Knees

[Guest guest]

I've been doing asthanga intermittently for about 4 years but although I can

happily do

surya a and b and the standing and inverted poses, I end up with a deep sense of

frustration because stiffness in my knees prevents me from ever mastering the

sitting

poses so I still can't even complete the primary series. I'm 56 & wonder if I'm

fighting a

losing battle or whether there is a way forward! I love doing the practice even

if incomplete

& feel taller when I've finished but my knees make alarming creaking noises even

in the

warrior poses & there's no way I can do a half-bound lotus - either sitting or

standing.

Two books I have say that Maricharya B is the gateway to the next poses but

there are

some intermediary poses which don't need much knee flexibility so .....

 

It would be good to hear other peoples' ideas on this

 

Vik

[Guest guest]

Heya.. with Ashtanga it is all to easy to become over identified with the

body... yoga is not about being able to do postures.. one cannot see yoga in

action... any well trained gymnaste can come along and 'perform' asana with

great ease.. this is not yoga.. you will steady your mind and bring health

and vitality to your body and enrich your life through just gently bringing

yourself as close as you comfortably can to the final state of the asana and

breathing... there are always greater challenges.. there is no end to it...

putting ones legs behind ones head is absolutely irrelevent to the

betterment of mankind.. it is just a tool to straighten out our hearts and

minds.. its absoloutely wonderful that you discipline yourself to practice..

do that and take the pressure off yourself about what you can achieve..

putting to much pressure on ourselves is a recipe for giving up.. yoga is a

lifetimes work.. we must pace ourselves

 

mart

[Guest guest]

vic, this is a problem that nags many people. The ashtanga yoga series were

designed for young boys who had no trouble with flexibility and need to build

strength and be actively entertained. Knee flexibility was not an issue for

them. I would say you do the Suryas, standing poses, dandasana/pashimo/purvo,

and then proceed to do really deep hip openers, followed by say your finishing

poses.

2nd series has some really good hip work that, if done in a preparatory fashion,

would increase hip openness.

[Guest guest]

the knees are not very flexible on anyone. you should work a little extra on hip

openers as: pigeon, baddha konasana, etc. knees are just hinges that work back

and forth. they are not made for twisting. the twisting is made by the femur

twisting in the hip joint.

 

Vik Birkbeck <vik wrote: I've been doing asthanga

intermittently for about 4 years but although I can happily do

surya a and b and the standing and inverted poses, I end up with a deep sense of

frustration because stiffness in my knees prevents me from ever mastering the

sitting

poses so I still can't even complete the primary series. I'm 56 & wonder if I'm

fighting a

losing battle or whether there is a way forward! I love doing the practice even

if incomplete

& feel taller when I've finished but my knees make alarming creaking noises even

in the

warrior poses & there's no way I can do a half-bound lotus - either sitting or

standing.

Two books I have say that Maricharya B is the gateway to the next poses but

there are

some intermediary poses which don't need much knee flexibility so .....

 

It would be good to hear other peoples' ideas on this

 

Vik

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Guest guest]

Vik:

I'm 55 and don't believe this is a " losing battle " .

That being said, I find that at 55 an " intermittent " practice can be

problematic.

There is a natural tendency for the body to tighten up in response to a

practice (I call

it Ashtanga " snap-back " ). With a regular practice, however, this is not an

issue things

just open up again, perhaps a bit more in practice the following day. If

you are practicing

less than 3 times/week, like with any other physical activity, there may not

be much " progression "

and you may be aggravating rather than improving joint issues ---- just my

opinion.

 

With respect to Knees -- every seated pose can be modified (sometimes using

blocks and the like) to reduce impact on

afflicted parts of your body. -- best done with the aid and supervision of a

very experienced teacher.

-tom

[Guest guest]

that was very well said! i was a child gymnast, and so i have quite the opposite

lessons. thanks for chiming in! moti

 

" mart ... " <martw77 wrote: Heya..

with Ashtanga it is all to easy to become over identified with the

body... yoga is not about being able to do postures.. one cannot see yoga in

action... any well trained gymnaste can come along and 'perform' asana with

great ease.. this is not yoga.. you will steady your mind and bring health

and vitality to your body and enrich your life through just gently bringing

yourself as close as you comfortably can to the final state of the asana and

breathing... there are always greater challenges.. there is no end to it...

putting ones legs behind ones head is absolutely irrelevent to the

betterment of mankind.. it is just a tool to straighten out our hearts and

minds.. its absoloutely wonderful that you discipline yourself to practice..

do that and take the pressure off yourself about what you can achieve..

putting to much pressure on ourselves is a recipe for giving up.. yoga is a

lifetimes work.. we must pace ourselves

 

mart

 

 

 

 

 

 

Be a better Globetrotter. Get better travel answers from someone who knows.

