hip and knee pain

[Guest guest]

Sat Nam dear Sisters and Brothers,

 

As my kundalini practice has deepened and I have spent more time

sitting cross legged, I have developed pain in knees and hips. Does

anyone know how I can best adapt my position throughout my kriyas and

meditations to allow for this in a way that does not interfere with

the development of the energetic field? Peace be to all. Sat Nam. Elin

[Guest guest]

Kundalini-Yoga , " Elin Fisher-Todd "

<growinrowen wrote:

>

> Sat Nam dear Sisters and Brothers,

>

> As my kundalini practice has deepened and I have spent more time

> sitting cross legged, I have developed pain in knees and hips. Does

> anyone know how I can best adapt my position throughout my kriyas and

> meditations to allow for this in a way that does not interfere with

> the development of the energetic field? Peace be to all. Sat Nam.

Elin

>

 

Sat Nam ji,

 

First of all, it's important to define what kind of pain is this? Is

it a sharp pain, a deep pain, a surface pain, a dull pain, a throbbing

pain, a numb pain, etc?

 

Second of all, it's important we define all pains in the past tense.

If we expect pains and define them in the present tense, we are

manifesting them more actively with our minds and planting

expectations of pain.

 

Now onto the actual situation... First some preventative measures are

needed... (And if this sounds like I'm talking too simply for you,

it's only because I approach everyone as a beginner until I know at

which level they are at...). Plus, I'm a beginner, and always will

be... So it's the only language I know.

 

So, Why do we stretch in yoga? Is it to become more flexible? Perhaps

in some styles. But actually we stretch in Kudalini so that we can

hold our Asanas for longer periods during meditations with being

distracted by pains.

 

Asana means " comfortable seat " . We want to hold our comfortable seats

as long as possible, and this seems to be your issue...

 

So, there are many different " easy poses " depending on who you speak

to. Actually there's just one easy pose, but many variations around

it. There's perfect pose, and half lotus poses, and some others.

There's probably quite a bit of debate and personal preference around

which " easy pose " is actually the best/true Easy Pose, but probably

which ever pose you find easiest is your " easy pose " .

 

Guru Prem told me in teacher training in 2008-09 there is just the one

easy pose, simple cross-legged with the toes coming out from under the

shins a bit, with the shins/calves resting over the ankles. Other

people would say your knees have to be below your hips in " perfect

pose " (Siddhasana). Some people have problems holding one or the other

for any longer than a few minutes and would prefer to stay in rock

pose if possible!

 

Basically, everyone's body and bones are totally different, so you

will never hold a pose exactly like anyone else, nor should you expect

to, or compare yourself to someone else's body.

 

So, back to your issue... First of all... STRETCH STRETCH STRETCH!

Stretch those knees! Stretch those hips. Do some frogs. Life nerve

stretches and pigeon poses. I know it sounds simple, but your warm up

should target the areas that you will be using during meditation.

 

Second of all... look into propping your butt up a bit with something

firm to raise your hips up higher. This will take pressure off of you

hips and knees and activate your naval muscles a bit more. You could

use a cushion, wrapped up towel, or even a full yoga block. You want

your posture to be as active and correct as possible... (But without

seeing how you sit, it's impossible to diagnose where you are actually

" leaking energy " ) and this should help get you into a correct(er)

posture if your hips and knees are too tight for regular easy pose.

Eventually ease back into less support material over time.

 

Third, look into wrapping up the areas where you connect and pain

exists with towels or cushions until you can sit longer, and slowly

remove them over time.

 

Fourth and finally, for the pain itself... if you are having pain in

your knees, massage your elbows (deeply!). If you are having pain in

your hips... have someone massage your shoulder blades (firmly!). This

is part of YNMT (Yogic Neuro Muscular Therapy), which works

opposite-side, opposite-joints reflexes to alleviate pain and

discomfort. Try it. You may be surprised how immediate and effective

this is for many types of pain.

 

I hope one or all of these comments will help you make it through the

worst of it... And eventually into the best of it...

 

Sookh Dookh. " Pain is Ease " ... Or Pain is Pleasure.

