Gabrielle (The Hot Yoga Doctor)

Thank you Lee for chiming in with a strong voice of reason! I appreciate your commonsense approach 😉 and wholeheartedly agree.

Jeffrey, whatever you do it has to fit in with your life. Sure you can make changes to your timetable but the rest of your life (whatever form that takes or even morphs to) has to be taken into account. If, for example, you are doing morning classes because you believe your fat will burn more efficiently but are worn out for the rest of the day because you can’t function (that could happen, who knows?) then you move things around.

Relatively newbies to hot yoga often have expectations around shape change and many aspects of their practice. Over time you will see how the meditative aspects, the stress minimization and control over your own mind, plus an increased control over your life through many UNCONSCIOUS avenues will have you feel more ease in the whole experience. I look forward to hearing about that. In the meantime keep asking your questions!

Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂

Hi Jeffrey

Regarding 2 classes in one day. I was going to give you some links to other past discussions but I think you have probably found some already! 😉 In case you haven’t done so, here are some word suggestions you could use in those searches: “back to back” or “double”.

You may already have found my comments as well. When it comes to 2 on one day I imagine that you are the only one who can tell you are ready to do your second class.

Do your first class with the simple understanding that your second class is just a possibility. Know the time you should stop eating in order for you to attempt your second class, drink enough and yes, even take an electrolyte supplement on that day. Organize in your head that at say, 90 minutes before class (and not before) you check in to your body and you see whether you are able to attend. You want to rid your mind of the destabilizing forces of anticipation and procrastination. Just preset the markers in your mind and then forget it.

It’s a body more than a mind thing. You want to check that your body has sufficiently recovered, not listen to internal voices of what you should or shouldn’t be doing. I used to do that for the 8am and 4pm class on Saturdays. At 2:30pm I would see how I felt.

And for what it’s worth, you go to your second class and you should treat it like any other. If you can’t manage something you don’t do it. Simple really! The first time you do it you will wonder what the fuss was about. You have the questions because it is an unknown quantity! Test the waters (with integrity).

Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂

Hi Michelle

Yes, complementary help with massage and other ways to find mobility or that sense of freedom you are seeking are a great idea. What Susan suggests is great. The mindfulness of practice is important – which for me means precision alignment. There are a lot of muscles related in that area and creating balance in their use may be the answer for you. You have hip flexors and hamstrings and back extensors and abdominals all affecting the position of your pelvis and therefore your SI joint comfort and function.

What I would like to ask you about is that pain you are feeling. It’s one thing to feel difficulty or resistance in your pose (highlighted by the asymmetry in results vs input) but you hint on something more. Do have difficulty walking or any other mundane activity? It sounds as though the twist effect is only a part of it.

And just now I remembered you had posted before and I checked and you said

it feels like my pelvis is slightly twisted, and as a result, i have pain and tension from my low back all the way down to my feet, esp. a sharp pain in my right foot. Upper body is naturally also implicated. Specialists are unable to pinpoint a cause;they say I have a slight scoliosis but dont think is necessarily the source of my pain. (MRI shows L4-L5 disc protrusion but again that is not where i feel the pain)

So along with some expert body work and precision pose technique tweaks we will get somewhere! :cheese: So Michelle where do you want to start?

Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂

Hi Cindy

Thanks! :cheese:

It’s an interesting topic. One of the things I guess we can all relate to is a rule that we adhere to (or are taught to adhere to) in our every day lives.

So for those of you who need it 😉 (because not everyone has tried the bent legs technique) here is a logical left-brain way of providing some extra evidence. You would never bend down to pick up a box from the floor with straight legs. It would put tremendous strain on your back and so on. In fact this is a major cause of injury out there ‘in the real world’. You would bend your legs and pick up the load maintaining a straight back as a priority. There are other mechanical concepts at play here but I shall leave at that for today. Even with that concept alone, you can distill that idea down and relate it to your yoga class.

Looking for more information about this technique then here are a couple of links. This is one of the discussions we had about this: Locked Legs and Hamstrings Injury. Within it is another link to a blog with photos which will explain the technique Opening Up Your Hamstrings With Hot Yoga.

It feels great to be making a difference. The best thing is that people are talking and exploring options, working out what works in their bodies.

Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂

Hi Micherie

I like this question because it highlights a point about how I like to approach this pose. I care less about the hand placement being confined to a one-size-fits all calculation, than I care about the likelihood of exerting pressure on your hands in the lift. The lift is supposed to be unassisted so that you can lift your body using only the muscles in your back.

Every body has different proportions. If I line my very long hands up in the way the dialog says then my palms are further back, naturally. I noticed in my own students too, that the further forward they have their hands the more likely they will push against the floor.

In the picture you mention I had the yogini place her hands in several positions, in front of the shoulders, under the shoulders, behind them and then so far back that the heels of the palms were lifted. She went into the pose from all these positions. I have photographs of the effects of these (I used these in the Pose Tutorial for Cobra pose) and the lift is greater, more unhindered in so many ways when the hands are placed fully and comfortably on the floor at an unset distance behind the shoulders.

