Gabrielle (The Hot Yoga Doctor)

Hi Sander

Yes, I have seen that a lot. Sometimes it just happens: either outside of the yoga room and it shows up in class; or it happens as a result of less then optimal yoga technique where your body is working hard but not in good alignment. And on some occasions it could even be that your body is opening up or evolving into better alignment (less often) or due to asymmetries of the body as you try to create holistic balance. But mostly it is a result of techniques that need attention.

I had a feeling it was all of those poses (glad I asked!).

You can pay particular attention to Janu and Paschimottanasana and the stretch at the end of the sit-up (chin up and straight back and bent legs if you have to!) and what you do in Standing Sep Leg Intense Stretch. These are all great ways to resolve these types of back aches.

Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂

Hi sleek

Going on a juice fast is likely to rob you of energy and you can really only play it by ear. There are no rules! 😉 Enjoy the challenge and at the same time be sensitive to your basic needs for rest, recuperation and nourishment.

Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂

Hi Sander

It must be reassuring for you to know that the end positions of the poses themselves are not causing or at least not exacerbating the problem. Just from what you have posted I think that you have a minor injury. Because it is only hurting when you come out of your forward bends, make sure you assist yourself out of them by placing your hands on your legs and ‘walking’ your hands up off the floor and up your legs until you are upright again.

In Hands to Feet pose, you may find that you can progress to rolling up without your hands but with your chin tucked and head up last, almost as you would with Standing Sep Leg Head to Knee. This allows you to come up one vertebra at a time – and can be quite a restorative way to enter and exit forward bends.

Are you talking about floor head to knee, or another pose? Still, follow those directions for the moment but let me know.

Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂

Hi Colleen

Your paschimottanasana should always be with a straight back so just keep your legs bent, pull back on your flexed feet and keep lifting your chest and trying to arch your spine instead, keep your arms straight.

In awkward pose see if you can work out where your weight is falling. Is it in the toes, in the heels or in the feet evenly? Maybe you are finding more weight in your big toe and along the midline.

Come back and let me know when you work it out!

Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂

Hi Elizabeth

If your back is still rounded in Paschimottanasana then simply bend your knees up further. You did mention wanting to pull with your biceps but that is only for people who have straight legs and back.

Remember to flex your feet and pull on them with your nice straight arms; lift your breastbone and drop the shoulders down and back to keep working that wonderful traction that you set up in a big triangle (through your mildly arching back, your straight arms and for the moment your bent legs). Your legs extend slowly, but as soon as your back starts to round, then back off and bend the legs again until you get your back straight again.

Concerning your problem with your leg: some balance of strength is generally what is needed for situations like this. It may be worth doing some gym work to help you strengthen your quads in an environment where they have machines that are designed for that which will also help you avoid the hyperextension.

Please let me know how you go. And we can work on another solution for your leg if you aren’t willing to go to the gym. You do say however that this is a longstanding problem (notwithstanding your gastroc injury) so it does need some specialized attention methinks. 😉

Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂

Hi!

Oh, that’s a shame… I am away for a few more days and won’t be able to look. In the meantime let’s see what else transpires here on the forum.

Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂

Hi Colleen

Just wondering if you are pulling on straight or bent legs! I am hoping that you won’t mind providing some clarification. Is this the only pose where your ankles hurt? And is the hurt only when you flex your feet back rather than when you point your feet as in cobra or when you sit on them in supta vajrasana?

Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂

Hello Linda

You must be so disappointed! Or maybe the word is disillusioned, particularly with the reputation for cleansing that this yoga has. May I ask if you have looked elsewhere on the forum for information? I am not sure if you have seen the search facility but it is up the top right of the page and you can type in the word “rash”, “pimple” or any other key word and see what comes up. I know that there are some good ideas in there. Please let me know if you have tried all the suggestions or what has or hasn’t worked for you!

Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂

Hi Kristin

I am assuming that you are talking about getting your head to the knee when your hips are up in the pose. I wonder if when you force your head to your knees (or ‘walk’ your knees to your head as is instructed) if your arms are still straight and if you are now feeling much more pressure of your head against the floor. I also think your hips would no longer be able to lift as high and the overall direction of your movement is forward (instead of up).

Don’t worry about it! If your head to your knee means pain in the neck then you are doing something wrong. My guess is that if you do this when your body is neither designed nor ready to make this movement then you are sacrificing other important parts of this pose and possibly transforming it into a risky proposition.

