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in reply to: Proper situp form #7824
Hi all,
My own concern with the situp is that I am really not sure what to make of the differences between the way it is taught in my bikram studio, the way Gabrielle teaches it, and the way it is taught in the book The Anatomy of Hatha Yoga, which had been my main reference to understand the subtleties of the postures until I started Bikram yoga a little over a year ago.
In the Anatomy of Hatha Yoga, it is said that yoga situps start with the legs straight and contracted, feet flexed (until then everyone agrees), and THE LOWER BACK PRESSED AGAINST THE FLOOR (lumbar lordosis completely flattened, through the action of the abdominal muscles), which is how the lower back is to be protected. Then you SLOWLY roll up, BREATHING EVENLY, one vertebra at the time. You start with the arms extended and pointing toward the feet, and gradually work up to more challenging arm positions, which means higher and higher, until you are able to do it with the arms overhead, without loosing the flattening of the lumgar lordosis.
In hot yoga, we start right away with the most difficult arm position, which is extended overhead (many people are probably not ready for that), and at least in my studio, it is taught as a FAST move, not a gradual and controlled lifting of the torso. In my studio, some teachers tell us to hold the breath while lifting the torso (which does help to lift the torso as a solid unit, by increasing the pneumatic pressure above the diaphragm, but which is stressful for the heart, and personally I don’t do it for that reason), and then to kind of jerk the body forward toward the legs, while performing a double exhale.
Gabrielle teaches to lift the torso with the arms overhead and the spine straight, while exhaling (which is what is supposed to protect the lower back). Now, with this part, I am puzzled. How can exhaling increase the hydraulic pressure in the lower torso (below the diaphragm), since exhaling implies necessarily that the diaphragm moves upward, thus increasing the volume available???? Of course you are supposed to draw the stomach in by contracting the abdominal muscles, but even if you do that, the hydraulic pressure will still have a tendency to decrease throughout the movement, as the diaphragm moves upward continually throughout the exhale. While I agree that the most stressful moment for the lower back is in the onset of the lifting of the torso, I find it more difficult to maintain inner pressure in the torso as I exhale, especially if I am to keep my back straight while I lift! So, that would be my firts question.
Personnaly, before I was introduced to Gabrielle’s way of teaching the situp, I had worked out a kind of compromise between what is taught in the Anatomy of Hatha Yoga and what is taught at my studio: I flatten my lower back against the floor as much as I can before the lift (which is a challenge to do while keeping the legs straight and contracted, but I am continually working on it and it does become easier as my hip flexors gradually become longer and more flexible); I inhale as I lift my torso while still contracting my abs, which, I figured, helps create hydraulic pressure in the abdominal cavity, since the diaphragm is pushing down against the organs, while the abs keep them from going anywhere. At least, I have the impression that this does help me to lift my torso as a solid unit. Every time I try to lift my torso while exhaling, I feel weaker and more wobbly… But it is not as drastic (and eventually dangerous) as closing the glottis and thus putting all the pressure on the heart and lungs.
So, my second question would be: is that an acceptable technique? Does this make sense to anyone else but me?
And I was really wondering why no one in hot yoga seems to be concerned about flattening the lumbar lordosis as a way to protect the lower spine during the situp.
And as for the second part of the situp, I really don’t know what to think, since Bikram does not explain why we should throw our bodies forward while exhaling twice, and as the Ananomy of Hatha Yoga makes little reference to continuing the movement beyond the sitting position, except to say (in the beginners version when the arms are pointing towards the feet) to go as far forward as possible, but slowly and carefully, while breathing evenly…
I would really like Gabrielle’s take on these issues, or anyone else willing to contribute to my understanding.
Thanks a lot in advance,
Elsain reply to: arms behind the calf muscles #7822Hi Gabrielle,
Thanks for your response!
Well, no, I am not particularly “well endowed”, nor do I have a big belly… But, I think perhaps I have short arms. This is perhaps why I have to crouch and lift my heels a little in order to get my fingers under my heels, because otherwise I can’t reach… (I discovered yesterday, watching the Standing head to knee pose tutorial that came with my Masterclass package, that my difficulty in getting the grip around the ball of my foot likely came from the fact that my arms are short, so not involving the thumbs directly in the grip was something that I think will enable me to improve my grip in this pose, because it gives me more arm-length.)
Anyway, back to Pada Hastasana: no, my grip is not a huge way off the correct position, but it still looks like the picture in the “common mistakes” section of the Masterclass book…
I tried what you suggested (trying to put a lesser length of my fingers under my heels). It’s hard to tell if it helps or not, because that way I found it very difficult to maintain any grip whatsoever. I probably do not have enough strenght in the tips of my fingers…?
Or maybe I am approaching this from the wrong angle altogether? Perhaps I should be focusing on some other part of the pose, in order to make progress in the grip?
What do you think?
