Tanya and Loredana's question

[Guest guest]

Thanks Shanna. That was very helpful and inspiring.

 

Tanya.

 

--- On Fri, 2/6/09, shanna small <lashannasmall wrote:

shanna small <lashannasmall

ashtanga yoga Re:(no subject) Tanya and Loredana's question

ashtangayoga

Friday, February 6, 2009, 5:57 AM

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Regarding the questions from Tanya and Loredana, In the past I

suffered from injuries and I am currently still working with them. The best

thing to do is to live in the present moment and respect your current body.I am

not saying there aren't poses you could do that would be therapeutic, I am

saying you can take regular Ashtanga poses, and with a little creativity, modify

them so that they are accessible for your body. I had a gentleman come to my

class last night and he was missing a hand and his practice was stronger than

most people in there who had all their limbs. He instinctively knew what to do

with his body and he was focused.

 

 

 

Eventually, your body will slowly start to respond and you may be able to

eventually, over time, do the full expressions of the poses but I would not let

that be the focus of the practice. I have learned to just enjoy breathing, enjoy

the feeling of my body stretching in the poses and I don't have any preconceived

notions of what it will look like. The ultimate goal of Asana(as opposed to the

other limbs) is to create a healthy body(there are other benefits). If you hurt

yourself, you are not healthy and you are not practicing Ahimsa IE nonviolence.

 

 

 

Trust me, if you do poses before your body is ready, you will build scar tissue

and further injure yourself and you may not ever make a total recovery.

 

 

 

Also Loredana, when you say bridge are you referring to wheel? You should be

able to do a Bridge pose even if you don't raise your hips all the way from the

floor. Wheel is a whole nother pose all together and it is not just about the

lower back. It requires a strong core, legs, and shoulders. If you are weak in

any of these areas, your back could be compensating for it. A good teacher

should be able to help you with your wheel and figure out where the issue is. It

is possible that you may need to do Bridge until everything is balanced. Also,

remember to hold your Bandhas through out the practice. If you don't, you may be

leaving your back unprotected which results in an exaggerated sway in the back

which leads to back injuries. This occurs alot during upward facing dog.

Dropping down too far in the back can cause injuries.