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in reply to: Bruising/Burst Capillaries around Eyes #3456
Hi Danielle
Some poses for sure you could be feeling pressure. I wonder what the pressure is from, when you say you feel it in your face in Triangle pose. Definitely one to dissect further. Please head on over to Triangle pose in the forum. See if anything ‘speaks’ to you there. If not please make some observations in your next class and post me a question over ‘there’.
You are either not breathing fluidly enough during these poses or it something else technical. When one is feeling stress (physical stress from challenge of the pose, or mental or emotional) one can have a tendency to hold the breath. You could be holding your breath. In camel you could actually be feeling some pressure due to the big backbend, but please check in to your breath patterns here too (shallow? stilted? stopped? smooth?).
Get back to me in the pose related forum areas. Looking forward to your response.
Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂in reply to: Bruising/Burst Capillaries around Eyes #3452Hello Danielle
This is very interesting. It is, in all honesty, very difficult to have an idea of your problem without more information. I don’t have the benefit of seeing your spots. You mention that they could be burst capillaries. The most likely cause of burst capillaries is said to be age, sun or too much alcohol. Heat doesn’t seem to be a cause.
It is possible that your ‘red dots’ occur with some other presenting symptom which may or may not be obvious to you at the time.
It would be very useful to know if the problem is burst capillaries, or if these small dots are raised in any way. You mention they are not painful. Are they associated with any sensation? Are they hot? Are they itchy?
You could also try to apply a cream that contains Vitamin A and or Vitamin K. Both of these vitamins help repair skin cells and are in many, many eye creams. You may find your skin needs a little boost! I just had this vision of you lying there with cut cucumber rounds on your eyes :cheese: Something ‘cooling’ couldn’t hoit!
Namaste
Gabriellein reply to: Grabbing my hands behind my back? #3450Welcome artwednesday!
Yes you make sense.
Let me see if I can break it down further for you and then give you a tip or two to improve your pose.
Firstly this pose delivers a great twist and stretch. You will feel a stretch across your shoulders. And ideally in final pose you would have a straight line through your front knee, your shoulders dissecting the body.
What happens when you grab your hands behind your back is the front shoulders ceases to open the body up and starts to roll down and forward. It may feel as though you are stretching more but the benefits are not there.
OK, here are a couple of things to look for in this pose. Little tweaks which will make a big difference:
** Grab at the knee from the top of the knee not at the top of the shin. Those of you who can only grab at the top of the shin (back of the hand facing the same way as your chest) just do what you can and monitor improvement.
** Push the front knee down using the muscles in that leg while simultaneously providing traction by pulling with the hand against the knee.
** Apply a little downward pressure through the foot that is flat on the floor.
In this way you can lift the chest more in whatever position you are in, whether your palm is flat on the floor behind you, your palm is face out behind you with a digit hooking some clothing, or grabbing the inside of your thigh with your fingers! Adjust the position so your spine can be as upright as possible.
** Your aim is to feel your hips plant more squarely on the floor as your straight spine twists up from a solid base.I can guarantee you will get more out of this pose when you do the above actions.
Get back to me and let me know how you go.
Shaking hands behind your back is definitely not the way to go and more like a party trick :cheese: Looks kinda impressive but that is where it stops!
Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂Hello Debbie
Thank you for the detailed information. You seem to be quite worried about it. It does appear to be something that could warrant a little more investigation. First thing that comes to mind is sciatica, or nerve compression. You could have a disc herniation in the L5/S1 area.
Tingling in your extremities could also have something to do with nutrition and hydration and could be fixed with supplementation, so that is worth bringing up. From your good descriptions I doubt it. Correct me if I am wrong but the pain and tingling is associated with the yoga movements and doesn’t seem to persist after your classes.
Your intuition is probably correct here about getting some bend in your legs. With some yoga poses one can be hoodwinked into believing the stretch only comes with straight legs, but take the Hot Yoga Pada Hastasana (Hands to Feet pose) or Standing Separate Leg Intense Stretch, the bent legs and the mechanism of the grip and the bent legs with the pull is the way that the body opens up due to reciprocal inhibition. In these instances the safety AND DEPTH in the stretch IS due to the bent legs and the pull, even though many instructors recommend the straight legs. See Opening up your hamstrings with hot yoyga
So Debbie, it wouldn’t hurt to see a chiropractor if you want to check on your nerve/disk situation. And for other tips on how to work with herniated disks and sciatica, use the search facility on the top right of each forum page. It allows you to search on posts with particular words (I would use “sciatic” or “hernia” to get all permutations.)
