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Viewing 25 posts - 826 through 850 (of 2,972 total)
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  • Gabrielle (The Hot Yoga Doctor)
    Forum Owner
    Post count: 3048

    You’re so welcome, Daniel!

    There’s nothing like a success story to make us both feel great. :cheese: I am so pleased it has worked for you with such great results.

    Namaste
    Gabrielle 🙂

    Gabrielle (The Hot Yoga Doctor)
    Forum Owner
    Post count: 3048
    in reply to: Butt melting away #9652

    😆 You DO realise Tia, that there are millions of people out there who WISHED they had your ‘problem’.

    There is no guarantee that what happens for somebody else will happen for you. Your body is unique. Perhaps it’s waiting for the challenge of yoga to create your ideal form.

    Perhaps when you start to practise you’ll feel differently about your form and won’t care what happens to your bottom but enjoy the feeling you get from your practice.

    Go to class! Don’t work your butt off so to speak, 😉 but work intelligently by approaching your practice with the right mindset. Your body may surprise you.

    Namaste
    Gabrielle 🙂

    Gabrielle (The Hot Yoga Doctor)
    Forum Owner
    Post count: 3048

    Hi Tajana

    You may also need to address a weakness in your hamstrings. It’s possible that the stretching is aggravating that weakness. You may choose to go and see somebody (physiotherapist) have them check out the functioning of your body in certain movements, massage out some of the fascial adhesions and give you some exercises.

    You certainly shouldn’t be feeling such pain and aggravation especially not for years!

    I hope it resolves quickly for you. You are obviously very flexible. Just wondering if you ever find that you can’t seem to stretch as far as before.

    Namaste
    Gabrielle 🙂

    Gabrielle (The Hot Yoga Doctor)
    Forum Owner
    Post count: 3048

    Hi Amy

    I really like Kristin’s “I am here … it is now”. It is much more present focused. Compare that to “you will because you can”. It may work for you during class but methinks it could be anchored too much in achievement for the end of class. It is future focused (I will). Perhaps you’re unconsciously keying into the activities you’re supposed to be doing when you finally get up off the floor.

    Hmmm I realised you say “You will” and not “I will”. Is that right?

    Let go of what you need to be doing regarding your legs and body. Just lie comfortably.

    Try a different anchor phrase. Even maybe “I am enough”.

    Off to enjoy my Sunday

    Namaste
    Gabrielle 🙂

    Gabrielle (The Hot Yoga Doctor)
    Forum Owner
    Post count: 3048

    Hi Kristin

    “Just a fellow forum member”? Hmmmm. :cheese: Thank you for your incredibly insightful and valuable post. If it weren’t for people like you I would be here FULL TIME answering forum posts. This is a public forum and although a very large number of them need to be answered by me I truly value everybody’s participation and input. I do love hearing others’ opinions and ideas. It helps me grow. So thanks again.

    I look forward to Amy’s response.

    Namaste
    Gabrielle 🙂

    Gabrielle (The Hot Yoga Doctor)
    Forum Owner
    Post count: 3048

    Hi Romy

    “The Pranayama modification: With fingers layered over the other at the back of the neck, would I try to move the head back at all, or keep it perfectly still?”

    >> Pressure between the neck and the fingers is reciprocal. The exercise is the same but with hands behind the neck. start with elbows more or less together in front of you at shoulder height(ish) and then on the inhale you’ll move them out to the side with the scapulae down. On the exhale you’ll move the head back as you bring the elbows back together again. The pressure of your fingers against the neck will be soothing on inhale and exhale. You will only move your head as far back as you can.

    “(If I try doing it with shoulders down as I would in normal Pranayama, I can move my elbows out only a minuscule way.)”

    >> If I understand you correctly: That’s OK, because it’s just an indication of your neck injury limitations.

    ” Also, how should I approach the first backbend (the standing one), the floor bow, and camel? All of these freak me out a bit, though in their defense I have to say I’ve only tried once, and half-heartedly. The floor backbends seems to be ok, since I don’t have to worry about gravity breaking my head off. gulp”

    >> Start with fingers/hands behind the neck. If I were there I would help you in a slightly different way. But the outcome is the same. You are trying to learn trust again. Overcoming fear is by giving yourself somewhere to surrender to, and that is your hands. It’s a temporary thing. You’ll see.

