Now that you have mobility in your pectineus, you can appropriately strengthen it using YTU exercises. Let me be crystal clear on mobility first: each muscle in your body has a length to strength ratio. If you do not have enough length in the muscle you will not be able to access its full strength capacity. One more time in different words: If your muscles are tight, instability is present, dysfunction occurs and a lack of strength is a result. It is as simple as that!
As previously mentioned in my first post, the pectineus is surrounded not only by other adductor muscles; but, also by the psoas and illiacus. There are a plethora of Yoga Tune Up® exercises that develop a strong pectineus (and its accompanying sidekicks): Adductor slides, Frog Crawls, Asymmetrical triangle, Sprinkler Garudasana, Walk the Plank and more. Here Jill demonstrates another adductor strengthener, Prasarita Lunges (also available on the Quick Fix for Hips online video):
From Ottawa, Canada, Kristin now resides in Perth, Australia; where, she is spreading the wonderful world of Yoga Tune Up®. You can contact her via www.kristinmarvinfitness.com.
It is amazing how one tiny muscle can affect our movement and surrounding muscles. It is great to learn about length to strength ratio. I had an anatomy teacher who always said “if you don’t use it, you lose it.” I enjoy frog crawls and Praserita lunges, they are new to me. I feel a difference in my hips and low back in just a short time. I will definitely practice these regularly and share the knowledge in the future.
The concept of length to strength ratio presented here has my embodied awareness turning in all kinds of new ways. Incredibly useful! Also love the simple explanation of increased heat and synovial fluid pumping around the hip joint as preparation for increased pace of the movement… warm-ups demystified.
The length to strength ratio is an easy to understand concept that I hadn’t heard of before. It does help me understand why tight muscles paradoxically lead to decreased strength. Thank you for highlighting the pectineus muscle– one that I don’t think much about, as I am starting to appreciate the importance of our adductors.
My body loves prasarita lunges! As a former competitive swimmer (and a breaststroker at that!) my adductors love this movement, and I really wish it was something I was taught during those swimming years (among a whole host of other poses from YTU). The length to strength ratio was never anything we focused on during training, and it’s now something I can share with my students!
I agree with the statement about tightness can lead to instability and needs to be stretched prior to proper strengthening. I think also too much flexibility without strength can lead to injury as well. I believe that my adductors in particular my pectineus could use these beneficial exercises. I will be implementing the prasarita lunges.
When I first heard the word “pectineus”, I thought someone was pulling my leg & it was made up! So funny this “pect” from the others “pects” in the body… & they both assist in adducting! All of these strengthening & lengthening exercises for the inner thighs are super important, especially with all the emphasis on external rotation & abduction of the hips in yoga.
I don’t know if I fully understand or agree with “if your muscles are tight instability is present” I get the importance of having mobility and strength. But you can still build a lot of strength in tight muscle. Look at body builders for instance. The muscles can get so big to the point where it hinders mobility. But i do like these workouts the aim to strengthen the muscle in its lengthened state.
Thanks for this explanation! I think it is important to discuss the different ways a muscle can obtain more length. People often associate lengthening muscles with passive stretches taken to end range. However, this is not always the best or safe way, particularly if the muscle is weak or the body is hypermobile. Isometric stretching, which contracts and lengthens a muscle at the same time, and active stretching, which lengthens one muscle while its antagonist contracts, can both be effective ways to strike a balance between strength and stability.
“If you do not have enough length in the muscle you will not be able to access its full strength capacity.” I grew up doing gymnastics as a kid, and this makes all the sense in the world to me. As an adult, I have been doing strength training and more boot camp style workouts, and it amazes me how little these class styles take the time to stretch. Some might do a 2 minute stretch, but that is not enough. The quote from this article at the beginning of this comment is the key message that might make the difference for these types of workout followers. Knowing that they can actually get stronger by also lengthening the muscle through consistent stretching may be the key to it all.
I’ve honestly never considered a length to strength ratio before. But, it makes so much sense that if your muscles are tight and contracted they can’t be fully accessed. It’s why flexibility and resistance training need to be balanced. I also was really glad to learn about the pectineus and see the list of different exercises that can be used to target this muscle!
