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in reply to: Hot Yoga during menstruation #9487
Hi Helen
I’m back !
Hey, if you’re looking for ways to strengthen your back then please look at my video Flatten Your Tummy And Strengthen Your Back.
Doing that for even a few days you will see and feel an enormous difference. [Have you used DVD 1 as a tutorial for the different sit up techniques?]
Try the ball exercise and get back to me! I know you’ll love it
Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂Hello Dana
Are you willing to tell us what you decided to do? Let me know if you need some more help
Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂in reply to: Poor posture and tilted pelvis #9485Oh wow Califia
What a long detailed post. Thank you!
You say you have a complete disconnect with your spine and brain! Well, I don’t agree. You have explained a lot of intricate details of your body and proprioception that will help us a lot.
Before we get into specifics can you please tell me if you are seeing any kind of physical therapist about the anterior pelvic tilt? What if anything are you doing outside of yoga that would be designed to fix or cope with this issue?
Also is this a bilaterally symmetrical tilt? Maybe it’s one hip anteroposteriorly more tilted than the other.
The tilt is very likely creating issues in your body and its use. Tight muscles in places and weak muscles in others, affecting posture and so on.
There are definitely things I would ask you about your pose technique – little things you could be doing, perhaps misunderstanding of intention of poses or instruction that may be working against you.
So first please answer those questions. I apologise for making you wait so long. Sometimes I just get inundated and the weeks past quicker than I care to admit. 😉
Oh, I would like you to go and check out the video Flatten Your Tummy And Strengthen Your Back. This technique will start to create balance in your body as well as strength that has been eluding you because of some of the issues you have pointed out.
I hope to hear from you soon
Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂in reply to: 'Dead' toes #9484Fantastic news Anna Denise!
Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂in reply to: Bikram Yoga and Philosophy #9481Hello David Kiser
You seem to disbelieve what others are telling you of their experiences. Are you suggesting that these things did not happen?
The point of this thread seems to be about a certain culture that has become evident in studios around the world. Nobody is suggesting that it is all studios. There isn’t even a suggestion about numbers.
What seems to be the common thread is that people don’t want to be treated with disrespect or disdain. There are of course other points made. Can you step back and even accept the possibility that what has been written is true?
>> Are you simply expressing your dislike for people who don’t act as you do?
>> Is this personal?
>> Do you always feel the need to defend what you’re doing? (in reference to your comment about defending oneself)
>> What is stopping you from just BEING?You may do what you like with your own studio. Nobody says differently. It is your choice whether you should buy into the culture or the franchise or whatever it is that is meeting your needs. That is not a flippant comment. That is an acceptance that your actions are meeting your needs in some way and I am not the one to identify those needs.
By the way, do you drive a model T Ford? That’s a pretty brilliant invention. My point? Whether you like it or not, things change, systems change, teaching changes, understanding changes. You have issues with the way I do things (that’s pretty clear). My guess is that you have very little idea as to where our opinions differ and even if you do, then to quote a wise person “what you think of me is none of my business”. One could surmise that you have issues with anything that goes against what you believe. Possibly.
Can you simply stop being so defensive and be curious for just a little while? Live your own life. You can teach Bikram yoga, do that! The yoga is wonderful (hot, bikram, whatever THEY choose). That’s why the rest of us are here too.
You continue to talk (here and elsewhere) about others changing the series making it cooler and 60 minutes and music and so on and so forth without any sense of continuity with respect to preceding posts.
You’ve been pretty busy trawling this forum for the last few hours.
Let me ask you this: Have you done that with hate or anger in your heart and hoping to catch everybody out (aka specifically me?) and prove a point, or are you here out of curiosity and interest for what happens here?
It’s all about intention.
Thousands of people who come to this forum are going to read your posts. Many of them will know you or look you up. They go to Bikram studios. What good is it to invalidate others to make your point?
“There is no need to blow out others’ candles to make your own light shine more brightly”… Hmmmm I hope I quoted that correctly!
David Kiser, go shine your light with love, acceptance and peace in your heart.
Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂in reply to: Helpful Answers #9475Please David
Get OFF your high horse.
Answer me these questions:
>> IS the post from the article STILL THERE?
>> DID we remove it?
>> Wasn’t that a simple request to give a summary so that people can choose whether it is important for them to check it out?Over the years many people over the years have posted gratuitously without any contribution just a link to their own website or undignified content. We remove those.
Simple request. Please when you post a link, make sure you describe what you’re linking to. Enough said.
Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂in reply to: Lower your body #9467Hello David Kiser
I am on my way out the door and can’t continue in detail, but nobody has touched your account, nor cancelled is so I am not sure to what you’re referring.
If you can post, then your account is active.
Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂in reply to: Dialogue refers to 14 major joints #9464Indeed Bonnie! Indeed. You are correct 🙂
Hope you’re well
Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂in reply to: Lower your body #9462Hello David Kiser
I will thank you to be polite on this forum. I do not make personal attacks and you won’t find any here. There is no place for rudeness or accusations here or anywhere.
Let me say that if you look at any Bikram yoga champion their chest is actually NOT parallel to the floor. Only their abdomen is. It’s verifiable by all the myriad of photos. I have tried to attach one of a Bikram champion. His chest is most definitely not parallel to the floor. It is only in this way that a person may support a standing backbend with one leg gloriously above their head with foot or ankle in hand! 😉
So rather than attack me personally, or anything I stand for I suggest that there is room in your life for some SPACE for others to believe and say what they believe without fear of retribution or admonishment from others who simply should let people live their own lives.
You seem very angry. That’s not my stuff.
I appreciate any input that people have on this forum. I don’t feel offended by talking about different approaches to yoga if it differs from my opinion. You however do. So if you continue to post on this forum, I request that you do so with respect and a willingness to experience what others have as their BELIEFS AND THEIR EXPERIENCES.
Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂in reply to: Just some guidance please #9460Hi Claudia
I hope you’re OK and that the time sensitive nature of your question has not put you out too much. I must admit to overwhelm with the amount of work on my plate at the mo!
So let’s see…
I guess I need an update now… I am sorry about that but let’s see what we can accomplish!
Padahastasana: I will assume you are squashing chest on legs. I will also assume good and bent legs as indicated. Sometimes one has no option but to hold behind the back of the ankles or bottom of the calves – fingers pointing down thumbs on the outside, palms forward. Have you tried that? You can still activate the mechanism for this pose by drawing UP the elbows and shoulders and pushing the heels downward. You can get a pretty good grip there.
As for Sep Leg Stretch: When you engage quadriceps there is some relaxation of the antagonist muscles (the hamstrings) but it’s not as black and white as your teachers understand (and want you to believe – that script again!). Because you have sciatica there are things you really need to know. Bending the legs helps you by reducing the strain occurring in the lumbar spine (from where your sciatica partly originates).
When you can orient your body with the legs bent you are creating SPACE in the lower back which is what you desperately need (as far as your words indicate and the issues you’re experiencing).
Eagle: Could it be the pose? Maybe but it could be your habits outside the room. What’s your daily activity? Are you stuck at a computer for example or is there some habitual position or activity that may be responsible? Is it only Eagle in which you feel any numbness and tingling there – in or out of yoga?
I am very pleased your neck is feeling better. I am looking out for your next response. I promise to get to your post as soon as humanly possible. 🙂
Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂in reply to: Knee and IT Problems #9459Hi Kristin
Can you tell me if those knee pains are related? What I mean is that you have pain on the inside of the knees. And you have pain on the side of the knees as well. So have these pains always been happening at the same time. They could be coincidental.
>> Can you tell me what specific poses seem to inflame the different sides of your knees? What poses do each of these pains happen and which poses do the medial pain or the lateral pain occur together and separately?
>> Can you tell me where you can get to in Fixed Firm? And what effect this pose has on your knees?
>> Do you have any tendency at all to pronate? For example when you’re balancing on one leg, does that foot’s arch flatten or the ankle drop at all?
>> You have some sciatica-like pain… are you keeping straight legs in Standing Sep Leg Intense Stretch?
>> Is your studio a recital studio (same words just about all the time, every teacher every class)?I will look out for your response 😉
Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂in reply to: Dialogue refers to 14 major joints #9457Hi Kristin
Thanks for the contribution. It’s a good guess methinks! 😉 However it doesn’t count here: The shoulder is a joint that is made up of the head of humerus into the socket known as the glenoid fossa. The glenoid fossa is a part of the scapula…
So if you could scapulae then you’re counting the shoulder joints twice.
If you’ve heard 14 joints then simply ask your teachers to tell you which ones they are referring to. Should be interesting to see what we’ve neglected to include
Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂in reply to: Burning sensation in quadriceps #9455Hi Daniel
I am so pleased that this pose is easier for you now! I said easier, not less challenging. Actually with ease comes more satisfying challenge if you’re doing it the right way.
Now, let me confirm, you are holding the foot not the ankle?
I want you to keep doing what you’re doing and now place some attention on where your foot and hand meet. See if you can create a reciprocal action there. Push that inside of your foot into the hand and see how you can swivel that leg down (and hip down) into a more symmetrical position.
Let me know how that goes!
Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂in reply to: bikram hot yoga and adrenal fatigue???? HELP???? #9454Hi Blue
Finding the right balance may take a little work! But if you think about it, your body needs electrolytes just like a battery needs them. You need to fire up your nerves your muscles and make your body function well, including your adrenals. It’s part of every system in your body.
