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in reply to: Hip issues #4783
Hi Susie
Thanks for the questions. I am hoping you won’t mind giving me a little more detail about your issues with the poses. You probably have the right names. 😉
Can you tell me what you are experiencing when you are in Standing Bow and Triangle that has you concerned with your hips?
Perhaps too you can describe the pain in your back and when it happens. Is it during these poses only, other poses as well, or after class? What fixes the pain? Where in your back are you feeling it, in one spot or does it radiate to your limbs?
Regarding your emotions. It is quite unpredictable how you are going to respond emotionally to your practice. Yes moving your body can indeed surface old body and emotional memories. Once they’re out though, they are out. Look forward to experiencing an evolution and feeling more calm over time.
Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂in reply to: Soundless or ujiay breathing? #4782Hi Feenix
Thanks for the post. What an incredible experience to be chastised in a hot yoga class not by the teacher but by a fellow student. All quips aside, that was very poor behavior indeed. Robert has offered his opinion on that point and I heartily agree.
Having practiced Ashtanga I am aware of the instruction in breathwork. And as such I think that if you have that particular habit of breathing then you should be confident that you are doing a great job. I do know that over time you can develop your breathing to one that is less obviously noisy but one should still be able to hear the breath close up. So on that point only I find myself simply posing the question: Is it at all possible that the sound was louder than it needed to be? Let me know what your intuitive hit is on that query and please don’t base your answer on what that other woman was experiencing because that was totally out of line (and the less you reference your breathing to that incident the better! 😉 ). By the way I am confident you are not using your larynx when you breathe. Many Bikram students are coached to do this and it is not necessary.
Outward1 has kindly referenced my breathing video. Here is the link: Effective Breathing In Hot Yoga In it I deliberately edited the audio to emphasize the sound (with a closely positioned microphone) so that students would have a clear example of how the sound is generated. Most students only breathe this way in Pranayama. The way to breathe mindfully is to continue this breath technique throughout class.
As outward1 mentions it is a useful anchor for your practice to come back to the audible quality of your breath. It is one of those techniques often neglected by hot yoga students. This is a shame because many miss out on what is clearly a foundation of their practice.
The studio environment and the practice of hot yoga can elicit feelings of stress in the body. For the most part you can calm your body down by engaging the parasympathetic system by using your breath. Pranayama (and I mean the umbrella definition of conscious breathing not just the first exercise) draws in more breath and you cannot help but breathe deeply and more slowly. As a result you gain many benefits: better lung capacity, greater capacity to handle stress in and outside of the studio (by more easy/instantaneous access to your conscious breathing when you feel stress). So although your practice of normal breathing in class is adequate I wonder bonmar if trying to tie in some of your valuable Pranayama work into the rest of your class (life!) would be of interest to you.
Luckily with a solid practice your regular breathing has already been transformed. Most don’t remember what their regular breathing was like before and when they started hot yoga. But I can guarantee that it would be much better after having established a frequent regular practice. Just imagine how much more powerful your class will be when you mindfully engage your breathing throughout the 90 minutes.
Please remember that mindful breathing is not forceful breathing. You should feel energized not robbed of puff. Along with the sound is a feeling of that drawing of breath. Personally I find this to be one of the most rewarding parts of my practice that I can draw on at almost any time.
Looking forward to more discussion on this topic
Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂Hello Ilyzium
What can I say? You ARE special. And it has nothing to do with your condition. 😆
Seriously though whatever your condition, if you can be sure that your departure has nothing to do with distracting your OWN practice then that is all you need be concerned with. Everyone else’s ability to stay focused is not your major concern it is theirs. They are indeed very blessed to have you try to minimize the possible interruption by positioning yourself near the door.
And for the record both Robert and I have had similar customer service issues (not with conditions) that actually prompted us never to go back to a particular studio despite contacting the studio owner. You said it: it is about being treated with courtesy, respect and not like a child needing to be ‘put into line’.
Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂in reply to: Where to go to hot yoga holiday? #4778Hi Feenix
can you tell me how far you would be willing to travel? There are all sorts of places all over the world. Even though I never do it, I have been spammed hundreds of times about places where people run these kinds of retreats.
Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂in reply to: Final Savasana #4758Hi Stephanie
An excellent question! Savasana is important for all those things you mention and more.
After any exercise it is important to recover. So waiting until the heart and breathing rate return to normal is important.
So what about doing it on the bench outside?
Well, you can. But that will only recover your breath and your heart rate? And as you know there is a lot more to the savasana than that. The integrative effects of lying still taking advantage of being supine and allowing gravity to work on your totally worked out body is worthy of mention.
There is also the distraction of getting up, even the decision to get up, and sitting down to recover. These activities require interaction. You have to negotiate your way around people and then probably sit and comment on the experience or look around and comment on what is going on (make sense of it) either internally or verbally. Yes you may even feel compelled to socialize. All this stuff would in all likelihood take you away from that valuable meditative state. Probably. It is possible to meditate while doing this but it is more likely that your interactions will zip you right out of that state.
One of the most powerful reasons to stay in your final savasana is to take advantage of the anchoring of your physical and your meditative state to the mat and especially to that position on the floor. Your body and mind are conditioned to relax in between all the poses. This conditioning is very powerful and when you ‘hit the mat’ for the last time in class your body and mind are programmed to just let go. Your job is to let go of your attachment to rejoin your regular life (you know when you simply must leave and do that thing that you may have been thinking about 😉 ). You have spent 90 minutes practicing yoga. This is your time to bridge your practice INTO your life. Take that mindfulness beyond the series of asana.
Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂Hi Jeff
I recall seeing the initial findings of the Australian study referred to at the beginning reported on a current affairs type program probably a couple of years ago (on Australian TV). We saw images of their yoga classes and a couple of interviews. It is great to see articles about it online now.
Thanks for posting the link.
Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂in reply to: Triangle Pose with long legs #4755Woo hoo Stephanie
I am over the moon for you. What a breakthrough. I am so happy I could help you.
Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂Hi James
Yes you have been well and truly bitten by the bug. :cheese:
First thing you can do is improve your insulation. This will markedly decrease your heating bills and increase efficiency. It could be the difference to preheating for over an hour to preheating for 30 minutes or less.
Other students have told us about the heaters they have used. You can find that discussion here: Home Heaters.
You have high ceilings so you know what that means to heat. You may need to investigate infrared heaters. In my home studio I have some heaters that are positioned facing downward and then I also have a heater near the floor. So the convection set up in my studio is efficient.
How high is your ceiling? Just curious. It may actually help others who want to give advice!
Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂Hi Monica
Thanks for posting. Great question. So many leave doing their yoga until they have a full 90 minutes.
If you are between patients, gloves off and have the room there is nothing like doing a few Pranayama breaths focusing strongly on shoulders down and neck movement. I also love to do a full half moon set. So to the right, left, backbend and the hands to feet. I actually recommend that to anyone who wants or NEEDS a pick-me-up. If only I could find the time sometimes! 😉 Life is busy isn’t it? You could time it if you could see a clock but I find it very useful to decide on the number of breaths I will take for each part.
I know the feeling sitting in almost a cemented position bending over someone for even hours at a time with immense focus (even not realizing til afterward that you have not moved). The amazing thing is that you have the densest weight in your body cantilevered forward for a long time so it really must be countered.
If you are gloves-on then I am guessing you want something that is reasonably discreet and non-invasive!
Here are a few ideas (from which may even issue your own!):
>> Roll yourself back away from the patient and sit up straight and see if you can sit with feet flat (now that’s a concept isn’t it? 😉 ). Use your eyes to do an isolated cervical backbend. I imagine you may already do that. I think Jeff has given you some ideas of neck rolls. I find I prefer nice long stretches to each side and backward (and forward if you want). They feel great. Focus on a straight spine and of course shoulders down and back. It feels wonderful to close the eyes too.>> You can interlock fingers behind you, lengthen your arms and lift them as high as you can behind your back. You will either feel the urge to drop your head back or not.