Thank you for the reminder about the connection between muscle length and strength. I wish more people would be aware of it and start focusing more on mobility and full range of motion. The pectineus is my weak spot and I am (subconsciously) avoiding working on it. Starting tomorrow, adductor slides and frog craws will be added to my weekly schedule, at least a few times a week.
I love the ability of prasarita lunges to “light up the map” on where the work happens in the hips. Considering the reminder that we need length to also engage and strengthen a muscle makes this one even more valuable.
I didn’t understand why length in a muscle related to full strength capacity, but it made total sense when you said that tight muscles have instability, and lack of strength happens because of the related dysfunction. This makes me think about the men in the ballet who lift dancing partners as if they weighed nothing and don’t look like Mr. Universe.
The high rate of hip replacement would suggest that many of us have tight hips which contributes to hip dysfunction, a major barrier to stability and balance. Hip replacement is sometimes seen as just something one needs to have done once they reach a certain age. The research shows that we can preserve hip mobility, strength and stability even as we age with one caveat: we need to move our hips. The exercises suggested in this article are true “titans” of strengthening the muscles of the hip enabling us to enjoy healthy hips throughout our lifespan.
Great point on length to strength! I work as an assisted stretcher and it can be so hard to convince hyper-active folks that they would actually gain more strength if they would pay more attention to recovery and precovery. I have been working on Cossack squats and the adductor slides and prasarita lunges are great to add in!
The length to strength ratio was a great reminder about being able to access full strength capacity! I love the Prasarita lunges and do them regularly.
Such a great lesson for all of us, especially for those of us who enjoy running, hiking and cycling. The adductors, including the pectineus, are such a neglected muscle group in terms of strengthening. Years ago when I was a relatively new runner, I ended up with a femoral neck stress fracture. While weak adductors were likely not the direct cause of the injury (which took 7 months to fully recover), they were certainly a factor and my PT included a lot of adductor strengthening as part of my rehab. And the relationship between strong adductors and a strong pelvic floor cannot be underestimated, either.
I am a pretty quad dominant runner and also do a ton of cycling so I my hip flexors get a good workout. I am noticing that I need to strengthen my adductors. When I do adductor slides it is difficult for me to adduct my legs together. Frog crawls and asymmetrical triangle also present problems for pectineus ….hmmm. More work to be done. I am on day 2 of the YTU certification class and it is a little disturbing to realize how weak/unbalanced I have let myself become. I will work on being grateful rather than annoyed.
I like how this article brings attention to tight muscles, their effect on strength potential thereby impacting movement patterns that lead to dysfunction. The adductors are often neglected, with a focus on hip extension and flexion, at the expense of hip stabilizers.
I understood that having less range of motion created a problem with truly strengthening an area but now I’m seeing more of the mechanics through the explanation about the muscle length/tightness. It makes much more sense now.
I loved that you started with a discussion of length to strength. It has taken me many years to understand and internalize that concept. Of course in my early years all I did was strength training and maybe my muscles were still long. As I have aged and approach my 7th decade, I spend a lot more time lengthening, but also still need to be strengthening. I now start workouts with lengthening before moving on. I also love the Prasarita lunges and now I have yet one more reason to do them regularly.
While practicing abductor lifts dynamic and static this morning, I think I may have discovered *gasp* that I have weak pectineus muscles! Could it also be thight when performing adduction past the midline? I’ve felt pain/discomfort many times when performing this action in the past…Good that I can now explore further with this new information!
Right, the pectineus is easily remained contracted always and not being stretched at all. It is never in its length and not functioning. Its so good that YTU got so many exercise for us to easily access to these small muscles, it is good that we start stretching them and to strengthen them.
In the physical therapy clinic where I worked for many years, the protocol was soft tissue first, alignment (which included, from the PT side, techniques that we as yoga teachers didn’t do), then strengthen. Some Type A clients only want to strengthen, but the YTU exercises combined with the Roll Model balls make the stretching and releasing part very accessible and challenging for the clients. They get it!
Shame on me!! Prasarita lunges are one of my FAVOURITE Ytu exercises, and I didn’t realises the great benefits it had in relation to this muscle. I loved how you spoke about the length to strength ratio- a great reminder that muscle maintenance is so much more than just getting / having strong lean muscle.