Yoga is supposed to create balance. If you could do yoga every day (not in a hot room) or if you can run your life normally and not have the problems you’re having in the hot room then it’s a function of your activity.
So the issues to address could even be not just water and electrolytes but also your practice approach! Sometimes practices exhibit an essence of ‘trying hard’ which tenses up the whole body. There is a way to work hard, work with the challenge, without struggle and in a way that surrenders to that work.
If you have any sense at all that you’re exhausted in class and feel that you’ve got undue tension in your body during the poses, then I invite you to work out (with my help if you need it) which poses they could be.
Sometimes it is literally working through your technical issues that can reduce the impact on your Sympathetic Nervous System! That SNS involvement would most certainly be having an impact on your breathing and therefore an impact on the amount of tension in your body.
Give it some thought and attention. If you need to go back to the studio with that on your radar, then take the time to do that. Come back and we’ll get there.
And yes, take some sea salt. If you haven’t got a baseline reading of your blood then that’s worth doing to know where you stand
Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂in reply to: Dialogue: Japanese ham sandwich #9453Hello Gavin
Yes, one of the mysteries of the Bikram-centric universe where the words take on sacred (and almost biblical) meaning by many and which can mean absolutely nothing or imply something even ambiguous or tenuous in nature!
I guess I could answer this one in just about the same vein as the other question you posted about 14 major joints…
Again, many wonderful things to say to open up one’s awareness of this pose. But if the script is all that is quoted, just be prepared to hear that interesting phrase again!
Feel free to look around the forum because you can apply many distinctions from here to your practice.
There’s always somewhere to go, slight, incremental changes that come from new awareness. That may not come from hearing the same thing over and over.
Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂in reply to: Dialogue refers to 14 major joints #9452Hello Gavin
Ah yes, what is going on there?
Ask them because I would like to know what they’re saying too? As a teacher specialising in learning technologies I can tell you that drawing attention to something like that that poses questions that are unanswerable and that add no value to your practice is not only distracting it’s just filling time.
Shame really. There is SO MUCH to this pose to make distinctions on.
Would love to hear about those other joints! 😆
Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂Hi Sammy
It’s very important to set up poses very well. The easiest thing that I can tell you to focus on at the moment is to LIFT through the chest. Focus on the stretch on the front side of the body. LIFT through the sternum, and don’t think about going back. The backbend movement happens with that frontal stretch anyway. That change in focus will help you protect yourself.
That’s a start.
There are many details that we could go into, but for now even if you’re not going to class at the moment you can do some well set up backbends. I believe you have some emails from me that would give you some good stuff to do and to focus on.
And take a look around the forum. There is much already about lower back pain and simple fixes.
Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂Hi Sammy
Finally I am here! There is much that is not handled with certain aspects of the so-called Bikram dialog. It seems that sciatica is one of the conditions that is VERY OFTEN exacerbated by Bikram yoga practitioners who learn at a script recital studio.
Your information is quite scant on detail because it doesn’t indicate what is actually going on… that’s not a problem for us because we can explore those details little by little.
What I can say is that the lack of scientific foundation or practical general yoga principles that are attached to the run of the mill Bikram teaching (for those who rely on the script as their main guide) is not good news for the student.
Too many times the answer is ‘the yoga will fix it’ or some strange pseudo-science gets quoted. If it’s a ‘simple sciatica’ then many of the techniques and tips I recommend are very very likely to fix the problem. There are also stretches that can be done in the butt and lower back area (specific stretches) that will free up the area.
I really cannot comment on the legal aspects. I am pretty certain it will come up at Teacher Training in Costa Rica this year. I look forward to hearing your views. 😉
In the meantime I am very pleased that you are very wary about the need for surgery just yet. Clearly there’s more to the situation that we could explore. So, Sammy if you need help with this particular issue then firstly let me know what it is I can answer. When you do, tell me which poses are particularly bothering you. Detail is important in your answer. (We will most likely nut out most of your problems later this year. However in the meantime I may be able to steer you towards a more effective practice right now.)
Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂in reply to: HOT yoga (bikram) and adrenal fatigue?? #9444Hi Blue
I think we’ll just answer your question at the other similarly named thread so we don’t do any more duplication! It will be easier for all of us… 😉
Here’s the link for you: Bikram Hot Yoga And Adrenal Fatigure ???? HELP ????
Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂in reply to: Finished first 30 days!! What now? : ) #9436Hi Claudia and Leonard
Balance is the key right? It doesn’t have to be all or none. There are other things one can do.