    >> Speaking of seeing, make sure you look up and back.

    “Last question: in the belly down savasanas, what should I do with my head? Can’t turn it sideways. Is it best to leave it in the centre, putting my forehead on my arms?”

    >> Yes rest your forehead on your forearms. You can fold your arms differently between sides.

    “My doc says that should I absolutely do neck extension/ flexion/ compression exercises in order to break down/ prevent scar tissue on the muscles and ligaments, but to be mindful not to go too far.”

    >> You should be so happy with a doctor who encourages movement with a sensible approach.

    Happy healing!

    Let me know how you go

    Namaste
    Gabrielle 🙂

    Gabrielle (The Hot Yoga Doctor)
    Forum Owner
    Post count: 3048

    Hi Sarafina

    It would be wonderful to work with you. Let’s see what we can work with here. You can write to me on email if you need to talk about training, or visiting. Thank you for the trust.

    So what I need you to do now is go and see the blog post called Opening Up Your Hamstrings With Hot Yoga.

    If you’re having such terrible issues in that area then this technique should help you physiologically be more gentle and more effective in opening your body up. It will help soothe your hamstrings, psoas and your sacral area and you’ll feel so much more ease and yet great challenge in this pose. Then you will want to apply this same technique to similar poses.

    Let me know how you go and if you need more help in working out how to apply it.

    Namaste
    Gabrielle 🙂

    Gabrielle (The Hot Yoga Doctor)
    Forum Owner
    Post count: 3048

    Hi Lindsey and Lisa

    Have you taken a mo to look around the forum? I know there are quite lively discussions about nightsweats.

    Namaste
    Gabrielle 🙂

    Gabrielle (The Hot Yoga Doctor)
    Forum Owner
    Post count: 3048
    in reply to: Shoulder Crunching #9614

    Hi Laura

    Just occurred to me that I needed to ask you something. I am wondering how you release out of wind removing pose. Do you raise the leg up in the air and straighten it? Or do you just let the leg move to the floor from the bent position foot near the bottom and then lengthen out the leg?

    As for the shoulder, you would do well to work out if you have good posture when you walk and stand (let alone when you write papers!). Go and take a look at thevideo about using your arms and shoulders. You’ll find it by scrolling all the way to the bottom of the page. It’s called a Transformational Technique For Your Practice For Your Life

    Both you and Wayne would probably do well to have someone take a close look at that… Sounds as though it’s time for a massage 😉

    Namaste
    Gabrielle 🙂

    Gabrielle (The Hot Yoga Doctor)
    Forum Owner
    Post count: 3048

    Hi Lisa

    Frustrating isn’t it?

    You seem to be eating well. No issues with food-guilt. No issues with counting calories (which I personally don’t ascribe to but it works for some). You do seem to be moving in the right direction. Firming up of your tone and a small shape change.

    My nephew lost a few pounds in 2 weeks by not drinking during meals at all. It’s worth a try.

    For the moment I am not struck by anything else conscious that you may have to do. Except of course to go minimum 4 times per week (cos I know it’s varied a bit and you missed 2 weeks).

    4 times per week min seems to be the way to go when you want to see change. Of course upwards of that is a great thing to do but with 3 kids you may not be able to swing that.

    Sometimes letting go of the attachment to losing it is the key to making it happen. Oh, that and 4 times per week :cheese:

    Namaste
    Gabrielle 🙂

    Gabrielle (The Hot Yoga Doctor)
    Forum Owner
    Post count: 3048

    Hi Rob

    I believe that the reason you feel this way is highly likely that you are not being heard nor understood by the people to whom you have paid a significant amount of money.

    Maybe it’s because you’re conflicted: You know you can feel great with this yoga, you HAVE felt that way and now when you have a problem, all the studio is doing is trying to convince you that the yoga will fix it. If all someone can do is offer solutions that suit them, without honoring your feelings and needs then emotionally you’re being shortchanged.

    You WANT to be able to trust that teacher and that everything will be OK but basically your emotional bank account is overdrawn.

    Does that seem to resonate for you?

    I could be wrong.

    What do you think/feel after reading this?

