The Hot Yoga Doctor – Free Bikram and Hot Yoga Resources › Hot Yoga Doctor Forum › The Hot Yoga Poses › Ardha Chandrasana › painful lower back
The Hot Yoga Doctor – Free Bikram and Hot Yoga Resources › Hot Yoga Doctor Forum › The Hot Yoga Poses › Ardha Chandrasana › painful lower back
-
AuthorPosts
-
I am new to hot yoga, but not to yoga. I have been to Bikram yoga twice only, and each time have irritated my lower back. I have an L5/S1 grade1 spondylolisthesis which does not flare up and is managed (ie no problems for years) , yet, by the time we got to the standing balancing poses on my first day I knew I had to back off and do everything with knees bent and gently. It took a few days for everything to settle, and a yogi osteopath told me that spondylos don’t like the half moon pose and back bend as done in hot yoga, so I took this easily when I went back (ie no standing back bend, and the side stretch was gentle), yet, once again, my back was stiff by the time we got to the head to knee single leg balance pose.
I am concerned as I question whether I shouldn’t be doing this form of yoga? Should I stand with legs hip width apart for the side bends and avoid the back bend bit? I don’t particularly want to go back and aggravate my back, because where I’m at right now, I feel that sciatica will come on if I continue without modification. It’s been 18hours since my class and I have a dull ache in my lower back. Is there anything you could advise me with please?Hi Yvonne
Your problem is a mixed one! Yes you have a longstanding condition. And you have the issue of attending classes in a new style of yoga. So one of the problems with the whole scenario you describe is that as your first class in this yoga (or indeed most new skills) is that you can never really be as mindful as you would be in a familiar activity because you have a learning curve to work through. Many students without your issues have problems when first taking up this yoga for all sorts of reasons.
So I have a couple of general purpose questions for you to get us started:
Is the slippage most likely to occur in any backbend? Are there any backbends that would normally feel OK for you? For example the first backbend on the floor called Cobra. Does that cause the same issue as the Half Moon backbend? What about Camel? What about Floor Bow or Standing Bow? You can find photos to all these poses at the Resource Center.
What are the general ways you have to limit or modify your movements to minimize back pain on a day to day basis and with the other forms of yoga you have tried?
I do have some ideas for you but I would like to know more about your particular body.
Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂Thank you for your reply. I have been practising yoga for a number of years and am generally careful with the range of extension of my lower back and very careful with alignment. I do not have problems with the asanas you mention, especially as I engage my bandhas and use the appropriate breathing patterns. It is basically agreed by most practitioners that the spondylo I have I was born with – it has not moved for over 20 years and has caused me problems only when it was diagnosed, and once or twice since, mainly if I wasn’t using my stomach muscles when performing particular activities, once in yoga (and that was a stupidly fast paschimottanasana move), and once when not. I generally do not overextend my back, and find that if my feet are in parallel as required here then it’s better hip width apart (which I didn’t do the first time I did the sequence). I have done ballet and contemporary dance in the past and that did not give me this pain. As mentioned in my original question, by the time we moved into the balancing poses (the one legged head to knee pose) the pain was already there. I have given much more thought to this, and tend to think that maybe the extremes of spinal bends – side, side, back, forward at the beginning of the whole sequence is not a good thing for my spine (I do bend my knees for the initial uttanasana) – even though I resisted tilting backwards I still had the pain afterwards, and the ache is still there two days on now. I can’t think of anything else and I originally thought it would be ok with just that one modification!!
In other forms of yoga I tend to make sure I don’t crunch the lower back, for instance urdhva dhanurasana I extend the upper body (which should be done anyway!), I prop my lower spine up for vajrasana etc.I will not do a handstand walkover because I instinctively know it wouldn’t be good for me. I don’t modify my life other than ensure I engage my lower abdominals for any activity and don’t sit for extended periods (ie longer than a couple of hours) at a time.
Thank you for your speedy reply.
NamasteHi Yvonne
Thank you for all the details. I actually have a task to do tonight so will get onto answering your questions tomorrow!
Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂Thank you, I appreciate your time. I did forget to mention the styles of yoga I have studied – the preferred forms of yoga classes I go to tend to be combination vinyasa or power vinyasa with some restorative yoga / pranayama incorporated into them. I have also studied yin yoga and tend to prefer that in the afternoons or evenings. For my own practice I tend to do a series of Surya Namaskara A and B with a few standing poses and some seated ones, with abdominal strengthening and some remedial deep muscle- usually I only have about 15-30mins in the mornings as I am currently studying in a physical theatre course. I come from a warm country and heat and humidity are not a problem for me in general.
Hi Yvonne
You are obviously experienced and seem to know what you are doing! And it seems that the most important issue is likely less with the side Half Moon bend and more with the backbend. I would place my hands on my lower back in the same way you start off in Camel. I think that the gravity effect on your standing backbend is causing more harm than good. Drop your head back, push hips forward (now supported) and just go back to where you feel good and make sure your shoulders and neck stay relaxed. If your instinct is to have your feet apart for side bends then do that. I would also ensure good foot alignment (not toes and heels together but feet positioned so that knees and hips are in alignment).
Are you able to do Camel with hands on feet? Because I figured with the heat, that you may consider leaving your hands on your hips instead (due to the massive difference in flexibility from the beginning to end of class that you could be experiencing which would put more pressure on ‘that’ area).
Try a class with those modifications and please tell me what happens. I would like to know if the problem still exists from the same first pose or if it appears further on in the class or not at all.
Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂 -
AuthorPosts
- You must be logged in to reply to this topic.