>> Modified eagle pose: bring arms (only of course :cheese: ) into position. Keep your hands away from your face. Instead of drawing your elbows down, you can stay clean by lifting your elbows to shoulder height and then moving your hands away from the body trying to make a right angle in the arms. Classic Bikram style eagle pose may compromise your asepsis. This stretch is different to your regular eagle pose. I love this one. I recommend the classic eagle when you can draw your arms in close to the body when your gloves are off – perhaps between patients.
Let me know if you would like some other ideas
Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂in reply to: could heat cause heart problems ? #4751Hi ktcristine
So to clarify: did you give up because you were having difficulty in the hot room after your diagnosis, or did you give up because you were told by teachers that it could cause you problems?
FYI: as I understand it, people with MS may have exacerbated problems due to the heat. That isn’t everyone. I have read it is not recommended. What experience have you?
If you have tried it and you have had a poor experience in the heat, then it may be worth trying it in moderate heat or an unheated room. Maybe see what it is like when you sweat a lot or sweat a little (this has to do with moisture – as dry heat you may sweat less).
Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂in reply to: Not bad for a beginner, but… #4749Hi James
Welcome to hot yoga and the forum.
You may just be starting to understand on a cellular level that strength and flexibility need to exist in balance. You may be naturally flexible but your body is requiring strength to support you. So naturally flexible people (those wet noodles) may lack strength. Equally they could be very strong. Ever seen Cirque de Soleil? You couldn’t do what they do without both sides of the equation.
In general people come to yoga practice and discover what is missing from this vital formula.
The fact that you have experienced problems over the years tells me that you have not attained an appropriate level of strength in the muscles supporting your spine. You probably do have good spinal health but your core strength and general support structures need work.
I do not agree that the super flexible find it harder to contract their core. Anyone can do it. The ‘trick’ is knowing how to. If you have lost that ability (because we probably all knew how to once 😉 ) then you have to get back in touch with this ability. My guess is that you may need some help (outside of the yoga studio with this) given your longstanding issue.
Last thing worth mentioning is in Supta Vajrasana even though you may be able to get your whole spine on the floor – which by the way is quite an achievement :cheese: – unless you have already been picked up on it, the aim is to arch your spine as much as possible. This will really help your back strength too! By the way this month’s Private Members’ Pose Clinic focuses entirely on this pose (also known as Fixed Firm).
Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂in reply to: Triangle Pose with long legs #4748Hi Stephanie
Thanks for the extra detail. With it I learn that your question is not simply about the distance of your legs. As everybody’s proportions are different the distance you step out is something you will learn over time. Nikke has given you a formula to try and it could help you. With that you can adjust your stance accordingly. There is nothing like experience and the help of the mirror to work out your perfect stance.
Still you will notice that sometimes it will be easy and other times really difficult. The differences in the way you do the pose could be really tiny but have big effects. My guess is that you are experiencing difficulty more with weight distribution and less with leg distance and more difficulty with where your arms may be.
For the moment I would like you to try and place the upper part of your forearm against your knee and not your elbow. Most people place their arm too low. When your arm is too low the weight starts to overbalance you (forward and toward your bent leg) and you can feel a number of sensations including the feet sliding further apart. Another guess is that your weight is pressing through your bent leg toes (check into this next class). Try driving the weight through your heel. And the extended leg foot needs even weighting inside and out and not just the inside as often happens.
You should be able to get out of this pose without your arms now. Even though this pose is about strength it is also about your balance. Once you find that (and it is changeable) it should be easier. In general I believe you will progressively find all your separate leg poses easier over time as you build strength.
Let me know how you manage with these new ideas.
Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂in reply to: Legs too wide in Floor Bow #4735Hi Stephanie
I am wondering what you notice you are doing when you are adjusting. It is possible to get movement in leg alignment when you adjust your legs, but also when you adjust your shoulders.
In an ideal world your legs should go back so they are parallel. There may be 6 inches between them but it is generally more. The spirit of the dialog rather than confining yourself to a generalized measurement quoted by many is to really make sure your legs are not overly flaring out to the sides. You can try to use your inner thighs to fix your alignment. Notice what that does to your knees and then what happens to your feet.
