The hamstrings is an area that many people do not pay attention to. When we are busy with our desk jobs or don’t have enough time to be mobile within the day, our hamstrings tend to become tight. If you want them to loosen up and improve your flexibility, you can try doing some yoga poses. Below, you will find the best yoga poses for tight hamstrings!
Mindi writes in the comments:
Great yoga video 👍👌
The first yoga pose is the Janu Sirsasana. This is the head to knee pose and is an excellent way to increase the flexibility of the hamstring muscles, the back muscles, the hip joints, the arms, and the shoulders. Make sure that you do this yoga pose when your stomach is empty so it might be good to do this before you start your day!
The next yoga pose is the downward facing dog. Here, it stretches not only your hamstrings, but also your whole body. It is one of the basic yoga poses that anyone can do!
The third yoga pose for tight hamstrings is the half-moon pose. Here, you do it while balancing on one leg. You try to put your whole weight on that balancing leg and get some help with one of your palms on the ground.
The Other Yoga Poses For Tight Hamstrings
The sleeping Vishnu pose might sound like it’s an easy yoga pose to do. However, it is a bit challenging because you have to try to stretch one leg while holding the big toe with your fingers. You will feel that good stretch in the hamstring area as well as on your lower back.
Another yoga pose for tight hamstrings is the Extended Hand to Big Toe pose. You will do this while standing up as if you were doing the sleeping Vishnu pose. This also stretches your hips and challenges your balance!
How to Treat Tight Hamstrings
If you have tight hamstrings, you may want to take a few days off from exercise to ease the pain. A mild strain or tear of the hamstring muscle will take a few days to heal, but a more serious injury can take weeks. In the meantime, you can use stretching exercises to ease the pain. Make sure to include stretches in your warm-up and cool-down routine. You can also try yoga poses to help stretch your hamstrings.
The first step in treating tight hamstrings is to identify the root cause. This can be due to genetics, your body type, or your current activities. If the cause is structural, a physical therapist will use soft tissue techniques to reduce the tightness. If the cause is more serious, a physical therapist can suggest changes to your current exercise routine.
In addition to causing pain in the lower back, overly tight hamstrings can affect your knees and sciatica. These conditions are caused by pinched nerves in the hamstrings. You may not notice the pain in your hamstrings until you start to experience it.
Tight hamstrings can also be caused by improper posture. If your hip joint is twisted or your pelvis is anteriorly tilted, your hamstring muscles are likely stretched and over-lengthened. To treat tight hamstrings, you need to strengthen these muscles and correct the posture.
The other five yoga poses may be found in the video. Make sure to not skip any of the poses to loosen those hamstrings!
