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in reply to: Back Pain during Kapalbhati Breathing #7406
Hi Brandy
It is possible that you have too much arch in your back for this exercise but I cannot be sure from your words. I find it is easier to focus my energies on the exhale breath with more softness in my belly (by tucking the tailbone under a touch and straightening the back).
Have you tried to sit differently? Perhaps in badokonasana with soles of feet together and knees out to the side. Or even cross legged or in half lotus.
Give that a go and see if it works.
Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂in reply to: The Beginnings of Heat Stroke? #7405Hi Megan
May I ask if all your yoga experiences are in a hot room? Yes, both styles do complement each other! And NO, I will not accept your apology 😉 simply because none is necessary!
I must say that I have some thoughts swirling around trying to crystallize about your comments about ‘pushing yourself to the max in every class’ and about ‘needing to vomit or feeling a little dizzy’. Whether it’s heat stroke or not, I will wait to hear the details confirming the hours in a hot room and whether it’s 6 days per week.
It may not just have to do with hydration. It could also have something to do with nutrition.
There is possibly something that needs to be addressed with your approach to nurturing yourself. I would like to sit with this for a bit longer and also ask you to comment on my response to maybe give me some more insight into what’s really going on.
Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂in reply to: Rounded shoulders #7402Hi Jeannette
Okey dokey!!! I think I can direct you with 2 approaches. You can use the forum posts for each of these poses. There is plenty of information already here.
It may surprise you but there is a common thread in ALL the poses you mention! And I have already created Pose Tutorial DVDs that deal with the poses that you mention.
The volumes that could interest you are
>> Pada Hastasana together with Standing Sep Leg Intense Stretch
>> Sit-Up together with Intense Stretching pose.These DVDs contain detailed information with complete discussions, step by step instructions and trouble shooting complete with hundreds of photo images. I designed them to have Practice Tips that you can recall so you can make sense of the poses and how they relate to the rest of the series.
I know this sounds like an advertisement. But there really is no other way to let you know about them!
So if you don’t find the details on the forum or you prefer not to search for it but to have something you can refer to where I walk you through the minute details then the DVDs are an option.
Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂in reply to: Toes – Awkward Pose Help ! #7401Hi Pam
I think the answer for you could lie in finding balance in your leg muscles (because of knock knees, Genu Valgum).
Have you seen the post called Flat Footed And Knock Kneed? I think it would be worth going down that track if you haven’t already. It would guess that your knees are not squarely supporting you even in this position and possibly creating more of a preference to weighting your big and second toes. It could have less to do with the toes themselves!
Let me know if that resonates for you!
Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂in reply to: trying to concieve – bikram still ok? #7400Hi Lelly
I really have no idea about the issue of temperatures affecting sperm as it pertains to hot yoga. I do know however that some studios have a cooler part. Are there places you can practice where you can feel a slight breeze or a little more air circulation near a window or a door? Somewhere where you’re sure your body is able to keep the cooling mechanisms in check?
Just a thought. Sometimes it can be in our heads and a slight tweak in our mental approach say, due to your physical position in the room, can make a big difference to keep your mind at ease.
Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂in reply to: Six months of hot yoga and still feeling stiff ? #7399Hi Jeff
I would also look to increasing the number of classes per week. You would be surprised how much difference even one extra class will make to you. Just remember: Stick to the basics and that means don’t do anything fancy. Just work on the right pose mechanisms and it will happen for you.
Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂in reply to: Shoulder joints #7398Hi Cyberry
The stretch that comes to mind right now would be as follows:
>> Lie face down head top of head touching a wall.
>> Put your hands on the wall above your head and climb them up and feel your shoulders open.
>> Your head and upper chest will rise up off the floor.
>> Let gravity take your head (relax your neck) and don’t hunch the shoulders.
>> Your hands may slip. And you may also find that after a while you can find some more stretch by walking your hands up a little more.
>> Stay in that stretch for increasing amounts of time. Perhaps progress in minute increments. Try to fit it in everyday.Let me know how you go.
Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂in reply to: Bruised ribs #7397Hi Jude
I guess it would good to know EXACTLY when your ribs are hurting. Is it only in certain poses or do they hurt when you breathe when you’re not in class? There could be some details about what’s happening to you, when and how, which would determine how I answer your question!
Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂in reply to: What are the benefits of a 30-day challenge #7396Hi Marilyn
You’ll always get the benefits. It just feels as if they’re happening a lot faster and last longer when you can manage to go more often. There is a reason why most people go multiple times per week. 😉
There’s always home practice if you can’t manage a regular and frequent studio practice.
Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂in reply to: How far behind the ears? #7378Hi Jodi
You can only do what you can do. Nobody’s body is in perfect proportion (alright – not many people’s bodies appear to be in perfect proportion when they’re doing yoga!) and the form of your arms may mean that you simply have to look a little different in the pose. If you’re not changing the mechanism of the pose then you’re fine. Just make sure those shoulders don’t climb up.
Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂in reply to: Protein and building strength… #7368Yep, I’m with you, Cyberry. That does sound interesting! Shona, do you juice that apple? Gosh, that might be so obvious to some but I just want to be sure!!! I always have kale at home. I juice it, use it in salads and I love making kale chips. That green color is so beautiful.
Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂in reply to: Shoulders/upper arms behind the ears… #7367Hi Marilyn
As you may be aware from elsewhere on the forum it really can be worse to lock out your arms if you find your neck and shoulders are tense or your chin starts to drop. What is the situation regarding that whole area? What are you feeling?
Your knee locking is a better thing to focus on because it has a huge knock on effect for most of your poses. Draw up the kneecaps with the quadriceps muscles. It’s not just a skeletal lock (which is not recommended and is probably the reason why other fitness people recommend not ‘locking’). It really is all about creating the ability to engage those quadriceps muscles for longer and longer times. It can take a while. But work on that. Keep those shoulders down and see if you can lock the arms, otherwise allow a slight arm bend for the time being, but see what you can do to incrementally lock those leggies.
Hi Cyberry
There is going to be some point you find where you have the right geometry and it all simply works and feel perfect. I am convinced your practice is so good that the level of finessing you have to do is on a level much more imperceptible to others! I will look forward to hearing what you discover (if anything! 😉 ).
Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂in reply to: Toilet Etiquette? #7360Hi Anna
That is precisely my point! Your stuff or their stuff. Just got to be clear if there’s any stuff involved and to whom it belongs.
IMHO it’s important to make sure that if you happen to find yourself in a conversation with the ‘stuff’er that you as ‘stuff’ee never justify, explain or defend your pee-action. In that way it doesn’t become your ‘stuff’ – if you know what I mean! 😉
It’s probably best not to seek anyone out after the pee! You have nothing to explain. Let the person with the ‘stuff’ do the approaching. That way you can hear them, support them by being present and by NOT reacting or justifying. The more you leave it alone the better.
Re suffering: You are not there to process your teacher and very importantly they are not there to process you.
Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂in reply to: Toilet Etiquette? #7356Etiquette schmetiquette!!!
Hi Anna
Your ability to be equanimous is being tested. A little definition of equanimity (for those who don’t know) is that you are not plugged in by it, you neither care nor don’t care about the situation.
The scenario: You are BUSTING to go to the loo. You have to go. You give the polite nod. There are alternative endings to this story.
Your teacher attempts to humiliate you. You respond by being ‘put in your place’ and you return to your mat. Your valiant attempts to assuage the teacher do not serve you because you can only think about your outrage (or insert other feeling) or at least you can’t think of anything but your bladder. Your anger continues for some time after class… 😉
Your teacher attempts to humiliate you. You respond by giving the silent “don’t even dare” look and you go to pee. You have had a standoff. But you both are pissed. You even exchange words after class. You restate your write to pee when you want to. She threatens you that you are not to do that again in her class. Rrrraaagggghhhhhh!!!! She said… I said… And so on and so forth.
Your teacher attempts to humiliate you. You respond by equanimously and respectfully going to pee. You (silently) acknowledge that you need to attend to your needs so that you can be present for the rest of your class. You return to class and your teacher may either try to tick you off again, or may even attempt to corner you after class. Each attempt is met by presence, with attendance to your needs, with fully honoring your body, your yoga, and yes, even your teacher. You listen to their words and even guess what of their needs are not being met by your absence (or by contravening their laws).
