Gabrielle (The Hot Yoga Doctor)

Hi mangogirl

I agree totally with Lee about the need for all practitioners to move around the room. I have been known to challenge people in the nicest possible way 😉 to haul themselves and their mats somewhere else if they consistently go to ‘their’ spot either in front of the mirror say, on the left side of the room, or if they always hide in a spot near the wall or at the back. I challenge myself all the time in the studio to shift around sometimes obliterating my reflection in the mirror by purposely practicing right behind someone else.

If one gets too used to being in one spot it doesn’t always but mostly it can actually throw you completely off balance if you start practicing somewhere ‘new’.

My condolences on the death of your stepmother. I know the feeling of practicing with a heavy heart. It is times like that when you would naturally gravitate to where you feel most comfortable. Don’t be hard on yourself.

Leaving the room and being panicked often has something to do with worrying about what others think of your behavior, maybe you were a little self-conscious in your grief. Or maybe you were just expressing your grief. I can’t tell from your words but in retrospect does anything resonate for you? But clearly it was a difficult time. Imagine coping without having your focused meditation time.

I know that you probably realize that it could be a number of things ‘causing’ your practice changes. But the truth is that none of that really matters. When we get caught up in the cause effect relationship of events the mind can stay disassociated rather than just noticing what is going on and just practicing yoga.

In many intense styles of yoga practiced today there is a constant stream of words to pay attention to. Many students are great at listening. But yoga is not just about paying attention to what is being asked of you, it is about paying attention to what is going on in your body. So yes step into your feelings and experience them, notice them. As Lee says, it is OK to feel. Not just OK, it is the stuff of life.

Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂

Hi Marianna

Thanks for posting. It would be good to know which knee started hurting when you noticed it occur in Eagle pose. Do your knees hurt all the time now as you say they are now both sore? You said it hurts whenever you bend your knee. Does this mean Hands to Feet, Awkward, Eagle and so on and so forth – every single movement that you bend the knee? Do they hurt when you walk? Not quite enough information to understand your injury. Which side of the knee? Is there a specific part of the knee? Any info you can give may help me, you or anyone else reading this post to understand and perhaps offer some ideas.

In the meantime during Fixed Firm I recommend you simply kneel with heels together until your knees can stand having your feet shift apart (bit by bit).

Before I try to break down what you are asking any further I will wait for your response. It is worth saying however that when we learn any new skill we have to devote our conscious attention to learning that new skill. After a while things become ‘second nature’ – we know what we are supposed to do and then this leaves the way clear to learning finer and finer distinctions of that new skill.

Unfortunately when you start something new like Bikram yoga you have hundreds and hundreds of things to pay attention to in every class. So most people’s first classes can be fraught with difficulties because your mind has no more bandwidth to pay attention to things like personal safety; it could just be too busy thinking of how hot it is, or how you are supposed to put that leg where it is supposed to be, or thinking about what the teacher just said, or noticing how someone else manages to do it (and you can’t) or (insert random thought here!). Meanwhile once you reach your attention limit you run out of head-space and get overwhelmed.

This can be how many students get themselves into trouble. It can be fixed with good instruction (it is not all your fault! 😉 ). And it can also be helped by paying some attention to the basics. But how do you tell the difference? That is the BIG question.

You should by now be understanding the general flow of the class (which pose goes where) and understand the basics. This will in time allow you to start to devote some attention to yourself and where to stop, where to direct your body and not go beyond what is right for you. This is a skill that develops over time. You may be benefiting from greater focus and concentration and any number of wonderful benefits that contribute to your wellbeing but you may have to wait a little longer til you incorporate many of the nuances that can only come with experience.

Take it easy, be curious, enjoy your practice and don’t push yourself (so far that you hurt yourself)!!!

Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂

Hi Lesley

Great to have you at the forum!

While Amy is asking about your struggle I would like to ask you something else.

“Nothing improves” is a very broad and sweeping statement. Would you please tell me what you are looking to improve?

Is it your:
>> shape
>> focus
>> balance
>> poses
>> feelings of wellbeing
>> something else?

How are you gaging your progress?
How much time have you given yourself?
What happened for you to experience a change in your attitude if any?
How long have you been practicing and at what frequency?

