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The Hot Yoga Doctor – Free Bikram and Hot Yoga Resources › Hot Yoga Doctor Forum › The Hot Yoga Poses › Pada Hastasana › Trouble engaging my biceps
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I am having some trouble with engaging and pulling with my biceps in this pose. I am able to squash my body down onto my legs, and I can get my fingers under my heels and pointing forward as long as I keep my feet about 6″ apart. However, something is going wrong with the “pull with your biceps” part. Whenever I try to do that, I can feel my shoulders tensing up. It’s like I don’t know how to just isolate and engage my biceps. It feels easier to sort of draw my elbows up and back using my triceps, but I don’t think that’s right. Sometimes I even practice doing bicep curls (not while in any pose) so I can feel how bicep activation is supposed to feel, but I can’t seem to get the activation when I’m actually in a pose. Any ideas on how to engage them?
I have the same kind of issue in standing intense stretching–I know that I must be missing out on the reciprocal inhibition, and some serious back stretching, because I can’t seem to get my biceps to activate properly.
Thanks so much!
Hello Michelle
I see where you are with this. I really like that you’re checking in with your body so closely! So when your arms are bent like that you are by default using your biceps. You are correct too that you are getting some triceps involvement when you bring your arms behind and draw your shoulders up.
To me it sounds as though you are doing just the right thing and staying aware of any shoulder hunching.
All seems good to me. Would there be any other aspects of these poses that need a tweak? The feet apart is fine. Are you trying to bring them back in over time?
Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂Gabrielle, what do you do about the shoulder hunching?
I notice when I pull with my biceps my shoulders start to tense and I have to repeatedly consciously relax them to my ears. But then I notice I’m not pulling with my biceps as hard anymore.
– ChristinaHi Christina
Maybe it’s better if you change your thought to ‘pull up and back with your elbows’.
It’s the same thing just a different way to think about it. Sometimes that’s all it takes.
Let me know, please
Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂Hi Gabrielle, you were right, it was as simple as that. Thinking about my elbows as opposed to my biceps put much less stress on my shoulders and neck. It’s the first time I haven’t had some sort of pain in that area.
Thanks!!You’re very welcome Christina
Always a pleasure to help!
Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂This forum is great, so far things that I have on my list to ask about here are addressed in other posts…Good to know that I am not alone in my progress!
I also felt like I wasn’t engaging my biceps in this pose even though I tried. Now I won’t worry so much about that and just work on relaxing my shoulders. I tend to have hunchy shoulders. Many times during the day I have to check in and pull my shoulders away from my ears. ‘Elbows in back pockets’ helps.
Another problem I have in this pose is getting my fingers under my heels. The intensity of that on my thighs is very uncomfortable. It’s a burn, but it’s not that ‘good’ burn. Should I just stay with my fingers straight against the back of my heels and try to sneak them under as it feels ok to do?
Thanks!
H.
Hey! I know Gabrielle will have some great advice, but I had that problem in the beginning as well. But after regular practice it did go away. I also, made sure I had all of my fingers and a good grip under my heels, instead of just my fingertips. I think the pressure of just my fingertips was causing pain to shoot up my heels.
– ChristinaThanks, Christina! I will try to get as much of my hand as possible under my heels next time and see if that helps…
H.
Hi gals
The position of fingers under the heels is a variance among many practitioners. In fact, placing your fingers as far under as possible can be the reason why people involve their shoulders. So what works for you is certainly not going to work for everyone. For example someone may be able to get their fingers all the way under but because of that effort they have their hands approaching from the sides. If they withdraw their hands a little often they can approach their hands from behind and still get the leverage of the pose.
I can see how squashing the fingertips is very uncomfortable. Up to the second joint is a good position to aim for and if your body geometry allows, then go for the whole length of the fingers.
I hope that makes sense
Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂Thank you so much! In Hands to Feet, just concentrating on bending my elbows really seems to have helped. (As per Hot Yoga Doctor Usual, a simple fix!) I am starting to feel that back stretch!
I am still struggling in Separate Leg Intense Stretch, though. I know I have some chronic tension in one shoulder that interferes here. I think another thing that messes me up is trying to keep my chin away from my chest/point my forehead toward the floor (as opposed to just getting to let my head dangle in Hands to Feet). Somewhere in the process of keeping chin away from chest while putting hands behind heels my shoulders want to hunch up.I have a lot of problems with both Seperate Leg Intense Stretch and Forehead to knee. I don’t even know where to start. Just that neither one of them do anything for me except frustrate me. The pull in the back of my legs is very uncomfortable, even when I back off. I am unable to get my forehead to my knee and I know that we’re supposed to get it there even if we’re just starting (or are we?)…SLIS, well, it’s OK if I stretch my arms out forward (which I believe was a modification I learned on Bikram’s CD), but if I wrap my arms around my legs it’s not comfortable at all. It could be, like it is for wombatgirl (cute name, btw!), that I carry lots of tension in my shoulders and underneath my shoulder blades (in fact that’s another question I have for another post)…
Thoughts anyone?
Hi Michelle
Thanks! Can you tell me what position your fingers are in the Intense Stretch pose? (Ie The angle with the foot, from the back directly, from the side pointing where? Whatever you can tell me to describe what you’re doing could indeed help.)
Helen, thanks for posting. 😉 There’s a lot to ‘unpack’ from your post and I will have to get back to it within the next few days!
Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂Thanks! No hurry…I’ll just keep working on them. 🙂
Hi Michelle
I remember I needed to say that often what people do is to try to extend the chin down as they bring the forehead down to the floor and in doing so engage too many neck muscles (yikes, more hunching). It happens when people literally try to get the forehead to touch the floor. Instead try to just get the face parallel to the floor (stop when there is shoulder involvement) and don’t worry if a space seems to open up between the head and floor (instead of closing it up). It’s the geometry of back and head that’s more important than the proximity of the forehead to the floor.
I hope that makes more sense.
Hello Helen
I was about to post a response to your questions then I realised that this is a Pada Hastasana (hands to feet) thread. Would you be willing to post 2 separate questions in SLIS and Standing Head to Knee please?
Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂Sure! someone else (one of your graduates!) also moved this thread to another place and asked me to clarify a couple of things. It’s getting around…lol!
Actually, Gabrielle, your reply to Michelle above:
“Instead try to just get the face parallel to the floor (stop when there is shoulder involvement) and don’t worry if a space seems to open up between the head and floor (instead of closing it up). It’s the geometry of back and head that’s more important than the proximity of the forehead to the floor.”
Is very helpful to me so I will just re-post the Forehead to knee question in the proper forum.
Thanks!
H.
Hi Helen
Haha, that’s funny! In this case, I wasn’t asking you to move it, I was asking you to either add to a thread on both of those poses, or create a new topic by copying your question and posting it elsewhere under the right pose name. Here it is really only for Pada Hastasana. That way it will be easier to find for everyone.
Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂 -
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