Thanks a lot for all the excellent work you do,
ElsaPS: I have been reading other posts about tight shoulders in the forum (have been doing my homework the best I could), and have tried to use the information to further my understanding… but none of what I read could quite answer the questions that arose from trying it…
Hi Gabrielle,
I have been trying what you suggested (not trying to lock the elbows or glue the arms to the ears for now, and focusing instead on trying to keep the shoulders down and back) for a good 7 classes. Well, for me it proved more complex to apply than it would seem. I took it as a general recommendation for all postures involving arms overhead at one point or another, and I found that it really changes the feel of all those postures (I have not counted them, but there are many!). So, it sort of destabilized the way I was used to feel and understand the postures, and got me in a state of uncertainty.
Anyway, at first, I felt that I was back at my first hot yoga class, or worse. My elbows ended up so bent that I could barely do the postures at all (that’s what it took to not have the slightest hunch in my shoulders). For example, in half moon’s side bends: I discovered that the tension created by straightening up the elbows and pressing the arms against the sides of the head played a big part in stabilizing the whole posture, and in getting the stretch in the side of the body by pulling with the lower arm on the upper arm – which is only possible if both elbows are straightened. Trying to get a strong, stable, posture and to “pull”,with the elbows bent the way they were, seemed almost impossible. But I persevered anyway in this experiment, and in the next few classes I found a “middle of the road” compromise (recognizing that my first attempt may have been exaggerated), where I would allow some hunch in the shoulders, but make sure I could see a reasonable space between my shoulders and my neck anytime my arms were over my head, and remembering to keep my shoulders down and back as much as possible without undoing the postures completely. I would still not lock the elbows, and my arms were still “in front of my ears” instead of “glued to, or behind my ears” like the dialogue says. But it is still quite difficult to figure out for me, especially in postures like Standing Separate Leg Head To Knee and Half Tortoise, where the arms are supposed to be straight overhead while bending over and pushing on the floor with the fingers. Or in postures like balancing stick where I have always understood that tension created by the effort to press the arms against the side of the head with straight elbows plays a big role in stabilizing the whole posture. Even the sit-up became more of a puzzle. But, with a few classes of practice I was almost able to look like an intermediate student again, and feel that I was more comfortable in the experiment.
Nevertheless, I still wonder if I understood what you have recommended the way I should have, and what the underlying understanding of the shoulder’s role in the postures is… Because I have to admit, I spoke to three teachers at my studio about this, and none of them seemed to think that it made sense to try to get the shoulders down and back before seeking to lock the elbows. And I was at a loss to explain to them exactly why I was trying this and what it was supposed to accomplish (the underlying logic). One of them said that I should be able to straighten my elbows overhead while relaxing my shoulders (which I can’t), and another one said that it would come with time providing that I follow the dialogue and “tried the right way”, as Bikram says, i.e. straightening the elbows and gluing the arms to the ears.
For myself, seeing that after a few classes I was able to hunch my shoulders less (if not “not the tiniest bit”) while slowly working my elbows a little straighter and my arms a little further back (instead of what I looked like the first two classes I tried), made me think that I might be able to get somewhere with this – but still I cannot see clearly where exactly…
So, as you see, I think I am giving this a good try, but I am still somewhat confused and feel that I would benefit from more explanations…
I hope you are able to make sense of this (long) and fuzzy description of my attempts,
Thanks a lot in advance,
ElsaThanks a million Gabrielle,
I will diligently try this during my next few classes and see what happens. I am also working on lifting through my ankles and rotating my shoulders during standing savasana (thanks for those videos!! – your website is truly helpful!). I’ll ask for the masterclass book as my next birthday present!
Elsain reply to: arms behind the calf muscles #7701Hi Gabrielle,
I just discovered your website a week ago, owing to the advice of a fellow yogi at my Bikram studio. I am really excited at the possibility of getting exact and detailed answers to my numerous detailed questions! Let’s start with one first question and see how it goes…
I have been doing hot yoga a little over a year, attending on average 4 times a week (more when I can, less when I can’t).
My question is also about the getting the fingers under the heels in hands to feet issue, but it’s a little different than what has been asked in the other posts on the topic.
My general setup in the pose: I can get my fingers under the heels, but not completely straight coming from the back (more on that later); my forearms can go partway behind my calves, but not completely; I am definately able to get my torso firmly pressed against my thighs, and my face below my knees, troughout the posture; I think that I can pull with my biceps and relax my shoulders, at least part of the time during the posture (sometimes I realize I have forgotten to pay sufficient attention to that part, and have to correct myself during the posture); finally, on good days I can lock my knees and feel that I am pulling my torso downward, my head going ever so slightly closer to my feet.
My main problem in this pose, and I can’t seem to find a way to make progress with this, is that I cannot find a way to get my fingers to get under my heels straight from the back. When I bend down to grab my heels, I usually work hard to get the good grip, but it always ends up the same way: when I bend down, my heels lift up, so that I am crouched in a little ball, my butt close to my heels, and I kind of lift my heels to be able to grab ehem. At that point, I am usually able to put my fingers underneath straight from the back (with some effort, and some trying again until I get it), but when I bring my heels back down to the floor, my hands separate, so that only the tips of my pinkies touch, and not the sides (my nands come at an angle, halfway between the back and the sides).
I know this is not the right grip, but I do not know how to improve that. I have been trying for months now, so I guess I would benefit from your advice.
Thanks in advance for your attention,
Sincerely,
Elsa -
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