Fight your HIP & SHOULDER tightness by Eliane Carotta

Those are two great asanas (positions) to stretch before and after train, but to achieve the best from the exercise, you should do at least 10 minutes of Pranayama (breathing exercise) before, so you tune up and connect your body and mind for the exercise. 
Pranayama is also a great way to help focus for a competition.
If you have a Facebook account,, click here and learn Kapalabhati Yoga breathing technique.
Enjoy your practice!



LEFT SIDE: Cow Face Pose (Gomukhasana)
Benefit shoulders, front torso and neck. Avoid if you have neck or shoulder injured.

- Grab your belt with your right hand. 
- Inhale lifting right arm, letting belt hang on your back.
- Exhale rotating right arm inwardly bending elbow so palm rests on your upper back between shoulder blades.
- Inhale, bending the left elbow and moving left hand behind your back with palm facing out and grab belt with fingers facing up.
- Keep working your fingers closer and closer to each other to stretch further at each exhalation, until eventually they connect.
- Keep sitting straight, with head in line with the torso.
The original position should have student seated in Dandasana (staff pose), with a bent knee on top of the other, but because most part of BJJ fighters have very tight hips, I barely teach them to seat like that. In this case, start seated in any comfortable cross legged position, or lotus. You see the picture with a belt as a prop, but if you can hook your finger, you don’t need the belt.

RIGHT SIDE: One-Legged King Pigeon Pose (Eka Pada Rajakapotasana)
Great for hips and thighs, relieves tension in the chest and shoulders, and stimulates abdominal organs. Avoid if you have ankle or knee injury

- From Downward Facing dog, slide your right knee forward between hands, with right ankle near your left wrist 
- Slowly slide your left leg back, keeping kneecap and top of your foot resting on the floor.
- Make sure your right knee is aligned in front of your right hip bone, and left foot is aligned behind your left sit bone.
- Inhale, pressing fingers against floor, looking up and opening shoulders to stretch spine and length the front of your body.
- Exhale bending forward while balancing your weight evenly between your right and left hips, avoiding falling to sides.
99% of the fighters I’ve taught asked me for hip openers positions. This is a great one but be careful, overstretching is counterproductive!

IN BOTH POSITIONS REPEAT THE SAME STEPS ON THE OTHER SIDE.
HOLD POSITIONS DURING 5 DEEP SLOW NOSE BREATHS. 
Namaste!

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