Celebrate Stiffness
This morning when I woke up my hamstrings felt so tight I could barely straighten my legs.
As Murphy’s law would have it, I had planned to teach a hamstring focussed class as part of my livestream, which I started dreading as soon as I tried to move!
But I was also quietly optimistic that it was exactly what I needed……
You see, stiffness and tightness are not necessarily bad. In yoga we tend to demonise them though in favour flexibility and compliance.
But stiff tissue actually transmits force more effectively than compliant tissue. So if you are wanting to run or lift heavy things, stiffness is your friend. Your muscles will not have to work as hard making you more efficient!
Tightness is an output from the brain, like pain, and does not necessarily translate into range of motion deficits. I often hear people say “I am too tight for yoga” or “my hamstrings are tight” but when I test their range of motion it is absolutely fine and within normal ranges.
In the case of myself this morning, I could still do hanumanasana (splits) at the end of class despite the sensation of tightness.
The stiffness and tightness also resulted in a better run after class as I was able to transmit force more effectively and efficiently.
Often when we experience stiffness or tightness we fear moving in case it makes it worse. However movement can actually help as it can reset the gamma motor neurons in the muscle spindles which are responsible for the sensation of tightness.
MORAL OF THE STORY
If you feel tight or stiff don’t worry. Moving your body will help ease these sensations.
Somatic exercises can help bring a sense of relaxation and softness to the body through resetting the gamma motor neurons.
Isometric contractions (this is where you engage but do not move like a heel bridge), are a great way to increase neural drive to the muscle and reset the muscle spindles.
Eccentric lengthening under light load (resistance stretching) is also great for creating a sense of length in the muscle and reducing the sensation of tightness.
Nerve flossing, particularly of the sciatic nerve, can also be a great way to relieve the sensation of tightness as sometimes it is related to nerves not sliding and gliding so well in the fascial sheaths.
Check out this hamstring class which focusses on all of these. A great class for building awareness in the hamstrings and the various types of movement options that can help with muscle tightness.
Remember stiffness is your friend, celebrate it and get moving in which ever way feels good for you.