinosus turn in the lower leg, both parts of the biceps femoris turn it in, but this only plays a role when the knee joint is flexed, as no rotation of the lower leg is possible when the knee joint is extended. Rotation of the thigh in the hip joint is also a rather minor influencing factor: external rotation slightly facilitates flexion of the hip joint. Abduction in the hip joint also has a slight facilitating effect. A greater stretching effect on the biceps as the only muscle of the outer hamstrings than on its counterpart, the inner hamstrings, is achieved in the two postures gluteus stretch at the edge of the mat and 3rd hip opening. In both cases, the flexion in the knee joint of the leg in question must be kept significantly lower; in the case of the gluteus stretch at the edge of the mat, the knee joint should not be flexed more than 90°. If there is a lack of intensity with good flexibility, significantly larger angles in the knee joint are also possible and sensible, possibly only 20° of flexion. With the 3rd hip opening, the knee joint should be bent to a maximum of 60°, or significantly less if you have good flexibility.

Asanas: – uttanasana – prasarita padottanasana – parsvottanasana – parivrtta trikonasana – parivrtta ardha chandrasana – trikonasana – ardha chandrasana – warrior 3 pose – downface dog – hip opener 4 – hip opener 5 – janu sirsasana – postimottanasana – ardha baddha padma postimottanasana – tryangamukhaikapada postimottanasana – back stretching – handstand: eka pada-variant – headstand: eka pada-variant – elbow stand: eka pada variant – halasana – hanumanasana – hasta padangusthasana – supta padangusthasana – dandasana – upavista konasana: forward bend – parsva upavista konasana – parivrtta janu sirsasana – parivrtta parsva upavista konasana – rechtwinkliger handstand – rectangular elbow stand – supta konasana – krouncasana – supta krouncasana – deadlifts – Johns sequel – surya namaskar – vasisthasana

See also:
722: strengthening the hamstrings
glossary: hamstrings
glossary: hip joint – knee joint
glossary: extension of the hip joint
glossary: flexion of the knee joint

All poses with the effect indicator 721

722 Strengthening the hamstrings:

To strengthen the hamstrings, the hip joint must be extended with a certain amount of force or stabilized against bendingmoments. Flexions of the knee joint performed with force can also strengthen the ischiocrural group, although the latter are rarely found in asanas. The former can be found in postures such as right-angled uttanasana, when assuming the 3rd warrior pose backwards against the wall and, to a lesser extent, in the 3rd warrior pose itself. Many variations of purvottanasana involve very powerful extensions in the hip joint, whereby the variations with bent legs allow the hamstrings to work in a much shorter sarcomere length and therefore tend to tense these muscles. The variants with the knee joint extended do not have this disadvantage; in addition, the lever arm on which the hip joint is extended is considerably larger, about twice as long, with the consequence that very good strengthening is possible here. As a synergist of the gluteus maximus, the hamstrings is involved in all hip extensions in backbends, starting with the upface dog to urdhva dhanurasana, whereby the less the hip joint is flexed, the smaller the proportion of work performed by the hamstrings is likely to be. Even in postures such as utkatasana, the hamstrings is involved in the statics, but it works even more when leaving the posture. Even in ser sarvangasana, it is involved in keeping the angle in the hip joint at 0°, which is not possible at all in the case of shortened hip flexors, which is why a significant strengthening of the hamstrings is possible here. Situations like this lead to the conclusion that it is not a disadvantage if the beginner in the discipline of asanas has a certain degree of flexibility restrictions. After sarvangasana, salabhasana is another example of possibly intensive work on the hamstrings at medium sarcomere length. However, an exercise that does not originate from yoga – unless you want to understand it as a dynamic variation of the right-angled uttanasana – the deadlift is likely to occupy a prominent position. Because it utilizes a larger part of the ROM and also alternates between concentric and eccentric contraction and is also scalable in terms of load, it is hard to beat in terms of effectiveness and efficiency. Performed correctly, it is even suitable for people with intervertebral discs and those with other back problems such as facet syndrome, spinal canal stenosis or slipped vertebrae and therefore occupies a special position.

Asanas: – uttanasana rechtwinklig – warrior 3 pose – warrior 3 posebackwards against the wall – deadlifts – sarvangasana – salabhasana – purvottanasana

Siehe auch:
721: stretching the hamstrings
glossary: hamstrings
glossary: hip joint
glossary: knee joint
glossary: extension of the hip joint
glossary: flexion of the knee joint

All poses with the effect indicator 722

726 Stretching the short/monoarticular hip extensors:

The gluteus maximus is by far the most important short extensor of the hip joint. It is not purely monoarticular because part of it originates at the sacrum and thus covers the SI joint. The piriformis, on the other hand, is purely monoarticular, but only extends from 60° flexion in the hip joint, before that it supports flexion. In principle, these extensors are stretched with further flexion in the hip joint, whereby in the case of the piriformis an additional external rotation has a reinforcing effect, as its functional reversal at 60° also includes the change from the previous external rotation to the final rotation. In the case of the gluteus maximus, it is more complex, as its area of origin is very extensive and its function is three-dimensional. The part that originates on the sacrum and coccyx is stretched much better by external rotation, while the part that attaches to the iliac crest is likely to be less affected. In addition, an adduction in the hip joint also has a strengthening effect when stretching the part that originates at the sacrum, as poses such as parivrtta trikonasana and parivrtta ardha chandrassana show. Postures for stretching that are aimed purely at the extensor function of the gluteus maximus must work with the knee joint bent far enough so that the hamstrings does not set a restriction well beforehand (in terms of flexion in the hip joint).

Asanas: – malasana – half lotus forward bend – hip opening at the edge of the mat – parsvakonasana – maricyasana 1 – maricyasana 3 – parivrtta trikonasana – parivrtta ardha chandrasana

See also:
727: strengthening the monoarticular hip extensors
glossary: hip joint
glossary: extension in the hip joint
glossary: flexion in the hip joint

All poses with the effect indicator 726

727 Strengthening the short/monoarticular hip extensors:

The function of the short hip extensors is explained in 726. According to this, they strengthen all postures that take place in the hip joint from flexion in the direction of less flexion, usually performed against gravity, as well as all postures in which the pelvis is held in position with the upper body or lower limb against the effect of gravity. It also includes almost all backbends in which this musculature is used to increase extension in the hip joints – or, depending on flexibility, to achieve it in the first place. This also includes poses with a more or less extended hip joint such as purvottanasana and salabhasana. Postures with a heavy load on a widely flexed hip joint such as utkatasana also enable a certain degree of strengthening, especially if it is difficult to reduce the flexion further, as is required to straighten the pelvis in utkatasana. warrior 3 pose, parivrtta trikonasana and parivrtta ardha chandrasana also offer a slight strengthening effect.

