As part of our yoga series, we present you with yoga exercises at regular intervals that are tailored to the needs of climbers. The exercises will be presented by Prana and Petra Zink. In today's issue, Petra shows you the pigeon exercise, which stretches your glutes and at the same time loosens the sacrum and lower back.
A guest contribution by Petra Zink - presented by Prana
In today's issue we focus on legs and hips. The subsequent exercise "pigeon" stretches the deep glutes of the bent leg and the groin of the straight leg. Also, she relaxes it sacrum and lower back. Anyone who practices this posture regularly will find that when climbing a higher entry , and a further spreading is possible.
This is how the “dove” exercise works
Starting position: four-legged
- Starting position: on all fours, feet touching the wall. Before doing so, bring the mat across the wall and put on a blanket if necessary.
1st position
- Starting position: four-legged
- Pull your right knee behind your right hand, stretch your left leg far back.
- Hold Position 1 for 5-10 breaths.
2st position
- If the buttocks on the side of the bent leg are very high in the air, slide a blanket underneath to straighten the pelvis.
- Hold Position 2 for 15-20 breaths per side.
- At the end, get back on your hands, slide your right leg back and come into child's pose. Then repeat the exercise for the other side of the body.
- Final position: child's pose.
- Caution: For acute complaints in the lower back, hips or knee joints. If you have a strong hollow back, only practice the pigeon very carefully or not at all.
End position: child posture
- If necessary, rest your forehead on your hands.
Variant: double dove
This variation is a particularly strong stretch for the hip rotators and glutes. The variant on the wall described here eliminates the tension in the hip flexor muscles.This variation is a particularly strong stretch for the hip rotators and glutesmuscles. With the variant on the wall described here, the tension of the hip flexion
Starting position: sitting with your legs up
1st position
- Starting position: sit with your legs up against the wall.
- Stretch out your legs at the end. Then position the lower legs the other way around and repeat the exercise.
- Duration: 7-15 breaths per side.
- Final position: long sit.
Final position: long sit
- If necessary, place the pool on a surface.
Book with yoga exercises for climbers
In the book “Yoga for climbers and mountaineers” introduces the yoga teacher, sports scientist and enthusiastic alpinist Petra Zink 54 selected yoga exercises that are dedicated to the stressed parts of the body of mountain athletes: wrists, shoulders, back, hips.
Readers from Germany and Austria can order the book here.
All articles in the yoga series
You can find all articles in the yoga series at the following link.
About Petra Zink
Petra Zinc is a yoga teacher and sports scientist. She was a competitive athlete herself and has trained young athletes to Olympic champions. She is currently developing exercise and health concepts for tourism and business with a focus on yoga, health and mindfulness.
She lives out her great passion for the mountains with her husband in her adopted home of Carinthia and on trips through Europe and North America. The combination of yoga and mountain sports has increasingly developed into an attitude to life, she passes on her enthusiasm and knowledge in numerous workshops and yoga retreats (www.petrazinc.com).
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That might interest you
- Yoga series for climbers: With this exercise you improve your shoulder stability
- Yoga series for climbers: How to stretch your hip flexors
- Yoga series for climbers: this is how you stretch the neck fascia chain
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Credits: Cover picture Stefan Koechel