The Hot Yoga Doctor – Free Bikram and Hot Yoga Resources › Hot Yoga Doctor Forum › The Hot Yoga Poses › Utkatasana › tummy!
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Ive noticed in the 1st part of this posture I really struggle to hold my tummy in. In fact the definition of ‘suck you belly in’ really confuses me throughout my whole practice.
When i hear the words ‘suck you tummy in’ I immediately think of sucking you belly in like you would do to try and fit into your skinniest jeans! But as I realized its practically impossible to breathe at the same time. So then I began to concentrate on tightening my abs, like Im tensing up for a show down the Mr Olympia! But this inevitable crunches my mid section. Id really appreciate some advice on the whole tummy area for my practice!
As for the third part of this pose… I consider myself very strong going down…I can hold it for a solid 10 secs with control, but bugger me if I can get back up slowly instead of a one second push back up! Will this just come with building strength in my legs?
thanks
as far as your tummy goes …. prep for that olympian metal LOL !!!! your instincts were right. Focus on tight abs and tilting your pelvis under. Think of a long and straight spine. YEs your strength will come and help with this IF you pracice… this means trying not to pop up and slowly working on the length of time it takes you come back up. so try going slow as long as you can also dont rest on your heels at the bottom make sure your legs are engaged the WHOLE time. good luck
I also struggle with keeping my stomach in. Every time the instructor reminds us to do this throughout the class, I keep thinking, ‘How did my stomach get out again? I just pulled it in!!’
The whole awkward pose series creates burning-burning-burning in my legs. It is crazy. But I am experiencing more and more control all the time. It’s interesting how the smallest improvement can make me happy – ‘I wobbled less today – YaY!’.
Gabrielle has an article somewhere on this site (or maybe it came through email) that talks about strengthening your abs using a cough/’ahem’ sensation to locate the muscles you want to focus on. Maybe she can post a link to this?
I’ve been trying to focus on ‘ahem’-ing for the last 2 weeks and it has helped, although I have a long way to go…
Ilonka 8)
Hello
OK! A very important part of your life and practice is core stability. Sucking in your stomach is a key to creating core strength but it is actually not the only thing.
Deeny you have to be careful. As you’ve discovered your breathing can be hampered if you suck your tummy in too much. The engagement of your Transverse Abdominis happens without a very overt tummy sucking maneuver. If you can’t breathe then you’re perhaps overdoing it.
Ilonka (thanks) is right about the ‘ahem’ muscles. That’s when you make a polite cough and you can feel a tightening of your TA – the corset in your abdomen which comprises a part of your core. I have had a number of personal emails as a result of that email from students from all types of yoga traditions who have found great IMPROVEMENTS to their practice in an extremely short amount of time.
So although the Mr Olympia metaphor is a great one that depicts a beautiful strength I would try not to suck in the tummy too severely. If you feel a crunching or a shortening of your midsection then it’s definitely too severe. And what you’ll end up with is a rigid core instead of fluid dynamic protective strength.
As for 10 seconds down and 1 second up! That’s pretty normal. Remember to engage your core BEFORE you start to move up. And don’t be attached to the number of seconds. Even the strongest of us have a variable response to that exit… Your ability will grow in time. Really!
Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂Gabrielle, in your video labeled “Flatten your tummy and strengthen your back” how many repetitions do you advise to do a day? I really like it. I used to do a lot of crunches and did nothing but hurt my lower back. Now I am going to set a goal for a 30 day challenge with your method.Thank you for your wisdom. :coolsmile:
Hello again Kofilino
I would love to know what plan you had in mind. Here are my ideas however:
You know, this is a very interesting exercise because when it gets too hard, you know that you have the ball in the wrong place. At any time where it is a struggle (and not just challenging!) you move the ball lower.
Repetitions at a lower easier setting means less challenge but still positive work. At lower settings you will do more repetitions before you take a break.
Generally, the higher the ball, the greater the challenge, the lower the repetiions. Which brings me to …
How many repetitions? Well, because of the nature of this activity and its non-invasive action that builds strength and helps tone, I would say do it as often as you like. Do 30-50 at a lower setting. Take a small break and move the ball up a vertebra. If you can’t lift the legs at all then move the ball back down. If it’s OK, then start with 20 repetitions. If it is easy then continue to complete 30-50. Take a short break and move it up. When you get to a point where there is challenge and it is no longer easy, work on attempting 10-20.
You can do this 2-3 times a day.
And you can really do as many reps as you like. Perhaps it will be a meditation for you, or you’ll listen to music. Do let me know what you were thinking of doing.
Enjoy your 30 day challenge.
Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂 -
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