Asanas: – parsvakonasana – urdhva dhanurasana – setu bandha sarvangasana – utkatasana – purvottanasana (in allen Varianten) – parivrtta_trikonasana – warrior 3 pose – parivrtta trikonasana – parivrtta ardha chandrasana

See also:
726: strengthening the monoarticular hip extensors
glossary: extension in the hip joint
glossary: flexion in the hip joint

All poses with the effect indicator 727

731 Stretching the end rotators of the hip joint:

The end rotators of the hip joint are stretched in external rotation. Depending on which movement they also perform, their counter-movement must also be performed. The internal rotators include the gluteus medius and gluteus minimus with their anterior fibers, tensor fasciae latae, adductor magnus (with the part that attaches to the adductor tuberosity: in flexed, abducted thigh). This means that they are less numerous than the external rotators and also less powerful overall, especially as the external rotators include the powerful psoas major, iliacus and gluteus maximus muscles. The gluteus medius must be divided into ventral and dorsal fibers, the ventral part responds better to adduction in the hip joint without significant flexion, the other(dorsal) part responds better to extreme flexion without abduction as in the hip opening at the edge of the mat. The more profound gluteus minimus behaves in a similar way. The adductor magnus must also be subdivided according to origin into ventral(os pubis) and dorsal(os ischium) origin. Accordingly, its fibers react to changes in the flexion angle, but are mainly stretched by abduction. Since abduction is quite limited without external rotation, it plays a major role in elongation. The last of these four, the tensor fasciae latae, is mainly stretched by extension without abduction, as is the case in urdhva dhanurasana, setu bandha sarvangasana or ustrasana.

Asanas: – hip opening at the edge of the mat – urdhva dhanurasana – ustrasana

See also:
732: strengthening the internal rotators of the hip joint
glossary: internal rotation in the hip joint
glossary: external rotation in the hip joint
glossary: adduction in the hip joint
glossary: abduction in the hip joint
glossary: flexion in the hip joint
glossary: extension in the hip joint

All poses with the effect indicator 731

732 Strengthening the internal rotators of the hip joint:

Active internal rotation of the hip joint is hardly practiced in any asana beyond the zero position with regard to rotation. Only very few poses such as garudasana have rotated thighs and even in this pose, the position is assumed once and then no further changes are made or force applied to change it. Therefore, the muscles turning in can be better strengthened by counteracting the moments of external rotation. As explained in 731, the external rotators are more numerous and stronger overall. Since in postures with extension of the hip joint both the external rotatory gluteus maximus is used to increase the extension angleand reduce the hyperlordosis of the lumbar spine, which generates external rotatory moments, and the external rotatory hip flexor iliopsoas is put under tension, which rotates the thigh, these postures offer good opportunities to strengthen the internal rotators of the hip joint. However, the rotational component of evasion and correction is mixed with the abductor and adductor components. Pure strengthening of the end rotators is therefore not achieved; a significant proportion of the correction is performed by the adductors. The baddha konassana with weight on the thighs is in a similar mixed situation; here too, the adductor component is greater than the internal rotator component. The internal rotator area is slightly strengthened in one-legged standing postures in which the pelvis must be kept stable against evasive forces when one lifted leg is fixed. This type of pose is a variation of hasta padangusthasana: hasta padangusthasana with wall. Finally, two-legged postures such as tadasana, uttanasana and prasarita padottanasana can be interpreted in such a way that the legs are twisted in with maximum force.

Asanas: – ustrasana – urdhva dhanurasana – setu bandha sarvangasana

See also:
731: strengthening the internal rotators of the hip joint
glossary: internal rotation in the hip joint
glossary: external rotation in the hip joint
glossary: abduction in the hip joint
glossary: adduction in the hip joint
glossary: extension in the hip joint
glossary: hip joint –

All poses with the effect indicator 732

736 Stretching the external rotators of the hip joint:

External rotators are not specifically stretched by internal rotation in the known postures. This is not least due to the fact that, on the one hand, internal rotation is only possible to a very limited extent compared to external rotation. On the other hand, its flexibility is also maintained by other postures that bring the muscles in question into large sarcomere lengths in the direction of another dimension of movement. The gluteus maximus, for example, can be stretched well when using the range of motion in the direction of flexion in the hip joint with or without external rotation, but in all cases with a sufficiently flexed knee joint, far more than with pure internal rotation.

Asanas:

See also:
737: Strengthening the external rotators of the hip joint – –

All poses with the effect indicator 736

737Strengthening the external rotators of the hip joint:

In most postures, external rotation in the hip joint is performed together with abduction, often in flexion. This strengthens all the relevant muscles. Most of these muscles serve more than one dimension of movement anyway, in the case of the gluteus maximus there are even three. These postures include some of the important standing postures such as 2nd warrior pose, parsvakonasana and caturkonasana. This situation must not be confused with further external rotation, which is assumed passively and not forced further, as in baddhakonasanaLotus and similar postures. If you try to force the external rotation in these postures, you will often find that on the one hand this is not very powerful and on the other hand tension can build up in the muscles used. The external rotating obturator internus as the abductor with the hipjoint flexed still benefits the most in terms of stretching from poses such as parivrtta trikonasana and parivrtta ardha chandrasana, when the hip of the back or raised leg is dropped.

Asanas: – 2nd warrior pose – parsvakonasana – counter – caturkonasana – parivrtta trikonasana – parivrtta ardha chandrasana

See also:
736: stretching the external rotators of the hip joint
glossary: hip joint
glossary: external rotation in the hip joint
glossary: abduction in the hip joint
glossary: flexion in the hip joint

All poses with the effect indicator 737

741 Stretching the abductors:

The abductors of the hip joint include the piriformis, the tensor fasciae latae, if the hip joint isflexed, the obturatorius internus and, due to its origin lateral to the acetabulum, the sartorius in addition to all the glutei(maximus, medius, minimus). Although the latter argument also applies to a lesser extent to the rectus femoris, its abducting effect is too weak to classify it as an abductor. In order to stretch the abductors, one would typically try to adduct in the hip joint, but adductionin the hip joint is much less possible than abduction, at least when the latter is performed with additional external rotation. Furthermore, adduction from standard anatomical position is spatially restricted by the other leg. This is where trikonasana comes in, which avoids the latter problem by external rotating the other leg. This allows the pelvis to be tilted very far to the side in relation to the leg whose abductors are to be stretched, resulting in a wide adduction and stretching some of the abductors, especially the smaller gluteals, but also the tensor fasciae latae, as the hip joint is not significantly flexed. In the case of the gluteus maximus, stretching is achieved in many cases via the wide flexion in the hip joint rather than via adduction. In terms of stretching, the obturatorius internus still benefits most from poses such as parivrtta trikonasana and parivrtta ardha chandrasana, when the hip of the back or raised leg is dropped.

