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in reply to: Slightly confused about Rabbit #6010
Hi Cyberry
You may have meant the top of your head, but you did mention getting your ‘forehead on the floor’. Your forehead should land adjacent to your knees and the top of your head on the floor. It can start to get dangerous if the back of your head is contacting creating too much leverage on and rounding of your cervical spine. Your head can contact just a tiny bit further than the top of the head. Here are Some Photos of Rabbit to demonstrate that for you!
As for your shoulders move them up away from the floor. It’s an active position but it encourages shoulder and neck relaxation…
Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂in reply to: Positioning of hands #6009Hi Cyberry
Please confirm that you have been told that when you are ready to put your hands in prayer position that your fingers should touch at your toes.
In short, where your hands land is a function of arm length. Sure your back roundness enters into the equation. Short arms will land closer, long arms will land further away.
Take a look at the Pose Gallery image. In order to get her hands to touch her feet she would most likely have to introduce tension in her shoulders and neck and arm.
Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂in reply to: Keeping Wrists straight? #6008Hi Cyberry
There are some very concerning elements of your post. The first is the last thing you mentioned about your hamstring injury. Please would you go and see somebody about it? From personal experience which mirrors quite a number of other forum regulars this year, your injury may be being exacerbated by your practice. There is some damage there that is possibly a result of a weakness and some scar tissue. Please look around the forum for these posts. Here’s one such post: Chronically Painful Hamstring.
I would like more information about your hamstrings if you’re willing to provide it. I would probably avoid the extension in this pose or at least lowering elbows until you have more information from a physical therapist regarding rehabilitative exercises for your legs. Again see the posts.
I am concerned too that you could be shifting your grip mid pose around your foot to accommodate the ‘straight wrists’ instruction. So perhaps you can tell me this: Are you all set up and happy with the way your hands are until it’s time to lower your elbows? Is this when you adjust your hands? Where exactly are you gripping at these 2 or more positions?
Would you also please tell me more about this tight grip of yours around the ball of your foot? Where do you feel the tightness? I guess I can assume your thumbs are under your foot! Are they interlocked as well?
I would really love to hear what’s going on before I analyze this more. I have my strong suspicions. :cheese:
Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂in reply to: Sore middle back #6007Hi Jessica
It is possible that it is a technique issue. It is also possible that you have some strain in the muscles in your mid-back that are being aggravated with the entry to Hands to Feet and Standing Separate Leg Intense Stretch (straight back entries to get to the floor).
Here’s what I would like you to try next few classes: In both those poses, draw your hands down to your sides after regular set-up. Tuck your chin and then walk your hands down your legs starting at your thighs. Your back will round just as it does in Rabbit or Separate Leg Head to Knee. Then perform your pose in exactly the regular way.
Exit in the same way rounding back up chin up last. You may not need to use your hands on your legs for entry and exit but I suggest that you do it anyway.
If that doesn’t work we will move to the next level…
Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂Hi Jen
Welcome to the forum!
It is encouraging that you can sit on your knees. If you have pain in your knees from that then you would sit on your heels (in a regular kneeling position). If not then go ahead and move your heels a little to the outside of your hips. It doesn’t matter if the distance is only a little to start with because you can work your way toward the ideal position. The aim is hips touching heels as you know. If your feet are correctly positioned then it is fine for you to have your butt hover in the air.
If your butt is hovering then you must NOT go back. You will lose the benefit of gravity working through your hips and lessen the ability to move your bottom down. So please Jen stay upright and counter-intuitively it will take less time to make progress.
Do you need to use your hands on the floor to support you (usually done if you are in pain)? If you don’t then that is better too because you can put full upright weight into settling your butt down to the floor.
Lastly you may have been suggested to move your calf muscles out of the way. Try that if you haven’t already. It may make it more comfortable for you.
The key to this pose is patience. This is the hardest part for you right now. Breathe and sit!
Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂One of
in reply to: Diet – flexibility connection? #6004Hi Cyberry
I was intrigued by the claim and so I researched it. I can’t find anything that supports it. I found that it is not the wild diuretic that most people believe it to be. In regular quantities coffee has the same diuretic effect as water!!! In high quantities it is a diuretic.