Thank you for pointing out the importance of the relationship between strength, mobility and stability. Yoga Tune Up exercises combined with the self massage techniques have helped me feel and experience that in my own body. It makes so much sense now!!
As an ancient speedskater, i always struggle to shut that abductors off to let the adductors work. It feels great to read that i might not be the only. Keep working…
Thank you for pointing out the relationship of muscle shortness to strength. I have been struggling with that since my corrective knee surgery last year. Damage to my right knee and left Achilles caused shortening of the muscles in my left thigh and hip. No doctor or trainer that I saw got it right. But when I tried the Sprinkler Garudasana today in class and read your post I knew you were right. Thank you.
Great reflection on the connection between muscle tightness, instability and the resulting dysfunction and lack of strength. As a weight lifter, I am finding these YTU exercises brilliant. I am so eager to discover and absorb more!
YTU strongly addresses that balance between strength, stability and mobility. For me, all of the adductor/pectineus strengthening poses I have a love/hate relationship- a blind spot for me! The prasarita lunges are amazing and I cannot wait to incorporate them into my classes.
I think it was interesting that you mentioned “if your muscles are tight, instability is present, dysfunction occurs and a lack of strength is a result.” I have definitely felt tightness on my adductor muscles, including the pectineus. There were times when it was so tight, that I experienced extreme muscle soreness and inflammation in that area. It was so sore (or rather inflamed), that I couldn’t even touch or roll my adductor muscles. It feels a lot better now, as I now stretch my adductors very often plus rolling. I tried the Prasarita Lunge pose for the first time last week during YTU Level 1, and liked how it allows both strengthening and stretching of adductor muscles. This one is definitely a keeper!
I just had a revelation reading this nugget: “if your muscles are tight, instability is present.” This is a new and important concept I’m ready to explore! I always assumed that instability only came from over-stretched muscles, tendons and ligaments, never from muscles that are too tight. That explains why my hips feel tight AND unstable! Add this one to the fact that muscles can be tight and weak. Yoga Tune Up to the rescue!
I have read all three articles about Pectineus. Great job to point on that small muscles that I have never thought before can bring so many injuries. To be true I have got few male clients with that kind of problem. After any exercises with lunges they suffer on pain in between the femur and pubic bone. There is a lot of muscles around: adductor major, brevis, longus, gracilis, so it will not be asy for me to separate them. However I will try that relaxation and masage with YTU Balls. After blod flowing there it should be easier to strength Pectineus without a pain after exercises.
Thanks for all those pectineus strengtheners. I tried rolling as in your other blog, but only felt a lot of pressure… I think I need more strenghthening being super flexible in the inner thighs. So maybe this is why adductor slides are so difficult and I often end up cheating (need YTU assistants looking over me to keep me in line!). I also need to practice my prasarita lunges using ALL resistance and eccentric contraction of antagonist against agonist: make is a battle between my adductors and abductors… Now I also know I need more adductor contraction in frog walks (since this one I essentially feel nothing if I not contract the adductors.
By doing this pose, we will open and stretch the hips and the inner groin. The gluteus medius contract and stretch the adductor group, quadratus femoris, pectineus and also it eccentric contract the tensor fascia lata.
By practicing this or doing this a warm up, you will find hip opening poses a lot easier to get into, Gomukhasana, modified Pigeon Pose, Baddha Konasana and the frog pose.
I love your articles about the Pectinius, so important to activate it! For many of us a muscle to expore, to feel and to strenght. I’m going to practice them to improve my running and my legs stability.
Thanks for shedding some light on the pectineus, it amazing how the smaller muscles can cause so much discomfort. The prasarita lunges warm, strengthen and lengthen the adductors. The also seem to fire the glutes which create greater stability of the pelvis. The prasarita lunges combined with rolling out on the YTU balls is pectineus perfection.
Thank you for sharing Prasarita lunges with the masses. I love this exercises as unless I make a point of it, lateral movement is not a big part of my daily activities and I find it missing in many traditional yoga classes as well as with running and cycling. Like Margo said – it feels awesome to warm-up and strengthen the adductors and abductors in this way.
