Guest guest Posted July 7, 2009 Report Share Posted July 7, 2009 Hi everyone and blessed be! I have some problems with various half lotus positions. I can go into the lotus position okayish but I have problems with the forward bends that include the half lotus. I don't think it is only due to my hips because I can open them okay, as in the Baddha Konasana or other asanas. It is only a problem with the way my knees are placed in the lotus... they hurts and I feel nothing not even a streching in my hips. Has this to do with my bone structure? What can I do to improve that? Thanks a lot Alma Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted July 7, 2009 Report Share Posted July 7, 2009 That you feel it in your knees suggests that your hips need to open a bit more for this to be accessible. When your hips are tight this will put most of the pressure in your knees. If you feel pain or even significant discomfort, back off. Many folks wind up with a meniscus tear trying to push lotus too hard, too soon. -tom On Tue, Jul 7, 2009 at 10:13 AM, alma_shiva_sat_chit_ananda < universal_mother_nua wrote: > > > Hi everyone and blessed be! > > I have some problems with various half lotus positions. I can go into the > lotus position okayish but I have problems with the forward bends that > include the half lotus. I don't think it is only due to my hips because I > can open them okay, as in the Baddha Konasana or other asanas. It is only a > problem with the way my knees are placed in the lotus... they hurts and I > feel nothing not even a streching in my hips. Has this to do with my bone > structure? What can I do to improve that? > Thanks a lot > Alma > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted July 8, 2009 Report Share Posted July 8, 2009 I'm not quite sure which postures you are doing but it sounds like Seated Virasana would be good for you to soften the muscles around the knee cap. --- On Wed, 8/7/09, alma_shiva_sat_chit_ananda <universal_mother_nua wrote: alma_shiva_sat_chit_ananda <universal_mother_nua ashtanga yoga Some questions about lotus asanas ashtangayoga Received: Wednesday, 8 July, 2009, 3:13 AM Hi everyone and blessed be! I have some problems with various half lotus positions. I can go into the lotus position okayish but I have problems with the forward bends that include the half lotus. I don't think it is only due to my hips because I can open them okay, as in the Baddha Konasana or other asanas. It is only a problem with the way my knees are placed in the lotus... they hurts and I feel nothing not even a streching in my hips. Has this to do with my bone structure? What can I do to improve that? Thanks a lot Alma ______________________________\ ____ Access 7 Mail on your mobile. Anytime. Anywhere. Show me how: http://au.mobile./mail Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted July 8, 2009 Report Share Posted July 8, 2009 Hi Alma, Just listen to your body and progress slowly. You will certainly see some improvement if you practice regularly. The process of growth is as much important as the end result (the final position of any asana). Wishing you all the best Luv and Regards, Dr. Atul Pednekar --- On Tue, 7/7/09, alma_shiva_sat_chit_ananda <universal_mother_nua wrote: alma_shiva_sat_chit_ananda <universal_mother_nua ashtanga yoga Some questions about lotus asanas ashtangayoga Tuesday, 7 July, 2009, 10:43 PM Hi everyone and blessed be! I have some problems with various half lotus positions. I can go into the lotus position okayish but I have problems with the forward bends that include the half lotus. I don't think it is only due to my hips because I can open them okay, as in the Baddha Konasana or other asanas. It is only a problem with the way my knees are placed in the lotus... they hurts and I feel nothing not even a streching in my hips. Has this to do with my bone structure? What can I do to improve that? Thanks a lot Alma recommends that you upgrade to the new and safer Internet Explorer 8. http://downloads./in/internetexplorer/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted July 8, 2009 Report Share Posted July 8, 2009 Hi Alma, I think it is unlikely that your bone structure is preventing you from sitting comfortably in the lotus position. Can I ask how long you have been trying? Everybody has a particular posture (or maybe many) which is difficult for their specific body (bones, muscles, tendons, etc) and also for their mind. I would recommend that you play (light-heartedly) about with the lotus posture, ie alter the position of the feet, moving them up and down the opposite thigh, get to know the best position for your own body. Also, try sitting in lotus, half lotus or even cross legged more frequently than usual, ie when you're reading a book, talking on the phone, watching a film etc. Good luck and keep practicing shanti shanti, H xx ashtangayoga , " alma_shiva_sat_chit_ananda " <universal_mother_nua wrote: > > Hi everyone and blessed be! > > I have some problems with various half lotus positions. I can go into the lotus position okayish but I have problems with the forward bends that include the half lotus. I don't think it is only due to my hips because I can open them okay, as in the Baddha Konasana or other asanas. It is only a problem with the way my knees are placed in the lotus... they hurts and I feel nothing not even a streching in my hips. Has this to do with my bone structure? What can I do to improve that? > Thanks a lot > Alma > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted July 8, 2009 Report Share Posted July 8, 2009 actually, in my opinion, its unlikely seated virasana will do much to help with lotus. First, seated virasana works an internal rotation of the hips, while lotus requires a significant external rotation. Virasana does stretch quadraceps, but these are typically not implicated in lotus. Second, there are no muscles around the kneecap to soften. The fibers around and over the kneecap are ligaments and serve to stabilize the knee joint. Stretching of these ligaments/knee capsule can result in extreme knee pain and perhaps crippling (sometimes even permanent) knee injury. If you look at the anatomy of the hip joint, it is quite complicated. That you are open in baddhakonasana indicates that some muscles are long, but baddha konasana while requiring significant external rotation at the hip does not require as much as lotus. Be patient, work poses that require good external rotation (*e.g., *many of the standing poses, when done correctly). In a few years it should be just fine. On Tue, Jul 7, 2009 at 5:28 PM, Helen <hel_puck wrote: > > > I'm not quite sure which postures you are doing but it sounds like Seated > Virasana would be good for you to soften the muscles around the knee cap. > --- On Wed, 8/7/09, alma_shiva_sat_chit_ananda < > universal_mother_nua <universal_mother_nua%40>> wrote: > > alma_shiva_sat_chit_ananda <universal_mother_nua<universal_mother_nua%40> > > > ashtanga yoga Some questions about lotus asanas > ashtangayoga <ashtangayoga%40> > Received: Wednesday, 8 July, 2009, 3:13 AM > > > Hi everyone and blessed be! > > I have some problems with various half lotus positions. I can go into the > lotus position okayish but I have problems with the forward bends that > include the half lotus. I don't think it is only due to my hips because I > can open them okay, as in the Baddha Konasana or other asanas. It is only a > problem with the way my knees are placed in the lotus... they hurts and I > feel nothing not even a streching in my hips. Has this to do with my bone > structure? What can I do to improve that? > > Thanks a lot > > Alma > > > > > > > > ________ > Access 7 Mail on your mobile. Anytime. Anywhere. > Show me how: http://au.mobile./mail > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted July 9, 2009 Report Share Posted July 9, 2009 also watch ankle flexibility as well, any resistance here will transfer to the knees, virasana is a really good posture to improve ankle flexibility. I have suffered from meniscus tears and have a routine which i do before practicing ashtanga to loosen out or create space in the ankles, knees and hips: I 1. kneel on the ground for approx 5/10 minutes, just normal kneeling bum on the heels, getting the knee used to the weight bearing 'closed' position. 2. Move into virasana with a towel or a book under the bum to create height, i tear a few pages out each day and slowly decrease the height over time. Make sure knees are together in virasana and don't cut down on prop height too fast. I try to stay in this for 10/15 minutes but start out with 1 minute and bump it up a tiny bit each day. 3. With the same prop for height i sit in Sukasana and let my hips loosen out making sure knees are either level with the hips or below, if knees are too high i increase the height of the seat, too low then decrease height. Sit here for another 10 minutes. 4. Then i do a routine while sitting in Baddha Konasana which my teacher taught me for approx 30 minutes, too diffiicult to explain here but main thing is sit in Baddha Konasana for a while here, and i use weights intelligently on the legs while sitting in it to 'slowy' get my knees to the ground, also sitting on a prop in this and making sure the pelvis is level (important!). If at any time you feel pain in the knees BACK OFF and increase the seat height until pain goes away. Now this routine might be a basic for you, but it is a good judge if you should be putting yourself into lotus or not. My opinion is that if you can't sit in sukasana and baddha konasana comfortably with no prop and pelvis level with the ground then you should not be putting yourself into lotus, but i guess this is a guideline for me as i have had a lot of knee trouble. A do a very basic pranayama routine while doing steps 1,2 & 3. This keeps my mind quiet and gets my breathing going. I guess it is kinda long as well but i need it. I also do some of this routine while sitting on the ground in the evenings while watching tv, of course without the pranayama as i would be getting strange looks from across the room :-) What i can say is that after two menisus operations and a lot of grief, this routine has allowed me to continue with my ashtanga practice in a safe and comfortable manner. The experiment continues i guess but hope this helps.. Thanks, Niall Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted July 9, 2009 Report Share Posted July 9, 2009 Dear Alma, I know exactly how you feel. I even asked the same question of my teacher, and she explained the problem to me: If your hips are not flexible enough, when trying to move into lotus, you will feel discomfort in your knees. Do not push further - you will damage your knees! Instead, go only as far as is comfortable, and improve your lotus by practicing lots and lots of other hip opening asanas. I am a huge fan of mysore yoga, of doing just the series as it is designed, but our western lifestyle, involving chairs rather than sitting cross legged, means many of us have very inflexible hips. After four years of practice (I didn't start yoga until my late 30s) I am finally starting to be able to sit in lotus. Some people take even longer. So some of us need a little extra yelp stretching our hips, over and above the classic Ashtanga practice. So take a few minutes before your practice to work on hip opening - pigeon pose is excelent, as is tailor pose. Ask your teacher to show you some others. Please be patient - it will take time. But though the discomfort seems to be in your knees, that is only because your hips are not open enough. Good luck, Daenelle Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted July 11, 2009 Report Share Posted July 11, 2009 Hi Alma, Tom is right... it will still have to do with your hips. Even though your hips open in the baddha konasana direction, when you fold forward the pelvis has to rotate around the head of the femur (thigh bone). I'm sure it does to some degree, but at the point that it stops, it starts to rotate the the femur internally and this is where it often creates a pinching, pressure, or pain on the inside of the knee. When you talk about your knees being placed in lotus... this happens as a result of your hips. You can't separate the relationship between these joints. Your knee is either out wide, or in tight in lotus as a result of your hip joint. I would suggest keeping the knee about 45 degrees, assuming you're pelvis is actually straight forward, but it's hard to say what's best for you without seeing you doing it. Not to try and sell you anything, but this is all pretty well explained in a downloadable knee section from my video (it's only $4) http://www.yoganatomy.com/shop.html As Tom said... many knee injuries are showing up from pushing lotus too hard. Namaste, David Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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