Coffee can upset your yoga practice with the effects of the caffeine. If your respiratory rate and your heart rate are elevated from the coffee then you can’t surrender as easily. So coffee affects your practice and perhaps because of that effect you may feel less flexible.
Do you drink coffee within an hour or 2 of a class? I guess I would check out the effects there (on breathing, ability to regulate your own breathing and therefore heart rate etc) comparing the results of coffee and no coffee before class.
Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂in reply to: Nice Holiday Gift #6000WARNING to all regular forum participants and visitors:
The person recommending this “nice holiday gift” seems to be associated with this product and website.He seems to have a vested interest in promoting this product. This is directly contravening our forum guidelines. Any more such posts will be deleted.
Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂in reply to: kleenex in Yoga #5998Hi Eric
There is a limit isn’t there? A mountain of snotty tissues really sounds more than unappealing to me too – and perhaps out of order too – depending on the stage of the cold.
I keep a box of tissues in the studio because occasionally people have to use one for the nose or even help clear lacrimal ducts rather than just the nose. It’s certainly better seeing people using a tissue then using the corner of their towel and mooshing the corner over (and yes, I have seen that!).
Coming to yoga with the express purpose to clear out a cold is questionable. Particularly because the clearing out process should be largely done away from others. The person with the tissues should put them in a bag or position themselves away from others (or be at home convalescing depending on the stage of the cold).
Hmmm… what can one do short of expressing that to the studio or directly with the person? Would it be sufficient for the tissues to NOT be piling up on the floor if the person was literally non-contagious? Maybe not. The other thing to do is move, even during class. Remember it is your responsibility to take care of yourself even if it seems a little embarrassing or pedantic or ridiculous or whatever it brings up for you, or others, to shift during class. On the flipside of the coin, the teacher could see all of this and feel too embarrassed to ask someone to leave mid-class ‘just’ because the student is blowing their nose too much. It’s a delicate situation so rules need to be established so that everyone knows what the limits are.
Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂in reply to: Diet – flexibility connection? #5997Hi Cyberry
There is a connection. I can’t however boil it down to ‘this particular food causes you to be stiff and this one creates flexibility’.
There is compelling evidence that the less acidic we have our food in general and the less processed the more likely we are to create the right environment for optimal function in all our bodily systems.
It is said that disease primarily occurs in an acidic environment. On the way to disease (and even before one realizes that the condition is present) comes dysfunction. Dysfunction can be as simple as tight muscles! I guess it’s very complicated because if you have a regular frequent yoga practice then you will be more flexible. Many people don’t have optimum diets but are still flexible. The effects of a regular practice seems to encourage an unconscious and conscious choosing of a better diet… If you continue to have a crappy diet and still do loads of yoga then some of your dysfunction is hidden behind your otherwise good work.
I am wondering what foods you have been recommended to avoid and include in your diet!
Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂in reply to: Itunes and Bikram #5994Hi Julie and saulgirl
I guess I could add to go and check out posts on Practicing at Home or Traveling? for more discussions about Heat or No Heat because it’s a popular question.
As Robert has said: It’s yoga and you can do it in a non-heated room. Go and see what we’ve all said before so that you can make up your mind about how far you want to go with creating the right ‘conditions’ for you.
Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂in reply to: Clicks and strains #5988Hi binny
It is possible that in order to protect yourself from experiencing your neck and shoulder problem that you are tensing your neck a little. This is involving your neck (shortening it) and your head (yes there are related muscles in your head!) and your shoulders.
It is also possible that that strain is causing you to not surrender your arm properly in Standing Bow. The issue in your toes could also be related because of the tension in your upper body. If it’s not alleviated by my suggestion below then we’ll go to the next step.
