jstein

Hi Gabrielle, I also discovered that my feet were not straight which caused my wrists to curve, and a twist in my knees. (My toes were in and my heels were out.) By straightening my feet, I was able to alleviate the twist in my knees and the pain subsided. Thank you for your encouragement to go back to the basic set up for the pose, to do it with correct alignment, and more importantly, to be patient.
Jeanne

Gabrielle, Thank you. I will do this. I think I need to take notice if and where I am holding tension. I never considered the role of my shoulders, I do Have tight shoulders. I will focus on relaxed breathing as well. Thanks again.

Jeanne

Hi Gabrielle, Well I have been fine tuning my exit from camel with the help of my instructors. I had developed several habits. First, my right hip was not as forward as my left hip, and we found that for the time being, if I place my left hand on my foot first when going back, I was able to get my right hip in line. Second, when coming up and out, to be sure that my hips were still pushed as far forward as possible, while using my hands on the back for support. Third, that my head is still dropped back. And fourth and more importantly, that my chest is up. I tend to round my shoulders and if my chest is collapsed, my whole posture is off.
This has reminded me how important it is to listen to and follow the dialog exactly, and to take my time while going in and out of the postures.
Gabrielle, is it safe to practice camel pose at home without doing all the poses that precede it?
Thanks again,
Jeanne

Angelika,
Before I started Bikram yoga, I too would get spasms in the muscle just below my right shoulderblade, while washing the dishes, ironing etc. I found that stretching out the back helped. Before I knew about Bikram yoga, I would find a table or counter top that was hip height, grab onto the edge of the counter top and stand far enough away so that my legs and torso were at a 45 degree angle to each other. Then letting my hips move away from my hands so that I would be stretching my back in opposite directions.

I was developing a curve to my thoracic spine though because of weak chest muscles and over stretched upper back muscles. The yoga classes have help correct my posture, but Gabrielle’s tip on putting your elbows in your back pocket helped my much more in correcting the alignment of my spine.

Additionally, I just watched Gabrielle’s video on creating core strength using a small ball under your lowest vertebrae and doing leg raises. (Please watch her video for proper instructions). Just for fun, though, while lying my back, on the floor, I placed the ball in between my shoulder blades, and just relaxed into savasana. WOW! I felt the muscle that tends to spasm release as well as my chest muscles stretch, and my thoracic spine got a nice back bend. I generally have trouble with back bends in my thoracic area.

Gabrielle, do you see any problems with this passive back bend?

I have a tendency to hold tension in and around my jaw. It is amazing that there are so many muscle in the jaw and mouth! I found that I was not clenching my jaw but holding my tongue to the roof of my mouth in order to facilitate breathing through my nose. Letting my tongue relax and fall away from the roof of my mouth allowed me to relax my jaw as well. I notice if I am holding tension as soon as I go into Savasana.