I adore adductor slides. There are virtually no poses in a traditional yoga class that gets this area strong like this. I have had a TFL injury in addition to a cranky psoas and I swear this has helped me heal.
I love working in this lateral way in yoga. I find it such a relief to get into my hips and buttock area. Many teachers are adamant about having a relaxed buttocks, like all the way relaxed, and mine feels very left out!!! I love to engage my gluteus maximus and minimus, especially since I run on a sagital plane and yoga on a sagital plane for most of my week. Jill’s explanation of getting the buttock strong in order to engage the leg, is a great motivator, more so than just having a great looking toned buttocks, which of course I want. However, I feel as if yoga is this very spiritual connected journey for me, with a side effect of strength, stamina, and toned muscles, andi it’s an awesome benefit. I do, train my body physically elsewhere in order to be balanced and well maintained, but there is nothing like working from the inside/ out. In most circumstances we are working hard at the gym and staring into mirrors while we sweat and grunt to get toned, but our minds may be beating us up the entire time. I’d rather be radiant from my inside out, than radiant outside and no light within. Yoga is the full body experience, for me, and that’s all from meditating on the buttocks. Thank you for this article.
I have experienced such benefit from the inner leg strengthening exercises. It travels uptown to the pelvis and core. Thanks for pointing out the correlation between muscle length and muscle strength. I hadn’t thought to teach in the those terms but now I will!
I would add for the population who are vain is that working out the adductors is a great way to lessen the fluffiness of the fat that lays along the inner thighs. Since we are yogis and practice for good health, strengthening the pectineus along with the rest of the adductors will prevent injury when coming out of samakonasana. Stretching it is the way to get into samakonasana but getting out requires a lot more body intelligence.
I love the message about ratio of muscle length and muscle strength. In addition to length, the muscle mass and width also contribute to the muscle strength. Otherwise, tall people would all have stronger muscles! Another important element may be the metabolic rate, the efficiency of oxygenation and waste removal.
Thank you for this! I have had a hard time explaining to students who just want to “strengthen” their bodies by working out why stretching is important to this process too. The idea that muscles cannot reach their full capacity for strength without creating the length for it first is one I will likely bring in to my own class in the next couple days! The relationship between tightness, instability and lack of strength is not one that I would have expected instinctually!
Love the simple concept of length to strength ratio! If there is pain in this position, what would you recommend to scale back?
It is amazing how one tiny muscle can affect our movement and surrounding muscles. It is great to learn about length to strength ratio. I had an anatomy teacher who always said “if you don’t use it, you lose it.” I enjoy frog crawls and Praserita lunges, they are new to me. I feel a difference in my hips and low back in just a short time. I will definitely practice these regularly and share the knowledge in the future.
The concept of length to strength ratio presented here has my embodied awareness turning in all kinds of new ways. Incredibly useful! Also love the simple explanation of increased heat and synovial fluid pumping around the hip joint as preparation for increased pace of the movement… warm-ups demystified.
The length to strength ratio is an easy to understand concept that I hadn’t heard of before. It does help me understand why tight muscles paradoxically lead to decreased strength. Thank you for highlighting the pectineus muscle– one that I don’t think much about, as I am starting to appreciate the importance of our adductors.
My body loves prasarita lunges! As a former competitive swimmer (and a breaststroker at that!) my adductors love this movement, and I really wish it was something I was taught during those swimming years (among a whole host of other poses from YTU). The length to strength ratio was never anything we focused on during training, and it’s now something I can share with my students!
I agree with the statement about tightness can lead to instability and needs to be stretched prior to proper strengthening. I think also too much flexibility without strength can lead to injury as well. I believe that my adductors in particular my pectineus could use these beneficial exercises. I will be implementing the prasarita lunges.
When I first heard the word “pectineus”, I thought someone was pulling my leg & it was made up! So funny this “pect” from the others “pects” in the body… & they both assist in adducting! All of these strengthening & lengthening exercises for the inner thighs are super important, especially with all the emphasis on external rotation & abduction of the hips in yoga.
