The Hot Yoga Doctor – Free Bikram and Hot Yoga Resources › Hot Yoga Doctor Forum › The Hot Yoga Poses › Sasangasana › Bad neck…
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I have chronic neck pain due to spasms in my neck from tourettes (or at least that’s the best any doctor has been able to figure out). I also have had pretty severe forward-facing neck posture that is much better than it was since I’ve been seeing a chiropractor for the past year. Now the pain is back, and I think it must be due to the pressure on my neck during rabbit pose. I also experience neck pain during pranayama breathing.
I try my best to put as little pressure on the top of the head as possible by really pulling on my heels…my instructor has told me I have very good form in this pose. However, the pain is still there. As I try to decrease pressure to my head, my feet raise off the ground a little bit. I know this is not correct.
Do you have any other ideas besides pulling harder (I don’t think I physically can at this point) that would help with my neck? It seems that just any pressure is too much.
I love this pose for what it does for the rest of my back, I just don’t want to undo the work of my chiropractor.
For myself I was given an alternative by my instructor and I still get all the compression benefits. I do the pose on my hands and feet and tuck my chin under and roll down curling up as tight as possible. Spine curled up, chin down, tail bone down but still on hands and knees. It works for me but then I don’t put pressure on my neck.
That’s what works for me. 😀
Hi Brenda
I hope I can catch you before your next class. Try introducing a little space between head and knees (only a tiny bit bigger than normal or away from the knees if they are touching at the moment). There’s small chance that this could help you … however …
I would like to talk more about what’s going on because there’s definitely something going on if AT ANY TIME your feet want to lift off the ground.
What is happening in your arms? And normally do you feel that you’re rolling forward onto your head? Often people will unconsciously untuck the chin just a touch because they think it will stop them rolling forward. But it actually causes the problem. So check into what could be an imperceptible movement.
Come back and let me know and we’ll sort this out. There are other Rabbit posts of course and they will be helpful because this has been covered before. 😉
Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂My arms are just pulling on my heels as hard as possible. I see a lot of other students starting the pose with locked elbows, and I’m not sure how to do this with my hands gripping my heels. They are locked out once I get into position, though.
I tried keeping a slight distance between my head and knees and it actually feels a little better, I think. You were right, I was untucking my chin, and that has definitely helped. It makes the stretch feel even better to tuck my chin up and I haven’t felt as much neck pain since I’ve done that. Maybe my neck pain is decreased because I am finally getting the full stretch.
I’m really trying not to have my feet lift off the ground…it’s not so much a lift as just they want to barely hover half a centimeter off the mat. This just seems to happen the more I try consciously to avoid pressure on the neck. Maybe I just need to put all these steps together and really focus harder on what I am doing.
Thank you so much for your help, this is a great site
Hi Brenda
Alrighty, let’s see if we can get a little closer. Check into your arms and tell me if what you are feeling is your arms locking out, or is it that they are straight and stretching?
Next, even with a little pressure on the top of your head, if you have set up the right traction your neck will feel relief. So don’t be afraid to let your head seat properly. If your feet are still wanting to hover then there is more to do. Push your shins and knees downward and move your hips and back upward.
Your feet should be wanting to stay on the ground.
Let me know where you’re at…
Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂My arms are not locked out, they are slightly bent, pulling on the heels.
Some days, it feels like I do this pose “right,” I get that great stretch in my spine and not too much pressure on the head. Some days I don’t feel much at all. The difference seems to be in my grip, I’ve noticed. On good rabbit days, my grip is strong, but more often, my grip is sweaty and slippery, and I don’t feel what I think I should be feeling.
My feet aren’t up off the floor, but they aren’t pressed down onto the floor, either. They are sortof resting lightly.
I’ve ordered a couple special hot yoga towels that will hopefully help with the sweaty grip problem.
Thanks for your advice.
Hi Brenda
You are so close yet so far!!!
If you could imagine you are ‘hanging off your heels’ then you can appreciate that your arms are NOT locked out, AND they are definitely NOT bent. They can’t be. They are simply in traction.
Fiddle around with the distance between your head and knees but keep the chin tucked, with the intention to get those arms long and stretched out. Then you should be able to push your lower legs into the floor while still being relaxed.
When you get it, it will be like a big bright light turning on and then that will be it! Until then, it will be a conundrum.
Come back tomorrow and tell me if that made it clearer. Other than that I have an opening in my schedule on Sunday for a private lesson! 😆 Just kidding. You’re almost there.
Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂 -
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