Asanas: – parivrtta trikonasana – parivrtta ardha chandrasana

See also:
742: strengthening the abductors of the hip joint
glossary: hip joint
glossary: external rotation in the hip joint
glossary: abduction in the hip joint
glossary: flexion in the hip joint

All poses with the effect indicator 741

742 Strengthening the abductors:

As with stretching, it is important to bear in mind that pure abduction without external rotation cannot be performed very far, unlike with external rotation, and a tendency to cramp often occurs quickly. Therefore, most of the postures that can be used for strengthening are pure stabilizations of the position of the thigh in the hip joint, such as vasisthasana, ardha vasisthasana or ardha chandrasana. In parivrtta ardha chandrasana, the strengthening is less pronounced because, unlike in ardha chandrasana, the leg cannot be lifted at will against gravity and internal body resistance, but only the position of the partial body weight must be maintained, depending on the maxim followed, so that the pelvis is horizontal. One of the most intense strengthening exercises is parsvakonasana, in which the bent leg is pressed against the arm of the hand placed on the outer foot. Therefore, there is no real limitation, theoretically it would lie in the friction of the hand on the surface or the sensitivity of the arm to pressure. As discussed in many cases and elsewhere, abduction takes place in combination with external rotation due to the geometry of the hip joint and because of the placed foot, but this is not a disadvantage and should not represent a disadvantage compared to a technically feasible pure abduction without external rotation. Other postures for strengthening are the 2nd warrior pose, which is related to parsvakonasana, counter and caturkonasana. What they have in common is the strengthening in wide external rotation and wide abduction largely exclusively against internal body resistance. In the postures discussed, the strengthening takes place at significantly different sarcomere lengths. While vasisthasana, ardha vasisthasana and ardha_chandrasana represent a group in which strengthening takes place largely without external rotation and without flexion in the hip joint with only slight abduction, the above-mentioned postures around parsvakonasana represent the other group in which strengthening takes place in a very short sarcomere length with wide external rotation, around 90° flexion and maximum abduction. This should describe the two most important design principles.

Asanas: – parsvakonasana – 2. Kriegerstellung – caturkonasana – Theke – vasisthasana – ardha vasisthasana – ardha chandrasana – parivrtta ardha chandrasana

See also:
741: stretching the abductors of the hip joint
glossary: hip joint
glossary: external rotation in the hip joint
glossary: abduction in the hip joint
glossary: flexion in the hip joint

All poses with the effect indicator 742

751 Stretching the adductors:

With the adductors, a distinction must also be made between postures with and without external rotation of the thigh in the hip joint. The postures are also divided into those with and without flexion in the hip joint. Baddha konasana as well as padmasana and their respective derivatives are typical representatives of postures with external rotation, whereby different flexion anglesare offered with the variants: supta padmasana and adho mukha supta padmasana have less flexion (ideally none) than padmasana and this in turn as padmasana forward bend. The same applies to supta baddha konasana, adho mukha supta baddha konasana, baddha konasana and baddha konasana forward bend. In padmasana, the external rotation must exceed 90° due to the design so that the knees are lower than the ankles. Baddha konasana against the wall with feet on a block (or several blocks) also goes beyond 90° and points the way towards root tuber pose, which is probably the maximum external rotation requirement. Trikonasana, ardha chandrasana, parsvakonasana, 2nd warrior pose, counter and caturkonasana are standing poses that stretch the adductors into external rotation. Among these, those with an extended knee joint must be differentiated from those without, because the former usually primarily stretch the biarticulargracilis and the latter are almost exclusively dedicated to monoarticular adductors. External rotation-free abductions such as prasarita padottanasana, prasarita savasana and upavista konasana with their variations are of a completely different nature, which also primarily focus on the gracilis due to the extended knee joint, whereby the first two differ from upavista konasana and its variations due to their extended hip joint, which allows a better stretching effect on the pectineus, which can also be stretched in the externally rotated postures listed above with an extended hip joint.

Asanas: – parsvakonasana – 2nd warrior pose – caturkonasana – counter – upavista konasana and variations – padmasana and variations – baddha konasana and variations

See also:
752: strengthening the adductors of the hip joint
756: stretching the biarticular gracilis
glossary: hip joint
glossary: adductors of the hip joint
glossary: external rotation in the hip joint
glossary: flexion in the hip joint

All poses with the effect indicator 751

752 Strengthening the adductors:

Among the standing postures, the adductor muscles are strengthened primarily in the 2nd warrior pose to stabilize the pelvic position, albeit with a very long sarcomere length. In many postures with extension in the hip joint, i.e. backbends of various kinds such as purvottanasana, they are used intensively to limit the lateral deviation of the thighs. This typically tends to occur as a result of several factors: the moments of the gluteus maximus, which has an extensor, external rotatory and abductor effect, as well as the pull of the iliopsoas on the lesser trochanter, which also generates an external rotatory moment, and finally the external rotatory moment generated in the hip joint by the rectus femoris running lateral to the acetabulum. The influence of the knee-extending rectusfemoris naturally depends on the angle in the knee joint. In the case of the aforementioned external rotatory moments, it must be borne in mind that they are partly converted into abductor moments in the aforementioned postures due to the fixed foot(s). Backbends with fixed knees, be it through a belt placed around the thighs close to the knees, as often practiced in urdhva dhanurasana or setu bandha sarvangasana, or through the construction of the posture, as in ustrasana, do not strengthen the adductors, except in the sense that they are involved to a small extent in holding the partial body weight as low-grade hip flexor muscles, as in ustrasana. Postures without fixed feet, in which abductor forces must be absorbed in the hip joint, are of a completely different nature. A classic example of this is the shoulder stand, in which the powerful work of the gluteus maximus, which is necessary with limited flexibility of the hip flexors, leads to external rotation and abduction. These evasive movements must then be compensated for with the strength of the adductors, whereby the adductor magnus plays a special role as it is the only adductor performing an internal rotation due to its partial origin on the ischium and can also absorb the external rotation moments. Experience has shown that this strengthening effect on the adductors is significantly less pronounced in the structurally similar headstand than in the shoulderstand, which is due to the fact that the pelvis (depending on the flexibility of the hip flexors) can usually be held vertically much more easily and therefore requires much less work from the gluteus maximus. This results in significantly lower abductor and external rotatory moments, which need to be compensated for. While mainly symmetrical postures have been discussed so far, there are other possible uses for the adductors, although it is not possible to speak of a lasting strengthening effect in all cases. These are postures in which one leg deviates laterally. These include the one-legged (eka pada) variations of many poses, such as urdhva dhanurasana or setu bandha sarvangasana, as well as the one-legged handstand lift with the attempt to prevent the swinging leg from turning out.

Asanas: – urdhva dhanurasana, also the eka pada-variant – setu bandha sarvangasana, auch die eka pada-variant – shoulderstand and variants – warrior 2 pose

See also:
751: stretching the adductors of the hip joint
glossary: hip joint
glossary: adductors of the hip joint
glossary: external rotation in the hip joint
glossary: flexion in the hip joint

All poses with the effect indicator 752

756 Elongation the gracilis:

Stretching the biarticulargracilis requires an (at least approximately) extended knee joint, as any degree of flexion in the knee joint relieves the muscle. In principle, the degree of flexion in the hip joint also has an influence due to its origin ventral to the acetabulum on the pubic bone, but almost any degree of flexion can be offset by an increase in abduction, Only in the upavista konasana forward bend or the lateral counterpart parsva upavista konasana, for example, is the hamstrings usually subjectively felt to be predominantly stretched, but this speaks more for the intensity of the stretching of the hamstrings than against the stretching of the adductors. In addition to upavista konasana, trikonasana and ardha chandrasana are the most important postures for stretching the gracilis. As this muscle is generally less robust than most other adductor muscles, it should be stretched with a little more care. In upavista konasana, it can sometimes be seen that with very limited flexibility, i.e. very low abduction capacityin the hip joints, short, monoarticular adductors are required before a significant stretching effect can be exerted on the gracilis. This is then the main site of action of the posture over a longer period of time, before later – other – short adductors require further exercise. Incidentally, stretching the gracilis often causes discomfort and restricted flexibility to reappear, which can be traced back to old injuries. Sports, ballet, falls and slipping with an outstretched leg or even rape scenarios can be the cause. In these cases, a defensive, sustainable approach and strengthening is indicated, especially in longer sarcomere lengths.

