Yoga Struggles and Contradictory Health Advice

[viklikesfic]

Okay, once again I'm on this community with questions about yoga and health. This is becoming a theme!

I was reading some articles on Yoga Journal about yoga and health problems and there was just so much contradictory advice that my head started spinning. Do spinal twists to stimulate organs, don't do spinal twists because you'll screw up your SI joint. Do forward bends to increase hamstring flexibility, don't do forward bends because you'll mess up your lower back. Etc etc ad infinitum. Obviously the best option would be to a yoga studio where a teacher could see my alignment and provide advice, but that's not a financial option. (I know there are cheaper classes, but I mean I'm literally not eating fresh produce or cheese because of my financial situation. It's out of the question.)

So! I ended up kind of freaking out and having a week off of yoga, which started as a couple of days and then I was having trouble getting into it mentally, depressed, etc. I could only do about 10 minutes before my mind gave up. The good news is that I got back to it for two days so far, but the bad news is that I'm stiff as a board. My back is very stiff and inflexible, warrior poses feel like they're hurting more than helping, etc. It seems like I'm less flexible than I was before I ever did yoga, though I know that can't be the case. Does anyone else have this issue? It's discouraging that six months of practice is just gone because of a week of doing zero to ten minutes a day.

Also, I keep having this really weird feeling when I do Yoga Download's Morning Flow #1. The problem seems to be linked to the lying down poses like cobra, boat, and whatever the one is where you're on your stomach and lacing hands behind to lift your chest. The feeling is a headache combined with dizziness, but it's extremely unsettling, almost makes me feel like I'm going to be sick to my stomach. Anyone else have this problem?

Comments

[jumpuphigh]

What is your breath like when you do the poses that you are worrying about?

[viklikesfic]

I use ujayi (sp) pranayama throughout my practice. It's a little harder to do when I'm lifting my chest off the floor, admittedly, so a bit restricted, but I don't hold my breath or anything.

[jumpuphigh]

Is it free? Unrestricted? Steady? Even? Consistent? Deep? Full of ease?

[viklikesfic]

Well, no, haha. I would say fairly steady and even but a little bit shallow and a restricted. I can't get breath into my lungs quite as comfortably in that position as I can normally.

[jumpuphigh]

Any pose that you do with shallow and restricted breath is dangerous. No pose is dangerous if done correctly.

[viklikesfic]

Hmm. I guess I figured that you were supposed to *try* to breathe naturally, but if you weren't holding your breath you'd be ok. It's hard to imagine being able to do most backbending type postures with completely free breath, but maybe I'll lay off on them for a little while.

[jumpuphigh]

What you are looking for is that place right before your breath changes. So do backbends but don't go so deep.

[jumpuphigh]

What do you do when it is restricted like your example above?

[viklikesfic]

I mean, I just breathe as deeply as I physically can until the pose is over and then catch my breath in the resting postures.

[jumpuphigh]

Your breath should never change during your yoga practice. That you speak of "catching your breath" indicates to me that you need to back off in your practice until you can keep a consistent, free breath throughout it.

[carolyn_claire]

Do you have issues like this when you're say, lying on your stomach, reading a book, with your upper body propped up on your elbows? I can't do positions like that (or not for long, maybe a few seconds) because of issues I have with a major blood vessel that runs down my back. Gives me the headache from hell, dizziness, etc.

[viklikesfic]

Hmm, that's an interesting idea. I haven't noticed the exact problem with anything else. I do have ridiculously bad circulation, and if I'm not drinking water I get dizzy when I go from lying down to standing or sitting.

[rydra_wong]

Do spinal twists to stimulate organs, don't do spinal twists because you'll screw up your SI joint. Do forward bends to increase hamstring flexibility, don't do forward bends because you'll mess up your lower back.

Unfortunately, in these cases it's not so much a case of contradictory advice as "both are potentially true", depending on alignment. So, forwards bends are great for hamstring flexibility, as long as you make sure you bend from the hips and lengthen your back rather than rounding it -- if you round it and strain, then you can mess up your lower back (and will also not get the full hamstring stretch).

Btw, if you have sacroiliac issues, I have a few resources about that -- I found my SI joint can unlock way too much, and have been learning how to stabilize it. Let me know if you'd like me to post about that.

FWIW, I've found that I feel very stiff when I get back to yoga after a short break, but the results of the previous months of practice aren't gone -- it takes a few sessions for my body to loosen up again, but then I'm back where I was.

[muck_a_luck]

the results of the previous months of practice aren't gone -- it takes a few sessions for my body to loosen up again, but then I'm back where I was

I'd like to second this. Nothing like laying off yoga for a couple of weeks to make you feel like a total grandma after your next practice. But the flexibility comes back, as does the muscle memory of the postures, very quickly.

[recessional]

FWIW, I've found that I feel very stiff when I get back to yoga after a short break, but the results of the previous months of practice aren't gone -- it takes a few sessions for my body to loosen up again, but then I'm back where I was.

This - there's also the potential issue of perception, in that you may very well be nothing like as bad as you think you are, but the contrast between what you expect your body to be able to do and the immediate results winds up with one feeling like one is stiffer or tenser than one actually is.

[viklikesfic]

I don't have SI issues, it was more of "if I fuck up my poses, maybe I will have them." As for forward bends, I guess it's that if I try to keep my spine straight and bend only from the hips, my back feels strained from trying to keep it up like that. What I used to do was bend as much as I could from the hips and then let my back round gently once I was there.

That's good to know about restoring the previous months of practice. What I've been doing lately is practicing about 7-15 minutes a day so that I can work on re-strengthening different areas of the body and get back up to my usual 20-25 minute practice.