Anyway, I think you get the picture. When you don’t react, when you don’t respond with resistance then there is nothing to counter. It is NOT as if you consistently leave the room every single class. This was a one-off. Hey, but if it happens again, are you really being present if you are NOT listening to your body? Isn’t that what your teacher is ALWAYS telling you to do? At my teacher training there was a guy who left every single class to go pee. Now I know he should have worked it out. But guess what? He didn’t let ANYONE give him lip about it. It was in his energy. HE was PERFECTLY OK about it. So nobody mentioned it to him. I am not suggesting you start leaving the room but it is your response or reaction to what happens that is important to YOU.
Now that’s your yoga!
If your teacher reacts badly to someone who is equanimous then who’s the one who needs to take the lesson? It’s simply not your stuff!
Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂in reply to: Finding the right practice for pregnancy #7355Hi Rachel
How wonderful!!!!
As you know I didn’t stay out of the studio. Didn’t go during week 13 because of an important change in the baby’s circulation. You can pretty much go back when you feel ok about it. As I ALWAYS say, it’s your decision.
Have you checked the forum? I can’t remember if I have made online recommendations for pose suggestions.
I did giggle for a moment there when I noticed you didn’t include the other 3 belly down poses. 😉 Some great visuals of the heavily pregnant in floor bow! 😆
I can give you some ideas via email. But for Sep Leg Head to Knee don’t tuck the chin go down with a straight back, chin to the shin, hands on the floor. Rabbit, well, you won’t be doing that. But if you can at first do it (for a while when you’re not big) you don’t suck in your stomach! But I will get back to you on other ideas in an email. Send me a PM to remind me.
Normal timing is fine. You’re pregnant – not sick. 😉
Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂in reply to: trying to concieve – bikram still ok? #7354Hi Lelly
I can just bet that any so-called evidence either FOR or AGAINST doing or starting hot yoga during pregnancy is based on anecdotal experience, fear, hearsay, ignorance and totally befuddlement. 😆
I have read that people believe that doing yoga in the hot room will result in small sized babies! Hmmmm. Based on what controlled study with how many moms to be?
My point? You have to make up your own mind. You will find other posts that give people’s opinions. Mine is that if you are trying to get pregnant or you are pregnant, then do what you know. Ie don’t START a practice in the hot room (unless you’re absolutely 100% aligned with your decision!).
Can you think of a reason why you shouldn’t do the yoga? What qualifies as a valid answer is if you believe it’s contraindicated in your case. If you’re in class and every time you’re worried for your own health then don’t do it. But if you’re feeling fabulous and know you’re doing the best for your health and wellbeing then continue the yoga.
The other thing is that you have been pregnant before. How was the pregnancy? This could determine the way you think now.
I must add that if you’re attending a studio where the heat is unduly high then this can be risky for everyone. So take the commonsense approach. Do the yoga in the right conditions.
There are PLENTY of women out there who have conceived during their practice of hot yoga (not literally 😉 ) including me.
Remember that rest is an important part of your practice schedule so maximum 5 times per week.
So, what do you think?
Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂in reply to: Toes – Awkward Pose Help ! #7340Hi Pam
So when you say you would like your toes to do their thing 😉 what exactly would you like them to be doing? In other words it would be great to get a sense of what you’re expecting them to do!
And now that I investigate your findings I realize that instead of thinking I just have a big space between big and second toe and longer second (and third) toe I can now ‘upgrade’ my description to befit that of a SYNDROME. All of a sudden I feel rather special – ah, but unfortunately not so unique. 😆
Perhaps with you however you are experiencing more of the associated issues. As I read the descriptions on a couple of sites I see that there are some explanations for body imbalances that I have been addressing, continue to address or have fixed through yoga, mindful walking and postural alignment. So THANKS PAM!!! It does seem there is indeed a syndrome for everything! 😀
So to go back to the question: In what was does your big toe or in what way do your other toes challenge you in this pose? Which toes in particular do you find difficult to keep grounded. Do you also have the callousing described. I read also some other issues with legs, hips, back and shoulders. Can you relate to anything here?
Now, I WILL read up on what Mr Morton has to say and gather my thoughts, wait for your response – and also go out and enjoy my Sunday afternoon because the weather is glorious!
Meet you back here later! 😉
Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂in reply to: How hot is it??!! #7339Hi Jodi
When more than one or 2 people are on the floor or there is a sense of struggle (not just challenge) in the room, then there is a real chance that what you’re suggesting was occurring. The heat was too much.