    PS Thanks for the email. 😉

    Namaste
    Gabrielle 🙂

    Gabrielle (The Hot Yoga Doctor)
    Forum Owner
    Post count: 3048

    Hi Mette

    I would like to add that just as you work in a recovery schedule to your weight training, you must also include that approach especially when combining 2 different exercise modalities.

    Your body needs time to rest and recover. So if you feel up to 2 workouts a day that’s fine. Just know that your body needs to build its new muscle tissue and sometimes you just need a rest! 😉

    Take a day off at least once a week. And as Andrea suggested maybe there will be days where you choose one of the workouts and not the other.

    Namaste
    Gabrielle 🙂

    Gabrielle (The Hot Yoga Doctor)
    Forum Owner
    Post count: 3048

    Hi Alex

    I am sending you an email too.

    In order to answer all your questions one would ideally need specific information.

    For example, and I am sure you will find this other information on this forum in places with judicious searching 😉 you can waste a lot of money on many different aspects of fit out if certain aspects are not dealt with properly.

    Eg, spending a little more to over insulate will save you bucket loads of cash in the long term. You will even need less power to heat the place and you may even need a less powerful heating system.

    A lot of the information you need can be gained by hot yoga studio visits, working out what you liked, how controllable the environment was, whether the teacher was constantly fiddling with the system. There are many variables…

    Fitout also depends on what’s in the place to start off with. And many landlords will install these assets as part of the agreement.

    Get back to me and I will be happy to help as much as I can

    Namaste
    Gabrielle 🙂

    Gabrielle (The Hot Yoga Doctor)
    Forum Owner
    Post count: 3048
    in reply to: Cardio #9604

    Hi Wayne

    Thanks for posting – even if it’s an old thread revived. 😛 You’re welcome to do that anytime.

    OK, so here’s my input for you: Bikram or hot yoga is ideal interval training. It will help you with your hockey and other stamina!

    There are PLENTY of anecdotes to support that. For example, Robert and I used to spend a lot of time on motorcycle race tracks. Stamina and fitness were hugely effected. The fine distinctions of balance static and in motion are improved. Plus you get a boost in your recoverability and even your risk of damage is lessened because of increased agility.

    In short: It’s all good!

    Namaste
    Gabrielle 🙂

    Gabrielle (The Hot Yoga Doctor)
    Forum Owner
    Post count: 3048

    Hi Claudia

    Let me see if I can approach your issues in the same order you broached them… 😉

    “in Pranayama, when I bring my elbows together it hurts and my shoulders tend to raise”

    >> The answer to that is only move your arms as much and as fully as you can WITHOUT allowing your shoulders to raise. If you read pages 36 to 45 you will get a LOT of information about the whole head neck shoulder area that is highly beneficial.

    >> That theme continues in many of the pose chapters. It’s a crucial element of your practice to ‘get’. So if your shoulders are raising then may I humbly suggest a review of these pages? :cheese:

    “… but i can hardly come down in the pose”

    >> Don’t worry about your depth in the pose. In Half Moon you want optimum alignment and you want to focus on the side that elongates to keep working length into it. This will help you alleviate much of any pain that can occur in this pose.

    “although I get the feeling that I am surrendering the neck,it feels tight and strained.”

    >> If your neck is feeling tight and strained then there is definitely an issue there. It’s possibly one or a combination of several things: You’re not looking back, your fear is making you react by dropping your chin a little and straining your neck, your arms are too straight, or you could do with another quick microbend check of the arms while you’re in the pose. Let me know!

    “With ‘Hands to Feet’ I also tried the variation of getting my hands flat on the floor for the forward bend but even when they are far away from the body, I find it impossible to balance and my feet raise up. Is it o.k to just have the finger tips on the floor and do the stretch?”

    >> Have you looked at the video chapter dedicated to Pada Hastasana on DVD 1. Perhaps there’s something that could be revisited. It should be MUCH more satisfying to get your hands on the floor (taking the lion’s share of the weight) than to bend forward with only fingers touching.

    >> It’s worth the effort to nut this out. When you ‘get’ this, you’ll NEVER go back, I promise.

    “when you engage the biceps and your hands are at the bottom of the legs and not the feet do you pull down or up? It feels like I am engaging the biceps when I pull down.”

