fish pose and 'pulled' muscle?

[Guest guest]

Sat Nam all!

 

I have a question about fish pose. I typically do the spinal flex set

in the evenings, before bed (great relaxer!). I do the version that

adds the shoulder stand, plow pose and the fish pose between the neck

rolls and side twists. I've been doing it that way for almost 2

months now. But last night, when I went to get into position for the

fish pose, as soon as I went to put my head back, I had a shooting

pain on the left side of my neck that affected muscles almost to my

should blade. I just fell back down on the mat and rested a minute.

But I couldn't do that asana last night. I did side twists, but then

stopped afterwards because my neck hurt so much. I woke up several

times last night with the pain and it's still stiff and sore this

morning. In fact, I didn't do any asanas this morning, because

neck/shoulder was too stiff. So I just meditated.

 

I dont' think I've ever pulled a muscle (I know, lucky me). But is

that what could have happened? I'm not sure how I would have. To get

into fish pose, I lay flat on my back. I put my hands under my bottom

(I'm not quite flexible enough to do the version in lotus), then I

arch my back and put the top of my head on the ground. I was fine

during the arch, but when I bent my head back, that's when the pain

hit. Anyone have any thoughts?

 

Thanks!

 

Christa

[Guest guest]

It is highly recommended to do some warming up of muscles and joints before

attempting to do asanas as difficult as fish pose.

maybe your tendons and muscles were cold and rigid and so they get a cramp.

Sat nam

 

Rafael

 

 

_______________

MSN Photos is the easiest way to share and print your photos:

http://photos.msn.com/support/worldwide.aspx

[Guest guest]

I hear about so many injuries while practising yoga,

these days. Guess, this is because, mostly, everything

is done in a hurry. One very important thing which is

not sufficiently emphasized in several yoga classes

is to do the asanas really slowly, always, even when

the asanas have been mastered. Else, ending up with

cramps/sprains/seizures is not surprising. Most of

the asanas involve extreme stretches or weird

positions. The advantages of doing asanas slowly are

the following:

 

1) You can afford to be more aware and so, have

greater control of what is happening. WHen you do an

asana slowly, you can

stretch to the point of slight discomfort, but not

pain (this is how yoga should always be done). If you

sense some pain coming, you will know

where and when to stop. You will have more time to

feel how you feel.

 

2) Doing asanas slowly is more beneficial for

developing strength and flexibility, as you will have

to allow the body to spend more time

at different angles/positions in going through the

stretch. The "muscle- and bone- memory" is enhanced.

 

3) In most of the exercises which involve raising

some part of the body above ground, working against

gravity slooooooooowly enhances strength a lot more

than if this raising is done rapidly.

 

4) Jerking into a stretch causes microtears in the

muscle, which makes you more susceptible to injury

while doing high intensity exercises such as running,

etc.

 

 

So, if you do not have time to do all the exercises,

do fewer exercises but take time to do these few

exercises, so that you can enjoy and feel doing them.

Never rush through all of them, due to

lack of time.

 

 

gayathri

 

 

 

Finance - Get real-time stock quotes

http://finance.