 

Truly Yours,

Fateh Singh

[Guest guest]

Sat Nam Elin,

 

It's important to remember that it's not just all about your " energy " .

All of our weight throughout our days' tasks and games goes into our

knees, and too many people don't know how to protect themselves from

knee injuries.

 

My teacher would say that your meditation isn't strong enough, that

you are focusing too much on the pain, but I differ from my teacher in

that, as I mentioned earlier to Scott, I listen more to my body's

limits now. I prefer to focus on preventative injury, and this means

that I might work slower and more gently now to build up the deep

muscles near the bones.

 

I suspect that the reason why you are suffering in your hips and knees

in meditation, is because you are dropping your weight throughout your

activities/days. In other words, you need to develop your core

strength, the muscles in your abdomen. Then you need to remember to

keep stretching up, pulling up, in your meditation (all the time,

really). Also, I think that it is a common phenomenon that people

slouch when meditation, even though that works against how we are

taught to meditate.

 

Good luck!

[Guest guest]

Good reply! I can see yours being helpful as well. I agree with your

teacher trainer though, there is only one easy pose. I used to think

that any props was " cheating " , so maybe a year ago I wouldn't have

agreed with some of your remedies, but like I said, I am more mindful

of the individuals own progress now, rather than just busting through

walls. Since you accentuated STRETCH, I wanted to add something that

I might not have made clear in my original reply.

 

We think of stretching as touching our toes, or going into plow pose,

or what not. But what I was talking about, with the abdomen, is that

when you are pulling up, when you are taking the pressure that is

hurting the knees and hips away from them, that is in fact a stretch.

 

I wanted to clarify how to stretch your abdomen, your core (strength),

which will help to strengthen that area as well. It's really simple,

and that's why I'm interested in sharing it. All you have to do is

imagine your tailbone pulling toward the ground, and your head pulling

toward the sky. Imagining your belly button going toward the spine can

also be helpful. This will strengthen and stretch the spine, and will

correct the posture, reducing the pain. Also, because you will really

be upright, the energy can flow more fluidly along your spine in

between the energy centres/chakras.

[Guest guest]

Dear Elin,

 

For hip pain you can sit in rock pose. (sitting on your heels.) For

knee pain, you can extend the legs out in front of you, or sit in a

chair. If you keep checking, you will probably be able to gradually

sit cross legged for longer periods of time, eventually without pain.

It helps to do sets for the 2nd chakra when there are energetic

blocks that cause pain in the knees and hips. First chakra work

helps, too.

 

When I started KY it hurt me to sit cross legged, and now that seems

like a faint memory. I wish the same for you...

 

Satpal Kaur

 

Sat Nam dear Sisters and Brothers,

>

> As my kundalini practice has deepened and I have spent more time

> sitting cross legged, I have developed pain in knees and hips. Does

> anyone know how I can best adapt my position throughout my kriyas

and

> meditations to allow for this in a way that does not interfere with

> the development of the energetic field? Peace be to all. Sat

Nam. Elin

>

[Guest guest]

-Yes several things I know. One don't arch the lower back. keep it

tucked in which may almost feel like slouching. Tumeric lots and lots

of tumeric. Also change your position from ESP to Rock pose etc.

 

I don't believe you stated your age but joints loose their

luberication with age. So be kinder with yourself.

 

 

Blessings

Gurutej

www.gurutej.com

www.theenergygurus.com

-- In Kundalini-Yoga , " Elin Fisher-Todd "

<growinrowen wrote:

>

> Sat Nam dear Sisters and Brothers,

>

> As my kundalini practice has deepened and I have spent more time

> sitting cross legged, I have developed pain in knees and hips. Does

> anyone know how I can best adapt my position throughout my kriyas and

> meditations to allow for this in a way that does not interfere with

> the development of the energetic field? Peace be to all. Sat Nam.

Elin

>

[Guest guest]

Sat Nam dear Sisters and Brothers,

 

I wanted to express gratitude for all the wonderful suggestions and

thoughts regarding hip and knee pain. Since I practice only with the

guidance of books and online sources I truly feel wrapped in the

loving guidance of those in this group. I appreciate feeling a part

of this community and guided by all your experiences and teaching.