And it is possible that the relief you feel after class is because you are now more relaxed (and warm) in those areas and your body is thankful that you are not punishing it anymore! 😉
My first thought is to microbend your arms for your Half Moon, Tortoise and Stick poses. When you do that perhaps you will notice that you can lift your chin to a regular position and you can easily drop your shoulders again. One of the problems with trying to squeeze the head with the arms WHEN YOU HAVE NECK AND SHOULDER PROBLEMS is reflected throughout your practice in more poses than you imagine it would. So let that tension go for a while, bend the arms a tiny bit, enough to release and decompress (lengthen) the neck. Focus on shoulders down and back rather than arms to head.
Before we go into anything else I would really love to hear what effect that has on your practice, if any. We can see if we are moving in the right direction! Let’s see if we can get that strain – which I imagine is etched on your face – to dissolve.
Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂in reply to: tender back after camel – normal ? #5985Hi Jeanne
May I confirm that you usually have your hands on your feet during this pose?
Also are you aware if you pull on your heels or rest your hands there?
And would you please check into your habit on release? Have you a routine? Are you placing your left hand on your hip first before your right or right before left?
Are you aware whether you are squeezing your butt? Perhaps you let that go during your release or during the pose.
If you can think of any other habits you have then let me know. It could be a support issue. It is possible that an unconscious or habitual element has crept into your practice. Wondering also about the tightness in your hips and whether you work on hip openers after class while you’re warm. Perhaps you have been doing some of those lately.
Looking forward to your thoughts
Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂in reply to: Click in the Shoulder… #5982Hi Andrew
If it only happens first set when you are not yet warmed up then allow some time in the first set to maintain that pose integrity and work your way into full expression gradually. I would probably focus more on the point of contact of grip and chin and the leverage created in the directional movements (while shoulders are kept down of course ;)).
By your own account it seems you may be going beyond best alignment in the first set at that moment. One focus of mine in Pranayama is keeping my shoulders down. So in that respect I wonder what your exact movements are to have you consciously moving your shoulder upward. Is it in an attempt to get your elbows up higher or your forearms closer to your head? It certainly is a common error to do that.
Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂in reply to: Toe Stand Danger #5980Howdy Roachbeard
Would you now be able to tell me if your heel of that lifted leg sits to the outside, on the middle, or on the inner part of your thigh when you are in Tree pose.
That answer is important!
Regardless of that answer it is important that at least at first your hands take the lion’s share of your weight of your body as you come to the floor. It takes the pressure of your legs and knees to be able to support yourself with your arms.
Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂in reply to: MCL – knee injury #5979Hi guzi00
It appears to me that yoga at the moment is out of the question for you!!!
I suspect you will need some physiotherapy to rehabilitate your knee after your brace comes off. Then I imagine that once you get some movement back and can weight bear that leg even if not back to normal, you may be able to go back to the hot room! You may need to use a prop or two. I wouldn’t be surprised if you needed to wear an elastic brace for a while as your strength and flexibility returns. I would certainly stand next to a stool or a wall for support should you need it (even if just being close gives you confidence). As in another recent post about ankle injury, your first classes may involve being extra cautious with some modifications before you try what your body remembers is the right pose. Go and take a look at related modifications here: Ankle injury, painful. What exercises and poses?
So, back to your original question: If you are wearing a brace for a month, then depending on your rate of healing (after the brace comes off) I imagine that you could consider going back 2-3 weeks after that. The more serious your injury the longer it would take you to go back. Your doctor will help you with exercises or refer you to someone.
Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂in reply to: In-Vitro Fertilization (IVF) #5978Hi Sara
So does that mean you are not getting your hormone injections yet? I somehow thought you may already be experiencing the possibility of fluctuations in comfort that can come with the therapy! Minus 30 – that is not a number that describes temperature, is it? Brrrrrrrrrrr. On the contrary, here, today in the morning it is already 30C.
On my post of June 1 on this page I am sure you read that I think that sitting in a sauna or a hot tub are not good comparisons to doing hot yoga because your body has no chance to cool down in the sauna and tub.
If it were me I would be more likely to ask questions about why the body is considered to be more fragile and what is happening that some people suggest limited movements (for example torsions/twists). It’s a given that your professional medical staff are going to err on the side of caution and yes, ignorance. This is not a mainstream exercise … yet! I would ask my questions (at least to begin with – independent of mention of hot yoga). I would probably only divulge that if you feel trust for the individuals as demonstrated by their answers to your other questions.