Asanas: – trikonasana – ardha chandrasana – upavista konasana – parsva upavista konasana – samakonasana – 4th hip opening – vasisthasana

See also:
757: strengthening the gracilis
glossary: gracilis
glossary: hip joint
glossary: adduction of the hip joint
glossary: adductors of the hip joint
glossary: flexion in the hip joint

All poses with the effect indicator 756

757 Strengthening the gracilis:

The gracilis is strengthened together with the other adductors in all the postures listed under 752. The flexion of the knee joint in the respective posture also determines the length of the sarcomere in which this takes place. For the strengthening asanas, please refer to the list under 752.

Asanas:

See also:
756: stretching the gracilis
752: strengthening the adductors
glossary: hip joint
glossary: adduction of the hip joint
glossary: adductors of the hip joint
glossary: flexion in the hip joint

All poses with the effect indicator 757

811 Stretching the quadriceps:

When stretching the quadriceps, a distinction must be made between its three monoarticular parts and the one biarticular part, the rectus femoris. All postures that bend the knee joint as far or as much as possible stretch the monoarticular knee extensors. This is primarily achieved by virassana and quadriceps stretch 1 on the wall. Supta virasana also has a stretching effect, but instead of a large partial body weight bending the knee joint 1:1 as in virasana, only a very small partial bodyweight bends the knee due to the backward leaning and supported upper body; the rest of the effect stretches the biarticular rectusfemoris, but not primarily by using the partial body weight but more by using the hip extensors to reduce flexion in the hip joints. Asymmetrical poses such as ardha supta krouncasana and even more so supta krouncasana are also excellent for stretching the rectus femoris. There are also V-variations of other postures with one or two supta virasanaor supta krouncasana-like legs, e.g. handstand, elbow stand or headstand. As only the pressure that can be built up against the wall can have a stretching effect here, their stretching effect is naturally rather limited. The most useful of these variations are the supta-krouncasana-like variations, in which an extended leg sinks towards the floor in line with gravityand helps to extend the contralateral hip joint. In all these variations, an attempt must be made to counteract the internally rotating and especially the abducting deviation in the hip joint, as this has a significantly diminishing effect. This is all the more difficult as the friction on the wall is likely to be very limited and must come almost entirely from the relevant muscles of the hip joint.

Asanas: – quadriceps stretch 1 on the wall – quadriceps stretch 2 on the wall – virasana – supta virasana – krouncasana – supta krouncasana – ardha supta krouncasana – headstand: krouncasana variation – headstand: supta virasana variation – handstand: krouncasana variation – elbow stand: krouncasana variation – baddha padasana

See also:
812: Strengthening the quadriceps
glossary: quadriceps
glossary: rectus femoris
glossary: extension (stretching) of the knee
glossary: flexion (bending) of the knee (counter movement)
glossary: hamstrings, knee flexors (antagonists )

All poses with the effect indicator 811

812 Strengthening the quadriceps:

The majority of postures that strengthen the quadriceps are those in which a larger partial body weight must be held against gravity with one or both knee joints bent. These include some of the major standing postures such as 1st warrior p ose (front leg), 2nd warrior pose, counter pose, caturkonasana, parsvakonasana and utkatasana. There are also postures in which the knee joint must be held in full extension against resistance, usually generated by the hip flexors, which pull the hip joints into flexion and thus the knee joint into flexion when the foot is fixed. These include postures such as 1st warrior pose (back leg), 1st hip opening, 2nd hip opening, 3rd hip opening, upface dog, and also bhujangasana. The second group differs in that it strengthens the quadriceps with a long sarcomere length, which is probably not found with comparable intensity in any other sport or discipline outside of yoga, whereas in the first group the sarcomere length is very favorable for the development of strength with the knee joint bent at a right angle. Strengthening the quadriceps in ustrasana is of a different kind again, as the decisive factor here is not so much the partial body weight to be held, but rather the possibility of allowing the quadriceps to work as powerfully as desired against the structures of the room (floor and wall), whereby ustrasana should stand out from all other postures. A favorable sarcomere length is also present here with the knee joint bent at a right angle. For postures that primarily strengthen the rectus femoris, see 817.

Asanas: – warrior 1 pose – warrior 2 pose – counter – caturkonasana – parsvakonasana – utkatasana – hip opener 1 – hip opener 2 – hip opener 3 – upafce dog – bhujangasana – eka pada urdhva dhanurasana – ustrasana – navasana – dvi on viparita dandasana – eka pada viparita dandasana – setu bandha sarvangasana

Siehe auch:
811: stretching the quadrizeps
812: strengthening the quadrizeps
glossary: quadrizeps
glossary: hip flexors

All poses with the effect indicator 812

813 Strengthening the vastus medialis

The vastus medialis is an important muscle for the health of the knee joint, especially the patella and the femoropatellar gliding joint. Especially in people who do not have a transverse medial patellar retinaculum as a passive protection against lateralization of the patella, active protection by the medial vast us is extremely important.

Asanas: – 1st hip opening – 2nd hip opening – 3rd hip opening – upface dog – bhujangasana – dog pose head down with one leg lifted backwards against the wall

See also:

further attitudes with the impact indicator:

816 Stretching of the rectus femoris:

As the rectus femoris is both a knee extensor and a hip flexor, a significant degree of knee flexion or a significant degree of hip extension is required for stretching. However, as the latter is possible to a much lesser extent than its counter-movement, hip flexion, and also than knee flexion, most useful stretches of the rectus femoris will be based on a clear minimum degree of knee flexion. It should be noted that the lever arm in the knee joint, i.e. the distance from the center of rotation to the course of the muscle or the force-transmitting structure, in this case the patella, is smaller than that in the hip joint, where it is the distance from the superficial muscle to the rather profound center of rotation. This allows two main methods of stretching the rectus femoris to be constructed: maximizing hip extension (and in some cases reducing flexion in the hip joint) with less than maximum knee flexion or with full knee flexion. In the first case, the flexibility restrictions of the hip flexors located in the pelvis, i.e. the iliopsoas, may still play a significant role, which can prevent a stretching effect on the rectus femoris. This class of postures includes urdhva dhanurasana, setu bandha sarvangasana and ustrasana. The second class includes all postures with a fully flexed knee joint such as supta virasana, ardha supta krouncasana, supta krouncasana, quadriceps stretch 1 on the wall and quadriceps stretch 2 on the wall. Depending on how stretched the rectus femoris is, postures with an extended knee joint and hip extension such as warrior 1 pose, hip opener 1, hipopening 2 and hip opening3 can also stretch the rectus femoris.

