Yoga.....school me please

[bounceswoosh]

Yeah, I could seriously sleep like that. [emoji1]

I thought that might be a picture of you!

 

[Swamp Dog]

I don't think anyone has quite addressed something that I noticed about your comment. "Extremely out of shape and inflexible" - flexibility and fitness are not prerequisites for yoga (or really for any activity you want to do, but especially for yoga). I know how tempting it is to say, oh, I don't look like the other people in that gym - I won't go in there until I look like they do.

thanks for picking up on that point. luckily I'm past that stage in my life. I'm more concerned with being able to get the most out of what I'm there for and not getting hurt. My own physical and mental well-being is on the line these days so what others look like doesn't even factor into it.

I think I found something (relatively) close that I will try this week.

 

[altagirl]

I like hot yoga (sometimes) too. It is worth a try at some point. I know the sweating out toxins thing is not scientific, but man, when I haven't been in a while, my sweat just STINKS. Go regularly and it smells clean. And there is nothing I've ever done that makes me sweat like hot yoga. That. .. circulation of sweat has to be doing something.

Maybe it's just making me drink loads of water and flushing me out. ...

 

[Mrs Hutchins]

I second everyone's points on here, the one thing to keep in mind is to stay in your own practice. Don't worry about what those around you are doing, but stay true to your own practice! It's amazing the progress you make if you listen to your body and don't push yourself into a place you don't belong.

....yoga has changed my life. I started when I had major back problems, and continued when I found so many other things changing for the positive, too. I hope you enjoy it as much as so many of us here!!

 

[bounceswoosh]

Oh, yeah, I have done that definitely. I just always think it's funny that the most impossible thing for me is that rest.

I often can't do shivasana at the end of class - my back objects. A blanket under my knees helps a bit, but sometimes I'll do bound ankle with my feet on a blanket, and that's more comfortable for me. Go figure. Today I was at the back of the room, so I was able to do legs against the wall - yum.

 

[Mrs Hutchins]

I often can't do shivasana at the end of class - my back objects. /QUOTE]

There is a super awesome modification of reclined cobbler's pose that I often do instead, it involves a few props, but it's amazing. You use a strap around your legs, blocks under your knees and you recline on a bolster. It's legitimately heaven. It allows the body to completely let go, something I often have trouble with even in basic shivasana.

 

[Gloria]

So what exactly is "power" yoga?

 

[bounceswoosh]

There is a super awesome modification of reclined cobbler's pose that I often do instead, it involves a few props, but it's amazing. You use a strap around your legs, blocks under your knees and you recline on a bolster. It's legitimately heaven. It allows the body to completely let go, something I often have trouble with even in basic shivasana.

I have learned things today:
* Reclined cobbler's = bound angle
* It's bound angle, not bound ankle (but bound ankle made sense to me!)

I think I understand the blocks and bolster, but what do you use the strap for?

 

[BackCountryGirl]

We did reclining bound angle with straps in my Iyengar class last night. You pull your heels to the groin, place hands outside legs and place strap along balls of feet. The straps let's you place some tension into the pose if you can't reach your feet with your hands.

 

[bounceswoosh]

We did reclining bound angle with straps in my Iyengar class last night. You pull your heels to the groin, place hands outside legs and place strap along balls of feet. The straps let's you place some tension into the pose if you can't reach your feet with your hands.

That doesn't sound like the same thing - @Mrs Hutchins was saying the body could completely let go.

 

[BackCountryGirl]

I let go. Don't put too much emphasis on the word tension. The straps help you reach your feet to hold them in the pose. I wouldn't be able to Ben my knees enough to bring my ankles toward my groin.

 

[altagirl]

So what exactly is "power" yoga?

It's a style, but somewhat vague, meaning classes vary place to place and there are a lot of variations. My regular studio offers three levels. It's basically a vinyasa (flow) class intended to give you a workout/make you sweat.

 

[altagirl]

I have learned things today:
* Reclined cobbler's = bound angle
* It's bound angle, not bound ankle (but bound ankle made sense to me!)

I think I understand the blocks and bolster, but what do you use the strap for?

Technically, cobblers=bound angle=baddha konasana.

Reclined cobblers=reclined bound angle=supta baddha konasana=goddess pose

 

[altagirl]

The strap lets you relax while keeping your feet in closer. It does feel good, too me anyway.

 

[Mrs Hutchins]

@bounceswoosh -- It's a little different than what BackCountryGirl did at her class, you kind of wrap the strap around your back, over your groin and then around your ankles:

This poor man in the pose looks a little... locked and loaded... but you can obviously adjust the straps as needed.

 

[Mrs Hutchins]

The strap lets you relax while keeping your feet in closer. It does feel good, too me anyway.

Nice timing! :D haha!

 

[Pequenita]

Restorative yoga as taught in the Iyengar tradition is not as passive as restorative yoga is taught by, say, me and my teachers. For instance, I've seen downward facing dog with your head resting on a block considered restorative in the Iyengar tradition. And it is, in a sense. On the other hand, it's not passive because it's not like you're not using the rest of your body to hold yourself up.

The reclined cobbler's pose in the photos has the strap as a hammock, so you can let go, though for some people the strap itself presses against their skin, etc. Alternatively, you could place folded blankets under the thighs, and if using a bolster is too extreme a backbend, you could use folded blankets, etc.

@bounceswoosh, putting a bolster under your thighs (rather than knees) or just more blankets rolled into the size of a bolster helps with low back issues. Placement under the thighs is what actually gets your pelvis to tilt and give relief to your back, so think of placing it there, rather than under the knees. You could also do legs up the wall if you can get to a wall, or make a bench with two blocks and a bolster, and placing your calves on the "bench" with knees and hips at 90˚ angles.

 

[Jenny]

This one does NOT look relaxing to me!

 

[bounceswoosh]

I feel like by the time I got all those props in place, everyone would already be gone and the studio would be locked for the night =P

 

[altagirl]

I feel like by the time I got all those props in place, everyone would already be gone and the studio would be locked for the night =P

You wouldn't do that in a normal class, but in restore, or at the end of yin, something where you use a sea of props the whole class, take time to set up and lots of time in each pose to make it worth it.