Please get back to me and tell me what transpires…
Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂in reply to: Hands under feet? #3447Hey you!
Thanks for the heads up on your hand positions… 😉
The thing that comes to mind is a very common mistake. Perhaps you have your feet too far apart. I have a blog posting on this and it has photos as well. You may have seen it and thought it wasn’t for you because of the title, but believe me, this is THE key to this pose. Here is the link:
Opening up your hamstrings with hot yoga
Ideally you want your fingers to come in from behind the heels at an angle. You will probably find it a heap easier when the feet are only 3 feet apart. The ‘dialog’ says 4 feet. This causes a number of problems especially if you are very tight or shorter than average; :cheese: including back strain and grip problems. This pose is about the stretch through the whole back of the body. It should feel delicious. I hope you can tweak this with me, because I am sure with a little toing and froing you can find the sweet spot for you.
Over to you s_i and please get back to me soon…
Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂PS I do have other ideas for you in my ‘toolbox’ but let’s please knock off one idea at a time here!
in reply to: Hands under feet? #3445Hiya synchro_idiotic
Request for further information 😉
Wondering if you could tell me exactly where along your foot you are contacting/grabbing in relation to your heel or arch or toes.
Over to you :cheese:
Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂Hello!!
How curious. I assume by your question that you have noticed a change in your response to changes in temperature.
There is definitely a refining of the systems. But in what way YOUR systems are refining could be particular to you. Generally I have found that more people become less sensitive to the changes.
I will be very interested to hear what others have to say about their situations. This year for example my husband and I have switched roles: I used to be the one who needed more blankets in winter. This year it is he. And I can barely stand having as many blankets on.
In the spirit of yoga, observe and avoid the evaluations (unless your body intuition is ringing alarm bells), and let it go! :cheese:
Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂in reply to: camel pose – strongly emotional #3440Hi Rob
Great questions. They are almost of the ‘chicken and the egg’ ilk. :cheese:
So does one really come first? For me they go hand in hand. The more emotional turmoil I experience the harder it is to stay in Camel or go as deeply as I normally can. And on the converse I can physiologically create the experience of turmoil by doing the pose with poor technique. This is very important to acknowledge. If you are not just observing your emotional response but actually identifying with it you will find certain things happen. And if you practice poor technique certain physiological reactions may be triggered to make your emotions rise. It is analogous to 2 sides of a coin.
When you go into Camel the eyes must look up and back as far as they can, and then stay there. When you drop your eyes, and this means that your eyes may move from looking at the back wall or floor to looking up toward the ceiling, you tend to connect more with the feelings in your body. Breath usually speeds up and becomes shallow, panic or anxious states tend to occur, the chin starts to drop, the muscles in the neck tense, as do those in the front side of the body, the heart beat speeds up, and then you find yourself coming out of the pose often feeling like you just can’t stay in there anymore.
The ‘trick’ is to set up very well. Squeeze bottom, drop the head back completely, then stretch up and then go back. It doesn’t matter if you only manage to simply drop the head back with your hands on your hips. You can also temper the depth of your pose according to your emotional resilience. It is best to stay in it half as far as you normally go and breathe through your emotions while your eyes are looking back, than go in the normal depth, feel sick and come out early. In this way you can experience an emotional ‘breakthrough’. Test the waters in Set 1 and then push it a little if you dare in Set 2.
So to answer your question. Both your response to your emotional state and your ability to do the pose with correct technique will have an effect on smoothing out your emotions.
I hope your emotional tides calm down for you and you feel a growing sense of calm
Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂in reply to: In-Vitro Fertilization (IVF) #3433Congratulations Heart
I am very happy that your years of trying are paying off. 🙂
Regarding your quote:
I also consulted local teachers at my studio and one was pregnant during her teaching classes, she mentioned that pregnant women who do hot yoga tend to have low birth weight babies.
I totally respect everyone’s decisions to practice or not to practice whatever style of yoga for just about any reason. I wanted to politely bring up that any ‘advice’ you get about birth weights and effect on pregnancy from ANYONE is completely anecdotal. There have been NO studies about the effect of hot yoga on pregnancies or the fetuses. Please take all of this with a grain of salt. One person’s opinion is still just that – opinion. Taking a generalized statement like that as truth is ‘dangerous’ because not only is it not backed by any figures at all (ie no quoting of normal birth weights or mentioning what is considered to be low) she is likely to be going on someone else’s opinion too. Most of these opinions are grounded in fear and ignorance.