Asanas: – ardha supta krouncasana – elbow stand: krouncasana-variant – handstand: krouncasana-variant – headstand: krouncasana-variant – headstand: supta virasana-variant – quads stretching 1 – quads stretching 2 – supta virasana – kapotasana

Siehe auch: – 817: Kräftigung des Rectus femoris – –

All poses with the effect indicator 816

817 Strengthening the rectus femoris:

Postures that primarily strengthen the rectus femoris and less the three monoarticular parts of the quadriceps are usually based on a flexing movement in the hip joint against gravity, primarily when the knee joint is extended, as the lever arm is about twice as long. This means that the rectus femoris has to extend in the knee joint and flex in the hip joint, which makes it work with a very short sarcomere length. This explains its frequent tendency to spasm. Examples include tadasana: eka pada variation and tolasana with legs extended, as well as the eka pada variations of urdhva dhanurasana and setu bandha sarvangasana. For strengthening the quadriceps in general, see 812.

Asanas: – tadasana: eka pada variation – tolasana with outstretched legs – eka pada urdhva dhanurasana – eka pada setu bandha sarvangasana – eka pada viparita dandasana – navasana

See also:
816: stretch ing the rectus femoris
812: strengthening the quadriceps
811: stretching the quadriceps
glossary: rectus femoris
glossary: quadriceps

All poses with the effect indicator 817

821 Stretching of the hamstrings as external rotators of the knee joint:

The biceps femoris is the outer part of the knee-flexing ischiocruralgroup and can rotate the lower leg when the knee joint is flexed thanks to its attachment to the fibula. At the same time, it is also the only part that performs this function. External rotations in the knee joint performed with force hardly ever occur in asanas. Only in postures such as 2nd warrior pose and caturkonasana does one have the impression of supporting abduction in the hip joint by attempting an external rotation in the knee joint. However, the extent to which this can actually be reproduced in clear real forces and moments is questionable. Basically, this test causes a displacement of the bone substance in the surrounding skin when the foot is fixed to the ground if both areas, heel and forefoot, are pressed onto the ground with sufficient force. Basically, this produces nothing more than a torque of the tibia-fibula structure, i.e. the lower leg bones. A direct movement of the knee in further abduction cannot be concluded from this, except in the sense that the force directed inwards (in the direction of adduction) in the knee joint acts on a shorter lever arm to the hip joint than the force directed outwards (in the direction of abduction). This may explain the effect perceived by many test subjects that the attempt to externally orotate the lower leg supports abduction in the hip joint. In addition, the inward movement of the heel may also generate a moment that tilts the lower leg from its vertical position in such a way that the knee moves further outwards in relation to the heel. Such an inclination would also tend to support the outward movement of the knee and thus hip abduction, but this is certainly a marginal effect and does not occur over a long sarcomere length, so that no stretching effect can be expected. As far as stretching the biceps femoris is concerned, see 721.

Asanas:

See also:
822: strengthening the external rotators of the knee joint
glossary: external rotation in the knee joint
glossary: hamstrings
glossary: biceps femoris
glossary: abduction in the hip joint

All poses with the effect indicator 821

822 Strengthening the hamstrings as external rotators of the knee joint:

External rotation of the lower leg and its possible effect on the hip joint are described in 721 and 821. The biceps femoris is the only external rotating muscle; therefore, if this movement is to be performed more powerfully, this muscle must be strengthened. However, this should be done less by attempting to externally rotate the knee joint (in its flexed state) against resistance, as discussed in 821, and more in its function as a knee flexor and hip extensor, as is achieved with purvottanasana, right-angled uttanasana and deadlifts, for example. See also 722.

Asanas: – 2nd warrior pose – caturkonasana – parsvakonasana – purvottanasana – right-angled uttanasana – deadlift

See also:
821: stretching the external rotators of the knee joint
glossary: external rotation in the knee joint
glossary: hamstrings
glossary: biceps femoris
glossary: abduction in the hip joint

All poses with the effect indicator 822

826 Stretching of the inner hamstrings as internal rotators of the knee joint:

In analogy to the external rotation of the lower leg in the knee joint, which is dealt with in 821, the medial parts of the hamstrings, i.e. semimembranosus-semitendinosus, turn the lower leg in the knee joint. This movement is not specifically practiced either, but the muscles responsible for it are subjected to extensive stretching and strengthening. For stretching, see 721.

Asanas:

See also:
827: strengthening the internal rotators of the knee joint –

All poses with the effect indicator 826

827 Strengthening the inner hamstrings as internal rotators of the knee joint

The analogy to the strengthening of the external rotators of the knee joint under 822 also applies here. The relevant muscles mentioned in 826 are essentially strengthened with the same postures listed under 822.

Asanas:

See also:
826: stretching the internal rotators of the knee joint – –

All poses with the effect indicator 827

831 Stretching of the Sartorius:

The Sartorius has three functions: external rotation and flexion of the hip joint and flexion of the knee joint. This makes it the only muscle that performs all the functions required to sit cross-legged, which gave it its name. Incidentally, with its origin at the SIAS and insertion at the pes anserinus of the tibia, it is the longest muscle in the human body with an average length of around 50 cm. In order to stretch this muscle, it is necessary to perform opposite movements in at least two of its movements and to correspond as little as possible to its function in the third movement. It should be noted that the distances of the muscle or its executing tendon from the respective center of rotation of the joint in the knee joint and hip joint are different and therefore also the lever arms and the angular dimensions that must be achieved for its stretching. The most favorable case should result from the hip joint being extended and at best not turned out, while the knee joint is extended as far as possible. This situation is achieved in an urdhva dhanurasana, for example, where the distance between the hands and feet also determines the bending angle in the knee joint: the smaller the distance, the greater the remaining angle. On the other hand, extension in the hip joint is more important for the stretching effect than extension in the knee joint. A slight increase in the effect is achieved in the bridge by binding the knees together, which corresponds to a slight internally rotated adduction. Due to its far lateral origin, the adductor aspect of the stretch also benefits. All other sufficiently intense stretching postures should follow the same principle. ustrasana is already slightly less intense than urdhva dhanurasana because the knee joint is already bent further (90°). With the knee joint extended, the hip joint must be extended as far as possible in order to achieve a useful stretching effect. Despite the external rotation in the hip joint, the 1st warrior pose should therefore at least have a useful flexibility-preserving effect. The 1st hip opening, 2nd hip opening and 3rd hip opening therefore exceed the 1st hip opening due to the lack of external rotation in the hip joint.

