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in reply to: I am quite overweight and doing hot yoga #3120
Hi Donna and Barb
Yes, I think all of us Bikram and Hot Yoga cognoscenti know the feeling. We love this so much we just want to spread the word. We can get caught up in our own projections and expectations of what the other person could be or should be experiencing.
Whoooooohhhhhhhh. Let it go!
As an aside, when I first started I felt amazing but in a totally congruent, visceral sense where I just kept going, but without the outward verbalizing to my husband. I just kept going back. I actually didn’t think or care one way or other about the heat. It just was. After 2 weeks, and the changes he saw and experienced in me, Robert just decided to come along. And the rest, as we say, is history.
On your other point Donna, you probably have already worked out that the body is (usually) always willing, but the mind may not be. And on those days, just hauling yourself to class can be the hardest thing. But once you are there. Well, you barely need to get past the first Pranayama breath and bam, it brings you into the room and the magic happens.
I love reading all these wonderful posts, thank you.
Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂in reply to: pain in the back of the knee on standing leg #3119Hello Elena
Well done for taking the initiative to stay in Part 1 of this pose. It is so vital to listen to your body and have humility – especially when it comes to a critical position such as this one – not to go past a point of correct alignment.
Your issue could be due to a number of things!
1) Your knee may need extra attention on the locking aspect: fully engaging your quadriceps muscles to lift the knee cap. See Lock the Knee2) The weight in your standing leg may be falling a little toward the back. Press the weight more evenly by spreading your toes, and leaning forward, weight into the big toe more, and feel the back of the knee relax and open up.
3) You may be leaning into your standing leg. Check into your hip positions. What often happens is that students ‘slump’ into the standing leg. This means you may need to lift the hip of your lifted leg to create space and to make your hips square and even.
4) You may not have learned how to sufficiently engage your hip flexors to hold your bent leg up so there may be just a little extra strain on your standing knee to help support that leg. (Try bringing your bent leg up so thigh is parallel to the floor with leg at 90 degrees, foot flexed BEFORE you round down to bring hands under the foot. Sometimes it is great to stand there with leg in position with or without rounding down to work these muscles.)
I really hope that I have given you something to work on. Looking forward to hear what transpires!
Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂in reply to: The Outside Cold after The Heat #3117Hello SG
I believe that you really need to stay warm after class. So if you are walking out into the cold make sure you take care of yourself: rug up. After 90 minutes of beautiful warming work what will make the difference to you is resting in Savasana to allow your systems to get back to a ‘better state of normal’. Sometimes (and that especially happens for men) yogis sweat a lot after they have finished class, even after their showers. This is in itself will make you feel cooler. Resting for enough time, treating that after-class time as importantly as the class, and rugging up to preserve your energy are all important aspects of your practice.
There really is no need to hold off your practice until it gets warm again. You are going to LOVE being in the warm room during winter.:cheese: You used the right term anyway: acclimatisation.
If you find yourself shivering as you head out into the cold then your body is not undoing the work you just did, but you will surely feel more calm for enhancing your warm state. There is nothing like that Yoga Glow. Make it your business to bask in it.;)
Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂in reply to: Trouble with legs #3110Hi Donna
Thanks for your inspiring words. It reminds me of a fabulous piece of work by a Chilean biologist called Humberto Maturana! He has this great theory of change, which you have distilled in your own post. That is, a system changes when you PRESERVE what works. All the other stuff just falls away.
Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂in reply to: 30 Day Challenge #3109Hello Steph
You must be so proud of yourself and your achievements! Great stuff.
Yes, you may have heard it said that the body is a storehouse for crystallized emotions. It is a blueprint of your life and experiences. The yoga helps in the clearing process. All the while highlighting the imbalances and then working towards restoring balance.
I like to take the standpoint that it doesn’t really matter whether you know or don’t know if there are blockages present. (Take it as read that you have some! :cheese:) But more importantly, what they mean is less important than taking the steps to observe your body and notice what happens when you do the yoga. Placing significance on these sensations is thinking too much and perhaps giving them more airtime than they deserve. What matters is the ‘now’ and not the history or baggage of what ‘was’ or ‘why it was’.
I think there are ways to notice if you have blockages. It could be physically manifesting or it could be a result of your thoughts manifesting the emotions themselves. I love this Freud quote: “sometimes a cigar is just a cigar”.
Your toolbox allows you to deal with what is! Your yoga may be your best opportunity (if you don’t practice other forms of meditation) to really be one with your body. Embrace the sensations as they emerge, honor them and be with them while they are there. Then … let them go. Move on. Allow yourself an unforced journey of discovery. And enjoy the journey no matter what it brings up for you. That is life!
Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂in reply to: Back pain and no use of ankle #3108Hi there
I would love to help you! In order to do so may I please have some more information? I would like to know more about your back condition and what is wrong with your ankle. How each one affects your practice. Why are you wearing a back brace? Seems to be periodic use – what is happening? Is someone ‘grooming’ you for surgery or trying to help you avoid it? Why do you need to stay off your ankle? I would really appreciate hearing whatever you are willing to share. Feel free to use my email or this forum.
Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂in reply to: Lock the Knee #3107Hi Susan
When you lock the knee, you are primarily using your quadriceps muscles to create SPACE in the knee joint. You are strengthening all the mechanisms around the knee to support it. If you have lax muscles then yes, the space will close or be limited and the possibility of grinding is greater. If you don’t lock the knee with your muscles then you lose the built-in suspension (or shock absorbing) system for the knee.
There is a great resource that describes many aspects of this answer. Go to: Locking the knee
Basically you don’t want to rely on just your skeletal system to hold your body in space. Locking your knee is not just about straightening out the joint. It is to bring about space and strength, ward off the effects of gravity, help heal or protect from injury and have healthy joints!
Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂in reply to: Hip alignment #3106Hi happyyogachik
Awareness is half the ‘battle’ won. It is great that you are observing your body and simply noticing that you need to adjust your hips. Would it help you to know that every student has to spend time in every class to focus on their hip alignment in this pose?
The main reason for this is that because of the multi-curve construction of the spine, the body cannot bend to the side in a pure lateral bend. There is constant adjustment to give the perception that the body can move purely in that sideways bend.
The most commonly missed points in set-up of this pose are:
Pushing the hips forward beyond the feet (opening pelvis and hips) AND
Bringing the arms back and lifting the chest to open chest and shoulders.If you manage to incorporate this into your set-up then your body is in an ever-so-slight backbend. The weight is back in the heels.
When you go to the side these conditions will more easily help you to swivel your hips as needed and at the same time adjust shoulders.
If you cannot fix your hips then retreat from the pose enough so you can restore your set-up conditions. Work on breath first, then alignment before depth.
I would love to hear how you go.
Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂in reply to: Cannot turn my palms down in locust pose #3103Oh Thank YOU Susan
For your willing participation and for letting me know your successes.
I am so happy for your discoveries.
Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂in reply to: Am I doing Rabbit right? #3102Hello yogini
There are definitely things you are doing right. I know that you are so close and we just need to tweak your technique a little. It may need a little to-ing and fro-ing. Let’s see!
If you are feeling the vertebrae on the back of your neck, that is usually a tell-tale sign that you have too much weight on the top of your head, OR the general movement of your body is forward and not UP! It could have something to do with your feet, the way you tuck your chin, the way you pull on your feet. Hmmmm….
Feeling that sensation in your neck along with feeling your lower back (the latter is generally a great sign) may be because you have some tightness or flatness there that is trying to open up (coupled with the problem above).
Hard to say without being there with you. And I have your words only.
I do wonder when you say your elbows are locked. I just want to make sure that your arms are actually relaxed. They are STRAIGHT yes. Locked out to me often indicates an activation of muscles which you actually don’t want or need here. The hands do the work to hold onto your feet. The shoulders are up away from the ears and so the shoulders do NOT pull either. There is definitely surrender in the arms.With arms relaxed and pulling against RELAXED feet, it is also important to TRY to bring the heels in together trying to get them to touch. You say your heels are together, that is very good. This has a very big effect on helping you create the right traction in the body allowing you to create the lift.
More important than forehead on knees is chin tucked. And try to push your knees and shins into the floor (because feet are relaxed). Also sucking in the stomach and lifting the chest as you try to compress everything in the front side of your body definitely works for me.
Get back to me and let me know if what I say resonates (and works) for you.
Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂in reply to: Am I doing Rabbit right? #3101Hi Edge
Now that I re-read your concerns I realize that I need more information from you.
Cos when you get this pose it is GREAT and extremely satisfying.
Let me help you! Tell me what you are feeling? Where? When?
At your service! 😉
Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂in reply to: Should the abs hurt in Kapalbhati breathing? #3097Hey there yogini!!!
Hmmmmm… I never like to use the word ‘hurt’. It is so subjective. And everyone has a different pain threshold, so what doesn’t ‘hurt’ someone, may cause damage in another.
Probably not in this particular case. What your teacher is trying to have you do is activate your abdominal muscles.
Because your diaphragm works on the inhales, during your exhales you are trying to expel the air up and out with that short, sharp, forceful abdo compression. You may feel toward the end of repeatedly sucking in your tummy that you feel some muscle fatigue (sometimes like a cramp). This is probably what your instructor is referring to.