Please go and check out the section called “The Heat” in the forum. Here’s a fairly recent discussion How Hot Is It?. You will see another extremely useful link or 2 within that thread that will give you some more great info.
I believe studios should have reliable consistent controllable conditions. And they should be happy to exhibit them. So if your studio feels it necessary to cover the readouts of the conditions then there’s something not working. It’s over-reading, under-reading, miscorrectly reading, changing constantly showing great upward and downward movements in a class, and so on and so forth.
Go and read what others had to say. Perhaps you’ll have some thoughts you want to share as a result.
Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂in reply to: Six months of hot yoga and still feeling stiff ? #7337Hi Jodi and Jeanette
I have a problem with the pain thing! I would want to know the nature of the pain, location, what brings it on, when and how. Specific poses? Certain movements? General ache in the lower back, the shoulders? A stiffness?
It COULD be you’re approaching poses in a way that is NOT good for your body. And the great feeling you get from the yoga is enough to keep you going, so you ignore that it could be creating risk for you.
Do you describe the pain as muscular soreness? Please give me some details. Maybe there’s something that can drastically change that for you when you know what to focus on. It could be a minor change or 2 in really ‘getting’ the pose mechanism.
It also could be that stuff is changing in your body. For me I was NOT in pain in the way I imagine you are describing but I could really feel my back straightening out (from scoliosis). It felt good. But it was never a disconcerting soreness. There was ease, strength, flexibility but a sensation of change and of muscles I wasn’t in the habit of using to support me.
Maybe it was word choice – whatever the case, I thought I would check in with you.
Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂in reply to: Protein and building strength… #7336Hi Shona
Your news is GREAT! Would you be willing to share your fave recipes for smoothies? I’m curious and would love to expand my repertoire!
Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂in reply to: 30 Day Challenge and a beginner #7322Hi Anna
This will be short! I am shutting up shop for the night! But what occurs to me is that your core strength needs work. If there’s one pose in this series where you need your core strength it’s Locust double leg lift. Most of the others you can wing your way through if you don’t know how to activate the core. From what you’re saying it IS possible that your stiffness is due to this very common issue. Well that’s certainly true for your sore back.
As for sore knees: Can you tell me what happens when you “lock your knees”? Are you able to keep them locked for 30 or 60 seconds in the standing balancing poses? You know, some people think locking the knee is straightening the knee and kind of locking the position of the knees in a skeletal rather than muscular way! Is it possible at all that you need to further develop your ability to use your quadriceps muscles to fully lift your kneecaps? Just asking. Let me know. It’s possible you have that handled. But I had to ask. Let me know before we delve deeper.
Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂Hi Jan
Sometimes test give false results. Positive or negative. So if you think you need to be retested then organize that.
Regarding your thyroid and fixing it with yoga: It’s very hard to say this early on in the piece. If it is your thyroid then I would certainly NOT expect it to only take a month to completely fix itself! But I wouldn’t rule it out. It COULD happen. Just don’t expect it to. You STILL need to do more investigation to keep you happy and get your mind at ease. Or you have to let it go and be patient. Only you can decide the best approach for you. You can use the same GP or a different one doesn’t matter. I am not so sure your body doesn’t like it. There could certainly be other issues. I know someone who was having a reflux problem which caused a throat issue. They were eating too late at night and lying down too soon.
Keep up the music for a while to see how your system starts to learn how to relax again. It’s great that it worked one night. Let go of the expectation that it will work every night – just ‘be’ and try to let go of your thoughts (gosh I know, sometimes that’s the hardest thing to do).
Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂in reply to: Shoulders/upper arms behind the ears… #7320Hi Cyberry
If your back is rounding even just a little, it is probably being accompanied by a slight dropping of the chin and a collapse of the chest. So I would suggest not so much focus on the effort here. Can you for example either: Keep your arms back and bend them a tiny bit to resolve that tension? Or conversely can you bring them forward a little bit beside the head and keep the arms straight and still keep the chest open and back straight?
The starting point of even the poses where you round forward is still a straight back and relaxed shoulders. Then you tuck the chin and roll forward. If your back starts rounded before you tuck then you are likely starting with undue tension in your head, neck and shoulders – hunching shoulders and compressing the neck.
Does that help you, or help you give me more information to find a way through your current question?
Namaste
Gabrielle 🙂 -
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