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in reply to: Elbow pain #9222
Hello Christina and Kristin
Ah, so much great conversation! 🙂
Yes, pushing your arms into the floor is paramount in this pose. Christina what you were doing before was just focusing on your legs and found your elbows were taking the strain.
Here’s my little ‘to do’ list:
>> Your shoulders are not to move toward each other (inward) to get them to touch the floor
>> Externally rotate the arms so that the shoulders move away from each other and form a platform across the chest (and so the shoulders move back away from the ears)
>> Your shoulders may or may not actually touch the floor. That actually varies greatly with STRENGTH, with bust size, with posture and so on
>> BUT what you want to do is IMAGINE that your heart is pressing into the floor
>> The ‘pinky fingers touching’ is not necessary. What is necessary is a symmetrical positioning of the arms under the body (if possible) where your hips are not jamming into and hurting your forearms because naturally you would want to adjust for that consciously or unconsciously
>> Activate the push into the floor with your arms. When you do that you’ll find you probably won’t often if ever be ‘trying’ to push your weight further forward but the mere positioning of your arms and shoulders and the use of your arms will automatically do this for you. (See the point about your heart)
>> And for the last tip, as this is actually a pose that is NOT just about the leg lift, start working your arms in EXACTLY THE SAME WAY for the single leg lift. Your pose will transformCome back and let me know, please!
Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂in reply to: Balance and Thinking working against each other #9221Hi Kristin
I just forwarded you that email! :cheese:
Pretty soon we’ll talk ‘eagle’. I have my suspicions! So I will get back to you soon, Helen and Kristin
Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂in reply to: Balance and Thinking working against each other #9209Hi Kristin
How is your balance these days? What exactly are you saying to yourself these days? If it’s still “real yogis don’t anticipate” we’re honestly going to have to help you brainstorm something more empowering. :cheese:
Let me illustrate this with a command: Please count to 10 without thinking of an antelope. You’re making it hard on yourself asking your mind to process something NOT to do.
Let me know what you come up with! Hehehe
Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂in reply to: Removed spinal disc? #9208Hi Tameka
Has your student had massage? If he’s experiencing knotting then someone with their hands on the offending tightness could help.
However a wonderful thing he can do at just about any time is to use a firm ball to lie on. This will undo just about any knot in the spine.
If you’re not familiar with this technique let me know and I give you some pointers. Because there are certain things to do and to be aware of.
What may be even more effective is for the student to come and post so we can get some first hand communication. I am fine either way of course 😉
Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂in reply to: Trouble engaging my biceps #9207Hello Michelle
I see where you are with this. I really like that you’re checking in with your body so closely! So when your arms are bent like that you are by default using your biceps. You are correct too that you are getting some triceps involvement when you bring your arms behind and draw your shoulders up.
To me it sounds as though you are doing just the right thing and staying aware of any shoulder hunching.
All seems good to me. Would there be any other aspects of these poses that need a tweak? The feet apart is fine. Are you trying to bring them back in over time?
Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂in reply to: Elbow pain #9203Hi Christina
Can you tell me too, if you have a large bust?
Is it that as you try to get those legs off the ground that you aren’t specifically thinking of doing anything with your arms (except get them into position)?
OR …
Perhaps are you pushing through those elbows, or trying to push into your shoulders, the hands, or the whole arm? Please let me know.
Andrea is asking you if you’re trying to get your arms or hands or fingers (or whatever aim you have) to TOUCH under your body. That along with the answers to the questions above will help!
Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂in reply to: Burning sensation in quadriceps #9197Hi Daniel
It occurs to me that you make much mention of bringing your knees back together. Would you kindly confirm for me in Standing Bow if you literally have your knees touch when before you go into the pose?
Let me know because I believe that the fact you have the problem in Camel and Bow but NOT Supta is confirming my thoughts. I would like the clarification from you. Then we’ll take it from there
Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂in reply to: Labral tear (hip) #9186Hi Rw
It’s very odd that the very morning that you posted – before I read your post – I was doing yoga and wondering just that. How is that people can damage themselves in a yoga class? What pain are they ‘pushing through’ in the name of ‘becoming more flexible’? What signs are they ignoring in order to go beyond their own flexibility and cause permanent damage?
We are all naturally flexible enough to do many things, but bony limitations such as the structure of one’s hips may be (and for many definitely is) a limiting factor. What is the thought behind feeling a need to break through that?