I would ask what they routinely suggest regarding exercise. Do they for example suggest that IVF patients don’t run, or not swim or not play tennis and then ask the associated why question. Then you would get a more sensible response that you can act on. The question is perhaps whether normal activity is OK to continue during the IVF process. Normal is different for everyone. At the moment, your normal is your hot yoga practice.
If you started the process and you found you could no longer ride a bike comfortably, because of some physiological reaction like faintness, you would stop riding a bike.
I think I have recommended in here that you make sure that the temperatures never exceed body temperature or thereabouts (even for ‘normal’ pregnancies). Find out the temps and then work to your ability. Don’t be a hero, if you feel faint stop, do one set instead of 2. You know what to do – I am sure.
You are the one who takes responsibility, you are the one in your body. Try it (or not) because it is your choice and not someone else’s.
The ‘fragile’ argument is perhaps irrational but then that is maybe because this is to be your first child. If you haven’t experienced a pregnancy (full term or otherwise) then this is the great unknown for you. If this were your 2nd or 3rd pregnancy maybe you would feel differently.
If you decide to continue or if you decide to stop then it will be based on your own good judgment and not based on someone’s ignorance or scaremongering. It may be that the treatment that you undergo in the beginning has you feeling unable to withstand the hot room for a short while. That doesn’t put you out of action for the whole pregnancy. It may only mean that you miss out for a couple of months (should you decide). With your significant experience I would think that it is really not an all or none approach for you.
I look forward to hearing what you decide in the fullness of time!
Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂Hi sves
It can be normal for the face to go red. Mine does from time to time even now!
Just make sure you are breathing and not working so hard (or too hard) that you are struggling. Pay attention to the hierarchy of breath and alignment and don’t go deep unless your alignment is really spot on.
Being only 5 classes in (congratulations) you are still acclimatizing to the heat and the actual physical positions. Your body is undergoing physiological change and is getting stronger in many systems; cardiovascular, respiratory, muscular etc etc. Be gentle enough on yourself in your work to allow these completely natural changes to occur and for the gradual unfolding of the understanding of the poses themselves holistically.
Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂in reply to: Asthma and quick breathing at the end of class.. #5971Hi Michelle
Your benefits are so reassuring for asthma sufferers.
I was wondering if you might try something for me/you! Instead of breathing really fast, would you try slowing it down and not fitting in as many cycles as the rest of the class?
I was thinking that for the time being you may benefit from a fuller less-angst-inducing exhale. As you know the inhales happen because of the negative pressure you set up by the emptying. As you get better and more practiced at it, you can speed it up. I think you would benefit from the fuller rather than the faster breath.
Please let me know if this approach helps you
Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂in reply to: suptavajrasana feets #5970Hi sves
Thanks Sasha for that!
I would like to add a couple more questions for sves:
When you say you can’t get both feet, do you mean that your hips are too tight to allow both feet to position themselves next to your hips?
Or perhaps you mean that your feet and ankles are so tight that you can only position one and not both of them. Can you put the top of your ankles on the floor?
Try putting a well folded towel under the ankles to allow them just enough softness to be comfortable.
I suspect that what will help you first is to sit in a classic kneeling position with your knees and heels and toes together (and sitting on the bottom of your heels and not the insides of your feet). When you can do that without padding then you can start to move the knees out to the sides as Sasha recommends, while introducing the space between your heels!
As Sasha says patience will reward you!
Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂in reply to: Lower your body #5966Hi Kat
The reason that most Bikram teachers teach it that way is because the dialog is rote-learned and delivering it becomes an autopilot response. It could be a function of not questioning what the words mean, and not checking that the instructions match with the actual result that they want. Anyway I agree with you, it’s not the most effective way.
Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂in reply to: Toe Stand Danger #5965Hi Roachbeard
I have some questions myself about what technique you were using. I want to get a clearer picture if you’re willing to share.