What occurs to me too is this: The instruction you are valiantly trying to follow is dependent on seeing a particular angle. How can one have their arms at a 90 degree angle when they are lying down? Is the angle supposed to be in the set up or the execution? Are you confused? The only way I can get anything like a 90 degree angle is lifting my body. When I lie down it is more like 20-30 degrees. Check into that and tell me what you discover. Maybe try a different formula. Palms flat on floor behind shoulders if you can!

All I can say is try it. Maybe one set hands at shoulders, then second set hands behind. Play with it. Enjoy checking into your body. That’s yoga.

Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂

Hi Micherie

Have you tried putting a little towel folded under your knee when your leg is extended out and then trying to lock it. It might be easier to get a muscular activation than trying to get your heel on the ground. Same action different approach.

I assume you would have checked out the other post Hyperextended Knee, but here is the link just in case you haven’t read it.

I think the hint about not leaning the weight back into your heels for half moon or any other standing straight leg pose will help you enormously.

Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂

Yeah right, Robert

Since when are you a smoker? 😆

Actually come to think of it, we used to enjoy an occasional whiskey in years gone by. I don’t think we’ve touched a bottle in years (despite the ‘good’ stuff in the cupboard).

Hi Holly

The body and mind are fascinating subjects aren’t they? I wonder if you have any thoughts about what was going on for you. For example why were you practicing 4-6 times (a goal to change something fast or a compulsion to go) and why did you change to 3-4? Were you struggling to fit in your busier habit or was it easy to turn up that often?

Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂

Hello ‘sahadev’

There are some people for whom the yoga becomes difficult to cope perimenopausally. Some of these issues could be environmental and modifiable. I wonder what other symptoms you normally get because you mention you already have to alleviate them with nettle tea.

Can you tell me a little more about what happens? You are feeling overheated after class… so:

>> is this after any class?

>> what times do you go to class, is it always in the evening or do you go at different times. Is the result the same regardless of class times?

>> you mention difficulty sleeping – so I wonder if it is about class times too

>> Are you taking any hormonal medications or have you changed any recently?

>> if you can tell me anything else that may even seem inconsequential. For example: A few months ago I had a related conversation on the Private Members’ Forum. In that conversation we discovered that the studio had been WAY overheating some of their classes – right up to 120F. With consultation and cooperation and compassion for all students (not just perimenopausal ones 😉 ) the studio worked to establish and maintain a much more reliably consistent temperature experience from class to class.

I know not to wipe sweat off; to not take a shower right away; to even avoid going outside within 30minutes following the class..though today I was out in cooler air within 20 minutes.

It’s great that you are not wiping sweat. When you say that you don’t think you should take a shower straight away, do you mean that you stay in Savasana longer and then take a shower? I live in a temperate climate (it is barely cold here) so I wonder about avoiding going outside. Can you please tell me your beliefs around these 2 things so I can better understand your thought processes?

Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂

Micherie, 😆 yep you got me, that would be the thing that makes the difference.

Of course if you are instructed to do something and it doesn’t feel right, that it seems to be doing damage then you wouldn’t do that. Do you think you would benefit from some exercises that are recommended in that other post and what Amy is suggesting?

Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂

Hi Micherie

While I have a few minutes I thought I would just point you to the most recent discussion about hyperextension – just in case you hadn’t seen it already: Hyperextended Knee.

Have a look at the picture above of me in Janushirasana. My foot is inches off the ground here but I do not ‘hyperextend’ when my leg is bearing weight. I am positive you have that issue as you say, but the foot off the floor in that pose CAN be a different story!

Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂

Hi Micherie

What a great story. It is fascinating that you stopped drinking your beer when it became warm and unpalatable instead of downing it quickly and reaching for another ‘coldie’. Robert (hubby) and I (by no means ever heavy drinkers) noticed as soon as we started yoga that we didn’t want to drink anywhere near as much. Before we would open a bottle of wine and finish it and even open a second. Now we have a little glass and the remainder of the bottle can last for weeks!

Does the yoga cure alcoholism? Hmmmm. The results prove something. But what? Is it that you are more satisfied with your own status quo? Is it that you have more mastery over your own mind (at an unconscious level!). Are you seeking less from the outside world to fill your needs and relying on yourself more? Are you happier within your own skin, more confident, less riled by external stimuli? Would be interested in others’ theories and experiences.

Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂

Hi Patty

There are a number of other issues with your knees in there which have to do with other poses. It must be reassuring for you that your sciatic related pain has diminished with your practice and your hyperextension seems to be responding well. Keep up the single leg bends (as you said you would 😉 ) and either Google some other exercises for video examples or go see someone at a gym or a personal trainer or a physical therapist.

I would like to ask you about your Fixed Firm pose. It is great that you are no longer getting pain in your knees here. Are you intentionally trying to flatten your back on the floor. One is supposed to create a beautifully and firmly abutted bridge or arch in the spine. This in itself could take some pressure off your knees.

I think that you should also avoid Toe Stand until you have pinpointed what is going on in your knees.

It has been 2 weeks since your pose (buried among other posts) and I wonder what experience you are having with your knee now. Is it still painful on the front above your knee?

I hope to hear from you soon

Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