On the technique side:
It is possible to exhale repeatedly without really engaging your abdominal muscles. In fact you could stick your belly out and do this pose, and it obviously wouldn’t get you the same results. 😆You are probably just going to have to get super-conscious about this for a while until you ‘get’ it. Forgive me if you already have it handled and you are just concerned that you just don’t feel the ‘hurt’. It probably is worth mentioning that you could focus your visual attention on your belly during this pose. Lift your yoga top if you have to, to watch your muscles activate. And/or you could place a palm on your tummy and FEEL the activation. Your muscular effort will surely increase over time as you learn the finer distinctions.
As long as you see and feel your abdominal muscles contract in and up to expel the air, you have the basics. Take it from there!
Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂in reply to: Am I doing Rabbit right? #3096Hi Edge
Ooopsy. Just found this post unanswered! I have another Rabbit question now so will do that later today – the family calls. :cheese:
Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂in reply to: Lock the Knee #3093Hi Yogini
You know, you can only do what you can do! :cheese:
It can be a real challenge in working out your priorities when the hips are really tight in this one. When you hold your foot from underneath make sure your heel does not cross the thigh bone. Keep it as close to the midline as possible. This in itself will help your shoulders and hips be more aligned. Then as you hold your foot, let the leg submit to gravity and consciously let go of the muscles in the hip and pelvis and inner thigh. The tighter you hips the more difficult it will be to hold your body upright and symmetrical. Work on locking out the leg and making sure your tailbone is tucked under. The openings your body experiences in other poses will eventually pay dividends and make tree pose easier, little by little.
Enjoy and embrace the process
Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂Hello Susan
It means a lot to me that you take the time to come back and tell me how well it works! It made my day… :cheese:
Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂in reply to: I am quite overweight and doing hot yoga #3081Hello everyone!!!
What beautiful posts. My heart feels happy to read them all.
It is so gratifying to finally find a place where the exercise is spiritually satisfying, and where you learn self-acceptance on such a DEEP level. I don’t think I would be putting words in anyone’s mouth when I say that sometimes it is hard to breathe through the intensity as you look in your own eyes in the mirror – not looking away but observing, accepting and loving.
With it we find a greater capacity to love and to be with ourselves and therefore find that capacity in all our relating outside of the studio with everyone we encounter. Although we have to commit to taking somewhere between 2 and 3 hours a day to get to and do the yoga, paradoxically we find we have so much more time and space and energy to give to our loved ones and the people we work and play with. Mmmmm. This stuff is magic.
Congratulations Donna on your wonderful achievements. Enjoy your journey as the shape just melts away and your love grows. Lee and Hannah have offered very inspiring words which profoundly resonated with me too. I challenge you now, to get rid of those scales all together (or send them to a friend for the next 6 months) and keep checking in to you and how you feel, and not the external signs of those numbers.
I too am really looking forward to reading much more of your journey
Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂in reply to: Pinching around the top of my abs?? #3078Hello happyyogachik
Yes, most definitely this is normal! This is one of the intense abdominal compression poses. There you are curled up as tightly in a ball as you can be. One of the visualizations I use is asking students to imagine that their entire abdomen contacts their spine. And you get even greater leverage on the curl by using the force of the hands and feet against the floor. It certainly sounds as if you have the greatest intention in this pose. So keep it up.
What I would like to remind you of is that you make sure you pay attention to your hip alignment. You don’t mention whether the pinching sensation is symmetrical on each side of this pose. Anyway, pay attention to squaring your hips to the wall and the floor by careful weight distribution to help facilitate even greater compression and benefit.
Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂in reply to: Back Bend Shoulder Alignment Questions #3077Hello Jesse
Welcome! Thanks for joining us.
I truly believe that you need to keep your shoulders dropped as a priority. Even in this position you can encourage your arms to straighten and move them back at every opportunity. You have absolutely nothing to gain, and a lot to lose (and even risk) if you shrug your shoulders and cause tension. Hey, you even say that it is painful. So sure, bend the arms to get your head moving back on your nice, warm, flexible neck (well it will be if it isn’t now) and try to fix your arms. The moment you feel those stresses and pains, BACK OFF.
As for looking at the wall behind you: Read that requirement as “look as far back as you can”. Many people can look further than they actually do. They get caught up in identifying and analyzing their emotions and then drop their eyes down (toward the ceiling or down their nose) as a result.
You do say you are new to Bikram Yoga. Well that could mean that your neck is not yet as flexible as it is most likely to be! Be patient. I remember my first classes I could barely lift my chin from parallel to the floor – I had such tension in my upper body. I practiced as a dentist so naturally there was a ton of stress around this area.
You can as part of your own journey just make a mental note of how far your eyes can look each and every class. This will have the side benefit of taking your mind off analyzing your sensations and focus it on your breath and where you are headed – backward.
