The Hot Yoga Doctor – Free Bikram and Hot Yoga Resources › Hot Yoga Doctor Forum › The Hot Yoga Poses › Tadasana › Tree Pose to Toe Stand/Kicking in Standing Head to Knee
The Hot Yoga Doctor – Free Bikram and Hot Yoga Resources › Hot Yoga Doctor Forum › The Hot Yoga Poses › Tadasana › Tree Pose to Toe Stand/Kicking in Standing Head to Knee
-
AuthorPosts
-
Hi Gabrielle,
I have a couple of questions regarding 2 postures.
1) Tree Pose – On another thread you said the below –
‘in my studio we teach that you only let go of the second hand if, and only if the heel of your foot is directly under your belly-button at the body’s midline.’ (I suppose you meant where you had it like in the tree pose photo gallery? you made it look easy.)
Which unfortunately I am not able to reach yet 🙁
so does it also mean that unless I got my foot there, I am not able to let go of my second hand?
And if I can’t let go of my second hand yet, does it also mean that I am not able to proceed to Toe Stand?
And if one of my legs manage to achieve this first can I proceed with that one side first or do I wait till I could get both legs there?
2)Standing Head to Knee –
You mentioned that unless we can hold the first part of this posture for 60 secs, we shouldn’t be kicking up the legs at all?
Again, what if I can hold one leg for 60 secs but not the other yet? do I kick up the leg of the side that I can or do I wait for the other leg to catch/build up first and kicking them up together?
Love, love to hear your thoughts.
Thank you very much 🙂
Namaste!
binny
Hi Binny
Sorry for the delay I have JUST got back from almost a week away as I was teaching a weekend workshop interstate.
The reason to keep hold of the foot until you have your heel more or less exactly in the center is because you gain a tremendous amount of leverage on your traction to open up your hips. You can maintain an upward pressure on the foot by holding it with the hand (bend your elbow backward) and at the same time move your knee down and back. WithOUT the hand applying the pressure the forces are minimized and you can feel less opening in your hips and inner thigh.
I think it is fine to proceed in first set asymmetrically with respect to the configuration of your hands in half prayer or prayer!
To go into toe stand you must be able to let go of your foot! But if your leg falls significantly (down to your mid thigh for example) then you’re simply not ready! As far as whether you should do one side Toe stand before the other side is ready that is really up to you. What is actually happening? Where’s your limit in this pose? Maybe I can help with a suggestion.
Regarding Standing Head to Knee: I think that being able to lock your knee is such a hot yoga basic skill that in this case I would certainly be waiting for the strength of the other leg to ‘catch up’. Given what you’ve told me I would think that this is the best course of action.
Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂Hi Gabrielle, very kind of you to take time from your busy schedule to answer my questions. Much appreciated!
Re: Tree pose.
My knees are the major factor here, due to past injuries there are good days and there are bad days, more the latter, I’m afraid. On good days when my knees are able to go down and back, I can hold them in the correct position with no problem. On very very good days, I can even let go of my left hand and go into prayer position 🙂 without arching my back to keep my right leg up there (i know). But even on these happy occasions, I struggle with my left side (my weak side) of the hip, I am just not able to keep my left leg up, I simply ‘not able to find the muscle’ in my hip/thigh to keep it up. I hope you understand what I mean here.Unsurprisingly, it is the same left side that I am not able to hold the entire 60sec in the Standing Head to Knee pose.
Any tips and advice on strengthening/improving my left muscles awareness will be greatly appreciated.
Thank you again!!
Namaste 🙂
binny
Hi Binny
I would stay in Tree pose for a while even without bringing the hand into prayer pose. I suggest that placing your hand on the inner thigh of the bent leg can be quite stabilizing and also allows you to release it and surrender it to gravity. Sometimes people are using too much effort in their (somewhat) inflexible bent leg. Does that make sense? Placing your hand there can make you more sensitive to what’s going on in the area from knee to hip of both legs. Try it. Plus you won’t have to contend with balance as much.
Can you clarify for me which leg and in what position the problem is in Standing Head to Knee? If I understand correctly, it is locking the knee that is the issue. One point to be aware of is if you ‘shift your weight’ to your standing leg before you commence your pose(s). This is common practice because of the dialog recital approach. Maintain your hip position (and so on) in postural integrity. Don’t lean into your standing leg. Make this conscious and even things up! You may find that you favor one leg over the other when you stand or even notice a difference in your walk.
Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂hi gabrielle,
Re: Tree pose –
I have a little revelation on this pose! (from studying the pose gallery)- I realised that I have not been having my heels in the centre but a bit off to the side. I still can’t get them under the belly button, mind you but I manage to get the heels at my crotch and I felt exactly ‘a tremendous amount of leverage on your traction to open up your hips’. I can even get my hands in prayer, what a difference a couple of cm makes! but whilst up there my feet are horizontal (my toes are the same level as my heels), not vertical like yours in the pose gallery.In this case, am I good enough to go to toe stand from here?
Actually, I did have a little go (how can I not, I waited for a year!) – I could bend forward with my leg straight (and my bent leg not slipping!) until my palm touched the floor but once down there, I was very wobbly. is it a matter of strength? I read this post https://www.hotyogadoctor.com/index.php/site/forum/viewthread/209/
I have short, short arms too.
also I have very weak toes. they are often so strained in the Awkward pose that I have to crack them right after, if not they will affect my Eagle pose. so that kind of put some fear in me, how should I explain it – I am pre-empting my lack of balance/strength here due to a known weakness?Re: Standing head to knee-
my right leg now can comfortably lock out for 60 secs but my left leg has always been my weaker side (yes, I am definitely lopsided, my right leg has always been more muscular than the left). Having said that I can now hold the left leg for the whole of the second set. but in the first set, the strain is on my lower left bum muscle, god it burns after a while to the point that I have to break the pose, sometimes I feel the strain on the back of my left knee too. I have always try to ‘center’ my weight (learnt from the pose clinic) and not lean too much on either, or at least that is what I think I am doing. so I guess, I have a weak left hip muscle? even with Head to Knee pose, it is often harder for my left leg to push the ankle out, lock out and lift the ankle whilst my right leg could do all that without much difficulty.namaste 🙂
binny
Hi Gabrielle, just want to share this –
Today I have another break through – I can hold my left leg for the entire first set in Standing head to knee. I was mulling over what you said about putting too much weight on it so I really observed my weight distribution when I was on my left leg, and today I tried consciously sucked in my stomach more so I would have my weight centered and voila! it worked! so happy! though the bum still strained but I think it is a matter of time now to build up the muscle there. thank you! namaste 🙂Hi Gabrielle,
I have recently been doing hot yoga about 5-6 times a week for 3 weeks now. Just two days ago I was feeling very comfortable in tree pose and decided to try toe stand. At the time I did not feel any pain. However, after class and ever since I have been feeling a great deal of pain in my hips. It almost feels like it needs to be popped back or something. The pain occurs when I push my knee outward, rotating my hip back. I was wondering if you knew anything that would help take away this pain. Thanks
-
AuthorPosts
- You must be logged in to reply to this topic.