I am really humbled by and thrilled by the reputation and success of this Hot Yoga Forum (it’s the most popular in the world). It is created for people like you and me who just love hot yoga, indeed yoga in general and want to share our knowledge and experience (or just ask a question!). It’s a rich world out there. Thank YOU
Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂in reply to: What is the best heater for a small hot yoga space? #9183Hi Libby
That’s a nice size home studio! :cheese:
There a MANY posts on this subject. Try this one because Kristin recommends a heater that may work for you: Bikram Yoga At Home
Please come back and post to tell us which heater or heaters you end up choosing. It will help so many others on their quest for the perfect home practice heater.
Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂in reply to: tendonitis #9182Hi Andrew
I have taught many people who have had tendonitis. It is painful for them. We did get around the problem in several ways. Some of what they had to do was in and some of it was out of the studio.
Orthotics can help but they also invite a little laziness because the foot learns to rely on them for support rather than using its own muscles. So they are VERY useful but not the only answer. I guess you know that intuitively, given your post.
It is possible that your yoga did aggravate your issue but it didn’t cause it.
>> Can you tell me what flooring is at your studio?
>> How thick is your mat?
>> Do you always face the mirror for all your poses or do you turn to the side?
>> Which poses are you particularly feeling the problem in?
>> What relieves the pain?
>> Do you wear special shoes?
>> Can you describe any exercises you have been told to perform in order to help heal the area?Enough already with the questions! :cheese:
See you back here!
Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂Hi Pipimarbo
Thanks for your very detailed post! 🙂
It’s very frustrating to feel so great but to have something obvious in your face that you’re concerned about.
Firstly and importantly, you are not detoxing through your skin. The amount of toxins in your skin is a minuscule amount less than 0.01%. Your sweat is water and salt and what is happening is more like a cleansing sweat.
So toxins are not the problem. Actually if you could just imagine for moment if you were sweating toxins how ‘toxic’ and full of crap that the yoga studio would be. You wouldn’t want to wipe anything for fear that it would go back into your skin. And you certainly wouldn’t want it drying there! Yikes. And as for touching somebody accidentally. Now I can deal with my own toxins but I don’t know what everyone else as got! 😆
Be that as it may you have an issue with your pores and sweating, losing a LOT of water and electrolytes.
Questions to answer for me: Can I ask you if your sweat ever stings your eyes? What electrolytes are you taking?
Can I also ask you if you would be willing to try an experiment? I would suggest that you try to either practise every 2 days in the hot yoga studio and every other day do it in a warm room at home. OR you could find another studio with a different style of yoga. See if removing yourself from the environment for a few weeks and practising 2-3 times per week in the intense heat and the other 2-3 times in a normal ambient temperature (which could be quite hot for you at the moment anyway) makes a difference. (<ay I suggest you try power or vinyasa yoga or ashtanga? They're challenging and will help you build strength in different parts of your body.)
Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂in reply to: weight gain, water retention, bloating… #9180Hi Amanda
I know you’re taking electrolytes – that’s good. One can take too much water, sweat too much and lose a LOT of the body’s ‘fuel’. And by fuel I mean that we are really one big battery and the electrolytes are needed to keep the right charges in the right parts of the system for optimal functioning.
So, have you had yourself checked at all.
You’re doing a lot of yoga and drinking a lot of water. Have you tried doubling your electrolyte doses or simply adding more sea salt to your food and maybe yoga water?
Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂in reply to: Sleep Issues #9179Hi Douglas
I know that Andrea answered your question but I am now curious to know how everything is going for you.
Please let us know. Maybe you have a further question!
Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂Hi Liliana
Entering the pose can be VERY difficult. It is actually one of the poses where entry may be interrupted at a point and then the pose resumed when you’re safely on the floor.
Can you please try doing the pose without TRYING to get your forehead to the floor? Instead try to increase the distance of knees to forehead with spinal lengthening. If your head gets to the floor then great. If not you can if you wish, also change the focus each set so that one time it does (with butt up in the air) and the other time it doesn’t.
Let me know how you go
Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂in reply to: Removed spinal disc? #9177Hi Tameka
Can you confirm if the removed vertebra is part of the thoracic spine? And also while we’re at it, did they just remove it and not fuse anything or place any hardware in there?
Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂in reply to: Balance and Thinking working against each other #9176Hi lovelies
Well, finding something to focus on sure helps. You see, when you’re in the pose and you all of a sudden become aware of yourself, then what’s happening is you’re zooming in on your thoughts… and voila… you find yourself falling. Judgments happen! (That’s so much better than $#!^ happens :cheese:)
So, instead, find 5 or so things that you focus on in your physical body. They could be: A deep steady breath, allowing the shoulder to loosen from the socket as your knee presses up and your foot presses back, the front arm forward, shoulder down, and so on.
