Going too far?

Hi Gabrielle!

So as I stated earlier, I feel like I’m going too far into Rabbit pose. I keep my head curled under the whole way down and usually end up with my forehead on my middle to upper thigh area with the back of my head on the floor. This seems to be the only way I can feel the stretch down into my lower back. My thighs are usually perpendicular to the floor at this point. It’s been suggested that I hold lower on my feet but every time I do that in class my instructor tells me I’m holding my feet incorrectly even though my grip is correct and I still seem to end up in pretty much the same position. Going this far in doesn’t hurt or anything although obviously there is sligt pressure in my neck and maybe a little more weight in my head than there should be (maybe 15% of my weight versus 5-10%). However it just still doesn’t feel like I’m doing this pose correctly. Every picture I’ve seen of rabbit pose does not show the person on the back of their head and I’ve heard horror stories about people hurting their necks this way. I can’t seem to get a straight answer from my instructors either. Some say keep going as far as you can and that my rabbit is awesome and some say stop before you hurt yourself and that I’m going too far. The solution I’ve come up with so far is that I’m probably not as strong as I am flexible and I need to get stronger before continuing to go this far into the pose so I can hold it in a more controlled manner. Any other suggestions you might have would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!
Amelia