Day 13 - Lizard

So when we stretch the left hand my right heel tends to go up, is this normal? 

When we stretch the left hand where do we place the right hand, do we place it outside the right leg or inside the right leg as my right leg tends to angle away instead of being straight 

Nikhil, the legs are supposed to angle outwards when they are on the bent side. The elbow should naturally end up on the inside of the knee. Each hand remains where it is until you step forward with it. So when the left hand steps forward the right hand stays put from where it was stretched forward on the previous step.

Thank you Wesley, i thought that legs were supposed to stay straight and not angle out. 

Just to share a bit, I thought to myself: look how low I can go! Leg straight! Arm straight! Yay for yoga! Then I tried moving, and that's where my weakness really showed (literally). I wasn't strong enough to move low, had to come up fairly high in order to move forward. Another great seemingly easy exercise to build the foundation for much more functional strength in the future.

Would like to see this one from straight on in the videos as well.  The side view doesn't quite capture the whole movement. 

Adding to that I would like to get a sense of the weight distribution during the static hold. I personally feel as if there's "too much" weight on my closer, bent arm than should be the case - but I can't verify that against an ideal case since it's not defined

What about the heel of the bent leg? Are we supposed to keep it flat on the ground or allow it to lift? In the video you see both happening...

Perform the variation that is more comfortable for you.

A few questions about the static position:

• position of the heel of the bent leg - I guess the heel has to be down on the ground, not up in the air, right?
• position of the hand of the bent arm - how far forward/back should it be? Or asked a different way, how far forward should the body weight be placed compared to the bent arm/leg? It seems like the static position is relatively "easy" when the hand is below the shoulder. The more the shoulder moves forward, the more strain there is on the stretched arm/shoulder and  especially on the Achilles tendon of the stretched leg - at least for me.
  Looking at Grace in the video, it seems like she also has the shoulder of the bent arm above the hand, more or less. Is that right
• distance between the hand and foot of the bent arm/leg's side - how far should the hand and foot be apart? In the beginning, Grace has the foot more or less next to the hand. Then there are other moments in the video, where she is holding a static position but the hand is a foot or even more in front of the foot. In the Common Issues video,hand and foot of the bent side are a foot or more apart as well. What is the goal one should aim for?

- in order to maintain a very low position of the body the front knee should be very close to the ground. if you have a super flexibility you could hold the heel on the ground but in the average people cannot. normally you should aim for the heel off the ground.

-yes as you notice the shoulder is above the hand and the elbow is more backward approximately in line with her navel

-the position of the bent leg  compared to the hands is defined by your groin flexibility especially adductor, the more you can open one leg to the side the more feet and hand can be closer. you can adjust the position in function of your flexibility.

I agree with Alessandro.

I wouldn't get too caught with minor details for this one. Different proportions in femur and tibia length will also play a role in subtle variations between individuals as well as flexibility  

The aim is to make the locomotion smooth and constant, eventually when the flexibility and strength are adequate there could be no pausing between steps and and the body would maintain a constant height from the ground, just like a lizzard.

I found this really challenging, and had to stop after pain in my left hip. I've had some issues with my hip and groin over the last few years, and am doing Fundamentals, in part, to help with that. I'm minded to stick with Ape and Frog for hip mobility for a while, and leave Lizard until they're stronger. Or is that foolish?

Hi Carrie,

You certainly do not want to push through any pain in your hip so it is totally okay, and recommended, to put this movement on hold for now. You may want to see a physio about the hip/groin pain, if you haven't already. They will be able to provide a more informed opinion on how to proceed and hopefully recover for the long term.