Guest guest Posted September 19, 2009 Report Share Posted September 19, 2009 Hello, Can anyone help me with these two enquiries? i have an almost daily practice of ashstanga yoga at home, but have recently started to develop a slight pain in the front and a little to the side of my neck. It's not very painful but I am a little worried as its a very vulnerable part of the body to experience a muscle pain. I believe that I'm obviously not getting the correct neck position in a pose or poses. can anyone suggest which poses place a particular strain on the neck and what is the correct head position? Or any other related advice/thoughts on this welcome? my second enquiry is about sleep and perhaps this is also related to my neck pain. I've read that the advised way for yogi practioners to sleep is without a mattress and pillows, basically a hard surface. does anyone have any thoughts on this or can you direct me to any relevant discussion or literiture on this subject? thanks to all, Jack Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted September 20, 2009 Report Share Posted September 20, 2009 I actually chipped off a piece of a vertebrae once. I continue to exercise my neck, but I use far more moderation now. Check with your doctor, but my knee-jerk response is to try skipping the neck-intensive positions for a couple of days. Listen to your body. I sleep on a mattress with a small buckwheat husk pillow. D On Sat, Sep 19, 2009 at 8:50 AM, jack.edgecombe < jack.edgecombe wrote: Hello, Can anyone help me with these two enquiries? i have an almost daily practice of ashstanga yoga at home, but have recently started to develop a slight pain in the front and a little to the side of my neck. It's not very painful but I am a little worried as its a very vulnerable part of the body to experience a muscle pain. I believe that I'm obviously not getting the correct neck position in a pose or poses. can anyone suggest which poses place a particular strain on the neck and what is the correct head position? Or any other related advice/thoughts on this welcome? my second enquiry is about sleep and perhaps this is also related to my neck pain. I've read that the advised way for yogi practioners to sleep is without a mattress and pillows, basically a hard surface. does anyone have any thoughts on this or can you direct me to any relevant discussion or literiture on this subject? thanks to all, Jack Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted September 22, 2009 Report Share Posted September 22, 2009 Thanks Darrell. your vertebrae injury sent a shudder down my spine and your advice is spot on. I've worked that when i'm in head stand i'm putting alot more stress on the neck than i thought. i'm now really concentraing on keeping the weight on the arms, it seems to have made a diffirence. I've also got rid of my pillow, felt odd to begin with but i think i'm getting used to it. cheers again. ciao. ashtangayoga , Darrell King <DarrellGKing wrote: > > I actually chipped off a piece of a vertebrae once. I continue to exercise > my neck, but I use far more moderation now. Check with your doctor, but my > knee-jerk response is to try skipping the neck-intensive positions for a > couple of days. Listen to your body. > > I sleep on a mattress with a small buckwheat husk pillow. > > D > > On Sat, Sep 19, 2009 at 8:50 AM, jack.edgecombe < > jack.edgecombe wrote: > > > Hello, > Can anyone help me with these two enquiries? > > i have an almost daily practice of ashstanga yoga at home, but have recently > started to develop a slight pain in the front and a little to the side of my > neck. It's not very painful but I am a little worried as its a very > vulnerable part of the body to experience a muscle pain. I believe that I'm > obviously not getting the correct neck position in a pose or poses. can > anyone suggest which poses place a particular strain on the neck and what is > the correct head position? Or any other related advice/thoughts on this > welcome? > > my second enquiry is about sleep and perhaps this is also related to my neck > pain. I've read that the advised way for yogi practioners to sleep is > without a mattress and pillows, basically a hard surface. does anyone have > any thoughts on this or can you direct me to any relevant discussion or > literiture on this subject? > > thanks to all, > Jack > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted October 3, 2009 Report Share Posted October 3, 2009 Hey Jack and D... I too have found that sleep position does effect my neck as well. I love the inverted closing sequence. These asana's do seem to be Neck killers... Sarvangasana through Sirsasana are all definitly putting alot of strain there. This is the first I hear that Ashtangi's should use no pillow... Interesting I will try a thin pillow and see if it helps. " Practice and All will come " <P.Jois> Steven Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted October 4, 2009 Report Share Posted October 4, 2009 buckwheat pillow Shannon Smith Lulumars.com --- On Sat, 10/3/09, Steven <stevenlarock wrote: Steven <stevenlarock ashtanga yoga Re: neck pain & proper sleep position ashtangayoga Saturday, October 3, 2009, 8:15 AM Hey Jack and D... I too have found that sleep position does effect my neck as well. I love the inverted closing sequence. These asana's do seem to be Neck killers... Sarvangasana through Sirsasana are all definitly putting alot of strain there. This is the first I hear that Ashtangi's should use no pillow... Interesting I will try a thin pillow and see if it helps. " Practice and All will come " <P.Jois> Steven Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted October 4, 2009 Report Share Posted October 4, 2009 Shoulder stand and headstand should not be straining your neck. Regarding shoulderstand -- remember its a shoulderstand, not a neck stand. When you are practicing this pose there should be space under your neck -- i.e. you should easily be able to stick a finger under there. If no space -- recommend practicing with your shoulders on a blanket the way Iyengar folks do. If person running your practice room doesn't permit this, recommend either not doing the pose at all or finding another place to practice. Cervical injuries can be severe and permanent. with respect to headstand -- You can try a few things. - First, most folks place their head to the ground is touching too far forward leading to flexure in the neck. Adjust head so the crown (top middle) of the head is touching. -- so the spine is aligned/straight. You can also press downward through your arms and shoulders to remove weight from head -- Eventually you can do this so head is not touching at all. -tom On Sat, Oct 3, 2009 at 8:15 AM, Steven <stevenlarock wrote: > > > Hey Jack and D... > I too have found that sleep position does effect my neck as well. I love > the inverted closing sequence. These asana's do seem to be Neck killers... > Sarvangasana through Sirsasana are all definitly putting alot of strain > there. This is the first I hear that Ashtangi's should use no pillow... > Interesting I will try a thin pillow and see if it helps. > " Practice and All will come " <P.Jois> > Steven > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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