Saddle vs Hurdlers stretch

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Karmagirl
Posts: 3
Joined: Sun Jan 06, 2013 11:16 am

Saddle vs Hurdlers stretch

Post by Karmagirl »

I have a question regarding saddle. I teach yoga along with TRX and Spin. One of the main poses we learn not to do is hurdlers stretch. It stresses the MCL (medial lateral ligament) and is not good at all for the knee because it's not a natural way to place the knee (when on angle and the knee is floating or just not in straight alignment with the thigh). So my question is then what makes saddle ok to practice? I can't do it b/c of my knee myself but that doesn't mean I can't teach it. I just want to be sure that I am teaching a pose that will benefit my students overall with whatever intention they have when coming into this pose. Thank you.
Bernie
Posts: 1293
Joined: Sat Sep 23, 2006 2:25 am
Location: Vancouver

Is Saddle Safe?

Post by Bernie »

Your question touches upon a common theme: is pose X safe? The reason people may think a particular pose is not safe is because "It stresses such and such a ligament..." This statement ignores the reality of individual skeletal variation and the value of stress. Please read this article to understand why all tissues need stress in order to be healthy, but too much stress (ie: to the point of pain) is never good, whether we are talking about ligaments or muscles.

There are many people who are naturally internally rotated so that Saddle will never be a problem for them. There are other people who are very externally rotated so that Saddle will never be advisable for them. Everyone is different and to say that no one should ever do Saddle pose (or any other pose) is clearly wrong. Beware of dogmatic absolute statements. Instead, check out each pose for each student and find the ones that work and are safe, and drop the ones that are not (those that create any pain.)

I hope the article helps answer your question.
Cheers
Bernie
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