Stretching "EVERYTHING?"

[wade]

Hi everybody, I'm new to the forum and new to yoga in general. I often do stretching as much a possible from home via books and videos and had a pretty simple question... Is there a list of every main muscle and tendon on the body there is to stretch? For instance Hamstrings being one, Groin is another, Hip stretches... And so on. I'm trying to cover all areas but I'm often afraid I'm missing a stretch that may be beneficial to me that I'm not aware of.

Thank you!

[Ecdyonurus]

Hi Wade, welcome to this forum!  

I assume you are speaking of yogasana only.

Be careful: a well designed yogasana sequence must fit your personal needs, which means stretching only those parts of your body which need to be stretched, strenghtening muscles that are weak, and letting some other parts like they are. So maybe some parts of your body do not need any stretching at all, and it can even become dangerous for your joints if you develop to much flexibility or imbalance.

That being said, a very good overview of what you are asking for can be found in "Yoga anathomy" by Leslie Kaminoff.

Have fun in your practice!  

[Wafu]

Hi wade,

Welcome to the forum! I'd like to second what Ecdyonurus has said and suggest that you seek out a good teacher of asana, who should be able to advise you as to which areas of your body would most benefit from some opening or stretching.

Also be careful not to put too much effort into making gains in flexibility, as Ecdyonurus said this can weaken the support of the joints and make them more prone to injury. A good balanced asana practice will strengthen the body as well as opening it, so that joints remain well supported as they increase in mobility.

I began to experience a great leap forward in my own asana practice (which was initially very focussed on getting as flexible as possible) when I realised this concept!

Good luck

[AYPforum]

Moderator note: Topic moved for better placement