Asanas: – urdhva dhanurasana – warrior 1 pose – hip opener 1 – hip opener 2 – hip opener 3

Siehe auch:
832: strengthening the sartorius

All poses with the effect indicator 831

832 strengthening the sartorius:

Strengthening the sartorius should not be undertaken by attempting to move a weight attached to the foot into a cross-legged position, as such an attempt will cause significant valgus stress in the knee joint. Therefore, to strengthen the knee joint, reference must be made to its two functions in the overlapping knee and hip joints. Strengthening exercises must therefore forcefully bend the knee joint or forcefully bend the hip joint, ideally both at the same time. Powerful external rotation in the hip joint would also be possible. In the latter case, however, the force of the gluteus maximus is an order of magnitude higher, so that the sartorius only contributes as a less significant synergist. In the former, the strength of the sartorius certainly plays an equally subordinate role compared to muscles such as the rectus femoris or the iliopsoas. If physiological execution is important, exercises could also be constructed in which, for example, one leg is bent in relation to a standing leg and the heel is pulled towards the buttocks so that flexion of the knee joint and flexion of the hip joint are achieved simultaneously. However, you should be careful with such exercises because they affect the balance of forces in the knee joint: they increase the tone of the caput breve of the biceps femoris unilaterally, while during execution the three other muscles of the hamstrings and thus all internal rotators of the knee joint increase rather than decrease their sarcomere length due to flexion in the hip joint, The lever arm in the hip joint is greater than that in the knee joint, so when the hip joint is flexed with the lower leg hanging vertically, the sarcomere length of the biarticular parts of the ischiocrural group must increase. In summary, it can be said that hip flexion is most suitable for developing the Sartorius force regardless of the position of the knee joint. These work against the gravitational force of the leg on the one hand and against the movement restrictions of the hamstrings on the other, regardless of the position of the lifted leg or legs in space. Strengthening against gravity naturally works best the closer the legs are to the horizontal. Therefore, tolasana with straight legs is certainly one of the best possible postures for strengthening. navasana, the better the flexibility, the more pronounced the effect of gravity, but still has sufficient effectiveness. In all of these poses, however, a tendency to cramp in the hip flexor synergistrectusfemoris may make it necessary to keep the knee joint slightly bent.

Asanas: – navasana – tolasana – tolasana with outstretched legs

See also:
831: Stretching the sartorius

All poses with the effect indicator 832

836 Stretching of the popliteus:

Asanas:

See also:
837: Strengthening the popliteus

All poses with the effect indicator 836

837 Strengthening the popliteus:

Asanas:

See also:
836: Stretching of the popliteus

All poses with the effect indicator 837

841 Stretching the dorsiflexors of the foot:

The most important postures for stretching the foot lifts are those in which the ventral side of the lower leg and the back of the foot lie on the floor with the ankle extended, as is the case in virasana, supta virasana, krouncasana, supta krouncasana, ardha supta krouncasana and baddha padasana. In these poses, the lower leg not only rests on the floor in accordance with gravity, but a large part of the body weight bends the knee joint, which means that the entire foot and lower leg are pressed down onto the floor as the extension moment in the knee joint increases with flexion. The higher the basic tension and the lower the flexibility of the quadriceps, the greater the force, with the monoarticular parts playing a particularly important role here. The basic tension of the foot-moving lower leg muscles with maximally relaxed muscles is known to result in an inversion, even if the lower leg is not hanging vertically from the knee in accordance with gravity,but is stretched vertically upwards, as is the case in the headstand and slouch stand, for example, whereby the inversion is made up of plantar flexion, adduction and supination in the three ankle joints. Accordingly, the more plantar flexion is required in the postures described above, the more the foot will deviate into adduction and supination, as can also be observed regularly. These two evasive movements must therefore be counteracted in order to achieve good stretching of all foot-lifting muscles. In principle, this can be achieved to some extent if the foot is repositioned – possibly more often – as required, but in most cases it is not possible to completely avoid the evasive movement, and attempts to correct the position of the foot often quickly result in cramp in the inner sole of the foot. This is all the more true for people who use their legs a lot in everyday life, work, sport and hobbies. The only way to largely avoid the eversion is in baddha padasana, where the eversion of the foot to the medial side is blocked purely mechanically by the other foot. This is the reason for the well-known pressure sensations in the feet in this pose. Another important class of postures that stretches the foot lifts are those in which one leg is at a rather shallow angle to the floor with the sole of the foot on the floor, as is the case especially in 5th hip opening, also thanks to the large distance between the feet. Similar in construction are parivrtta trikonasana and parsvottanasana, which, however, can hardly be practiced with a comparably large distance between the feet, so that the angle of the lower leg to the floor is greater here and thus the plantar flexion remains lower. What these poses have in common is that the tendency to deviate in the direction of supination is sometimes quite pronounced and must be prevented as completely as possible in order to achieve a good stretching effect on the supinating footlifts.

Asanas: – virasana – supta virasana – krouncasana – supta krouncasana – ardha supta krouncasana – baddha padasana – 5. Hüftöffnung – parivrtta trikonasana – parsvottanasana

Siehe auch:
842: strengthening the dorsiflexors

All poses with the effect indicator 841

842 Strengthening the dorsiflexors of the foot:

There are hardly any asanas for dedicated strengthening of the foot lifts. However, if a strengthening effect is to be achieved, the back of the foot can be deliberately pressed forcefully onto the floor in the postures described in 841. Any resulting reduction in plantar flexion does not detract from the postures, but it does tend to lead to further flexion of the knee joint, which increases the quadriceps-stretching effect of the posture, but in some cases can also cause or increase discomfort in the knee joint. By definition, strengthening of this type takes place in the long sarcomere length of the foot lifts, which minimizes the likelihood of an unpleasant increase in muscle tone and thus premature signs of fatigue when walking and running. The situation would be different if the strengthening took place in a short sarcomere length, such as when stabilizing the ankle in malasana in cases of low dorsiflexion capacityin the ankle and low flexibility of the trunk in the direction of flexion or of the hip joints in the direction of wide flexion due to stiff hip extensors. Under these conditions, malasana is often only possible with significant use of the foot lifts and prolonged execution can increase the tone to such an extent that significant signs of fatigue or even a tendency to cramp occur in some foot lifts when walking or running later on. In a different way, the foot lifts are required in standing one-legged balancing postures such as vrksasana, hasta padangusthasana, 3rd warrior pose and subsequently in postures with both legs on the floor but a very narrow physical support base such as parivrtta trikonasana and even more so in parsvottanasana due to the inability to rest the hand on the floor, i.e. postures in which the pelvis points towards the foot at the narrower end of the physical support base. Here, the foot lifts are called upon to perform their other functions, which they also fulfill, namely as pronators(extensor digitorum longus) or supinators of the ankle(tibialis anterior and extensor hallucis longus). The stabilization work in the ankle also results in a certain amount of strengthening.