I don’t know if I fully understand or agree with “if your muscles are tight instability is present” I get the importance of having mobility and strength. But you can still build a lot of strength in tight muscle. Look at body builders for instance. The muscles can get so big to the point where it hinders mobility. But i do like these workouts the aim to strengthen the muscle in its lengthened state.
Thanks for this explanation! I think it is important to discuss the different ways a muscle can obtain more length. People often associate lengthening muscles with passive stretches taken to end range. However, this is not always the best or safe way, particularly if the muscle is weak or the body is hypermobile. Isometric stretching, which contracts and lengthens a muscle at the same time, and active stretching, which lengthens one muscle while its antagonist contracts, can both be effective ways to strike a balance between strength and stability.
“If you do not have enough length in the muscle you will not be able to access its full strength capacity.” I grew up doing gymnastics as a kid, and this makes all the sense in the world to me. As an adult, I have been doing strength training and more boot camp style workouts, and it amazes me how little these class styles take the time to stretch. Some might do a 2 minute stretch, but that is not enough. The quote from this article at the beginning of this comment is the key message that might make the difference for these types of workout followers. Knowing that they can actually get stronger by also lengthening the muscle through consistent stretching may be the key to it all.
I’ve honestly never considered a length to strength ratio before. But, it makes so much sense that if your muscles are tight and contracted they can’t be fully accessed. It’s why flexibility and resistance training need to be balanced. I also was really glad to learn about the pectineus and see the list of different exercises that can be used to target this muscle!
Thank you for the reminder about the connection between muscle length and strength. I wish more people would be aware of it and start focusing more on mobility and full range of motion. The pectineus is my weak spot and I am (subconsciously) avoiding working on it. Starting tomorrow, adductor slides and frog craws will be added to my weekly schedule, at least a few times a week.
I love the ability of prasarita lunges to “light up the map” on where the work happens in the hips. Considering the reminder that we need length to also engage and strengthen a muscle makes this one even more valuable.
I didn’t understand why length in a muscle related to full strength capacity, but it made total sense when you said that tight muscles have instability, and lack of strength happens because of the related dysfunction. This makes me think about the men in the ballet who lift dancing partners as if they weighed nothing and don’t look like Mr. Universe.
The high rate of hip replacement would suggest that many of us have tight hips which contributes to hip dysfunction, a major barrier to stability and balance. Hip replacement is sometimes seen as just something one needs to have done once they reach a certain age. The research shows that we can preserve hip mobility, strength and stability even as we age with one caveat: we need to move our hips. The exercises suggested in this article are true “titans” of strengthening the muscles of the hip enabling us to enjoy healthy hips throughout our lifespan.
Great point on length to strength! I work as an assisted stretcher and it can be so hard to convince hyper-active folks that they would actually gain more strength if they would pay more attention to recovery and precovery. I have been working on Cossack squats and the adductor slides and prasarita lunges are great to add in!
The length to strength ratio was a great reminder about being able to access full strength capacity! I love the Prasarita lunges and do them regularly.
Such a great lesson for all of us, especially for those of us who enjoy running, hiking and cycling. The adductors, including the pectineus, are such a neglected muscle group in terms of strengthening. Years ago when I was a relatively new runner, I ended up with a femoral neck stress fracture. While weak adductors were likely not the direct cause of the injury (which took 7 months to fully recover), they were certainly a factor and my PT included a lot of adductor strengthening as part of my rehab. And the relationship between strong adductors and a strong pelvic floor cannot be underestimated, either.
I am a pretty quad dominant runner and also do a ton of cycling so I my hip flexors get a good workout. I am noticing that I need to strengthen my adductors. When I do adductor slides it is difficult for me to adduct my legs together. Frog crawls and asymmetrical triangle also present problems for pectineus ….hmmm. More work to be done. I am on day 2 of the YTU certification class and it is a little disturbing to realize how weak/unbalanced I have let myself become. I will work on being grateful rather than annoyed.
I like how this article brings attention to tight muscles, their effect on strength potential thereby impacting movement patterns that lead to dysfunction. The adductors are often neglected, with a focus on hip extension and flexion, at the expense of hip stabilizers.
