Guest guest Posted March 3, 2007 Report Share Posted March 3, 2007 Sat Nam, Melissa, Re. frog pose, it's fine to get feedback on your postures from other teachers, but if you can't do 108 froggies, it doesn't have to mean you're doing it wrong. The number of repetitions given in a set are go-fors or maximums, not have-tos. Teachers as well as students have personal limits, which we can usually expand with time, patience, and awareness. Yogiji told us to keep up, not to match our idea of perfection, and certainly not to do tissue damage. There are times when we can push through our perceived limits and go way beyond what we " know " we can do. And those are times of great vicory and joy. But there are other times when going gentle is what's called for. I think we learn whether to go Yin or Yang by having experiences with both paths. And there are times when our bodies impose limits that we need to heed. I'm more than a little concerned about the swelling in your knee (a delicate and often troublesome joint) and the severe pain you've been experiencing. That's a loud and clear message that your body is being damaged. Good idea to have your knee checked by a competent doctor, chiropractor, or other health care specialist. If there's a structtural problem or infection in your knee, you'll want to know about that. If the problem is due to strain, they may tell you to lay off the frog poses alltogether until your knee has had a chance to rest and to heal. We're often told, 'There's no gain without pain, " and there is some truth in that, but not complete truth. For most people a moderate amount of pain - the way a great back rub " hurts good " - is fine. Often pain that comes at the beginning of a yoga exercise will melt and disappear as we keep up. The key, in my experience, is being able to relax, embrace, enjoy the sensations, and to keep being aware of our state of being (Is my body releasing tension, are emotions like fear and anger lessening, is energy increasing?). But there's another level of pain, which is like a wall of " ouch. " If we bang against the wall, it just pushes back, and we hurt; or we shut off awareness and plow on. Not much gain in either of those. But if we fall back (usually only 5 or 10%), we can relax, embrace, enjoy, and keep up with awareness. After a little time, the wall moves, and we can do more. Some people need to take extra precautions because their pain feedback system doesn't work so well. Some folks, like overly macho guys, don't easily get the concept that less can be more. " I'll do this if it kills me. " Keep-up without awareness is not a virtue; it can increase bodily tension and lead to damage. People with conditions like fibromialgia may get surprised with a week of severe pain after only moderate exercise. They need to conpensate by being extra careful, by using their negative and neutral minds as well as awareness. It's great that you've got the awareness, consciousness, and intuition to know that something isn't right and to ask for help. And what a great keep-up spirit you have to even think about doing 108 frogs. Big Wahe Guru. May your knee be healed. Sat Hari Kaur Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 4, 2007 Report Share Posted March 4, 2007 Thank you for sharing your thoughts with me. I appreciate it. -- Breathe Deeply, Melissa D. Haile Kundalini Yoga Instructor When the spine is flexible, life is flexible. www.ModernYogini.com www.myspace.com/honeybeewellness > Sat Nam, Melissa, > > Re. frog pose, it's fine to get feedback on your > postures from other teachers, but if you can't do 108 > froggies, it doesn't have to mean you're doing it > wrong. The number of repetitions given in a set are > go-fors or maximums, not have-tos. Teachers as well as > students have personal limits, which we can usually > expand with time, patience, and awareness. Yogiji told > us to keep up, not to match our idea of perfection, > and certainly not to do tissue damage. > > There are times when we can push through our perceived > limits and go way beyond what we " know " we can do. And > those are times of great vicory and joy. But there are > other times when going gentle is what's called for. I > think we learn whether to go Yin or Yang by having > experiences with both paths. And there are times when > our bodies impose limits that we need to heed. > > I'm more than a little concerned about the swelling in > your knee (a delicate and often troublesome joint) and > the severe pain you've been experiencing. That's a > loud and clear message that your body is being > damaged. Good idea to have your knee checked by a > competent doctor, chiropractor, or other health care > specialist. If there's a structtural problem or > infection in your knee, you'll want to know about > that. If the problem is due to strain, they may tell > you to lay off the frog poses alltogether until your > knee has had a chance to rest and to heal. > > We're often told, 'There's no gain without pain, " and > there is some truth in that, but not complete truth. > For most people a moderate amount of pain - the way a > great back rub " hurts good " - is fine. Often pain that > comes at the beginning of a yoga exercise will melt > and disappear as we keep up. The key, in my > experience, is being able to relax, embrace, enjoy the > sensations, and to keep being aware of our state of > being (Is my body releasing tension, are emotions like > fear and anger lessening, is energy increasing?). > > But there's another level of pain, which is like a > wall of " ouch. " If we bang against the wall, it just > pushes back, and we hurt; or we shut off awareness and > plow on. Not much gain in either of those. But if we > fall back (usually only 5 or 10%), we can relax, > embrace, enjoy, and keep up with awareness. After a > little time, the wall moves, and we can do more. > > Some people need to take extra precautions because > their pain feedback system doesn't work so well. Some > folks, like overly macho guys, don't easily get the > concept that less can be more. " I'll do this if it > kills me. " Keep-up without awareness is not a virtue; > it can increase bodily tension and lead to damage. > People with conditions like fibromialgia may get > surprised with a week of severe pain after only > moderate exercise. They need to conpensate by being > extra careful, by using their negative and neutral > minds as well as awareness. > > It's great that you've got the awareness, > consciousness, and intuition to know that something > isn't right and to ask for help. And what a great > keep-up spirit you have to even think about doing 108 > frogs. Big Wahe Guru. May your knee be healed. > > Sat Hari Kaur > > > > > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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