Mind you, I am definitely NOT saying that it is safe to do hot yoga during pregnancy. I practiced all the way through and my girl was 2 weeks overdue, perfectly healthy, normal weight. The yoga was definitely great for me. I listened to my body and did what felt right.
Sometimes we take on someone’s opinion as gospel to justify what our bodies are actually saying, rather than recognizing our innate intelligence. There is no universal right or wrong. There is only what is right for you.
Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂in reply to: how to do the exhale breathing #3429Hello Andrea
I am pleased it is working for you. And thank you kindly for your comments about my website! I appreciate it greatly.
Letting go of the ‘control’ is really important. Just focus on your result. You realized it when you started only to focus on the exhales. The inhales do happen for themselves – it is a physiological phenomenon because of the negative pressures created in the thorax which suck the air in for your inhale. You may hear some people make a sssshh sssshh sound. This is far less effective – giving you far less power in your exhales, and therefore far less ability to empty your lungs and get that great abdominal effect – than what you are doing now, creating that huhh huhh sound.
Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂in reply to: My Second 60 Day Challenge this year! #3415Hello nolamac
Count me in as one of the inspired ones! Thank you for your fabulous story.
Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂in reply to: Injured my knee in Head to Knee pose #3414Hi Butter22
I might be appearing persnickety now, but here goes.
It IS important to get your head on your knee and it is a compression pose, but more important is to get the correct stretching dynamic… both the compression and the stretch exist and create a synergy. The pose is nothing without finding the *sweet spot* – where you can push with the head on the knee at the same time as pushing the heel out AND pulling the toes back AND bending the elbows down finding the work in your biceps muscles.
It may just take a tiny tweak to find it but when you do, you won’t go back. The work is delicious and very satisfying. Can you tell me whether you have managed to find this in your pose? I am very interested to find out.
Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂in reply to: Injured my knee in Head to Knee pose #3410Hi Butter22
I hope your knee is progressively feeling better and better. I am also so thrilled that there has been a meaningful exchange within hours of your distress call :cheese:
I was re-reading your post and notice your languaging and that rang some alarm bells for me.
I was getting my grip around my left foot and kicked out a little further to get a better stretch
The movement for Head to Knee is not strictly a kick. So I thought I would take the opportunity to explain the technique just in the event you are actually kicking. You may of course be doing this pose correctly so reading this will just confirm that for you.
Using the principles of reciprocal inhibition you are effecting a wonderful stretch through the whole back side of the body. Correctly done you can feel it from the back of the toes through the foot, heel, calves, hamstrings and even the back REGARDLESS of whether your leg is bent or straight. Importantly tuck the elbows in and down close to the leg. Pull back on the toes to get more flexion in the ankle at the very same time as pushing the heel away from you. Use your biceps to pull and drop the shoulders down and back.
The movement is subtle and not at all like a kick. This is why I bring it up – just in case there was a momentary lapse in the technique in your efforts to get a better stretch. It is possible that what was effected was a wholesale movement of the foot away from you without keeping the toes moving backward. There is a possibility that could have contributed to the exacerbation of the problem in your knee.
Looking forward to hearing good news about your knee.
Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂in reply to: Low blood pressure #3399Hello Adam
I am very happy to hear of your success in ‘finding’ hot yoga! I am guessing your wife is scared of what may happen to her in class.
Acclimatizing to the heat is an actual physiological process that takes up to 2 weeks to get all appropriate systems functioning well (if not better than before) at the higher temperatures. Over the course of 2 weeks her heart will actually be functioning more strongly and healthily, with a higher Cardiac Output and higher Stroke Volume! This is all good stuff. :cheese: It is also worth a little discomfort (which is usually mental by the way) to get through this process.
The great news is, is that you merely have to be in the heated room to start this process. So my advice to you is to let her know that regardless of what anyone says, she can make her steps as small as she likes. She will find that doing just some of the poses and sitting out the others or lying down will be fine.
I guess you are still wondering whether she will in fact pass out! Well that is going to depend on her, her beliefs, her physiology etc. I wonder what her BP readings actually are. Mine are usually about 90 over 55 or 60 so many people consider my BP to be very low. I consider it normal and healthy!
There are some clues above as to what your wife can do to approach her practice. In a nutshell…. breathe…. when arms come up over the head, breathe in, when they arms come down, coordinate it with an exhale. When she is inverted release from the pose, stay down there for a moment for an extra breath cycle before coming back up on your inhale.
That should cover you. Oh, and to ensure acclimatization, it is best for her to go about 4-5 times in the first 2 weeks.
Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂in reply to: Bikram Yoga and Philosophy #3396Hi AliNYC
Welcome! and thank you for your comments.
