#japana

[#今日のENHYPEN] 速報 : 逃走中のヴァンパイアが東京に出没！ みんなで『THE SIN : VANISH』の話をしたり、映像を見たりして、楽しい1日でしたね✨

またすぐに会いましょう、ENGENE🧛💝 #260214 @ VAMPIRE IS COMING in TOKYO

[#𝐸𝑁𝐻𝑌𝑃𝐸𝑁 𝑇𝑜𝑑𝑎𝑦] 𝐵𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑘𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑁𝑒𝑤𝑠: 𝐴 𝑟𝑢𝑛𝑎𝑤𝑎𝑦 𝑣𝑎𝑚𝑝𝑖𝑟𝑒 ℎ𝑎𝑠 𝑎𝑝𝑝𝑒𝑎𝑟𝑒𝑑 𝑖𝑛 𝑇𝑜𝑘𝑦𝑜! 𝑊𝑒 ℎ𝑎𝑑 𝑎 𝑓𝑢𝑛 𝑑𝑎𝑦 𝑡𝑎𝑙𝑘𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑎𝑏𝑜𝑢𝑡 "𝑇𝐻𝐸 𝑆𝐼𝑁 : 𝑉𝐴𝑁𝐼𝑆𝐻" 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑤𝑎𝑡𝑐ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑓𝑜𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑔𝑒, 𝑑𝑖𝑑𝑛'𝑡 𝑤𝑒? ✨

(Happy Moon Festival everyone 🐇🌕)

BUFF moon rabbits pounding mochi, hilarious gashapon figurines by Qualia released this September to celebrated Tsukimi (moon festival).

Mochitsuki (pounding mochi with a wooden mallet) does indeed require stamina:

【気になったものたち】

January’s Challenge - Japanuary

Japanuary is all about the japana position, also known as the pancake stretch or straddle forward fold. The goal isn’t necessarily about getting your legs to 180º; it’s more about getting your stomach and chest flat on the floor. It’s a great stretch for your hips, lower back and hamstrings - perfect for people who spend a lot of time sat at a desk.

In a japana:

Knees should be pointing more or less to the ceiling. This may vary slightly depending on how your hips are naturally aligned (I have natural pronation and getting my knees to point upwards is quite difficult, so mine point very slightly forwards), but what you don’t want is for your knees to point inwards significantly as you fold forward. To keep your knees on top, engage your butt muscles to pull your hips into a more externally rotated position.

Legs should be straight to maximise hamstring stretch. It’s okay if you can’t get them perfectly straight to start with, but do your best. Some people may not be able to get the backs of theirs knees to the floor because of muscles or lack of flexibility. Those with hypermobile knees may be able to lift their heels off the floor. Whatever the case, keep your quads engaged to maximise knee stability.

Spine should be elongated, not rounded. Many people try to curl their spine in order to give the illusion of being flatter, however this deprives you of that all-important lower back and hamstring stretch. If it’s difficult for you to touch the floor without rounding, try sitting on a yoga block or a cushion and put your hands on blocks (or a chair, or let a trusted person pull you forwards).

Feet can be flexed, pointed or relaxed, but I’d opt for the latter two. The reason I don’t recommend flexed feet is because flexing your feet while in a forward fold position puts tension on your sciatic nerve. It’s possible to improve nerve flexibility, but nerves don’t respond to stretching the way muscles do, and simply putting them in positions like this can actually cause your muscles to tense in an attempt to protect your body. If you do this position with flexed feet, pay attention to the feeling. Increased, non-localised tension in your legs when forward folding can indicate nerve tension rather than muscular tightness.

You should feel the stretch in your adductors (inner thighs), lower back and/or hamstrings. Generally speaking most people won’t feel it in all those areas; just whichever’s tightest. You should not feel any pain in your knees. If this position hurts your knees, check your alignment and your muscle engagement and take the stretch back a bit. Consult a physio if pain persists. Muscle stretching can feel good or uncomfortable (often both!) but it should always feel productive and never be painful.

Take your time, and remember to breathe! Make sure your hips and side muscles are nice and warm before attempting japana. If you find it difficult to do sitting, try doing it on your back instead. If you’re new to japana, try 30 seconds in this stretch. If you’re more experienced, go for 45-60 seconds. More than 90 seconds may not be advisable.

Most importantly... listen to your body and do not push through pain. Discomfort is good; pain is bad. The stretch should feel productive, not like it’s killing you. Pain means something is doing something it shouldn’t be doing; you might be putting pressure on a joint or tendons or ligaments rather than stretching your muscles, or you might be stretching your muscles further than they can handle.