muscle cramps

[Guest guest]

I've noticed that cramping can arise as old or

habitual muscle tension is accessed, or brought into the

field of awareness. The cramping seems to be part of

the release process. I've seen folks new to asana

practice often experience new (and sometimes intense or

frightening) sensations and say it's a "cramp" only because

they have no vocabulary or experience, but there is no

visible cramp in their body. <br>My sense is they are

accessing tension they never knew was there, and are not

quite sure what to do...<br>Water (not juice, soda or

tea) is huge, most people are chronically (mildly)

dehydrated--this is one factor that can lead to many major health

problems as the body is not able to rid itself of toxins

and wastes without enough water.<br>Hope this

helps.<br><br>PM

[Guest guest]

Was going to try to figure out some reply to

this, explaining it as accessing tension, but Padmanow

has expressed my understanding of this very well. I

might add that the cramping sensation seems to be

associated more with contraction of muscle rather than with

stretching (but then when one side stretches, the other

contracts). It may be an unfamiliar sensation but I think it

is a good thing, indicating a release of tension,

and it may even be good to encourage and move into

this when it arises.

[Guest guest]

Dehydration/salt depletion certainly plays a

part, and people starting ashtanga yoga may well be

sweating more heavily than they ever have

before.<br><br>Using muscles in unfamiliar ways can also cause them to

spasm - as an example, when I started rock climbing I

had horrendous cramps in my calves and the arches of

my feet afterwards, because standing on my toes on

tiny footholds was working those muscles harder than

they had ever worked before.<br><br>Also, lack of

technique and balance in the standing asanas can put a lot

of strain on the feet. I had problems with cramp in

my right foot for my first year or so of practice, I

think because I had an old knee injury and a very tight

hip that side, which meant I had a lot of tension in

the leg and either couldn't, or wasn't aware of the

need to, stand with my weight evenly distributed

across the foot, side to side and front to back.

[Guest guest]

Many good points, Alan.<br><br>I remember reading

about some football players who began experimenting

with drinking a small glass of pickle juice during the

halftimes of their games. It sounds pretty nasty, but it

really helped eliminate their muscle cramps during the

second half. At first, the salt from the pickle juice

was given credit for relieving their cramps; now

they're starting to realize that it was the lactic acid

still present in the juice from the fermentation of the

pickles. Sounds paradoxical - that taking in lactic acid

will prevent muscle cramping - but it really works.

<br><br>Personally, I don't get muscle cramps while practicing yoga,

but I do try to eat some lacto-fermented food like

naturally pickled sauerkraut or chinese cabbage pickles.

Outside of preventing cramps, these foods are also good

for improving digestion.

[Guest guest]

Thanks everyone for input on what causes muscle

cramps. It was a question I would like to know the answer

to as well, as i have been dealing with muscle

cramps in my yoga practice. <br><br>Omprem-i was told

the same by my chiropractor and yoga

instructor...water water water. <br>my chiropractor also suggested i

may be lacking the minerals you mentioned. it was

suggested i increase my intake of magnesium and calcium. so

far, i'm doing okay. i just keep practicing and try to

be aware of how my body feels in practice and

throughout the day. <br><br>someone mentioned in one of the

replies about their hip being tight and having cramping

in their feet. i'm not an anatomy expert and i was

wondering if anyone could explain to me how the calf

muscles would cramp from tight hips. <br><br>have a nice

day everyone!<br>carissa

[Guest guest]

Tight hips can create havoc in many other parts

of the body during the primary series in particular

since it exposes any weakness or imbalance in the hips

by working them so thoroughly. To do an asana

"properly", the hips must be open-on all sides, front, inner,

outer, back--when they are not, strain is often felt in

areas distal to the hips because the hips have the

largest muscles and large connection points. The large

muscles in the hip region narrow and attacth to

relatively small points around the knee. Therefore, tight

hip muscles will transfer tension to muscle

attachments (tendons) around the knee and put a strain on the

joint which strains the ligaments (they attach bone to

bone) NOT GOOD! This can also occur with the lower leg,

the feet and, going the other way, to the back and

even the shoulders and neck. <br><br>It is also

natural (but usually not helpful)to compensate....i.e my

hips are tight, freeing them is a long, slow process,

so I unconsciously work other areas that I'm more

familiar or comfortable with--again, not good.<br><br>This

is where having a teacher is very important. Very

few practioners, particularly beginners, are aware of

how they inappropriately compensate for a particular

weak spot (either not known to them or avoided

altogether), they work and work and work and over time come up

with chronic imbalances and injury--I should know, it

happened to me. I think the key is to slow down, and

carefully assess the situation before charging through to

the next asana. Also, a teachers knowledgable eye can

work wonders in a very short time.<br><br>As far as

technique, I've found relentless application of the bandhas

will reveal the truth of the pose, and proper

alignment becomes natural and non analytical.<br><br>Good

Luck<br>PM

[Guest guest]

padmanow<br>Well said. I cringe when beginners

with clearly tight hips, and over 30, are led into

lotus without any info on this topic.<br>It is

frightening what is done to knees under the auspices of yoga

and consistent practice.