This one could easily have come under the heading "More I Don't Understand...." Can someone explain to me why a person can stand for hours without noticing much more than sore feet, can squat down (baseball catcher style) for several minutes with only minor discomfort in the knees, yet when taking a pose somewhere in between find their muscles screaming within seconds?
To play along... Sitting in a chair, extend you arms directly above your head, lock your elbows and clench your fists. (If you prefer, you can also clasp your hands together.) Now, lift your butt about three inches off the chair and hold this position until you begin breathing hard or feel discomfort in your legs. Some of you who are in better shape will surely be able to do this for a longer period of time than I, but I can just about guarantee you can't hold this position for as long as you stand upright or squat fully. Why is that? What is it about this body position that makes it so much more difficult to maintain?
Some of you may know this as a yoga pose (the Chair Pose, though the book I've read refers to is as the Power Pose). If you think yoga is only about relaxation and breathing, think again. Holding yoga poses not only stretches your muscles but gives them a heck of workout as well.
Look for more of my adventures in yoga in coming "Healthy Heedings" entries.
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