I have to assume that VERY fortunately you have not been exposed to the type of teaching that has been referred to above! :cheese: or at least at a level that has offended your sensibilities.
There is a lot of merit in what you say. We often experience stuff and stand back and examine the impact of it, either in the moment or retrospectively. We either realize it was our stuff, or consider that it is some kind of violence or inappropriate behavior. Thankfully, for the most part, we can ‘let these things go’.
However poor treatment or experiencing dogmatic teaching is not an uncommon occurrence. I won’t go into details but something similar happened to me to prompt me AND my husband to NEVER go back to a particular studio. I can tell you right now, that several readers from this forum have now abandoned their studio because the treatment was so bad, that they have now rented office space. They have formed a co-op where they can all get their yoga needs met! 😉
What I read into the preceding comments is that these people (like thousands of others) have experienced a style of teaching which has for them, abused their values. One where their basics human needs for respect, courtesy, kindness and maybe things like peace and harmony or the ability to make their own decisions has either been ignored or overriden. Although there are common human needs, there will be a line you draw in the sand when it comes down to whether you will put up with certain conditions.
Lastly Ali, while I am taking a stance on certain issues, I don’t agree with all the issues brought up in this thread. I am really excited however that many contentious items have been brought up and that there has been great discussion.
Thank you for your lovely comments re the website and for your participation.
Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂in reply to: Home Practice Timing #3391Hello again Stefan
I do the same. If I am doing my own class in a silent room then I also count breaths instead of seconds. You have an impressive set of lungs there!
As far as cardio work is concerned, it seems you do a lot generally anyway. I have watched your video. :cheese: Your standing heart rate and exercise rate are probably lower than that of the average person because your heart is healthy and exercised.
Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂in reply to: Home Practice Timing #3389Hi Stefan
Starting the counting when you get as far as you can get is not what I meant but hey, it would be an excellent challenge for an advanced student. Wow, I might teach a class like that one day. Thanks for the suggestion Stefan. :cheese:
Some poses ‘start’ after an action; for example bringing your hands under your foot in Standing Head to Knee pose. Many students wait around for a while before they bring their hands into position. Others like Standing Bow pose, the timing starts as soon as you start to keep you foot up and back behind you and you progress into the pose to your furthest position. Standing Separate Leg Head to Knee, the pose starts when your hands are on the ground. Eagle starts when your legs have wrapped. Stick starts when the body is parallel to the floor (or the furthest you can go). There is logic in the start point. Dissect the pose and see what is required of you.
This timing ‘rule’ is to stop people from procrastinating so much that they miss the ‘work’ itself, the focus and the discipline of applying themselves in the best way possible. All you need to do is count your time honestly. Once you start timing you must be on your way in, or in the pose!
Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂in reply to: What DO you eat? #3386Note from me :cheese:
This question comes from Beverly who posted this in a blog. I thought it would fit really nicely right here in this topic. Will answer it very soon…Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂I am very confused about diet and nutrition. I am an avid fan of Dr. Mercola and his Eat for your Nutritional Type Diet! He recommends animal fats to stabilize blood sugar levels and prevent insulin spikes. He especially recommends this for type O blood types like myself a meat eater blood type. On the other hand, I am involved in a study with Hallelujah Acres http://www.hacres.com . This is a vegetarian – raw foods type diet or nutrition plan. Both have their arguments and both make sense! I personally cannot stay full or satisfied on a vegetarian diet, maybe I am not getting enough fats with a vegetarian diet, however when I eat meat I become constipated and a little disappointed because I am a Yogi! Do you consume dairy or any animal products and what is your reasons for being a vegetarian?
Namaste and than you for your time! I love HOT YOGA! Beverly
in reply to: how not to faint #3384Hi MBF1
It seems to me as though your mindfulness in your sit-ups is physiologically and mentally keeping you safe and present. Great noticing…
Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂in reply to: how not to faint #3379Hi Sarah
I have never had anyone have that specific problem. Every body is different. I can certainly understand why you feel concerned. And I am happy to hear that you are trying again and not letting your ‘interesting’ experience drive you away.
One thing you could do to minimize it is to try to ensure you are breathing in and out continually and not holding your breath. I know that sounds basic and almost ridiculous to suggest. But, many new students have their bandwidth caught up with trying to follow what is going on that the basic things can get lost – even remembering to breathe. You need oxygen :cheese:
Another thing is when you have gone a few times your mind can get a little overzealous believing it ‘knows’ everything about the poses and then the student tries too hard. So maybe start to listen more, and maybe observe more and understand it is not about the depth of the pose it is about alignment. Don’t push to your absolute limit – and risk damage – even if your teachers are trying to get you to do that. As a new student you may not know enough about the technique to get to the limits of the poses safely. You will read this and hear this everywhere: listen to your body’s voice or your body’s intelligence.
