TheHotYogaDoctor

Hi everyone!

I have been going to Bikram since the summer (on and off) - I have no problem or difficulties in the back series, however I just CANNOT seem to be able to do the standing pose.

I do get the standing leg straight and the knee locked - however, I cannot seem to hold it. It is so simple - hold up your leg and stand on one foot and yet I cannot do it.

This means that I get really frustrated with myself (bit of cursing under my breath!) which of course, has the knock on effect of disrupting my head space and now it seems I have a bit of a mental block.

I know the end pose is meant to strengthen the Achilles Tendon - is this what is weak and lacking here?

Has anyone else experienced this and more to the point, how did you overcome it and/or what can I do to help me along.

I would really appreciate any help (and probably too the others in the class who hear my frustrations with myself!)

Thanks Folks!

Hi Trixiebelle

Would you please tell me if your difficulty is with your standing leg only? I wasn’t entirely sure! Or is it the lifted leg? In full extension?

Namaste
Gabrielle

I definately have trouble balancing, and I can’t even round down and get my hands underneath my foot, let alone extend my leg.  I have a lot of toruble balancing in general, no matter what pose it is.  I’m wondering if age has anything to do with this.  It is discouraging.  I also have trouble with bow pose, I cannot get my hand inside my ankle, I grab the outside and work my hand around to the inside, but while doing that I have to use the wall for balance.  You’d think I had a few drinks before coming to class.

Thanks Newbie and Gabrielle,

It is with the whoel standing series! I cant seem to even balance in the standing pose - then as cant balance there, dont even start the stretching out bit. I always fall out of the bow pose. Its one of the easiest poses in the whoel series - stand on one leg and hold the bottom of your other foot ... hence the reason for my added frustration.

Newbie, I am not sure if it is an age thing - I am only 35 ! Also haven’t hit the drink yet before class - but you would think I had with the way fall out of the poses and all over the area around me!

Thanks for your time - appreciated!

I think balance is something that needs practice and usually we don’t know how awful our balance truly is until we do poses or things requiring balance like the poses in Hot Yoga.
I have been practicing since February and still have trouble with the balancing series. When I started, I couldn’t get into first part of standing head to knee EVER. I could barely grab my ankle in standing bow. Forget about stick. They look deceptively easy. DECEPTIVELY.
After practicing at least 4 days a week since FEB, I can sometimes get into first part of head to knee. Standing bow is much better, and my left-foot stick is not bad.
It takes alot of practice and some days for me are stronger than others. Hang in there. Work from the floor up to build your poses—focus on your foot placement solidly on the floor. Then focus on your ankle. Then your knee. Your quad and so on. It does get better. Some are better at balance than others, but if you stick with it and celebrate the small successes, you’ll see progress over time.

Hi Trixiebelle

Freiamaya is correct! Start from the ground up! I would like to ask you if, when you stand with your “toes and heels together” whether your feet touch along the whole length from toes back to your heels?

If the answer is yes then the first place to start could be to straighten up your feet and introduce a small space between your heels so that your feet and knees and hips all face the same direction!

Your feet need to stand on their own. Sounds odd I know but if your toes and heels are together it is very likely your ankles are also together and you could have a false sense of balance and stability when both feet are on the ground because of the way they support each other.

Anyway get back to me. If it has less to do with your feet and ankles then we can take it from there. In the meantime I am pretty sure that looking at the video Great Posture From The Ground Up is worthwhile viewing.

Namaste
Gabrielle

I have to use the wall for the balancing series, too (hence my screenname). I had an MRI and a PT eval and they dx’d me with “cerebellar ataxia caused by a central imbalance.” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ataxia

I did some PT but it did not seem to help. There is a plausible link to celiac disease, which I know I have, so I stay away from glutinous foods, but I’ve had the central imbalance ever since I was born so I don’t think it’s going away any time soon.

I’m glad you brought this up because before my dx I got a lot of attitude from certain teachers about my need to use the wall. The studio I’m at now, all the teachers I’ve had are great, and they even have a barre against the back wall for people to use. But I hear ya - it’s very frustrating to see everyone else balancing and not be able to!

Hi Wallflower

I am grateful that you bring this to our attention. I am fascinated to know more about how the ataxia affects other physical positions (in or out of yoga). Is there anything else you can tell me regarding other poses? Are you OK in 2 leg balance? Just list the poses and I may have some suggestions to cope more easily (beyond using a wall!). I also assume that you have looked at the possible B12 connection.

Namaste
Gabrielle

>>I am grateful that you bring this to our attention. I am fascinated to know more about how the ataxia affects other physical positions (in or out of yoga). Is there anything else you can tell me regarding other poses? Are you OK in 2 leg balance? Just list the poses and I may have some suggestions to cope more easily (beyond using a wall!). I also assume that you have looked at the possible B12 connection.<<

Hi Gabrielle! I’m grateful you appreciate the information. Yes, balancing on 2 feet is challenging as well, but not seemingly impossible like one foot. A wider base of support makes things easier, such as in pranayama breathing and half moon, to have a little space between my feet. I do like the feel of my feet together, however, so I put up with the wobbling most days.

I also have knee pain so I don’t go down very far in awkward pose, but I do lightly touch the back wall with my bum for the 2nd and 3rd parts of the stretch for balance when I’m up on my toes. Even just the slightest touch against the wall helps (I don’t need to grip it for dear life).