Remember that what you are searching for is a wonderful feeling through your back which centers more over the midback and lower back and definitely NOT in the neck and the shoulders. What you also must have are straight arms as you pull from your heels, and lift hips up. I would be remiss if I didn’t at least mention in passing that your chin has to be tucked (but you are probably already doing that!) It should feel natural (as natural as it can!!!) energetically speaking. Keep the basics of this pose and create the right tractions and that’s what you need.

Not everyone can get their head and knees touching. It is NOT a required event. There are very compelling reasons why both flexible and inflexible people can NOT do this. Your outcome is to benefit.

Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂

Hi Becks

I think you should see what works better for you. I have a feeling that you will find that you are more sure footed with a small angle in the foot of the outstretched leg.

If your adjustments in the sep leg pose mean that your ankle no longer reaqcts in Triangle then you can experiment with foot angle. If you find that no matter what you do you have that ankle pain then come back for another idea! 😉

Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂

Hi Lubi

I have seen my fair share of ‘bits’ in the studio. 😉

I can tell you that I was once wearing a new yoga suit that, shall we say, compromised me. The teacher noticed and didn’t say anything until after class. I couldn’t believe it.

Now you could say that it shouldn’t matter and what on earth were you doing looking in that direction!!!! But even though that is a valid point of view, there are more things to consider.

I am a great believer of coming out with stuff like this. And directly to the person in a discreet way. I would approach them personally, make sure that no one else is around (or ask for a few moments by themselves) and say, I am not sure if you know this but in many of your yoga poses your shorts are not covering you sufficiently. I would probably also add that you are not the only person to notice.

You may find this person is not concerned in the slightest. That happens. But it can be offensive to others. So if their exposure bothers you and not them then it is important to a) let them know that others notice and b) let them know that you are requesting that they wear shorts that insure coverage.

If your personal approach doesn’t work then talking with the teachers or studio owner is the next step so that a studio policy can be instituted.

It is my opinion that if you have to adjust clothing to make sure you are not flashing your bits, or if you are wearing clothing that does expose you unnecessarily then it really doesn’t have a place in your practice in a public studio. Distractions should always be minimized.

Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂

Hi Cindy

I agree with you! And I don’t subscribe to 80-20 breathing. It doesn’t make sense to me to use a short shallow breath when you have more available to you. And breathing so shallow keeps the breath movement in the top of the lungs which is exactly what triggers the sympathetic system and creates feelings of anxiety (fear, fright, flight).

I recently wrote about breathing for my email newsletters about 80-20 breathing and quipped briefly that I go to yoga not a math class. Somehow putting a ‘quantifiable’ amount on the breath is way too distracting and to me serves no purpose.

What you learned in vinyasa yoga seems to be carrying you through. What I did talk about in that email (and if you haven’t received it then you will 😉 ) is that in certain poses you just can’t let the belly rise and fall in a classic abdomino-diaphragmatic breath. These poses include (but are not limited to):
** Pranayama where the arm movement extends the torso on the inhale and you can’t let the belly move out
** Backbend in Half Moon (where the passage of breath is further compromised by the position of the neck

What I do suggest is another type of diaphragmatic breath called diaphragmatic chest breathing. Anatomically this means that when your tummy is drawn in as in the above poses, or you have it sucked in because of a big forward compression for example, making it difficult or uncomfortable to expand your belly outward, your diaphragm can’t move down but stays pretty much put. The sides of the diaphragm move up a tad and the dome part moves down slightly. (With belly breathing the dome part under the sternum moves down pretty much in line with the lateral extent.) Rather than the belly moving in and out, you focus on the bottom part of your chest expanding, allowing a movement of your chest and ribcage in an outward direction.

This technique is very effective and activates the parasympathetic system just as well as belly breathing. It is simply another tool available to you because logically speaking there is no ONE way to breathe in ALL your yoga poses.

Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂

Hi Lubi

How’s that pain resolving? If it isn’t then I want to recommend you look at your Standing Head to Knee and Sit-up technique.

I don’t know how flexible you are and I have no idea of your technique in your general practice. I had to read your post a few times and alarm bells rang about the way you described certain movements. I am doing my best to unravel it. It may simply be that English may not be your first language and I have nothing to be concerned about. Still Lubi I would like more information about certain things. I will contact you directly. Please PM or email me through the forum. If everything is OK I would also like to know that!

Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