Finally, if you feel like fainting then just lie down. It won’t take long before your ego lets go and you cease to ‘worry’ about how you appear to the rest of your fellow students. You will smile one day at that comment. One day you will notice the same things going on for the other new students; you will simply observe with compassion (if you actually notice anything much outside of yourself anyway), without self-talk, without judgment, and then let it go!
Enjoy your practice.
I am really interested to hear about your next class experience if you are willing to share that with us.Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂in reply to: good for blood pressure? #3378Hello Tarah
When you do a backbend you are opening up your heart – in many ways. On an emotional level we clear *stuff*. Being more emotionally light is a way to regulate and normalize your blood pressure (over time with practice).
On a physical level we are stretching the heart muscle giving it exercise. Cobra also requires a very strong or intense lower body muscle engagement from the hips down through the toes. To contract muscles means that you work harder because your muscles need some fuel to keep up, and of course the effects on your circulation around your working areas is like a tourniquet which means there is more work being done by the heart to pump your blood around. Your cardiac output increases and so does your stroke volume.
Other ways that blood pressure is normalized is by the effect on the body’s systems. In this pose as in many others there is deep work occurring at a cellular level (to cleanse and open up the circulation) and also at a systemic level normalizing regulatory hormones for better functioning.
All these benefits happen in some way, shape and form with most yoga poses.
I hope that helps steer you in the right direction.
Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂in reply to: Lock the Knee #3375Hi Andip!
I just found your post about locking your knee. I did actually answer it
back then but we had a server problem and lost all the posts of the
particular day which had my response.Please tell me if continued practice improved the sensation in your leg.
You mentioned you had pain behind your knee cap.BTW it can be normal to have little aches and pains. Either because the
body is opening up, or because you are still gaining awareness around your
body and also still learning the series.You may not have all the knowledge yet to safely move into all the
movements, or there could be a structural imbalance that is exacerbated by
not knowing how to correct it. Your knees are particularly susceptible to
these forces. Your answer may be as simple as lifting up through your ankles
to ensure that your foot, leg and hip bones are all stacked correctly.When you start practice, you have your awareness on so many things (which
can cause overwhelm) so that some of them fall by the wayside as you are
expanding your consciousness around the technical elements of the series.
And lastly, although some may not like to read this, you may not have had a
level of instruction that could facilitate risk avoidance!Please get back to me and let me know how you have been going.
Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂in reply to: Need help with my toe stand #3374Hi Kristin
Answer continued. When most people attempt Toe Stand they usually are sitting on their heel. Most never manage to rise up off it. So don’t be concerned about not rising up. Flexibility is one issue that you are addressing and the other is balance.
My question about the position of your arms is an important one. I am not sure I understand your response… so I will ask with different wording 😉
When you bend your leg to bring your hips to your heel and then bring your arms by your sides, can you sit there supporting yourself with your arms so that your back is straight? I am trying to ascertain a mental picture of your body geometry. Some people simply cannot sit up straight and balance because their arms are just not long enough for them to be positioned ‘behind’ them.
Let me know how it is for you.
Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂in reply to: Sweat in my eyes #3372Hi Frances
There are lots of good tips and ideas in Wiping the sweat.
I have noticed that new students or yogis with an infrequent practice tend to report more issue with sweat that stings the eyes. Once you have a regular frequent practice the sweat no longer stings. Sometimes the stinging comes back if you have had a break in practice. I have never consciously tried reducing my salt intake, but would love to know if that helps you (or anyone)…
Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂in reply to: Need help with my toe stand #3371Hi Kristin
One way to improve your pose is to start by improving the flexibility through your hips and sacro-iliac joints. For a number of classes (hey, maybe a couple of weeks) you may try bringing your hands down onto the floor and straightening your standing leg. Then just stay there. Try to maintain level even hips. This FEELS great. And really opens things up. You may find that your strength builds too. Focus on building strength in your legs by locking your knee, here and all your other poses. It is a sure way to feel very strong in Toe Stand. You will notice the strength you build when you can get your hips toward your heels in set-up for Toe Stand without ever touching hips to heels at all. It is much more of a challenge to sit on your heel and then to lift your body up off it. Don’t be so concerned that you are ‘sitting’ there. Focus on leg strength and watch and feel your body’s strength and abilities grow.
Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂 -
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