Bend That Back, Girl (or Boy, No Judgement).
Citation: Savage , Jenny. “All About Backbends.” All About Backbends – Ekhart Yoga , 30 Jan. 2014, www.ekhartyoga.com/articles/all-about-backbends . Bend That Back, Girl (or Boy, No Judgement). I feel as though this is fairly self-explanatory. These variety of poses stretch the back, but that’s not it. It also strengthens and stretches the hip flexors, chest and shoulders. It also tends to help release pain and tension in the back and neck. It helps to increase strength in the legs, arms, and back muscles. As the website in the citation states, backbends can be divided into three categories. Traction, which is where “the body is bending with gravity and the muscles on the front of the body are active, helping to control the range and rate of movement.” The second is leverage, which is the strength of the legs and arms are utilized to reinforce the backbend. Lastly, is contraction. Contraction is the muscles in the back contract to overcome gravity, which usually invo...