Love/hate relationship with camel

Hi fellow yogis,

I think it’s safe to say we all struggle at some point with camel. (Why else would it be called the master posture of the series?!) Although each person learns his/her own methods of practicing, I have found that breath is, truly, the one element that is absolutely essential in camel. Slow, relaxed, calming breaths. Before, during, and especially after the pose. I had a teacher who always said, “Send the breath to where it hurts”—it’s a key phrase I think of every time I sink down into savasana after camel.

In terms of the dizziness and nausea, moving slowly and deliberately is also essential. No flopping around, no throwing yourself backward, no rushed exit out of the pose. Any excess or rapid movements are only going to spike your adrenaline and heart rate even higher. I find that if I give myself a moment’s pause at the top, when my hands are on my lower back and my chest is lifted, and look myself right in the eye in the mirror, I’m able to center and focus and relax. Just a one-second checking in with yourself. You’ll find, nine times out of 10, that you’re 100 percent fine, if you just breathe and relax.

Your mind plays games with you throughout the entire 90 minutes of class if you let it. And the same goes for camel. It’s a tricky pose, yes, but I do think that we psyche ourselves out and stress and panic because we let our minds overtake our bodies. In the end, it’s just another pose. Just another back bend. Perhaps keeping it all in perspective is a key element as well!

Good luck!

Hannah

Some lovely help here – after 9 years of practicing I personally think that things come and go all the time (especially when I have breaks from my practice) … and the old saying “this too shall pass” does help as inevitably, it always passes …

I had a couple of thoughts to add:

1. Anticipation.

Anticipation can be the ruin of any yoga practice! When someone starts to anticipate a pose for any reason eg. Looking forward to savasana, or dreading reactions to camel, then one’s yoga practice is already moving away from the “non-judgemental” aspects of a solid practice. “It is what it is” … so using the breath to focus back into the moment is excellent advice. (Especially in camel where due to the intense frontal stretch, it is harder to breath into the belly – but try doing this and it could transform your pose. “Paradoxical breathing” or upper-chest breathing with stomach sucked-in and “protected” occurs with panic or anxiety and is the opposite of a deep, abdomino-diaphragmatic breath. This type of breath can easily be triggered with camel – hence, try the belly-breathing.)

2. Dizziness. Exiting with head last.

While not the only cause of dizziness (lack of breathing being the main one!), as Andrew says, coming out slowly is key – AND – a classic mistake is to lead with the head on exiting camel. Never lead with the head! It’s dangerous for the neck (can cause strain) and can also stimulate dizziness – so make sure as you exit that the head is the very last part of your body to come out slowly – and the last thing you do before taking savasana is exactly as Hannah says – make that connection with yourself eye-to-eye in the mirror.

That’s my 2c – hope that helps!

Robert

And here’s another added goodie that I sometimes experience in Camel, I go blind in my right eye!

Now, that’s something to look forward to!

I did too have problems w/ this pose…. I Found the key for me was making sure my bum was tight and not sinking back down. I was also really hunching my shoulders! I can breathe a lot more easily and deeply in the belly w/ my new improved form.
PS thanks to my hot masterclass book 😉

I have since come across an explanation for the “temporary blindness” that sometimes overtakes me in Camel.

My daughter’s friend says she’s fainted twice in her life and both times just prior to fainting she lost sight, with her eyes open.

So that’s what I attibute it to, a precursor to fainting. It makes sense to me, not enough water, well into the class and bingo …

Camel is now one of my favorites, too. I nearly always get dizzy when I come up on my knees before the pose. I just tell myself that things will get better after I move into it. I have found that looking as far back as possible, as opposed to up my nose, makes all of the difference in the world. Thanks, Gabrielle, for that huge hint. That, combined with slow conscious breathing makes this one of the most enjoyable poses for me.

LOL 😆 You’re right, that might be awkward. However, how do we actually look down our nose when we are looking UP toward the ceiling?