The Hot Yoga Doctor – Free Bikram and Hot Yoga Resources › Hot Yoga Doctor Forum › The Hot Yoga Poses › Pada Hastasana › Can't even begin to get my hands under my heels
The Hot Yoga Doctor – Free Bikram and Hot Yoga Resources › Hot Yoga Doctor Forum › The Hot Yoga Poses › Pada Hastasana › Can't even begin to get my hands under my heels
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Thanks for this great website! I’m a new user to who just discovered you a few days ago!
I’ve been doing Bikram for about 5 months now and I have gotten so much out of it. I’m going about 4 days per week now, feeling some pain in my hamstrings and tightness between my shoulder blades, but thanks to this site, I now know what to do about both conditions. My question is about any of the poses that ask for the fingers to be place under the heels. No matter what I do, the closest I can get is getting them under my heels but to the sides (not as far forward as the arch or side of foot). I’ve tried some of your suggestions about bending the knees but when I do that, my hips force my knees and hips out , making the angle impossible to put my fingers under the backs of the heels. I’ve also tried sliding my hands down the backs of my legs but my arms just aren’t long enough!
This may be related, but I also am not able to grab my foot during standing head to knee so have been concentrating on raising my leg and bending down, sucking my stomach in and putting my hands as far down my legs as possible (I get to the ankle or top of the foot). Any lower and I find that my hip goes “outside” my arm. I have also “corrected” a hip alignment issue in the standing separate leg head to knee.
So what’s the answer on the hands under heels problem? I’m actually pretty flexible and “bendy” but I don’t seem to be making progress with this. What do I do?
Thanks!
Denise
not sur what gab has to say…. what do you think??? hip tightness sounds like a poss culprit
Yoga Guru,
That may be it and I am working on that. I know that I have just recently been able to get my “sitbones” on the floor in Fixed Firm. I seem to be pretty far from being able to lay back flat on the floor. This whole thing with the putting my fingers under the backs of my heels is really frustrating!
Denise
Sorry, I just saw that your “name” is actually Fraseram! LOL
Hi Denise
😆 I don’t have magic powers, I just click on the little “PROFILE” button and then your name is revealed!!! Try it. You’ll find out that Fraseram’s name is Amy!!! 😉
Now on to your issue:
May I ask you if your bust gets in the way? Also have you tried with your feet hip width apart or apart at some distance? It would help me to know these things.We’ll get to the Head to Knee pose soon!
Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂PS: Thanks for telling me that my techniques have helped you in your practice. I appreciate it greatly!
Hi Gabrielle,
Yes, my bust definitely does get in the way!
I just got back from class and I tried a couple of things tonight. First in the forward bend after Half Moon (I can’t remember the name of the pose), I tried to really watch what I was doing when trying to stand on my fingers, near my heels. The dialog says something like, ‘bend you knees and put your pinky fingers together under your heels, don’t lose the grip” or something like that. When I bent my knees, my knees went out to the side (and I tried to keep them straight and there was no way) and my feet twisted so my heels came in towards the center and the toes went out to the sides. It really puts me “off balance” until I can get my hands underneath (with elbows out to the sides instead of behind the calves). Then in the standing separately leg, instead of taking a big step (like the dialog says), I took a less wide step and was able to slide my hands down my calves and touch the floor right behind my heels, but couldn’t actually step on my fingers.
Hope that helps!
Denise
Hi Denise
You have made some progress with the separate leg intense stretch. Now let’s take that and apply it to Hands to Feet (forward bend in the Half Moon series). When you come up from backbend and just before you descend with a straight back, step your right foot out about hip width and see how you go.
It will make your balance a hell of a lot easier, it may give you the space you need for your breasts, it will probably allow you to get a better grip under your feet, then your traction will improve and before you know it you will likely be able to have your feet closer and closer together.
Play with that distance between your feet. Think about how a pregnant woman would do that pose. It’s pretty much the same thing. Just separate your feet, learn what distance that is, adjust mid pose if you need to.
Sorry for the delay in response! Let me know how you go and we can now work on Head to Knee.
Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂 -
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