You may try kicking until that point where you feel your legs move outward. Stop there. Then work on your alignment (the way your legs are kicking, the interplay of your muscles). It may be that your intention to get your legs as high as possible is moving your body past its ability to create the correct opening in your hips.
Interested to hear your feedback and what happens in class next.
Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂in reply to: could heat cause heart problems ? #4730Hi ktcristine
I am curious to know what prompted you to give up your practice.
Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂in reply to: Humidity and mold #4729Hi Sara
I can honestly say that in years of having my own private and public studios I have never had a problem with mold.
I know that many others who come to this forum have bathroom studios and other useful spaces. I hope that they can tell you their thoughts.
The main thing is to have plenty of ventilation. And of course clean it. Your general bathroom routine should do it. Of course if you have the offer of a purpose built yoga studio well then that is the best option.
Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂in reply to: im new too #4722Hi Chani
I am happy to be able to support and be here for you. You have a great and inspiring attitude.
I have a hunch that next week with 8 classes may just be the wonderful experience you envisage. As you say you have this window of opportunity next week, so grab it and enjoy it.
For the moment I would love to encourage you to “BE” with this mini-challenge. By all means, go for the 8 days in a row. Some people get invigorated and buzz around with renewed and clear energy while others need tons of sleep. Come back and tell us how you are going.
I would like to leave any advice for a little while and let you luxuriate in the sensations of your new experience.
Until soon
Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂in reply to: how to seperate #4718Hi Sandy
I am wondering too how and where you feel you are collapsing in this pose. So can you tell me what you are aware of and what is ringing your alarm bells? Your body can still collapse in subtle ways even when you are in good alignment. Is it perhaps that you are recognizing these subtleties of your pose? Or do you feel you could work on your alignment but need some more tips there?
Looking forward to hearing your thoughts
Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂in reply to: Single set vs. double set #4717Hi Steve
I think that for the moment while you are still in recovery mode that you are doing the right thing.
Generally it is great to do a second set partly because you feel yourself going more deeply into the pose and you have a real sense of your body. There is something very satisfying about it. And yes it can be tiring.
For you, in your current healing state, it makes sense to do enough yoga to restore your function and vitality. You don’t have to make it a marathon. Your application to the poses keeping good alignment and focusing on the breath will probably help reverse the effects of your condition for a huge number of reasons including better circulation (lymphatic and blood), better delivery of nutrients to all parts of your body, better removal of wastes, better functioning of your organs. Focusing on improved function as your reason to practice, in my mind is far more useful to you than yoga-ing yourself to the point of exhaustion.
One day, and maybe even soon, you will be surprised at how you get to the point where you know you are ready to do 2 sets. When you do that, remember that you still have to respect where you are at. It may be 2 sets one day, 1 set for a day or 2 before you work to consistently practicing 2 sets. Play it be ear.
I wish you an easy recovery
Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂Hi Kathryn
You must be so grateful for you lesson!
You have definitely hit on some of my favorite topics: taking personal responsibility and precision alignment and stacking the joints correctly. “Toes and heels together” is one of the many commands that is taken literally and to many people’s detriment. Yoga is not one-size-fits-all when it comes to alignment or pose application. You must be happy to feel the freedom in your practice again. Go girl!
Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂in reply to: March 30-day challenge #4704Hi Bonnie and Cindy
Thanks for the vote of confidence Bonnie. Yes the challenges do evolve. It’s part of learning how to let go!
(I think the pose that bonmar is referring to is full locust or poorna salabhasana and possibly not cobra!)
in reply to: im new too #4703Hi Chani
(thanks for following me on Twitter btw)
You know the challenge is about your own personal commitment. You can only do what you can. Yoga is about finding balance – physically and metaphorically. You already have a very heavy work schedule. Something would have have to change if you really want to do 6 or 7 classes a week. You are already carving out a new path going to 4 classes per week at the studio. So I wonder what you could come up with to do something on the other 2 or 3 days.