I understood that having less range of motion created a problem with truly strengthening an area but now I’m seeing more of the mechanics through the explanation about the muscle length/tightness. It makes much more sense now.
I loved that you started with a discussion of length to strength. It has taken me many years to understand and internalize that concept. Of course in my early years all I did was strength training and maybe my muscles were still long. As I have aged and approach my 7th decade, I spend a lot more time lengthening, but also still need to be strengthening. I now start workouts with lengthening before moving on. I also love the Prasarita lunges and now I have yet one more reason to do them regularly.
While practicing abductor lifts dynamic and static this morning, I think I may have discovered *gasp* that I have weak pectineus muscles! Could it also be thight when performing adduction past the midline? I’ve felt pain/discomfort many times when performing this action in the past…Good that I can now explore further with this new information!
Right, the pectineus is easily remained contracted always and not being stretched at all. It is never in its length and not functioning. Its so good that YTU got so many exercise for us to easily access to these small muscles, it is good that we start stretching them and to strengthen them.
In the physical therapy clinic where I worked for many years, the protocol was soft tissue first, alignment (which included, from the PT side, techniques that we as yoga teachers didn’t do), then strengthen. Some Type A clients only want to strengthen, but the YTU exercises combined with the Roll Model balls make the stretching and releasing part very accessible and challenging for the clients. They get it!
Shame on me!! Prasarita lunges are one of my FAVOURITE Ytu exercises, and I didn’t realises the great benefits it had in relation to this muscle. I loved how you spoke about the length to strength ratio- a great reminder that muscle maintenance is so much more than just getting / having strong lean muscle.
Thank you for pointing out the importance of the relationship between strength, mobility and stability. Yoga Tune Up exercises combined with the self massage techniques have helped me feel and experience that in my own body. It makes so much sense now!!
I loved learning the Prasarita lunges in class this week. Thank you for including a video clip so I can have instruction on doing them at home.
As an ancient speedskater, i always struggle to shut that abductors off to let the adductors work. It feels great to read that i might not be the only. Keep working…
Thank you for pointing out the relationship of muscle shortness to strength. I have been struggling with that since my corrective knee surgery last year. Damage to my right knee and left Achilles caused shortening of the muscles in my left thigh and hip. No doctor or trainer that I saw got it right. But when I tried the Sprinkler Garudasana today in class and read your post I knew you were right. Thank you.
Great reflection on the connection between muscle tightness, instability and the resulting dysfunction and lack of strength. As a weight lifter, I am finding these YTU exercises brilliant. I am so eager to discover and absorb more!
YTU strongly addresses that balance between strength, stability and mobility. For me, all of the adductor/pectineus strengthening poses I have a love/hate relationship- a blind spot for me! The prasarita lunges are amazing and I cannot wait to incorporate them into my classes.
I think it was interesting that you mentioned “if your muscles are tight, instability is present, dysfunction occurs and a lack of strength is a result.” I have definitely felt tightness on my adductor muscles, including the pectineus. There were times when it was so tight, that I experienced extreme muscle soreness and inflammation in that area. It was so sore (or rather inflamed), that I couldn’t even touch or roll my adductor muscles. It feels a lot better now, as I now stretch my adductors very often plus rolling. I tried the Prasarita Lunge pose for the first time last week during YTU Level 1, and liked how it allows both strengthening and stretching of adductor muscles. This one is definitely a keeper!
I’ve always liked Prasarita Lunges, this is just one more reason to incorporate then into more classes, thanks for the reminder.
I just had a revelation reading this nugget: “if your muscles are tight, instability is present.” This is a new and important concept I’m ready to explore! I always assumed that instability only came from over-stretched muscles, tendons and ligaments, never from muscles that are too tight. That explains why my hips feel tight AND unstable! Add this one to the fact that muscles can be tight and weak. Yoga Tune Up to the rescue!
I have read all three articles about Pectineus. Great job to point on that small muscles that I have never thought before can bring so many injuries. To be true I have got few male clients with that kind of problem. After any exercises with lunges they suffer on pain in between the femur and pubic bone. There is a lot of muscles around: adductor major, brevis, longus, gracilis, so it will not be asy for me to separate them. However I will try that relaxation and masage with YTU Balls. After blod flowing there it should be easier to strength Pectineus without a pain after exercises.