Claudia, the body needs recovery. Doing something to keep yourself vital and healthy is what you can aim for every day of your life. That something does not have to be yoga (and not 90 minutes of yoga) every single day.
Hey, you could take a day off in fact you SHOULD aim for one day off per week so that your body can recover and restore itself. Rest is a necessary part of any training program.
That doesn’t mean you don’t do anything (although you could simply rest 😉 ). What you could do is walk, swim, something else. Maybe 20-30 minutes of yin yoga stretches. Something with a different tempo and outcome. Something that is not as taxing.
Maybe what you’ll want to do is a selection of hot yoga poses but not for the intense 90 minutes that you’re used to. Perhaps 20 minutes of 40 or 60.
Play with it. Tune in and enjoy and be grateful for your practice. My rule of thumb with ‘challenges’ is to absolutely do 6 out of 7 days. If you really feel like doing 7 days it’s because you want to and feel like it (not out of guilt) and your body feels strong and wants it, there’s no sign of pain and it seems like the natural thing to do. It means that the day you don’t feel like it, you take a day off with a clear conscience. No attachment means a healthy mind and approach. And that makes your practice sustainable and easy to make it a part of your life forever!
Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂in reply to: Tibial Plateau Fracture #9435Hi Nora
Would you confirm for me please whether it is simply that you are not supposed to put weight on the fracture or if it is also that you are not supposed to do exercises that could ‘pull the fracture site apart’ by muscular action?
How are you managing walking at the moment?
I definitely have tips for doing yoga in the room when you can use your healing leg even if it’s 2 legs without the ability to stand solely on one.
Whether you can do the floor series depends on my first concerns.
Looking forward to your response
Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂in reply to: Scoliosis- getting worse #9434Hi Sarafina
I have been thinking on your questions. It’s tough because I am not sure what kind of practice you have. I have no idea as to your breath, your alignment or your depth in your poses.
What I must do is know a lot more about your practice before I could go anywhere near telling you whether you should stop or continue.
In my experience hot yoga helps every time BUT one’s practice has to be diligently focused on ALIGNMENT and NEVER DEPTH. For example with my own scoliosis I have to be sure that I am not trying to match one side’s depth to the other side (and I guess that could be out of ego if I were to do that) and really focus on micro-adjustments every moment especially when I feel resistance around the dysfunctional curves.
For example I feel that especially in Half Moon. On the right side my pose is perfectly aligned and it’s easy. On the left side I have to adjust, adjust, adjust every moment hips and shoulders and antero-posteriorly as well.
There are other poses where I feel a difference between the sides.
Questions I can ask you:
>> What do you do during the day? For your job? If you’re employed…
>> When you sit down do you cross your legs? If you do do you always cross them the same way?
>> What does it feel like when you do poses like Standing Bow (comparing side to side)? What about Spinal Twist?
>> When you do go consistently how often do you go?
>> What do you mean that your back hurts and that stops you from going?
>> Have you read my story on the forum about my scoliosis yet? It has some details that could help you.Apologies it took more than a day!
Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂in reply to: My back isn't straightening… #9430Hi Carly
Aha. Sorry to say it but doesn’t it seem absolutely mad that you would even say the “pose started making sense” in your own body and then somebody actually is there to tell you that you’re wrong.
Meanwhile it’s likely that you’re also told that you need to listen to your own body… while at the same time you’re being told to ignore what is actually happening, do something that you know feels wrong and do as they say.
Carly, I am here to tell you that if the pose makes sense to you the way it did today, then that is the way you must do it. There are physiological mechanisms in play here that are actually allowing you to find length in those tight hamstrings NOT by straightening your legs but by um… BENDING THEM!
You are unfortunately going to have to allow those ‘lock the knee’ commands in this pose to wash right over you. Then you’ll be honouring your body and the intention of the pose.
It can be very hard to ignore what your teacher tells you especially if they’re very insistent. However if you carry no charge and therefore authentically don’t react, there will be no resistance and you’ll be absolutely fine!
Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂in reply to: My back isn't straightening… #9428Super stuff Carly
Come back and tell me what it feels like in class (and after too) when you’ve done this in class! I would love to hear your response
Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂in reply to: My back isn't straightening… #9426Hi Carly
Welcome to the forum! The answer is simple. It’s possibly not what you think. If you’re busy trying to keep your legs straight at all costs then this is one of hot and Bikram yoga’s CLASSIC and most prevalent problems. It’s also THE main cause of Bikram Backache (and is often dismissed by students and teachers saying the ‘yoga fixes everything’, either causing them to do more yoga in the hope it will disappear, causes them to avoid this pose or resign themselves to sore backs or hamstrings forever more).
Take a look here at this important information that relates to straightening your back in this pose.
Let me know how you go! 😉
Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂 -
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