Would you be able to tell me where exactly the heels of your lifted feet are when you are in Tree pose and whether you can bring one or both hands in prayer position.
Does your foot stay in that spot when you let go of it? Does it slide down your foot a tiny bit? Where does your foot settle?
When you go into Toe stand do you get your hands to the floor with your leg straight or do you bend it before you get your hands to the floor?
Or do you have your hands in prayer and you keep your whole body upright and bend your leg to bring your hips down toward your heel?
Your injury of 7 years ago: Do you know what your diagnosis was for your right knee?
Re Suptavajrasana: It really depends what the damage is and how your movement is limited to know what exactly I would recommend… Robert has given his experience but as he said, he may have a different problem! Researching others’ knee problems in the forum is a great place to start though because you will ‘try those ideas on’ and see if they resonate.
Please let me know some more details
Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂in reply to: Diminishing Gains doing the same thing: #5959Hey there
(warning: this is off the topic of diminishing gains and a response to the last 3 posts!)
It’s funny isn’t it? That we can be so polite on the outside but seething on the inside because of the injustice of it all!
I have been in that same position years ago. But these days if I don’t think I want to deal with it, if it really bothers me (especially if I have been mindful about my own placement) then I will actually go and ask that person if they wouldn’t mind shifting. Someone who places their mat directly in front of you can be requested to stand on the right side of their mat while you stand on the left. This takes care of the standing poses.
The hardest thing is when you are half way through class as it happened to you, where the other person lies down and sticks their feet in your face. Raaaagghhhhh!!! Tap them on the feet and if you can’t get the message through with just sign language then literally crawl on over and request they shift up 6 inches…
Nobody says you have to subjugate your rights in favor of anyone else’s in the room and put up with shabby treatment (mindful or unconscious). Showing that it affects you is not out of order in many circumstances. Balance that against your ability to maintain your own peace. Are you being persnickety or are you requesting the same consideration that a regular yogi/person would afford others? Are you over-reacting? Are you allowing yourself to be distracted when you can cope with a simple shift of your own? You can ask yourself all these questions and work out your plan of action. The owner of the feet in question can’t be pissed just because you ask for a shift and if they are, that’s not your stuff (just your reaction is). 😉
Anyway as I said this is way off the topic of diminishing gains for which there have been some great points raised … Are there any more contributors?
Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂in reply to: core strength #5958Hi Elizabeth
I am not sure if you would say that the other leg lifts are dangerous. However I do feel that the lifts with the ball feel more efficient and effective, plus they are self-limiting. If you have the ball positioned too high up then you simply can’t even fudge a lift and there is no risk of damage as far as my experience goes. I think you can more easily fudge or force the lift when you are lying completely flat on the ground and also strain or risk damage in the low back.
Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂in reply to: MCL – knee injury #5957Hi guzi00
Wondering what limitations of movement you have with your brace on. Can you let me know please?
Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂in reply to: In-Vitro Fertilization (IVF) #5956Hi Sara
May I ask what you have been specifically warned about and who has warned you? If someone cautioned you against hot yoga what were the reasons? If it is heat, then what would the caution be to someone who lived in a hot climate (from this same source)? I am not being flippant here because surely people have IVF in tropical climates. We are about to enter our summer here where the temperatures can be consistently at studio levels(!) for a month or 2. It’s not entirely the same situation but it is worth asking these questions.
Also now that you have started your IVF process I would be interested to know if you have actually given up your hot yoga. Have you noticed any changes in your body’s ability to deal with heat (in or out of the studio)?
I didn’t find any studies at the time (even as indicated in the post preceding yours) that were specific to the issue at hand. I imagine that you would probably find the same resources as me given some judicious searching.
Have you considered doing the yoga at home in a warm room or even a room heated to body temperature? If you read any of my posts on pregnancy and hot yoga I always caution against practicing in heat about about 100F if for nothing more than peace of mind.
It seems to me you have no issue with being pregnant in the hot room (am I right?) it seems more about bringing the IVF into the mix.
Have you got any developments for me?
Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂 -
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