Pose of the Week - Hero.
Hero Pose.
This is a great pose for athletes, as it relaxes the legs after running to bring a better circulation of blood to the entire legs and cools the feet. It also helps in avoiding cramps if practiced before running. Hero is a seated posture and creates the deepest flexion of the knee joints. It stretches the quads and ankles, helping build flexibility in the knees, ankles, and thighs however can be uncomfortable or unavailable to those with knee injuries. For cycling and other quad-intensive activities, this is a lovely release.
To try it out, bring the inner knees together with the feet apart, slightly wider than your hips, with the tops of the feet flat on the floor. The top of each foot should be evenly on the floor and you sitting bones sinking down towards the mat in between the legs. You may need a block to sit on to elevate the hips and decrease the pressure on the knees. Not every pose works for people so don’t worry if you body is telling you ‘no way’! I’m slowly getting back to practicing Hero, 18 months after knee surgery and even with that, I can’t stay in it for long so don’t worry if it doesn’t come straight off the bat.
Hero Pose benefits the following muscles:
Hips
Knees
Quadriceps
Benefits:
Deep flexion of the knee: This pose brings the maximum stretch to the knees and the muscles around the knees. Repeated practice of this pose should help in avoiding problems related to arthritis.
Stretches the thighs (quadriceps) and the ankles: As this pose is practiced seated with the flexing of the knees and the ankles, tremendous pressure is felt at the ankles bringing in maximum stretch to the thigh muscles.
Spine gets its maximum stretch: This pose improves the posture of the spine which works as an advantage for long hours of meditation or pranayama.
Mental focus: As this pose improves the posture of the spine keeping the body upright and strong it helps in improving mental focus during pranayama and meditation.
Flexibility of the ankles: Here as the ankles gets its maximum stretch the flexibility of the foot around the ankles improves and any pain at the heels with long hours of standing brings great relaxation to the feet.
The circulation of blood improves for the entire leg
🔵Muscles contracting (blue): pectoralis major (pecs), sternocleidomastoid (neck muscles)
🔴Muscles stretching (red): Quads, gastrocnemius & soleus (calf muscles)
