פרילינג פארערגערונג: אלע זענען געלאפן אין זאל. אָבער נישט פֿאַר לאַנג

Most likely, you have heard more than once that you need to start playing sports gradually. This is true, but even dosed workouts can bring excruciating fatigue — and no pleasure. Why?

To feel good, our body needs two factors: first of all, structure, and secondly, trophism. Trophics is a good tissue nutrition, which depends on the intensity of blood circulation. We move, actively pump blood through the body — and it is happy!

But what is a structure? To put it very simply, it’s posture. If some muscle tension in the body “skews” the structure (which means stoop, hyperlordosis, scoliosis occurs), then good trophism — uniform nutrition of all tissues and systems — is impossible.

HOW POSTER AFFECTS SPORTS

A simple example: stoop. If the shoulders are directed forward, and the chest is closed, then the heart is “in cramped circumstances” — there is not enough room for it. In this case, it receives insufficient nutrition. The body is wisely arranged: with a slight nutritional deficiency, the heart can work for decades and only in old age report this with one or another disease.

If we do not provide the heart with the necessary space and nutrition and start doing, for example, running, the body will quickly “request mercy”: fatigue will appear, which will not go away as shortness of breath.

Another fairly common example: a slight curvature of the spine, as a result of which the pelvis is slightly rotated relative to the central axis (the so-called pelvic torsion). What happens with this anomaly? Different loads fall on the knees: one knee is loaded a little more, the other a little less. In ordinary life, we do not notice this, but as soon as we run, painful sensations appear in the knees.

Day after day, unpleasant sensations reduce the motivation to exercise, and on average, after a couple of months, a person quits the sport. What to do: sit on the sofa and suppress spring enthusiasm with all your might? Of course not!

SELF-DIAGNOSTICS: WHAT IS MY BODY STRUCTURE?

To understand whether you need to work on the structure, you need to take a few selfies in underwear. Stand in front of a full-face mirror and take a picture. If possible, it is better to print a photo or display it on a monitor in order to assess the symmetry of the body.

The following points should be on the horizontal line:

• pupils

• shoulder joints

• nipples

• waist curves

• lap

If all the points are symmetrical, that’s great! If, for example, the bend of the waist on one side is slightly less, this is a sign of pelvic torsion, described earlier. Scoliosis is most clearly signaled by different shoulder heights.

The second test: stand sideways to the mirror and take a profile picture (if possible, it is better to ask someone to take a picture of you).

See if the following points are on the same axis:

• ear

• shoulder joint

• hip joint

• ankle

If all these points are on the same vertical line, then the structure of your body tends to be ideal. If the ear is not above the shoulder joint, but in front of it, this is a signal of the development of stoop (hyperkyphosis). An incorrect position of the pelvis relative to the other points may signal hyperlordosis (overbending in the lower back).

Any deviations are a clear signal: before loading the body, it is necessary to work on its structure.

WORK ON POSTURE: WHERE TO START?

Good structure is a beautiful posture against the background of normal muscle tone. That is, to maintain posture, you do not need to strain, retract or tighten anything. The muscles are relaxed, and the posture is perfect!

How to achieve this? With the help of exercises aimed at normalizing muscle tone. Most of us have increased muscle tone, the reasons for this are both a sedentary lifestyle (muscles become numb and stiff to keep us in front of the monitor for many hours) and emotional experiences.

As soon as the muscle tone returns to normal, the muscles “release” the spine, and it gets the opportunity to straighten up, return to its normal state.

Exercises to find active relaxation will help relieve excess stress. What it is? We know a lot about passive relaxation: it includes massage, SPA procedures, and other “joys of life” that help us relax our muscles in a horizontal position. Active muscle relaxation is a similar action, but independent (without the help of a massage therapist) and in an upright position.

As a qigong teacher, I recommend Xingshen for active relaxation. Similar sets of exercises can be found in Pilates or yoga. The main thing your instructor should focus on is not to increase flexibility (this is a side effect of relaxation), but to look for active relaxation in each exercise.

In the course of well-structured classes, your posture will change before your eyes. From the experience of my students, I can say that one or two months is enough to change the situation for the better. Athletes who do not complain about their posture, already from the first days of training, notice an increase in endurance, coordination and better control over breathing.

Prepare your body for sports — and then the exercises will be both beneficial and joyful, and this is the best way to make sports your faithful companion not only in spring, but throughout the year!