If you have any other ideas that become evident as a result of reading the thread please let us know!!!

Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂

Hi Lyn

I was wondering about that. Heel spurs often occur with plantar fasciitis. I have had a number of students with this and related problems. I remember that 2 particular students would bring 2 mats to class and place them in a ‘t’. The extra padding in the center was good for some poses. And it also made stepping out wide possible.

Learning to walk properly by using the outside of your foot, a technique that I describe in my video Great Posture From The Ground Up should give you some hints. Another thing to do is to sit on a chair, sofa, toilet or bench and rise up on your toes, lift your ankles high just as you do in Part 2 Awkward pose and lean in to your ankles. This will be very liberating for your feet and ankles and will go a long way to helping your condition and will complement the other stretches you have been prescribed.

Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂

Hi Meghan

Sometimes the solutions are easier than we imagined they would be! I am happy you found your pose easier. I wonder how much easier your whole class will be now.

Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂

Hi tamadrums,

With the right intention and belief you can do anything. So getting rid of loose skin can be easy. You can direct your mind to help you during your self-connection in your yoga class. On a physiological level the way you use your body during the yoga poses helps you to reinvigorate your circulation and create much better bodily function. Better circulation alone will help you tone up fast.

By all means keep up the crunches and cardio but make sure you fit in as much hot yoga as you can! 4 times per week minimum is a great guide.

Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂

Hello Freia

I feel for you. This can be a very difficult pose for many reasons.

Keep at it. Firstly I want to commend you that you have tried the modification with your arms to the side of your body. What I would like to suggest is that you come first in your practice, not your instructor. There is nothing at all inherently wrong with you modifying the pose to fit your body. Is your instructor suggesting you put yourself in a position that makes it impossible for you or that causes you excruciating pain? Is that a reasonable thing to ask of anybody? I think not.

The approach that we like to use at our studio might sound really unusual: We like to work with our student to find the solution! ;). If it can’t be worked on quickly and easily during class it will involve a few minutes after class. Every body is different, everybody is different.

This pose will always be very challenging and yes, even impossible for a large-busted person. Ideally you want your whole upper chest on the floor from shoulders down through the breast area. With large breasts they contact first. So whatever you can do to alleviate the pressure can have a positive effect. If that means moving your arms a little further apart then so be it. If your instructor says ‘no’ then this is the time for you to draw a mental boundary. (Hmmmm … dareIsay, cultivate your bulldog determination!) You either take it up with them outside of class, or if you are even more confident than that, you show your equanimity by NOT reacting at all and not even finding any need to to even address it, because you know that you are doing the right thing! How’s that for a quick course in personal development?

You report that your elbows and wrists hurt. Is that regardless of arm position (with or without instructor’s approval)? It is my experience that over time that this does get better. So stick with it. As your arms open up, see how well over time you can externally rotate the arms at the shoulders rather than thinking you need to get the arms together.

BTW: there are many people even flat chested who can only get their single leg inches up off the floor. 6 inches is not bad – maybe not ideal, but who cares?

As for ‘front savasana’ try this: I did this when I was breastfeeding. There were times that I simply could NOT put my arms by my sides. Place your forearms parallel to your shoulders and under your head, palms flat facing down and position one arm over the other. Either place your forehead on your forearms so that your spine is in a straight and neutral position, or see if you can turn your head maintaining the right alignment. Please don’t explain yourself if someone asks you to change your position. A savvy instructor will work out what you are doing, even if they have never seen it before. And if they don’t they will quietly come over and make respectful inquiry. In my mind there is no reason or excuse for anything other than respectful and courteous communication and certainly not for public chastisement. That kind of communication deserves no response at all from you. You don’t need to sit it out. Modify it preserving as many of the foundational aspects as you can. Play with it to see what works the best. It would be better with the help of a teacher but if that is not forthcoming you don’t have to miss out on it.

Ultimately, the work you do with your arms is strengthening your arms and shoulders and certainly your hands. You can’t help but get some strength building in your spine. Admittedly without full engagement of shoulders on the ground this will be lessened. But if you can activate your core muscles and use your glutes and legs you will benefit greatly.

Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂

Hi Elizabeth

This doesn’t sound good and must have been quite disconcerting the way it all appeared! 🙁

Please tell me what poses you are avoiding at the moment if any. Because I would be avoiding poses such as Supta and Tree on that side for sure. How does it feel in Triangle or something like Standing or even Floor Bow? While you are at it please tell me exactly which poses hurt and which poses are limited (separately if necessary).

Such an insidious presentation of this problem I am wondering if you have had any professional look at it yet.

Looking forward to your response. Hoping we can work this out SOON

Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂

Hi Kirsten

Just wondering if you want to let people know the dimensions of your yoga space so that maybe they can help you with more specific recommendations.

Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂

Hi Bonnie

This is correct. You can still keep going to yoga and work on building strength.

Sometimes one can get so flexible that the practice becomes all about surrendering to the stretch in such a way that some of the ‘work’ components of the practice are lost.

I don’t know your practice first hand so the following is just an analogy.

A very flexible body, say a dancer will come to class and go into Standing Bow and effortlessly kick up into the standing splits. Looks beautiful!

Is that person working as hard? Maybe yes and maybe no. I have definitely seen many very flexible people hanging out in poses like Standing Bow. Maybe you have seen that too, the dancer’s arm just reaching out with little activation, the leg poised.

In this example you would make sure that you are strongly kicking the leg backward as well as strongly kicking the knee upward. The more flexible you are the easier it is to just about pop your leg up and behind you without engaging much strength.

So I invite you to go to class and see what you can do to bring the strength component (and remember I don’t mean struggle) back into your practice. You probably won’t go as deeply into your poses and it will probably take a few classes to be present enough in your intention to consistently apply that principle but give it a shot and let me know how you go.

By all means, go and do some weight training! Can’t hurt eh?

Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂

Hello Sunny and Jeff

Thank you both for your lovely comments. They are much appreciated. Sunny, it may be helpful to know what style of yoga you are practicing.

And Jeff is right, if you haven’t already, please go and read other threads on low back pain, and sciatica (using the search facility above! For sciatica just search on ‘sciatic’ because it will get more results) and see what others say.

Come back here to enlighten us with your thoughts and ideas and of course what style of yoga you are doing.

Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂

Hi

Just wanted to gently point out that most people don’t need a monthly work up to check their electrolyte levels. Fraseram has some other stuff going on that she keeps a close eye on! Good to verify your levels at your (annual?) checkup or anytime you think something needs attention.

Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂

Hi Lyn

I was wondering if maybe you have a heel spur. It seems that when your body weights the left heel you are experiencing pain/difficulties. Is it only in the heel or does it radiate somewhere? What does your physical therapist or massage therapist say? Has simple massage (probably deep massage) helped your situation? Does your heel for example feel better if you did one of the offending poses on a double or triple thickness of mat, for extra cushioning?

Do you pigeon toe your feet in Standing Sep Leg Intense Stretch? Are your legs straight or bent in this pose?

Both these questions are important. You may find that certain conditions (like sciatica) are exacerbated when you pigeon toe your feet for this Intense Stretch pose. But first port of call is how you do this pose. May I humbly request you check out my blog post Opening Up Your Hamstrings With Hot Yoga so that you can confirm for me what you are doing. If your legs are straight but your back is rounded then this could be part of your problem. And then if you are also pointing your toes in, well this makes the problem worse.

A similar principle is in play for Head to Knee (on the floor) and for which you already instinctively bend up the leg. If you are engaging your muscles correctly in this pose then you should be experiencing some benefits here.

Have you found any positions for your body where your left glutes feel some relief? Have you tried embryo and child’s poses? (that is lying over your legs, with knees together and feet under hips. Or start with a kneel then bring toes together, knees apart and body between your legs lying forward on the ground).

I wonder whether this problem was present in any sense, before you started your challenge. It is possible that it was there before and the stresses of your challenge commitments in a physical sense have surfaced them.

Can you tell me what seems to be resonating for you from our conversation? Do you get a feeling there is something that you could be doing to fix this like massage or some kind of physical therapy? Do you get a feeling it is something in your practice causing it or that your practice is simply the catalyst for an underlying problem?

Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