Your seva is important and recognized! Peace and light to you all. Elin

[Guest guest]

Thanks

 

But I sincerely suggest that you find a good teacher. There is a

slight dishonesty, I feel, only working through the advice of others

online, or through books. Yoga can be dangerous, and it's important

to have a teacher who can see if you are doing sets wrong, and correct

anything that is not aligned properly to avoid injury. Also, I think

rock pose will hurt your knees more, but I am not a physiotherapist.

[Guest guest]

Sit up on a cushion. Elevate yourself enough so that the knees can comfortably

be on the floor. Only sit on the edge of the cushion, with the pelvis tilted

slightly forward. The following is from a buddhist meditation course, but it

applies to any meditation practice that requires sitting. Note the importance

of having the hips higher than the knees. You can also try to find a buddhist

center around you, and have them show you how to sit. -Ardas

 

 

Sitting is completely natural. Your body already knows how to sit perfectly –

but this innate knowledge is obscured by social conditioning. In the West it is

generally believed that it is most comfortable and relaxed to slump and slouch.

We all learn this habit of sitting but it rapidly leads to aches and

restlessness. We learn, wrongly, that it is only possible to ‘sit up

straight’ by using muscular tension. These problems are reinforced by the

wretched design of Western chairs, which make it virtually impossible to sit

naturally.

 

The spine is the key to sitting. There are two factors.

 

Putting the spine in a vertical position automatically makes you alert.

Slouching backward, or slumping forward, tends to make you drowsy.

Allowing the spine to elongate makes sitting comfortable and relaxed.

Compressing the spine with muscular tension results in back, neck, or shoulder

pain.

Both factors are addressed by balancing the spine within the pelvis. When the

top of the spine—at the back of your neck—is directly above the tailbone, it

is vertical. When it is balanced, no muscular tension is required – the spine

simply assumes a vertical position. When it is out of balance, you need to

contract the muscles in your front to pull it forward – or the muscles in your

back to pull it back. (See figures 1-3 on this week’s picture page.) Either

contraction shortens the spine and results in tension and eventually pain.

 

To balance the spine within the pelvis, the pelvis must be higher than the

knees. This is the critical defect of most chairs. The seat of a chair designed

for human beings must slope downward from back to front. Many chairs slope

upward. Even seats that appear level generally squash down in the centre when

you sit on them, so that your pelvis sinks below your knees.

 

Sometimes I suspect that six-legged reptiles from Planet X have infiltrated the

chair design industry so they will have plenty of comfortable places to sit when

they take over our planet.

 

It is possible to sit still, comfortable, relaxed, and alert in an armchair. The

key is to ensure that your spine is supported evenly along its length and is

brought reasonably close to vertical. You may need one or more firm cushions

behind your back. Stretch your legs straight out in front. However, it may be

difficult to remain alert in an armchair.

 

Generally it is better to sit on an armless dining-table or office chair, with

your back unsupported. A common description of an interested audience is of

their being ‘on the edge of their seats’. When you are listening raptly to a

concert or lecture, you automatically take up the natural sitting

position—tall and vertical—and automatically find that sitting forward in

the chair makes that possible. This effortless alertness is what we cultivate in

meditation. A bored audience slumps and slouches.

 

With your back unconstrained by the chair, you can make tiny adjustments to find

the balance point. There you can release all tension and allow your spine to

elongate. At this point your head may feel as though it is floating upward

(figure 4).

 

Since chairs are so badly designed, some modification is usually required. The

angle of the seat can be corrected by putting a telephone directory under the

back legs. A concave or too-low seat can be fixed by putting a firm cushion on

top. A folded blanket or a stack of folded towels can also work. If you are

tall, chairs are too low, so that your knees are forced above your pelvis

regardless of the seat angle. You may need a telephone directory on the seat and

then cushioning on top of that. A narrow foam wedge—which you will find in

stores on the web—can provide both a downward slant and some added height. If

the chair is too high for you, put a telephone directory under your feet.