leg falling asleep

[Guest guest]

Hello Christa,

 

I will respond to your questions about legs falling asleep from my

experience; it may or may not be what you require, sure hope it helps

though.

 

I am not sure about the official Kundalini teaching with regard to

leg crosses, but in other traditions - Hatha, Iyengar, - one

practises alternating the cross so as to balance out the flexibility

of the hips. Think of it this way: your body is becoming a vessel

for a huge powerful energy. You want that body to be grounded and

balanced and strong. So to get there, you must think about how to

achieve those things. If you always cross in one direction, your

hips more likely than not, become unbalanced.

 

My Buddhist teacher was not very fond of yoga at all; she really only

focussed on meditation and transcendance of the mind. I saw her go

from sitting cross legged, to virasana, to a stool, and eventually to

a chair. She was a great teacher but I would like to work with my

body to develop and maintain strength and flexibility, so I also

studied yoga to that end. Eventually you have to find what works for

you.

 

I would recommend practising all of the standing yoga poses T-pose,

Chair, Triangle, Forward fold, Dancer pose, Tree pose, Side angle

pose, Up Dog, Down Dog and so on. Even learning the Sun sequence and

doing that every day would be beneficial. Focus your attention to

the contact of your feet with the ground. Notice the quality of your

stance, bring the ankles up, loosen any gripping in the thighs, hips,

and lower back. Watch your body make these poses and work to make

them easier and effortless - on both sides. This is no small task.

Always balance out the body and seek to acheive squared hips and

shoulders, upright spine, hip bones coming up towards your head. In

traditional yoga, these poses are done in order to strengthen the

legs and hips and bring flexibility to those areas so that sitting

will be easier. It makes sense to start there. That doesn't mean

you'll give up sitting; you just have to make time for both.

 

As for sitting with supports; yes, this is also a good way,

especially if your legs are falling asleep. Eventually you won't

need them, but for now it may be a good idea. Fold two blankets so

that they end up about three feet long and about six inches wide.

Place them on top of each other and sit on the blankets, allowing

your legs and feet to come down to the floor. Sit far enough forward

so that your spine is straight, knees coming down. You can also

place some blanket between the crosses in your legs; I've seen this

work for some people. Or place little supports at the ankles to

raise them up. Just explore what works and what doesn't. You'll

figure it out.

 

Again, if you could attend some classes where these poses are

practised, that would be best. A teacher could look at you and give

great feedback. It is totally well within your ability to improve

your easy sitting pose to the point where its truly easy. Usually,

Iyengar yoga teachers spend a great deal of time on proper alignment

and they really are a jewel.

 

Best wishes to you and your practise.

 

Linda