Thanks for all those pectineus strengtheners. I tried rolling as in your other blog, but only felt a lot of pressure… I think I need more strenghthening being super flexible in the inner thighs. So maybe this is why adductor slides are so difficult and I often end up cheating (need YTU assistants looking over me to keep me in line!). I also need to practice my prasarita lunges using ALL resistance and eccentric contraction of antagonist against agonist: make is a battle between my adductors and abductors… Now I also know I need more adductor contraction in frog walks (since this one I essentially feel nothing if I not contract the adductors.
By doing this pose, we will open and stretch the hips and the inner groin. The gluteus medius contract and stretch the adductor group, quadratus femoris, pectineus and also it eccentric contract the tensor fascia lata.
By practicing this or doing this a warm up, you will find hip opening poses a lot easier to get into, Gomukhasana, modified Pigeon Pose, Baddha Konasana and the frog pose.
I love your articles about the Pectinius, so important to activate it! For many of us a muscle to expore, to feel and to strenght. I’m going to practice them to improve my running and my legs stability.
Thanks for shedding some light on the pectineus, it amazing how the smaller muscles can cause so much discomfort. The prasarita lunges warm, strengthen and lengthen the adductors. The also seem to fire the glutes which create greater stability of the pelvis. The prasarita lunges combined with rolling out on the YTU balls is pectineus perfection.
[…] Tune Up® Blog « 1, 2, 3… Find Your Pectineus! Strengthen Your Pectineus! […]
Thank you for sharing Prasarita lunges with the masses. I love this exercises as unless I make a point of it, lateral movement is not a big part of my daily activities and I find it missing in many traditional yoga classes as well as with running and cycling. Like Margo said – it feels awesome to warm-up and strengthen the adductors and abductors in this way.
I adore adductor slides. There are virtually no poses in a traditional yoga class that gets this area strong like this. I have had a TFL injury in addition to a cranky psoas and I swear this has helped me heal.
I love working in this lateral way in yoga. I find it such a relief to get into my hips and buttock area. Many teachers are adamant about having a relaxed buttocks, like all the way relaxed, and mine feels very left out!!! I love to engage my gluteus maximus and minimus, especially since I run on a sagital plane and yoga on a sagital plane for most of my week. Jill’s explanation of getting the buttock strong in order to engage the leg, is a great motivator, more so than just having a great looking toned buttocks, which of course I want. However, I feel as if yoga is this very spiritual connected journey for me, with a side effect of strength, stamina, and toned muscles, andi it’s an awesome benefit. I do, train my body physically elsewhere in order to be balanced and well maintained, but there is nothing like working from the inside/ out. In most circumstances we are working hard at the gym and staring into mirrors while we sweat and grunt to get toned, but our minds may be beating us up the entire time. I’d rather be radiant from my inside out, than radiant outside and no light within. Yoga is the full body experience, for me, and that’s all from meditating on the buttocks. Thank you for this article.
I have experienced such benefit from the inner leg strengthening exercises. It travels uptown to the pelvis and core. Thanks for pointing out the correlation between muscle length and muscle strength. I hadn’t thought to teach in the those terms but now I will!
I would add for the population who are vain is that working out the adductors is a great way to lessen the fluffiness of the fat that lays along the inner thighs. Since we are yogis and practice for good health, strengthening the pectineus along with the rest of the adductors will prevent injury when coming out of samakonasana. Stretching it is the way to get into samakonasana but getting out requires a lot more body intelligence.
I love the message about ratio of muscle length and muscle strength. In addition to length, the muscle mass and width also contribute to the muscle strength. Otherwise, tall people would all have stronger muscles! Another important element may be the metabolic rate, the efficiency of oxygenation and waste removal.
Thank you for this! I have had a hard time explaining to students who just want to “strengthen” their bodies by working out why stretching is important to this process too. The idea that muscles cannot reach their full capacity for strength without creating the length for it first is one I will likely bring in to my own class in the next couple days! The relationship between tightness, instability and lack of strength is not one that I would have expected instinctually!