If you have fear of hurting your lower back then check out the post on backbending and how to set these things up! Relax the neck, use your eyes, stretch up first before going back. Go where you can go to. Check the notes for weight distribution too. The fear will disappear. Check out the post: Back Bend problems
I have had a testimonial up on Bikram’s website for YEARS regarding my own scoliosis. And I can totally identify with your condition. Work with the best alignment you can manage regardless of depth (and that goes for anyone really 😉 ) do as many classes as you can per week and in a short time you will see and feel tremendous benefit and change.
Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂in reply to: Cannot turn my palms down in locust pose #3076Hello Susan
Ahh, the elusive double leg lift! 😉
Firstly hand location:
Yes, place them close in next to each other. That makes sense. The position between hips and knees, well that is going to change for everyone. The proportions of bodies changes. And then women have breasts! And some people have bulk as well which can make this pose all the more challenging. So what I am saying is it comes down to more than position, it has to do with bulk, shape, and strength (mainly upper body strength at that too!).Don’t be so concerned as to the physical location of your hands. Instead work on planting the maximum surface area of your arms and shoulders on to the floor. So instead of working your hands down closer to your knees (as is commanded in the dialog) rotate your arms inward (ie externally rotate your shoulders to bring your elbows closer). When you do this you should be aware of your shoulders and the area between them coming closer in contact with the floor. If this pose is about strengthening your upper back then ground your upper back into the floor!!!
Get a good, strong and solid platform against which to lift your body and of course use your hands to push hard into the floor. Your arms are straight. If you consciously try to bring your arms closer to your knees (without spreading your shoulders) then you will probably find that your shoulders move closer together. Not good and very unstable.
Concentrate on creating the platform and forget about a specific spot for your hands.
Try that please Susan and then get back to me. If that hasn’t sorted out your issue (even with your hamstrings which should be better supported now) and I suspect it will, then we’ll delve deeper.
Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂in reply to: What are the main parts to this pose? #3073Hey there Susan
Keeping the leg out straight is a GREAT way of working through the pose. Remember a straight spine is a primary aim! The only thing that gets in the way is self-talk (of some) who would prefer not to take this interim step. 😉
I think that your approach works. The palm facing out is good because it encourages the correct rotation in that front shoulder. That is why I say to optimally grab the top of the knee not the front of the leg at the shin. Same principle.
The other thing that may work is placing the front heel a little further in front of the knee. The ‘dialog’ says ‘at the knee’ but sometimes a little advanced of the knee can make quite a bit of difference.
Finally, asking the students to press the front foot down, and be conscious of lifting the chest up at the same time is instrumental in straightening spines. It makes a tremendous difference to me and my students.
Keep it up, girl!
Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂in reply to: Wrists curve up in Pranayama, is that OK? #3072Woo hoo!
What a great observation!
You are sooo right. If you try to push to a point without respecting the body’s current limitations (at that moment) then you can find yourself creating problems rather than resolving them. So yes, if you were not to listen to your body about your inflexible fingers then chances are that your shoulders would rise up and cause head, neck and shoulder strain, in your efforts to get your elbows up. Your body is the way it is!
Thanks for letting me know
Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂Hi Jared
I am really interested to find out the specific details of what you do. If you are keen you can email me directly and we can publish your suggestions on our blog or tips and techniques section for everyone to benefit.
Let me know what you think!
Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂in reply to: cannot reach my feet #3070Hello K
May I seek some clarification with a question?
When you bend your leg up, it appears that you are saying that your thigh is lower than parallel to the floor, is that correct? You are simply standing there with a leg bent up to some degree, body straight and arms relaxed.Best to get clear
Looking forward to your response
Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂in reply to: Cannot reach my heels in Rabbit Pose #3069Hello K!
I am concerned! There is ALWAYS a way for a student to tackle a pose. If you really can’t do it au naturel (no prop) then the only other option is to use a prop – like a towel or strap. If you want to get the benefits you have to do the pose. If you are going to get there you have to start on the path. So, my next question is, what happens when you use a towel and how are you using it?
Would love to help.
Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂Hello again!
I was just rereading your post, and was happy that you are using your body’s intelligence to get you through class. Pain is not the object of yoga. I hope you have resolved how to do that pose that you were experiencing pain in. If not, give me more details and together we will sort it out.
It is so funny that something as simple as ‘locking the knee’ can turn out to be so misunderstood. How have you gone with your latest mission?!
As for your last point: When we attempt a new pose we don’t always have the correct toolbox at our fingertips. What I mean is, that the newness may mean that we may unwittingly be doing it incorrectly, with less than optimal technique. None of these poses should be painful. And discomfort can be fine in the right context. It means we could be creating newness: new opening, new stretch and new strength. Will be happy to help on the finer points if things continue to bother you.
Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂 -
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