Gal Yoga: The Charlie's Angel Stretch

-

At the risk of being pacifistically (is that a word?) incorrect, I discovered a really good stretch I hadn't come across in my training or any classes to date, which I've called the "Charlie's Angel Stretch".

The term "Charlie's Angels Hands" refers to the hands clasped with forefingers pointed like a ... gun. I got that  nugget from my teacher trainer and anatomy nurse,  Joschi Schwarz.

It's a tremendous stretch involving several muscle groups. But which? Over to Joschi ...

Congrats! I hope you're having a lot of fun teaching! Answer to your question is:

  • obliques
  • quadratus lumborum (smaller muscle in the lower back), 
  • latissimus dorsi (because arms are over your head)
  • rhomboid (shoulderblades are pulled away from each other), and pretty good for the 
  • erector spinae
  • infraspinatus
  • teres major and minor. 
  • Gluteus medius I guess plays more of an activator here.

    Great pose to create space for the hips (lumbosacral fascia).
Blue skies!
Joschi

This stretch is on page 214 of the book "Hatha Yoga Illustrated", a no-frills, super-clean book of yoga poses that might have been designed by engineers, the presentation is so clinical and methodical. It's probably why a yoga teacher might like it - chakras and woo-woo aside, what you really need to teach is simplicity and structure.

I've been teaching this in my Senior and Easy Yoga classes on Tuesdays. The book demonstrates it with feet together, which does give you a more intense stretch.  I've photographed myself doing it with feet slightly spread, for those who might find feet-together a bit hard to balance. Here goes ...

CHARLIE'S ANGELS SIDE STRETCH

1. Inhale and sweep hands up.  Clasp them together as if pointing a gun to the sky.

















2. Exhale as you swivel your upper body UP and THEN over to the right, keeping the lower half of the body from hips down facing the front.


"Step away from that incense!"


You may want to micro bend the right or even both knees to take pressure off them.

You should feel quite a stretch at your left hip - the glute medius and obliques on that side are really waking up!

For those with a bit of a twingy back, this will feel like a relief - your spine and hip are open up and making some much-needed space. Well, that's how it feels to me.


Inhale then ...


3. Exhale as you circle the gun down to the floor.

From here you can do a number of things, like Prasarita Padottanasana* (wide-stance-forward bend) and all it's variations, but perhaps wait til you've done the other side.

* Sanskrit interlude:
Prasarita = spread
pada = foot
ut = intense
tan = stretch







4. Inhale as you continue in the same direction to sweep the hands overhead.
5. Exhale as you reach-bend to the other side.


You can try coming into the side stretch from the floor (leaving out step 4 above), notice how different that feels - perhaps not quite as satisfying a stretch.










That's it! Try it during the day, anytime you get that twingy feeling - sitting in an office chair for hours will do it. It really feels great and is a good prep for Trikonasana and even Parivrtta Trikonasana (Revolved Triangle Pose),  parivrtta = to turn around,  revolve, trikona = triangle

Someone at work who had been moving boxes of stuff mentioned he had a stiff back, so we did this in the storeroom. Instant relief, he said.

The book features it as part of an interesting routine called Moon Salutation II.

See you all Tuesday!

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

It's not a Junket. It's a Job - The making of my "Best Job in the World" submission

-
Image
This is my submission to the Queensland Tourism Island Caretaker Job , along with the 30,000 other applicants (including Dean Martin's son, the Edmund Hilarys and Jacques Cousteaus of the world, and even an hilarious Osama impersonator). I use it now as part of my bio/resume, to demonstrate what I can do in 1 minute with a pocket digital camera, a guitar, a Mac, and an old tatty straw hat. My friend and multi-award-winning Art Director downunder, Sue Carey, challenged me to defend my self-styled title as a Multimediaclast - so this is for you, Sue! Judging from the staggering caliber of applicants, I'll be surprised if it floats (ha!) but oh, I do so love a 1-minute creative challenge. I can also I console myself that I've been doing this exact same job for the past 5 years as the Customer Evangelist and chief content creator for Bike Friday. The only difference is my butt is planted on a bike saddle, rather than a boogieboard. For tech trivia buffs, here's
Read more

Still rolling after all these years: the Kosta Boda snowball

-
Image
The Kosta Boda snowball: the classiest affordable gift of the 80's, born in 1973 FOR THE BENEFIT of those D ownunder: last month  was Thanksgiving, the day when 'mericans down tools and celebrate the "the blessing of the harvest and the preceding year," according to Wikipedia . It's more like the blessing of the buffet, and generally not a day to bear gifts except for oneself, what with stores now opening on the actual day of thanks...is nothing sacred?  As an advertising/marketing pundit I use retail therapy to keep abreast of product design and retailing strategies (ok that's my excuse). My destination? The  TJ Maxx outlet in Wilton, Connecticut, where I'm visiting for the holiday.  Today it was empty. One explanation:  TJ's  merchandise is always on sale, so there's no real reason to make a beeline for it on  Black Friday.  "You're the first customer to acknowledge that," said the bored attendant at the jewelry
Read more

SuperGerd! 90 Years Young and a Double Centurion (twice)

-
Image
In my " decade from across the dining room table " as a former Bike Friday customer evangelist, I met so many extraordinary cyclists and adventurers that made my modest job feel like the best job in the world. Newly-nonagenerian Gerd Rosenblatt, an acclaimed former UC Berkeley physics professor certainly hasn't let the passing decades get in the way of HIS  physics ( watch him tackle this hill at age 74.5 ). I had the pleasure of crossing the country with him on an 80-120 miles-a-day Route 66 trip with PACTOUR in 2006 . While I now grumble if the mileage creeps north of 50, he's just kept piling on his odometer. Below is his personal account of his most impressive feat to date: a double century (that's 200 miles folks) at the ripe young age of 90. Go Gerd!  JUMP TO:  5 QUICK QUESTIONS FOR GERD ROSENBLATT  Grand Tour Lowland Double Century Cycling Report – Gerd Rosenblatt – 90th Birthday Ride June 24, 2023 Background This is a report on the double century that I
Read more