Antagonist muscle group question

Hi! This is my first time posting here, apologies if this question has been answered already, not sure where to look yet.

I heard during a yoga anatomy workshop some time ago that we have muscle groups that’s work in tandem, otherwise known as “antagonist” muscle groups, and that there are some ways to sort of “hack” your body’s tendency to tighten certain groups by working with other groups… or disengaging certain muscle groups by providing support from the opposite side… I’m not sure if I’m explaining this well, but the example I was given had to do with hips and hamstrings.

For instance, your body has a sort of defence mechanism to protect itself by tightening the back of the body if you feel as if you would fall forward. So, you may be particularly inflexible and can’t touch the floor but if you use blocks under your hands in a forward fold to touch the floor, the back of your body will disengage from defence mode because it no longer feels as if you are falling on your face. Therefore, the hamstrings relax knowing that you are safe from falling and you can begin to lengthen them hamstrings and the other muscles of the back body.

Another example is that if you have knees or theighs that are nearly to your ears in a hip opening position, providing support from a blanket/block/whatever underneath your legs allow your hip muscles to release from “defence mode” and your body can finally begin to relax into opening in those areas.

My last example is that if you engage your quadriceps in a forward fold, you are able to access untapped potential in your hamstrings by understanding the antagonistic group and could advance further…

I’m obviously no doctor or anatomy expert and I’ve always wondered if this is true? Can you shed some light?

Thanks for your help and for deciphering my elementary examples :)

submitted by /u/Aae_kae2
[link] [comments]
Antagonist muscle group question published first on https://rehabhere.live/