It doesn’t have to be everyday at the studio. You could do something at home. It doesn’t have to be yoga in the heat. Maybe your own personal challenge is about committing to some home practice. If you want some ideas then I will be happy to provide some. At this early stage even though you would get a TON out of going 6-7 or even more times a week, if you can’t manage that with your work and life commitments then that’s OK. Remember that you should provide the opportunity for recovery in your routine.
Right now, you have the choice to make changes or go with the current flow. In my experience 4 times per week gives fantastic results. So Chani what are you thinking and feeling when I say all this? Assuming that you keep your work hours and you have no other possible classes you can attend at your local studio, would you like some ideas?
Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂in reply to: Love/hate relationship with camel #4701Hahaha, I love your sense of humor!!!
Let me see if I can explain it because it is probably the biggest problem with student’s backbends. There is a ton of fear around bending backwards. When the fear or panic kicks in students will start to come out of the backbend by changing their visual focus first. So they don’t bring their heads up first, their eyes move from looking behind them to looking directly up or even forward. Maybe they never even looked backwards at all. Essentially they are looking to avoid discomfort and intensity and they are looking in the direction they most REALLY WANT to be and that is upright and not in a backbend at all. Try it. Go into a backbend and then change your focus up extending from your nose upwards. See how your neck, back and shoulder muscles react. Go on! Indulge me. :cheese:
PS Bonnie I can see the giggle in looking up one’s own nose (of course). Just a matter of frame of reference! 😆
Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂in reply to: im new too #4690Hello Chani
Welcome to the forum. Congratulations on embarking on your yoga journey.
As for your question about 30 day challenge: Bikram Choudhury has often said, has written and continues to say that if you do this yoga for 2 months then your life will change and you will be a new person! He challenges people to attend class 6 days a week over 2 months with a day off for rest and recovery.
Over recent years (and I mean over the last 2 perhaps) students for some reason have changed the basic premise of the challenge and have often made it 60 days straight. And also from this emerged another new challenge called the 30 day challenge.
Students will either launch into their own personal challenge or they respond to the challenge of their studio.
So the ‘rules’ between studios (and I use that term lightly) change. Some do 60 in 60 days. Some do 54 or so in 60 days. Some people do 30 classes in 30 days. Some people do 6 classes per week.
If you read other threads which talk of the challenges then you will notice that something comes up quite often. And that is the physical need for the body to recover. Although there are many people who are able to do a class a day for extended period of time without a break, the mere imposition of such a constraint can often mean that students ignore the voice of their body and soldier on despite the risk of causing damage.
It is one of the wonderful lessons that one learns in attending yoga. That is to listen to one’s body and honor it.
Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂in reply to: Is this pose really good for your knees? #4684Hello B
You are doing the right thing being cautious. Stay upright. Are you feeling a twist in the knees when you feel the pain? I would recommend sitting toes, knees and heels together in a classic kneeling position. You may feel that you are not doing anything compared to the flexible folk around you but it will help you restore symmetry and function and mobility with this position. You haven’t said anything about your ankles so you should be able to do this without any padding with mats or towels.
Let me know how you go. After a while you can start to move the heels outward little by little.
Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂in reply to: Bikram Yoga for the Handicapped #4679Hi Lubi
As a matter of fact I have had dealings with similar types of shoulder and arm issues. There is also one on this forum that could be of interest to you. It is here: One Arm 4 cm (2 inches) Shorter Than The Other. It may not be the same problem but it should give you an idea that there is a way around just about everything while still delivering benefits.
Lubi, if it were my husband, I would think about going to talk to the teacher at your studio and ask them directly how would they deal with this exact issue. Make an appointment with them and tell them you would like to talk with them for about 10-15 minutes. Maybe take a photo of him to depict his range of movement etc. It is perfectly feasible as a practitioner yourself to ask them to walk you through the kinds of adjustments that they would make for someone with this problem. In this way you can simply get a feel for whether what they are saying makes sense to you, and to the way your husband would receive the tuition. 1:1 is very expensive and you want to be sure that you will get some good value for this. No doubt they will say that they would like to see him. But feel it out first. You will get a sense of their approach and their thought processes even if the next step is to bring him for a brief consult.
Anyway that is just my first pass on the situation. I could even change my mind 😉
Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂 -
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