It seems impossible to get my elbows up the way they should

Hi Gabrielle,

I have been trying what you suggested (not trying to lock the elbows or glue the arms to the ears for now, and focusing instead on trying to keep the shoulders down and back) for a good 7 classes. Well, for me it proved more complex to apply than it would seem. I took it as a general recommendation for all postures involving arms overhead at one point or another, and I found that it really changes the feel of all those postures (I have not counted them, but there are many!). So, it sort of destabilized the way I was used to feel and understand the postures, and got me in a state of uncertainty.

Anyway, at first, I felt that I was back at my first hot yoga class, or worse. My elbows ended up so bent that I could barely do the postures at all (that’s what it took to not have the slightest hunch in my shoulders). For example, in half moon’s side bends: I discovered that the tension created by straightening up the elbows and pressing the arms against the sides of the head played a big part in stabilizing the whole posture, and in getting the stretch in the side of the body by pulling with the lower arm on the upper arm – which is only possible if both elbows are straightened. Trying to get a strong, stable, posture and to “pull”,with the elbows bent the way they were, seemed almost impossible. But I persevered anyway in this experiment, and in the next few classes I found a “middle of the road” compromise (recognizing that my first attempt may have been exaggerated), where I would allow some hunch in the shoulders, but make sure I could see a reasonable space between my shoulders and my neck anytime my arms were over my head, and remembering to keep my shoulders down and back as much as possible without undoing the postures completely. I would still not lock the elbows, and my arms were still “in front of my ears” instead of “glued to, or behind my ears” like the dialogue says. But it is still quite difficult to figure out for me, especially in postures like Standing Separate Leg Head To Knee and Half Tortoise, where the arms are supposed to be straight overhead while bending over and pushing on the floor with the fingers. Or in postures like balancing stick where I have always understood that tension created by the effort to press the arms against the side of the head with straight elbows plays a big role in stabilizing the whole posture. Even the sit-up became more of a puzzle. But, with a few classes of practice I was almost able to look like an intermediate student again, and feel that I was more comfortable in the experiment.

Nevertheless, I still wonder if I understood what you have recommended the way I should have, and what the underlying understanding of the shoulder’s role in the postures is… Because I have to admit, I spoke to three teachers at my studio about this, and none of them seemed to think that it made sense to try to get the shoulders down and back before seeking to lock the elbows. And I was at a loss to explain to them exactly why I was trying this and what it was supposed to accomplish (the underlying logic). One of them said that I should be able to straighten my elbows overhead while relaxing my shoulders (which I can’t), and another one said that it would come with time providing that I follow the dialogue and “tried the right way”, as Bikram says, i.e. straightening the elbows and gluing the arms to the ears.

For myself, seeing that after a few classes I was able to hunch my shoulders less (if not “not the tiniest bit”) while slowly working my elbows a little straighter and my arms a little further back (instead of what I looked like the first two classes I tried), made me think that I might be able to get somewhere with this – but still I cannot see clearly where exactly…

So, as you see, I think I am giving this a good try, but I am still somewhat confused and feel that I would benefit from more explanations…

I hope you are able to make sense of this (long) and fuzzy description of my attempts,

Thanks a lot in advance,
Elsa