    OK, so what I would like you to do is aim to lift the elbows up (and the shoulders away from the ears). Then press the heels downward and the hips travel upwards, without focusing on straightening the legs. Leg straightening will happen naturally and more easily I might add, if you do it this way.

    “i can’t get my bent leg down in tree. It just darts out in a right angle”

    >> Don’t be concerned with the angle. Keep the hips even and then just let gravity work on that ‘flying’ knee. It’s opening your hip. I am sure you’ll be feeling that and some stretching on that inner thigh, and some work in that knee (separately or in combination!).

    :cheese: Phew. I hope that helps you.

    ‘See’ you soon

    Namaste
    Gabrielle 🙂

    Gabrielle (The Hot Yoga Doctor)
    Forum Owner
    Post count: 3048

    Hi JLee

    Thank you!

    Can you tell me / us how you’re going now with the aches and pains? I am interested to find out what steps you took and what the results have been

    Namaste
    Gabrielle 🙂

    Gabrielle (The Hot Yoga Doctor)
    Forum Owner
    Post count: 3048

    Hi Amie

    How ‘plastic’ is the stomach? We know that the stomach expands with eating. What are the long or even short term prospects for you?

    You are extremely lucky to have all your bits intact. Is your capacity for food and fluid intake improving?

    4-6 ounces every 2 hours is not a big intake. What about sipping water? Does that work for you?

    I will endeavour to answer you more quickly this time! I am in the lead up to my Teacher Training Program and it’s busy! Apologies for the wait.

    Namaste
    Gabrielle 🙂

    Gabrielle (The Hot Yoga Doctor)
    Forum Owner
    Post count: 3048

    Hi Kelsey

    I would like to add that if you EVER have to adjust your feet in this pose, then lift up out of it to sitting position readjust your feet and knees and THEN settle back into it. That way you’ll protect your knees and be more sensitive/responsive to the changes and be able to modulate the extent with control!

    Namaste
    Gabrielle 🙂

    Gabrielle (The Hot Yoga Doctor)
    Forum Owner
    Post count: 3048

    Hi Vijay

    I’m back! Finally! Phew. 😉

    OK, here are 4 things for you:

    In Pranayama. Try NOT to lock out your bottom and hips on the tallest extent of your inhale. Keep your legs locked out as much as you can and inhale as much length as you can in your lower back by loosening through it. Then just before you move into your exhale (on the longest extent of your back) tighten your bottom, tuck the tailbone under, check into your locked out legs and then exhale.

    The other thing is that I have a hunch you are trying to get your arms up by your head here AND in your backbend. I think you are introducing too much tension in your neck and shoulders. I think that it’s possible that you are introducing way to much tension in your back from the hips and the shoulders in both Pranayama and Half Moon.

    If you need more description then please ask. Basically you may need to introduce a micro-bend into your arms and allow the neck to soften for both these poses. The squeezing the arms to the side of the head and locking out elbows is one of THE most insidiously damaging instructions in Bikram yoga.

    There is quite a lot of information on the forum already. Plus there are full details in the Hot Yoga MasterClass.

    Please go and verify if you are approaching Separate Leg Intense Stretch in the best possible way. It seems as though you could be. Just Confirm It Here!

    In Janushirasana: Can you confirm if you’re reaching out for your foot and then popping your head on the knee? Or are you tucking the chin and finding that your head lands on the knee (whether bent or straight) and your hands find themselves under the foot? It’s a ‘need to know’ question! :cheese:

    Thanks for the GREAT details. I hope I can get back to you faster than I did this time.

    Namaste
    Gabrielle 🙂

    Gabrielle (The Hot Yoga Doctor)
    Forum Owner
    Post count: 3048

    Hi Romy

    I imagine you’ve made some progress these last 3 weeks. Tell me! How is it going?

    What’s your range of motion like now?

    Hmmm… I notice the word “pike out”. 😆 Being mindfully aware of where you’re at is NOT piking out. That’s your yoga! That’s you responding to the voice of your body. There’s no need to feel anything other than what you’re doing in class whether at home or in a studio is the perfect thing to do.

    No doubt to create a range of motion you need to start exploring that range. There is a Pranayama modification where one layers one set of fingers over the other at the back of the neck and moves the elbows apart and together again every inhale and exhale. I can explain this more if you need it. It’s not as satisfying as an exercise but it definitely gives you back the trust because of the constant support. So in that way it is satisfying.