My arms do not yet reach the bottoms of my foot in standing head to knee, likely due to largesse in the chest & abdominal regions. Further, my hamstrings are exceedingly tight, so stretching my hammies that early on in the sequence has resulted in a strain at the top of the muscle, just under the (right) ischial tuberosity. BUT, when they do become more flexible, my plan is to turn sideways and use the wall for balance. For example, if my left knee is locked, I would have the wall on my right. I think this might help but I still might pitch forward if I was not actively pressing into the wall.

I turn sideways against the barre/wall for standing bow and the pose after it, and for eagle I either stand against the wall or go down and just keep both hands on the floor. I don’t get onto the ball of the foot yet; it’s such a ginormous hip stretch that I can’t get down very far. But it’s one of my favorites because I feel such benefit in the stretch.

The rest of the poses are ok except for triangle pose, in which I lose balance if I turn my gaze upwards to look at my superior hand.

I do take a multivitamin but think I might just get some additional B12 and see if I notice a difference. Outside of yoga, I don’t drink, but I would fail a sobriety test because I can’t walk a straight line!

i am older too but i am not sure age has anything to do with balance. i feel extremely balance challenged in class as well. i am about 80 pounds over wieght as well and felt like that was the cause. my instructer tells me niether is the cause that focus or rather lack of it and not locking out standing leg is the cause any sugestions on help with these two?

Hee hee. Mute, I remember in grade school weighing a mere 47 lbs. and not being able to balance. So IMHO weight is not really a cause. However, if like me you have huge hips and narrow feet, THAT can definitely impact ability to balance, as can having too high or too low of an arch in the foot. Musculoskeletal imbalances, vestibular dysfunctions and issues in the brain (esp the cerebellum) all affect balance or lack thereof.

Most yoga instructors do not have an advanced degree such as PT, OT or MD/ND so it is not uncommon for them to advise out of ignorance. I too await Gabrielle’s informed opinion.

For myself, I got a referral to a neurologist who referred me out to PT. My intuition told me my lack of balance was deeper than just not locking my knees or focusing, and I’m glad I got it checked out.

i am so thankful to know there might be another reason, i have been going to hot yoga for almost a year i am not real regular sometimes 1 time a week and sometimes 3 but i still can not balance. it is very frustrating i feel like i am not making much progress because i can not hold the poses due to lack of balance. i refuse to give up and quit but sometimes i wonder if i am getting any benifits from it because i can not hold the poses.

Mute:  You’re staying in the hot room for 90 minutes?  You’re getting tons of benefits!  Be calm, be still, do the poses the best you can gracefully, and remember to breathe!  Give yourself a smile and know you are doing your body so much good just by being there.

Hi

Thanks for the supportive suggestions Bonnie.

focus or rather lack of it and not locking out standing leg is the cause

Muteperception, there are plenty of possible reasons why you’re finding it hard to balance. What your teacher says is only a suggestion. There is a lot more that it could be. It is unlikely (or an amazing coincidence) to have ataxia like Wallflower. If you are willing to step us through exactly what you do for a particular pose I can ask you questions to drill us down even deeper and we can work out if it is medical or technique related. Choose any pose. Whatever makes sense to you. Would you also please see if any of the free videos help (in this thread there’s a link to the one about feet and legs). Provide detail such as whether you stand with toes and heels together, whether you have a challenge balancing in poses like half moon or is it only when you are on one leg. Anyway, you get the picture!

Namaste
Gabrielle

Ms Mute, I don’t think the benefit is in holding the pose. I think it is in giving an honest 100 percent effort in your practice each day to the maximum of that day’s capacity. As in, some days I feel ill and don’t make it without taking a break. But I give it my all and that is the best that I can do that day. So I get the benefits. The other thing is to do the pose as best you can that day. If I stand on one leg and don’t fall over during standing head to knee, that is AMAZING for me, and I have the benefits IF my standing leg is locked and I’ve worked the pose correctly from the floor UP. Somedays I stand on on foot with my leg locked, getting 100 percent of the benefits. Other days, my standing foot is locked AND I can keep my other foot up with my thigh parallel to the floor! My posture is good, I am giving 100 percent, I get the benefits. But the benefit is the same as when I can only balance on one leg.
Consistency in practice and working from the ground up, doing the best you can each day and accepting where you body is at that moment means you get the benefits.

I am so glad it is not just me with problems balancing in the standing series! Thank you all so much for your time and comments.

I went back to class this evening for the first time since Christmas and the whole standing series was awful. (Factor in sinus problems, no carbs for past 4 days as a good New Year Resolution and a very hot room as a second class) I tried to focus from the feet up and noticed how much my feet wobble. My toes lift and the whole foot can move (while staying still if you can get my drift?) - I will try again tomorrow and will separate my feet slightly so both have to build a strong base on their own.

I actually think I have really bad coordination. I find it hard to do two different things at the one time eg. in standing bow pose when the Teacher says kick and stretch - I find I kick and then I stretch ... to me I cant go in different directions at the one time.

I just hope that will be able to keep the one leg up for the 60 seconds soon. As long as that happens I will be so happy! The leg extension will be dead simple after that (!!!)

Thanks and best wishes for the New Year