Asanas: – malasana – parivrtta trikonasana – parsvottanasana – vrksasana – hasta padangusthasana – 3rd warrior pose – tadasana eka pada prasarita

See also:
841: Stretching the foot lifts

All poses with the effect indicator 842

851 Stretching the foot extensors (plantar flexors / calf muscles):

The calf muscles of the ticeps surae, i.e. the gastrocnemius and soleus, are among the exceptionally strong muscles in the human musculoskeletal system. This is generally due to the usually forward movement in everyday life, in which they can contribute significantly to propulsion and must do so in order to achieve greater speed, as well as the upright gait in particular, which further intensifies the leverage conditionsand requires powerful muscles both for propulsion and for a stable stance. If the quadruped is already stable if only the kneeand hip joints are kept reasonably stable, then the two-legged stance is already a balancing posture in comparison, which becomes quite apparent under special conditions such as in storms, on slippery surfaces or in sports such as tug-of-war. Depending on the speed and style, walking and running do not utilize the entire ROM but only a part of it, especially in slow walking, walking that draws its propulsion mainly from the hip extensors, slow jogging with short stride lengths. This can lead to significant shortening of these muscles due to the high number of repetitions of the movements. The same naturally also applies to less holistic movement patterns and activities such as step aerobics. When stretching these muscles, the two large and important muscles of the ticeps surae are discussed first. As a biarticular knee flexor and plantar flexor, the gastrocnemius also requires extension in the knee joint in addition to dorsiflexion for stretching. This does not necessarily have to be complete, but with each degree of flexion in the knee joint the effect gradually shifts in the direction of the monoarticularsoleus. This can easily be demonstrated experimentally in average test subjects. If, for example, in supta dandasana or supta padangusthasana a hand pulls on the forefoot to the limit of the tolerability of the stretch sensation and the knee joint is now flexed in an attempt to keep the sensation as constant as possible, an increase in dorsiflexion is observed with increasing flexion of the knee joint, and it is often not even possible to maintain the intensity of the stretch sensation. This principle of shifting the stretch between the gastrocnemius and soleus at maximum dorsiflexion by flexing the knee joint can be transferred to many postures and situations, such as the dog’s head down. The gastrocnemius is therefore stretched in dog head down, 1. Warrior pose, parivrtta trikonasana (back leg), parsvottanasana (back leg), seated forward bends with the knee extended when pulled with one or both hands on the forefoot, this can be achieved in janu sirsasana, pascimottanasana, ardha baddha padma pascimottanasana, tryangamukhaikapada pascimottanasana, krouncasana, supta krouncasana, hasta padangusthasana and supta padangusthasana.

Of the other muscles involved in plantar flexion, fibularis brevis and fibularis longus are pronators and tibialis posterior and plantaris supinators of the ankle. Accordingly, they are stretched in the first case in postures with supination and dorsiflexion and in the second case in postures with pronation and dorsiflexion. The two remaining muscles, flexor digitorum longus and flexor hallucis longus, which do not belong to either group, are stretched in postures in which the ankle joint is dorsiflexed and the toes are extended, e.g. in quadriceps stretch 1 against the wall, quadriceps stretch 2 against the wall, setu bandha sarvangasana against the wall and supta virasana with the feet up.

Asanas: – crouch 1 – crouch 2 – downface dog – warrior 1 pose – malasana – uttanasana: ball of foot on a block (with traction on the forefoot) – parivrtta parsvakonasana – parivrtta trikonasana – parsvottanasana – supta dandasana (with traction on the forefoot) – janu sirsasana (with traction on the forefoot) – pascimottanasana (with traction on the forefoot) – ardha baddha padma pascimottanasana (with traction on the forefoot) – tryangamukhaikapada pascimottanasana (with traction on the forefoot) – krouncasana (with traction on the forefoot) – supta krouncasana (with traction on the forefoot) – hasta padangusthasana (with traction on the forefoot) – supta padangusthasana (with traction on the forefoot)

See also:
852: Strengthening the foot extensors

All poses with the effect indicator 851

852 Strengthening the plantar flexors (plantar flexors / calf muscles):

Asanas that strengthen the plantar flexors through heavy work, for example by lifting the whole body weight, do not seem to exist, except perhaps through reinterpretation. The typical strengthening is achieved by stabilizing the position of the ankle joint when stability is maintained through small pronationand supination movementsin balancing postures on one leg or in postures with a narrow physical base of support towards which the pelvis is also rotated. Probably the most intensive strengthening of this type is found in the third war rior position and even more intensively in the third warrior position backwards against the wall variation. Of the other muscles involved in plantar flexion, fibularis brevis and fibularislongus are pronators and tibialis posterior and plantaris supinators of the ankle, which are strengthened in the postures listed in 842 with a balancing character by the constant small changes in force in the direction of supination and pronation. Only flexor digitorum longus and flexor hallucis longus do not belong to one of the two groups. In order to strengthen them, the above postures and others that require intensive support with the forefoot must be interpreted in such a way that toes 1 – 4 are also used for this purpose. This can also include symmetrical poses such as uttanasana with the buttocks and heels against the wall.

Asanas: – uttanasana with butts and heels on the wall – uttanasana eka pada prasarita – warrior 2 pose – warrior 3 pose backwards against the wall – ardha chandrasana – eka pada viparita dandasana – Johns Folge – 1. Kriegerstellung – 3. Kriegerstellung – malasana – parivrtta ardha chandrasana – parivrtta parsvakonasana – parivrtta trikonasana

See also:
851: Stretching the foot extensors

All poses with the effect indicator 852

856 Stretching of the gastrocnemius:

The general aspects of stretching the triceps surae and the differentiation between the gastrocnemius and soleus are described in 851. Only those postures that stretch the gastrocnemius, i.e. have the associated knee joint stretched, will be listed here.

Asanas: – downface dog – downface dog: eka pada prasarita – 1st warrior pose – parivrtta parsvakonasana – parivrtta trikonasana – parsvottanasana

See also:
857: Strengthening the gastrocnemius

All poses with the effect indicator 856

857 Strengthening the gastrocnemius:

The postures for strengthening the triceps surae are described under 852. In contrast to stretching, it is almost impossible to differentiate between the effect on the gastrocnemius and the soleus when strengthening.

Asanas: – parsvottanasana – uttanasana: ball of foot on a block – ardha chandrasana – downface dog: eka pada prasarita-variant – warrior 1 pose – warrior 3 pose – parivrtta parsvakonasana – parivrtta trikonasana

Siehe auch:
856: Stretching the gastrocnemius

All poses with the effect indicator 857

861 Stretching the supinators of the ankle:

The supinators of the ankle include: Triceps surae with gastrocnemius and soleus, tibialis anterior, tibialis posterior, flexor digitorum longus and flexor hallucis longus. Many postures have a more neutral position with regard to the tilting of the foot around its longitudinal axis, such as tadasana, uttanasana, 3rd warrior p ose and garudasana, or a more or less wide supination, such as parsvakonasana, 2nd warrior pose, trikonasana and prasarita padottanasana. An exception is malasana, which has a clear pronation with the knees wide open and the feet more or less closed, thus contributing to the flexibility of the supinators. With the exception of the dorsiflexor tibialis anterior, the postures described above only involve plantar flexion. Since the lever arm for pronation and supination in the ankle is certainly no greater than that for plantar flexion, these muscles are more likely to be stretched in practice by the postures with wide plantar flexion as discussed in 851. The increase of this would be plantar flexion combined with pronation, but this does not occur in asanas. The only supinatingdorsiflexor, the tibialis anterior, is excellently stretched in some of the postures described in 841.

