My right hip doesnt seem to want to relax, more specificlly the area just to the right of my groin. Its a knot of muscle which goes down to the inner side of my knee and down my leg into my big toe. Anyone know any excersise/postures which target this area? Thanks.
If it's an actual knot, rather than a tight muscle or cramp, you might want to consider consulting your doctor. Otherwise, Hatha Yoga - or Iyengar Yoga, but in the case of Iyengar, slow and not too strict - and tell your teacher you're suffering.
I have a nei-gong set that works the softness and range of motion of the joints. I'm teaching tomorrow morning, so I'll try and get a video made up then. But, I think the key is to not think of it as an issue in isolation - it may be connected to a whole host of other muscular tensions etc.
Is something anyone can do or do you need to have chi first? I am looking for different ways to open up my hips.
Haha, Chi is absolutely NOT needed for anything I do It's quite a simple series, and each stage by itself doesn't look like a lot, but together they can work wonders.
Acupuncture causes the muscles to submit and relax, you could try that. If your muscles are tense it will nip/sting very slightly when they put the needles in - certainly not unbearably painful - after a few weeks, the pain will go away as subtle tension will have fallen away. I don't think it's effective on knots though - probably light exercise and stimulation of the area with massage and such like would help?
You could try these yoga poses Boris. Warrior: Downward-facing Dog: With downward-facing dog, if you can't get that shape exactly, don't worry about it. If your heels won't stay on the ground, just let them rise naturally and relax into it. I found a key with this posture was to relax the upper back and try and allow it to sink towards the floor i.e. shoulders dip in towards the floor...it's a nice relaxing feeling in the upper-spine...then, transfer weight into the wrists/hands, while dropping the shoulders and this'll help loosen up the lower joints. (I also found continually dropping tension from the postures to be key in Yoga.) You need a non-slip surface to make this work effectively, certainly more non-slip than a carpet, otherwise you'll just keep sliding into a laying down position. There can be quite an amount of lateral force in the hands and feet to start with.
Yeah - I've done some yoga so I know the positions. Don't wanna take this too off topic but winter has just hit us which means that my outdoor cardio time might be reduced. so I am gonna spend a bit more time on flexibility, mobility, core work etc etc.
Here's some more on the Warrior pose(s), it's quite dynamic/mobile, which will help target the problem area - good for core strength, flexibility and mobility (don't worry about the opening pose i.e. hand on the floor, leg in the air - it's just an intro to the vid): [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sCReePaPF50"]Yoga: Warrior 1, 2 & 3[/ame] btw, although there is stretching in Yoga, it's not the same as some dynamic stretching you encounter - yes, you have your feet as a distance to encourage stretching and you often reach away - but we are usually relaxing into the pose, and allowing gravity and relaxation to encourage the development - except where we reach away. There's no bouncing, or overt forcing stretches (sometimes assist by applying a little pressure). Generally: Release tension, relax into the posture, reach away, allow the posture to support your weight, and repeat.
Apologies for the delay, I tried to make this on Sunday, but my video camera died, and my phones battery was dead too [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rmbRqvoHWLM"]9 Circles Neigong - YouTube[/ame]
I got sciatic on the left side while doing Yoga once. I then picked up Tai Chi which I left off a long time ago. I saw immediate improvement in my symptoms and eventually was totally recovered. I have since given up Yoga and concentrated on Tai Chi. Both systems are great and have benefits; Tai Chi works for me. I recommend Tai Chi exercise and see if it helps you.