Connie

1 I am gripping my heel with the thumb on the outside and fingers on the inside of the heel.
2 The top of my head is touching the floor.
3 My chin is on my chest mashed against my breasts too. The position feels very claustrophobic and my ability to breath seems compromised. Since using some of your pointers, my sternum is not sore afterwards, although I still get cramps under my right breast sometimes.
4 I really don’t feel anything in my back but my arms feel stretched to the max — and I have long arms.
5 My feet feel almost as if they will lift off the floor. Since your advice to another forum member, I have tried to hold them together and press them down into the floor to lift my butt. It feels like i’m only lifting a half inch though.
6. When I’m doing this pose in the normal sequence, I sometimes feel tension releasing in the top of my arms and shoulders, but the discomfort in my neck (i feel a little choked) and in my diaphragm make this a very difficult pose for me.

i also can only get one hand under the heel at a time. i can’t seem to bend deep enough to get both hands under the heels because my knee hurts. i also have a problem in that i can’t get my head on my knees in rabbit and i think these may be related problems. any suggestions?

thanks

Sarah, you say Bikram is not a “guru.” What is a guru, and why wouldn’t Bikram be one?

Last, as you indicated, the yoga component of Bikram yoga keeps the parts well lubricated. In this respect, I think there’s one more point to keep in mind. The yoga that Bikram teaches isn’t his, per se; it’s his guru’s. Without doubt, I believe that Bikram’s guru was a remarkable man and that it is this remarkableness/power that comes through in Bikram’s yoga. Bikram is, without question, a well-trained yogi. He is not, however, a guru—that was his guru’s job. What Bikram did was take his guru’s-infused yoga and find a way to market it. As to this I’m not passing judgment; I am, however, re-emphasizing the same point: Bikram’s yoga is a product and, as with any product, one must listen to one’s body to decide when, whether, and how to continue using it.

Thanks, Rebecca, for your responses.

–Sarah