Hamstring Exercises

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The use of Feldenkrais with hamstring exercises is probably one of the most requested applications I get. We have 4 here for you to experience. There are a few principles that you might want to know with the use of the Feldenkrais Method in this part of the body. I have dealt with many athletes and observed many sports including their warm-up phases.

Here are a few of my thoughts on the matter.

If you ask me again in a few months time I will probably have added something else or changed something - Feldenkrais based or otherwise. This is always a 'work in progress' so please take it in this spirit.

Tight Hamstrings

Most people, including athletes, dancers, martial artists and the like have chronically tight hamstrings - you don't need to know Feldenkrais to know that. They are way too tight. What's more they are rarely, if ever, well integrated with movement and function into the rest of the body - in particular the spine and the pelvis.

Most people move poorly and combined with tight hamstrings the inevitable happens.

In fact, the sense of improving range of motion with the hamstring exercises is often associated with pain and effort.

Both these qualities are foreign to the Feldenkrais Method.

These Feldenkrais exercises are designed to both loosen the hamstrings and (in my opinion more importantly) integrate them into movement with the spine and pelvis.

With Feldenkrais we are after good posture, alignment and dynamic integration in movement.

Feldenkrais seeks to create a minimal engaging of tension. How to extend range effortlessly while integrating function easily.

Natural Extension

This natural extension leads to easy improvement in speed, range and power.

This is also under load - low movements, twisting movements, power surges and acceleration.

The hamstring exercises involved both release chronic tension and involve the function of the hamstrings into the rest of the body.

It is useful to understand the difference between a 'loosen up' and a 'warm up'. You can do a perfect warm up and still be tight.

With Feldenkrais we believe this tension in the muscle to be a neruological function that needs particular processes to release. Conventional stretching often just extends the range of motion while maintaining the degree of tension.

You can stretch and still be tight. You can be warmed up, stretched, under no load (just sitting) and still be tight. That this is not perceived or noticed is irrelevant - that is an awareness factor.

There are Feldenkrais processes you can engage to loosen and extend your range easily and effortlessly.

You will still need to warm up at performance time. These processes don't replace the usefulness of that function.

Outcomes

Consider these anecdotes.

Using Feldenkrais hamstring exercises I have been able to extend my range of movement from where it was tight and painful to have my extended leg on the coffee table - about knee height. About an hour later I was able to put the same leg (foot) on top of the fridge near head height.

Nothing like a home made gym I guess. The shoe marks remained as a talking piece!

In the classes I conduct for Feldenkrais exercises I am usually able to get people to extend their range of movement (say touching toes) by several inches in about 15 minutes.

To say the least, this is often very challenging for professional athletes and personal trainers in the room.

It isn't difficult and it is painless.

These Feldenkrais based hamstring exercises can help you get there.

You can find the Feldenkrais hamstring exercises here:

Click here to go from Hamstring Exercises to Connected Hamstrings

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Click here to go to Pivotal Hamstrings

Click here to go to Soft Hamstrings

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