Gabrielle (The Hot Yoga Doctor)

Hi Mary

Moksha, Sumit (who is a nephew of Bikram btw) and many other styles coined as hot yoga are either exactly the same, change a pose or 2, omit a pose or 2 or add a pose or 2 or 6, to the yoga series popularized by Bikram!

There are styles that add poses that include down dog, high and low push ups and other poses you find in Vinyasa, Power or Ashtanga classes.

All you can do is investigate by either phoning, looking at a website or trying a class. It’s great to try a class (well a few classes of a different style or permutation) and feel what it does for your body, your strength, your core strength and your general satisfaction.

The great thing is that it is all yoga!

Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂

Hi Binny

I would stay in Tree pose for a while even without bringing the hand into prayer pose. I suggest that placing your hand on the inner thigh of the bent leg can be quite stabilizing and also allows you to release it and surrender it to gravity. Sometimes people are using too much effort in their (somewhat) inflexible bent leg. Does that make sense? Placing your hand there can make you more sensitive to what’s going on in the area from knee to hip of both legs. Try it. Plus you won’t have to contend with balance as much.

Can you clarify for me which leg and in what position the problem is in Standing Head to Knee? If I understand correctly, it is locking the knee that is the issue. One point to be aware of is if you ‘shift your weight’ to your standing leg before you commence your pose(s). This is common practice because of the dialog recital approach. Maintain your hip position (and so on) in postural integrity. Don’t lean into your standing leg. Make this conscious and even things up! You may find that you favor one leg over the other when you stand or even notice a difference in your walk.

Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂

Hi Pam

Thanks for posting!

You know, in general (in just about any other style of yoga) the mat is used to create a foundation for the pose. In fact, it would be unheard of for the student to do a warrior pose by stepping out across and over the mat without connecting it at all.

For many studios around the world the student faces the mirror and steps out across the mat for several of the poses. Some will say that it’s not pure Bikram yoga if you’re not on the carpet. I say, what difference does that make to the pose? We’re here to do yoga. There are some studios that are changing their approach (by towel placement or by turning during poses).

The reason I place the 2 mats as I have done in the photo, or sometimes I place a mat in the regular position with the towel across it, is if you are practicing at home, then you want to do EVERYTHING you can to keep your space clean and hygienic. This means having your mat(s) and towel configured to catch any sweat that drips from you.

This way you will have a sweet smelling home and not a sweat smelling home. And as an extension of that, your house will NOT be a breeding ground for microorganisms.

You have the choice of stepping out across the central mat on a mat or towel, OR you can turn to one side and perform your warrior poses along the length of the mat.

It just makes more sense to me, that if you’re going to face one wall only that you protect your space. If you’re slipping a lot, maybe try just starting your class with your towel in a T. Nothing wrong with that. The classic comeback by the teacher will be that you simply need to build inner thigh strength and you’ll be right. This may be true in some cases. But it really could be the carpet. 😉

Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂

Hi Linds

This seems to be a question that’s being asked a lot these last few days.

Please go and see the blog post: Opening Up Your Hamstrings With Hot Yoga. Start with bent legs and you will probably have to experiment with the distance your legs are apart. Feet may need to step out less far.

If you were in my class you would have your legs bent in the poses you mentioned (at least to start – I would need to know more about your entry to Floor Head to Knee to give you more specifics). Go and see the posts on Janushirasana. Then go and apply these techniques to your practice wherever you can. Start with a bent leg if you need to and then work the length.

The difference will be immediately felt. If you need help then let me know, but your secret to finding the extra length and strength in your muscles AND for doing your yoga in a RISK-FREE way, lies entirely with these techniques. It is possible I need to ask more questions but above is a good place to start.

Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂

Hi Heather!!!

Bravo! It’s wonderful you found your yoga and it’s great to have you here.

It’s incredible that something as seemingly simply as putting your forehead on your knee can be OH SO DIFFICULT. In fact what makes it difficult is that you have to try and grab the foot (correctly). You have stumbled upon a real difficulty for anyone who is either overweight or very inflexible or both. Overweight and inflexible don’t necessarily go together of course, so for you, as you say it is simply bulk in the way.

If I can ask you please to review the technique posts on Janushirasana quite carefully. I am concerned that you could really damage your back by pulling on your foot with your head off your knee. As hard as it’s going to be for a while, you should try to sit there with your foot near your hip, knee up and try to hold your foot. It WON’T happen the way it should for a while. Just be patient. You will make so much progress elsewhere in the series that you will find the ability to do this little (but currently insurmountable) task one day. Just exercise your patience.

While I am at it, please go and see the blog post Opening Up Your Hamstrings With Hot Yoga. You may be tempted to have straight legs before you’re ready so just see if this is relevant to you. Have you been told to separate your legs to hip width for Hands to Feet Pose?

Anyway, it’s a great thing that you do for yourself (and your girls! 😉 ). Just know that there are thousands of people out there sending you the best wishes for your practice and your life.

Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂

PS: 😆 For those of you interested and to save you a Google search: Find Lucas’ Yoga Body information here.

Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂

Hi Dawn and phred

It would be very remiss of me NOT to ask questions about your technique! There is often quite a bit of hidden length in hamstrings and backs that can be uncovered when the poses are approached in the right way.

MANY, many thousands of students practice the Paschimottanasana and other poses yanking on their muscles and ligaments… and causing damage in low backs. And even exacerbating damage in torn muscles.

So, here’s what I would like you to do: Please go and read Opening Up Your Hamstrings With Hot Yoga. Apply this technique through your practice.

Also, take a look around at posts about hamstrings. There has been a significant number of students (ME included) who have had slight to moderate injuries in leg muscles that have NOT been fixed by the yoga.

It is possible that a torn muscle belly means that many of the poses create a tugging action. For me, I had a weakness from an injury in my left hamstrings. I self-medicated with yoga. However, the poses, the stretching, the gravity stretching that I was sure would fix it, actually made it all worse. It didn’t actually feel constantly bad at the site of injury. At times it hurt me in the lower back and the attachment of the muscle into the butt!!! Sometimes I felt a strain behind the knee too. So it may be very prudent to go to a physical therapist to see if there are exercises you can do to strengthen the weakened muscles … or even just to exclude this scenario completely, which would at least get you on the right track.

If any of these seems to resonate, then come back and tell me which poses you feel your body aching in (or after) and maybe we can piece a little more of the story together.

Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂

Hello Kitty

You honor me greatly. Thank you so very much for your message.

You know, many years ago a friend told me about a type of facial massage. I can’t remember what it was called specifically. But I couldn’t find a practitioner of facial massage where I lived or where we moved to although I periodically looked!

The concept was I guess very similar to that which you describe.

The body is made up largely of water (between 60-70% depending on age etc). Misuse and under use of our bodies and other stresses introduce tension. And when you have tension, things are tighter and smaller, held in and prevented from moving.

Modalities such as breathwork, massage, yoga and so on work by restoring the your body’s fluidity.

So to me it makes sense that this would be in theory something that would work.

I hope to spend a little time over the next number of days looking at that website. I just wanted to respond initially now while I had a few minutes.

There are always naysayers and non-believers in every arena. Sometimes those opinions sway us to change our own opinion or they make us even more convinced of our own stance!

I would certainly love to follow your progress and read your thoughts on the subject.

Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂

Hi Wendy

I don’t know enough about your limitations, but there is no reason why you can’t attend class and do what you can do!

When you discover which poses you are having difficulty in or want some modifications then come back and perhaps I will be able to help you more.

Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂

Hi Lisa

I had a giggle when I read your post because it reminds me of that classic photo of those old women exercising. They all have their shoes on with neat little heels and they look for all intents and purposes as if they’re doing the perfect Awkward part 1 pose. It really is a much milder challenge with the heels off the ground. Don’t go for perfection. Just do what you can! It will happen. You probably have years of habit to break! But the rewards of that task will be enormous!

Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂

Hi Una

How did you go? Can’t wait to hear.

Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂

Hi Jessi

Could it be: Stress? Starting your practice anew? Maybe a change in your life somewhere? It’s hard to say. I am not really qualified to give you an answer to this one but your medical professional could help you! Are you on the pill? Did anything else in your situation change? If you’re not on any contraceptive pill then cycles do change. Even in response to other factors such as living in a houseful of females. What do you think it might be?

Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂

Hi Diane

Firstly I want to acknowledge your love of your yoga and your passion to keep it going and also your intention to do the right thing and heal your body with integrity!

I don’t know that you can say that your yoga or anything in particular has caused a resurfacing of your condition. It was there to begin with. And your problem is one of physical degeneration and damage in your vertebrae.

Who knows what is going on? I have only your words so I can only lend an opinion and comment on your words. Your orthopod and you and people who are in your vicinity with radiographs and MRIs would have a far better picture (no pun intended, but it works!) than I do.

The fact that you have some bony or hard tissue damage is evident in your pain in backbends (even the steroids and the brace). If you need to get a second opinion then go ahead and do that.

Your orthopod is not recommending yoga for his reasons. I would think some mobilization of the body in many conditions is the way to go. There are probably extremes of movement in your condition that may even seem normal to others, that should be avoided. Maybe this is Camel and Rabbit. I need to know more before I would be willing to go down that road with you.

Part of the problem is that you want so much to do the yoga because it makes you feel so good. I would worry and do further investigations as to how your neck actually responds to certain movements.

For example it is starting to be widely acknowledged that the pain one can get in the spine may be not just because of nerve damage but also the presence of chemicals which are the response to the inflammation. You really have to find out what’s going on in order to make your own assessment.

I remember someone posted well over a year ago about having had x rays taken while in his back bend to see whether there was bony impingement. I don’t know what your orthopod would be willing to do for you.

Other questions to ask yourself: What can you do to encourage any kind of repair in your body? Could you do something dietary? Take high potency supplementation (vitamins and minerals) in high doses?

I would love to hear your response

Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