The Hot Yoga Doctor – Free Bikram and Hot Yoga Resources › Hot Yoga Doctor Forum › The Hot Yoga Poses › Suptavajrasana › advice for gaining the flexibility to achieving the full pose
The Hot Yoga Doctor – Free Bikram and Hot Yoga Resources › Hot Yoga Doctor Forum › The Hot Yoga Poses › Suptavajrasana › advice for gaining the flexibility to achieving the full pose
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Hi,
I have a lot of trouble with this pose. I’m very overweight. I can sit on my knees, but my butt does not touch the floor, and I cannot bend backward to lie on the floor – the furthest I can go backwards toward the floor is about 1/2 an inch (without immense pain in my legs and arms and then toppling over sideways). How should I practice this pose for now and to build toward the full pose?
Thank you,
JenHi Jen
Welcome to the forum!
It is encouraging that you can sit on your knees. If you have pain in your knees from that then you would sit on your heels (in a regular kneeling position). If not then go ahead and move your heels a little to the outside of your hips. It doesn’t matter if the distance is only a little to start with because you can work your way toward the ideal position. The aim is hips touching heels as you know. If your feet are correctly positioned then it is fine for you to have your butt hover in the air.
If your butt is hovering then you must NOT go back. You will lose the benefit of gravity working through your hips and lessen the ability to move your bottom down. So please Jen stay upright and counter-intuitively it will take less time to make progress.
Do you need to use your hands on the floor to support you (usually done if you are in pain)? If you don’t then that is better too because you can put full upright weight into settling your butt down to the floor.
Lastly you may have been suggested to move your calf muscles out of the way. Try that if you haven’t already. It may make it more comfortable for you.
The key to this pose is patience. This is the hardest part for you right now. Breathe and sit!
Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂One of
I have followed Gabriells’s advice and did not sit back until my butt finally rested on the ground. It has taken some time but gravity finally finished its work. In addition, I tried to sit in that upright position 4 minutes every night, just to help it all along. Worked for me.
I consider fixed firm pose to be similiar to camel pose. I have a great deal of difficulties with it. Should my butt be touching the floor from start to finish? I was able to practise five times last week. My legs are starting to feel sore.
Hi Jeffrey
Are you saying that you find Fixed Firm a pose that is strongly emotional for you (the topic of this thread)?
We will continue this conversation ‘over there’. May I suggest you go and take a look at the posts for Supta Vajrasana for further information? My brief answer is this: Your butt should definitely and unequivocally be on the floor from start to finish, don’t budge it or adjust it! Please post in Supta with more details about your sore legs so I know what, where and when it’s happening!
BTW: I just noticed this post is in Chit Chat rather than Camel so I will move it now!
Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂
Hi Gabrielle,I hope I am not hijacking another thread to continue what I started..
The pain is on the knee joint. It is just a slight pain only after a few day later. I don’t think my butt is 100% touching the floor so I adjust the knee by spreading my knee further apart until I am sitting on my butt. I then try to fall back. It is an uneasy feeling when I am on the floor. Now I have a slight lower back pain too.
Hi Jeffrey
This is the perfect place for your question!
It does seem to me that you would benefit from staying upright in the starting position for a while longer. A little extra time on your butt with a vertical torso will open your body up much more effectively and sustainably than going backward before time. I get the impression from your word use that your butt is not as heavily on the floor when you go backward. Correct me if I have it wrong. It does seem as though the ‘falling back’ part should have more ease in it than you are currently experiencing. Neither your knees nor your butt should lift at all on the way back.
Have the knees apart because that is perfectly acceptable. Just let gravity help you for a time (can’t tell you how long – could be 12 classes could be 30).
Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂Gabrielle,
I fear I have injured something. When I try to stand up straight and tighten the leg joint, it feels sore. I think I force to spread the legs too wide while trying to sit on the butt in the pose that cost the injury.
Hi Jeffrey
It seems you may have some damage. Are you willing to go and check it out?
In the meantime you could avoid putting your butt between your hips. If you are experiencing pain on the outside of your knee it could signify some outer knee ligament or cruciate ligament damage.
A great way to practice at the moment would be to avoid twisting of the knee. This actually could resolve your problem in and of itself, but if it doesn’t then some intervention could be called for. In this case you would avoid bringing the heel to hip for Tree pose and for Supta you would kneel with toes, heels and knees together and sit on the heels without the heels moving laterally. Sit upright and just enjoy this healing position.
Of course if you think there is also something awry with your quadriceps muscles or anything else for that matter please do tell.
Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂The soreness is only noticeable when I try to tighten the leg joint. You know what I mean? It doesn’t feel anything when I am standing.
Will it get better by itself? I am very upset by it..
Hi Jeffrey
I hope you can clarify your problem to me because I may be misinterpreting the information:
When I try to stand up straight and tighten the leg joint, it feels sore.
and then …
The soreness is only noticeable when I try to tighten the leg joint. It doesn’t feel anything when I am standing.
And the photo you gave me seemed to indicate to me a place on the outside of the left knee where I assumed it was hurting while you are sitting in Varasana.
So if it’s OK with you perhaps you can detail
>> everything in one place at one time
>> at what point in the pose (or in regular activity) and
>> exactly where the soreness happens
>> if it ever happens when you are in any other pose, when you are standing or if it’s only when you are sitting in various parts of the Fixed Firm pose.Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂Just came back from another class. The teacher caught me to sit the thigh on the heel (leg closer to each other). Is it the right way? I thought you are suppose to spread your lower leg out so the butt touches the floor. If this is the case, then I think the way I have been doing is wrong. I spread my lower leg wide..
Hi Jeffrey
You teacher seems to be telling you what I recommended in one of my posts of the 2nd of January:
In this case you would avoid bringing the heel to hip for Tree pose and for Supta you would kneel with toes, heels and knees together and sit on the heels without the heels moving laterally. Sit upright and just enjoy this healing position.
Would you be willing to please go through your problem again as requested in the post of 2:20am 3rd January?
Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂Gabrielle,
I don’t know how I can describe it more clearly. Here is another visual of what might be happening. In order to have the butt touching the floor, I spread the leg more with feet beside the hip. Because I am spreading the leg further, the knee joint (top arrow) is forced in an awkward position.
Hi Jeffrey
If your heels are touching your hips with your knees apart that is fine. You should not allow any space between hip and heels.
What is not fine is feeling pain. If you are feeling pain please sit upright with your knees together as suggested (with feet pointing backward with heels together).
Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂The slight pain/soreness happens a few days after my mini four day challenge during the Christmas break.
Before I wasn’t able to do the full fixed firm pose. I have been doing the modified version with arm and elbow resting on the heel.. something like the Camel pose.
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