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[Guest guest]

Tom,

 

Thanks ­ it¹s always good to create some kind of dialogue ­ it¹s true I was

doing an almost daily practice with good teachers & my knees seemed better

but I¹ve been travelling quite a lot since the beginning of the year so I

haven¹t been able to keep it up ­ I¹ve been practicing alone & less

frequently or cutting out the sitting postures to reduce the time ­ and

yes, my knees seem to have stiffened up enormously so maybe you¹re right. In

fact the last trip I managed to twist my ankle as well. My natural tendency

with any kind of injury has always been to work through it and there¹s not

much chance of doing anything else as I have to walk up 100 steps to get

from street level to my house. I usually go to work by bike so my knees get

quite a lot of other kinds of movement. One of the hardest things I find is

to go against the accumulated opinion of the almost totality of

(non-practicing) people around you.

 

Vik

[Guest guest]

Ralph Craig III

 

This sounds pretty reasonable. Besides the fact that they probably didn¹t

need to cross a big city in an overcrowded bus in the rush hour. Also of

course the whole traditional body culture of the South in which people

mostly sit or squat on the ground to work or chat or eat ­ no chairs, beds

or sitting toilets ­ so that hips & knees have a different kind of agility.

But there are so many westerners doing the practice, so many women ... And

even in the countries of the South, the elites, the middle classes, the

educated ­ or westernized ­ have mostly all adopted the West¹s Œcomfortable¹

habits by now. So why stick to the sequence at all? I am always tempted to

adaptations ­ especially as I did my own comfortable sequence adapted from

Iyengar for years before venturing into ashtanga. But nothing quite explains

the peculiar feeling of satisfaction of following through from one movement

to the next. One of the disadvantages I find about classes is that it is

very hard to resist the urge to compare yourself with others. This is such

an overpowering element of Western culture. On the other hand when

practicing alone it is easy to lose motivation & as a friend & teacher said,

suddenly become focussed on a bit of fluff that seems to be stuck under the

sole of your right foot. I imagine that Mart is right that putting your legs

behind your head is irrelevant to the betterment of mankind but it¹s

probably quite a good way to diminish all the unnecessary thoughts which get

in the way. Mind over matter or matter over mind?

 

Vik

 

PS I¹ll try your suggestions

 

On 6/20/07 10:10 AM, " Ralph Craig III " <body_embalmer wrote:

 

>

>

>

>

> vic, this is a problem that nags many people. The ashtanga yoga series were

> designed for young boys who had no trouble with flexibility and need to build

> strength and be actively entertained. Knee flexibility was not an issue for

> them. I would say you do the Suryas, standing poses, dandasana/pashimo/purvo,

> and then proceed to do really deep hip openers, followed by say your finishing

> poses.

> 2nd series has some really good hip work that, if done in a preparatory

> fashion, would increase hip openness.

>

>

 

 

 

 

 

[Guest guest]

Well said Mart. And thank you for saying it. Sometimes we all need a little

reminder...

YB

 

 

 

 

-- In ashtangayoga , " mart ... " <martw77 wrote:

>

> Heya.. with Ashtanga it is all to easy to become over identified with the

> body... yoga is not about being able to do postures.. one cannot see yoga in

> action... any well trained gymnaste can come along and 'perform' asana with

> great ease.. this is not yoga.. you will steady your mind and bring health

> and vitality to your body and enrich your life through just gently bringing

> yourself as close as you comfortably can to the final state of the asana and

> breathing... there are always greater challenges.. there is no end to it...

> putting ones legs behind ones head is absolutely irrelevent to the

> betterment of mankind.. it is just a tool to straighten out our hearts and

> minds.. its absoloutely wonderful that you discipline yourself to practice..

> do that and take the pressure off yourself about what you can achieve..

> putting to much pressure on ourselves is a recipe for giving up.. yoga is a

> lifetimes work.. we must pace ourselves

>

> mart

>