    Before I go on I need to know what your fear/trust level is in doing pranayama. Does your neck seize up in the process or are you feeling confident that it’s just a small adjustment to your technique and you’re there? I need a sense of what’s possible for you right now.

    Your doc: Does she say that you can go into full neck extensions and compressions safely (at least in the short to medium term)?

    Let me know!

    Namaste
    Gabrielle 🙂

    Gabrielle (The Hot Yoga Doctor)
    Forum Owner
    Post count: 3048
    in reply to: yoga styles #9597

    Hi Kristina

    Thanks for the private message (PM). Yes I agree, one does not need to be a doctor to own a surgery or medical facility. No, you don’t need to be a yoga teacher to own a studio either. Your inquiries will ALWAYS be welcome here.

    I thought I would check in and find out where you are in your journey now.

    If you need some teachers for your studio, then there will be a whole bunch of graduates in less than 2 months. There may be 2011 grads may be interested in helping you out too.

    Namaste
    Gabrielle 🙂

    Gabrielle (The Hot Yoga Doctor)
    Forum Owner
    Post count: 3048

    Hi Blue

    Was just thinking about you. Have you got a progress report for us?

    Namaste
    Gabrielle 🙂

    Gabrielle (The Hot Yoga Doctor)
    Forum Owner
    Post count: 3048

    Hi Eva

    Oh, you must be very concerned. As I would be too.

    Your teacher probably has this right. Unfortunately I don’t think a little coconut water is going to do it for you.

    I would strongly suggest getting some unprocessed sea salt into you straight away. Go and check out recent posts. Pop the word “himalayan” into the search box up the top and start reading. Then go out and buy some sea salt and take it on your food and or in your water (i recommend it with a dash of lemon juice! Yum).

    You should see results very quickly. You seem electrolyte deprived. Perhaps you may want to get a base reading of your condition with a doctor. The word is 1/2 to 1 tsp of salt a day when you’re needing to reoptimise levels, and about 1/2 for everyday use.

    If that resonates with you, then… hop to it. It won’t hurt to see a doc or get a blood test for big picture view.

    Namaste
    Gabrielle 🙂

    Gabrielle (The Hot Yoga Doctor)
    Forum Owner
    Post count: 3048
    in reply to: Morning Stiffness #9578

    Hi Amy

    Can I ask you how you are modifying it to accommodate for stiffness? I would like to understand.

    What temperature is the room? Or maybe how cold does it feel and how does that affect your increase in heart rate? Have you thought of wearing a little more clothing to get your heat up a bit?

    Namaste
    Gabrielle 🙂

    Gabrielle (The Hot Yoga Doctor)
    Forum Owner
    Post count: 3048

    Hi Sarafina

    With every movement there will be adjustments! It’s interesting that most people would believe you can bring your body to the side in Half Moon in a pure movement of sideways bending. But you would know (with your background and your condition) that at every moment you are working with counter-rotations of hips to shoulders (with vertebrae that are irregular in shape and stacked in curves) in order to simulate that pure sideways movement.

    When it comes to you and your interesting back (!) my sense is that you have to work extra hard to keep alignment without surrendering at all to the now habitual curves your back has developed. Moving to first point of resistance for you and then working like crazy on alignment (but no struggle) would be what should work. Of course this goes for any movement you make – half moon was just an illustration.

    There is definitely a part of me that wants to see you to work with you, to get beyond the words here. Meet me in Costa Rica on May 19! Just kidding. 😆 But I will be there for teacher training. I would want to spend time watching your habitual movements and how to master better posture. Being a pilates instructor i have faith that you are describing the issues well. But I still don’t have a clear picture of what you are moving like in poses.

    We will start with some questions about a particular pose. Then we can move onto different poses as required to try and get a better picture.

    I notice that you have mentioned an your issue with the sacrum area. A common question you’ll see me ask on the forum is whether you have legs locked out in Standing Sep Leg Stretch. Do you? If you do, is your back straight? Or rounded? Can you describe what your arms are doing and where you grip your foot.

    Let’s see what you have to report 😉 and we’ll take it from there

    Namaste
    Gabrielle 🙂

Viewing 25 posts - 826 through 850 (of 2,972 total)