Alignment Snacks: Quads and Hams

Katy Bowman’s “Alignment Snacks” are short (20-30 minute) downloads which focus on body alignment. In each “snack,” Katy leads an unseen (but not necessarily unheard) class through an alignment session consisting of various stretches and/or gentle exercises. These movements are performed while Katy provides information on proper alignment. The snacks currently cost $5 each; you can find them on her website (katysays.com) under the “Move” tab.

This review is for Quads and Hams, a 29.5 minute alignment session targeting the lower body. This snack is almost pure stretch, which sounds like it could be great. However, there isn’t much variety in the types of stretches done and each stretch is held a long time. In fact, the length of the stretches seemed like overkill; a little more variety would not only have been nice, but I think it would have made the class as a whole more effective.

The Workout

The session begins sitting on the floor, possibly in virasana (with lower legs on the floor and beside the hips); however it’s hard to see exactly what Katy is doing because she is wearing dark pants. For the first 3 and a half minutes, Katy discusses how to align your legs and feet. She then has you flip onto your back and stretch your hamstrings using a strap, move onto our stomach and stretch your quadriceps, and then stretch your hamstrings again (but without a strap if you can). The last 12 minutes of the class is spent in two rounds of essentric stretching of the quads while you are on your knees, separated by a another series of hamstring stretches, plus a final minute or so of virasana.

Equipment used: a mat, a strap, a yoga block (optional) and a half dome (optional)

Things to Consider

The purpose of the Alignment Snacks isn’t to work out. It’s to provide alignment information and then put the information into practice through motion. This class is mostly spent stretching the quads and hamstrings, although this isn’t as relaxing as it sounds. The essentric quad stretches, in particular, require a good bit of strength because you are on your knees and moving your torso backwards without hinging from the hips. I can’t explain it better than that — it’s easier to see than to describe. This move puts pressure on the knees, so I wouldn’t recommend it for someone with knee issues.

Also, in the beginning, there are two distinct points where the workout stops and then comes back in a different place, as if something needed to be edited out. The rest of the workout is filmed in one go, however.

Finally, it’s hard to see what Katy is doing in a couple of places because of the color of her clothing, and the stretches themselves are held for so long that it seems like overkill. That said, I thought the alignment information was useful, especially the information related to knee problems, so the class overall was ok.

Instructor Comments:
Katy provides a steady stream of alignment information / commentary, and she isn’t as quirky in this class as in some of the others. Then again, she does call one of her legs a dog of indeterminate gender (?? can I have heard that right??) so there is at least one bit of silliness in the class.

shawnt