sraymond7

I have a different issue when it comes to reaching and holding my foot in
the first phase of standing head to foot pose, and this issue affects other
poses as well.

I have a pronounced external hip rotation, causing me to walk like a duck.
When I was younger, ages 18-32, I was a martial artist and kicking
specialist. I could kick high and hard and precisely, and my kicking ability
was enhanced by the hip rotation, just as with a dancer.

However, the hip rotation really works against me in yoga. I am now 56,
have been at a desk job for year, and I’m a yoga beginner. I’ve just
attended my 40th class, and have been doing five classes per week for the
past five weeks. I’m definitely getting stronger and more balanced, and
discovering vestiges of long forgotten flexibility. But…

I simply cannot reach my foot, and have been trying both standing erect
with my hands holding my knee, and on the second set, bending over and
arching and reaching as far as possible to my feet. However, if I stand with
my platform leg correctly straight on, lifting my other leg straight is
virtually completely impossible. I have to force it towards being straight,
and if I do manage to get my outside hand under my foot, it is only with a
feeling of great strain and potential injury.

My ultimate question is: In Bikram, are there strategies for correcting
external hip rotation?