Asanas: – malasana

See also:
856: Strengthening the supinators of the foot

All poses with the effect indicator 861

862 Strengthening the supinators of the ankle:

In most postures, supination in the ankle is generated by gravity, either by means of restricted flexibility in the hip joint in the sense of external rotation and external resistance such as from a thigh or the floor, as in padmasana or baddha konasana, or by placing the soles of the feet on the floor with the legs straddled, as in parsvakonasana, 2nd warrior pose, trikonasana and prasarita padottanasana. There is no strengthening of the supinators at all. Among these postures, parsvakonasana requires the most active work to ensure that sufficient supination is achieved to press the outer foot onto the floor with the same force as the inner foot. The outstanding position of parsvakonasana is partly due to the fact that in practice the pelvis is usually held lower than in the 2nd Warrior pose, for example, so that the leg is flatter to the floor and therefore the supination is greater, and partly because the significant free partial body weight of the 2nd Warrior pose does not act vertically downwards but is supported by an arm, so that its supinating effect on the ankle joint of the extended leg is almost completely lost and supination actually has to be produced through muscular work. All further strengthening of the supinators takes place in postures with a balancing character, in which many small pronationand supination movementsensure stability, above all 3rd warrior pose, ardha chandrasana and parsvottanasana. Apart from this, the postures mentioned in 861 also strengthen the supinators by allowing these muscles to work in their other functions or movement dimensions, i.e. primarily in the direction of plantar flexion.

Asanas: – parsvakonasana – 3rd warrior pose – ardha chandrasana – parsvottanasana

See also:
851: Stretching the supinators of the foot

All poses with the effect indicator 862

871 Stretching the pronators of the ankle:

The most intensive direct stretching of the pronators, which include fibularis longus, fibularis brevis, fibularis tertius and extensor digitorum longus, is provided by the numerous postures with wide supination. These include parsvakonasana, 2nd warrior pose and prasarita padottanasana, but also padmasana or baddha konasana and their derivatives, depending on the flexibility restrictions (the greater the intensity). There are also postures that stretch the pronators through the other dimensions of movement in which they are agonists. Since fibularis longus and fibularisbrevisplantarflex, they are stretched in dorsiflexion, e.g. in malasana, quadriceps stretch 1 against the wall. The fibularis tertius and extensor digitorum longus, on the other hand, dorsiflex the ankle and are stretched in postures with the foot extended, such as virasana and baddha padasana.

Asanas: – parsvakonasana – 2nd warrior pose – prasarita padottanasana (at a great distance) – padmasana – baddha konasana – malasana – quadriceps stretch 1 on the wall – quadriceps stretch 2 on the wall – virasana – baddha padasana

See also:
872: Strengthening the pronators of the foot

All poses with the effect indicator 871

872 Strengthening the pronators of the ankle:

There are probably no postures in which the pronators are strengthened directly and intensively, which is probably due not least to the nature of our musculoskeletal system, which is designed for bipedal stance and gait and has not had to develop a greater ability to pronatebecause it has no practical use in any everyday activities. However, in many postures with a balancing character, the pronators contribute to the stabilization of the ankle joint and sufficient pressure of the inner foot (especially the metatarsophalangeal joint area), and this is a consequence of the unequal distribution between pronationand supination ability. In this sense, they are almost omnipresent in standing postures. Due to the unequal range of motion, the minimal muscle tension in the muscles of the lower leg moving in the ankle corresponds to inversion and therefore also supination. If the involuntarily innervated foot is slowly placed on the ground with the lower leg vertical, the outer edge of the foot touches the ground first. This then absorbs more and more pressure and serves as an abutment on which the foot is successively tilted further and further out of supination towards a neutral position. At a certain point, the inner edge of the foot finally touches the floor and absorbs more and more pressure. Even when using the entire body weight, however, there will still be an uneven distribution of weight between the inner and outer edges of the foot, so that an even distribution can only be achieved by using the pronators. To be precise, if the lower leg is not held vertically but at an angle in the sense of the knee being more medial than the foot, it may be possible to find an angle of the lower leg to the ground at which this effect no longer occurs, namely when the lower leg is at an angle that corresponds to the natural supination tendency. The same applies to plantar flexion, which is gradually reduced with the forefoot as an abutment.

Perhaps the most interesting tasks in the direction of pronation are poses such as 5th hip opening, parsvottanasana and malasasna. While the latter involves pronation of the foot after contortion, in many cases this will be on the edge of the given flexibility, especially in malasasna forward bend, so that the pronators must be used to ensure that the inner foot presses sufficiently strongly on the floor. Although the former two lack pronation, the supination tendency in the given wide plantar flexion is significantly more pronounced than it would be in less flexion, which also requires intensive use of the pronators if the inner edge of the foot is to press sufficiently heavily on the ground.

Asanas: – malasana – malasasna forward bend – 5th hip opening – parsvottanasana

See also:
871: Stretching the pronators of the foot

All poses with the effect indicator 872

971 Stretching the toe flexors:

The flexors of the toes are stretched very well in postures that require 90° extension in the metatarsophalangeal joints, such as quadriceps stretch 1 on the wall, setu bandha sarvangasana with wall or supta virasana with feet up.

Asanas: – quadriceps stretch 1 on the wall – quadriceps stretch 2 on the wall – setu bandha sarvangasana with wall – supta virasana with feet up

See also:
972: Strengthening the toe flexors

All poses with the effect indicator 971

972 Strengthening the toe flexors:

Typically, standing postures avoid pressing the toes to the floor. The reasons for this are explained in the FAQ. If you still want to strengthen the toe flexors, many standing postures can be used to do this by consciously and forcefully pressing the toes onto the floor. However, care must be taken to ensure that the toes remain as stretched as possible and not just the tips of the toes(distal phalanges) are pressed onto the floor. The postures that are best suited to strengthening the toe flexors in this way are those in which you would tend to use the toes for support anyway due to the physical support base being shifted far towards the balls of the feet and toes. These include uttanasana with the buttocks and heels against the wall and 3rd warrior pose backwards against the wall. But even a simple uttanasana can be used for this purpose by shifting the pelvis forward as much as possible, even more so the right-angled uttanasana.

Asanas: – uttanasana with buttocks and heels against the wall – 3rd warrior pose backwards against the wall – uttanasana – right-angled uttanasana

See also:
971: Stretching the toe flexors

All poses with the effect indicator 972

981 Stretching the toe extensors (toe extensors):

The extensors of the toes are typically not the target of the asanas, neither stretching nor strengthening. Only the extrinsic flexors, i.e. flexor hallucis longus and flexor digitorum longus, which are located in the lower leg, are stretched in postures with the foot extended, such as virasana, see 841: Stretching the foot lifts. In everyday life, they are also only stretched in a few situations as foot lifts, but not in the actual movement of the toes. The intrinsic muscles, i.e. those located in the foot itself, can be stretched passively by grasping and flexing the toes from the back of the foot with the hand. This should be done with a dorsiflexed or neutral angle in the ankle joint so that the extrinsic toe extensors do not absorb any significant forces.

Asanas:

Siehe auch:
982: strengthening the toe extensors

All poses with the effect indicator 981

982 Strengthening the toe extensors (toe extensors):

When strengthening the toe extensors, a distinction must also be made between intrinsic and extrinsic, but both groups can be strengthened if the toes are pressed to the floor in postures with the foot extended and the back of the foot resting on the floor, as is sometimes done in supta virasana, for example, in order to reduce the tendency of the intrinsic toe flexors to spasm. See also 842: Strengthening the dorsiflexors

Asanas:

See also: 981: Stretching the toe extensors

All poses with the effect indicator 982