You get the picture. There is not enough time to meta-comment on your pose if you’re attending to the physicality of the pose. And paradoxically that’s when your meditation skills start to deepen.
Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂in reply to: Buttock Pain — it hurts to sit down! #9175Hi Emma
How is your butt feeling these days? 😆 I don’t say that to many people by the way! But in this case it seems apt. What were you given to do that solved your problem? Or is it still a work in progress?
Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂in reply to: Heel lifting in this pose #9174Hi Anjali
It appears you could be approaching the pose doing the right things in slightly the wrong order and missing out on much of the action of this pose during the entry (on the way to the ‘pose’). And in doing so you could be missing out on something that you will find to be rather satisfying!
Tuck your chin, look into your chest and round down to get your forehead on your knee. In MOST cases your forehead will be on your knee before or as you get your hands under you feet. Your hands should not get to your feet in order to get your head to your knee. It’s actually the other way around.
So try instead to tuck the chin and NOT look at your foot (which I have a hunch you may be doing, on entry) and bend up the leg as much as you need to with your foot still flexed in order to get your fingers interlocked just below those tootsies.
Let me know how you go
Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂in reply to: Head to Knee #9173Hi Kristin
I would keep the leg bent. However, if we had the chance to practise together I would see what happens with both situations. I would be checking into what your body is doing and how aligned it is in both situations (particularly your hips and how rounded your back is). Without seeing you in this particular case I can’t say.
Hmmm, Skype? Photos? Maybe! 😉
Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂in reply to: Did I actually do that?! #9167Thanks Helen and Kristin!
Much appreciated. It is amazing (but really shouldn’t be surprising) that when you look after your body, it looks after you!
Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂Hi Robert
It’s highly possible that you’re ‘efforting’ too much! (if indeed there’s such a word).
This issue often happens with people who do not yet know how to optimise their breathing. I KNOW that is sounds crazy that one would not know how to breathe as an adult. This is probably the reason for the nausea.
Go and check out the free video Effective Breathing In Hot Yoga.
The breathing will help you with the energy expenditure and you’ll be able to tune much more easily into your body. Breathing, Alignment and then Depth. They are what you want to focus on, in order.
Keep us updated.
Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂in reply to: Bikram yoga at home #9163Hello all
I use Xpelair heaters that are originally an English brand but they are available in the US. They have a website xpelairusa.com. However, I can’t find prices anywhere for them. But these were not expensive but they blow air very diffusely, without the feeling of a hot spot, plus have no thermostat (which means they can get the room hot). You can buy an Xpelair thermostat to set your temperature. See if you can come up with something. I do love mine. Just wanted to offer another solution. If anyone finds details then post them here.
Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂in reply to: Very cold when doing yoga #9160Hi Kinen
OK, so your body temperature is down during hot yoga. Have you ever known it to be down with other activities?
Also can you please tell me about the temperatures in the hot room in which you practise? Do they tell you it is 105F or 42C? Do you get the feeling it is hotter or colder than that? What can you tell me about the ambient temperatures (or your perceptions of them) and how much you may or may not be sweating at the times your temperature is down?
How are you measuring your temperature and when?
Kelly, you say your teachers say it’s about hydration. That could be true. It could also be more about heat exhaustion. Please go and research the effects of heat exhaustion (leading to heat stroke) and come back and tell me if that resonates for you in any way.
Neil, it could also be the overall temperature, or it could be that you stand under a vent where you are getting blasted by air. With underfloor heating it usually doesn’t blow air over you. Would that be correct?
Over to you all, let me know what you think, and Kinen, please answer the questions. This is serious stuff.
Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂in reply to: Tingling fingertips and nausea #9159Hi Helen
It seems to me as though your problem is not so much hydration but the lack of electrolytes. My personal – most cost effective – choice is to take sea salt (NOT that table salt but beautiful mineral and electrolyte rich sea salt — Himalayan or Celtic or any unprocessed variety) and use it on my food. I sprinkle a small pinch in my yoga water and may put a few drops of lemon juice in there too.
Please report back. Tingling extremities and cramping are things you need to take care of, immediately!
I am not sure if there is a relationship with the feeling of water in the ears. Let’s see.
Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂Phew, that’s a relief :exclaim:
Hi Briar
So, FINALLY, can you tell me if you’re still doing this pose in the same way? Do you still have the same questions? :cheese:
Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂 -
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