Ever since I injured my hip, I have been having thoughts on whether or not Ashtanga is the right yoga form for me. I love Ashtanga, and I do want to beleive that anyone can practice it, perhaps making some variations and modifications.
Last week, I went to see an australian yoga teacher, chiropractor and yoga therapist spending half his time in Stockholm. I wanted him to have a look at my shoulders and hip, and show me what I could do in my practice to help me heal and open up. My right leg is slightly shorter because of a crocked pelvis, my left hip is extremely tight and I sometimes have pain when it pops, and my shoulders are tight and protuding forward, and my left shoulder blade is totally unflexible. Apart from that he said I have good muscle tone and a fairly symmetrical body! Thank you!
So, we talked about what I could do to help my body open up. He said it was very important for me to warm up before the practice! He said he knew many ashtangis who first did one practice to warm up, then did their ashtanga practice. Wow, then you can´t have a normal 9-6 job! Anyways, he gave me a series of asanas to help open up the shoulders and hips. I should do theses as a warm up before my practice. He thought that this would probably help me tremendously. I hope so too! I also hope that the teachers at my shala will think it´s ok for me to do them.
We also talked about the ashtanga practice. He said things I already knew, but sometimes it´s good to be reminded, and to hear them in another context. Patthabi Jois was a young boy when he got his vinyasa practice taught to him. For someone who is not young and not super flexible it might not be the ideal practice. Yeah, yeah, I know. But I have a teacher who starated her practice when she was 40, and now 10-15 years later she is one of the strongest and most flexible people I know! And she sais she was the stiffest person ever when she started! The most important thing in ashtanga is to practice with flow, and not force yourself into the postures. And I should not have any strong adjustments he said. Actually, when I was in Mysore, I hardly had any, and it felt really good. I know that some of the adjustments I have here in Stockholm are too hard. I know I should tell the teacher, but the ego sometimes comes in the way and thinks that maybe this time the adjusment will make me come further....recognize this? He also thought that I could stay for 10-20 breaths in the poses, just to be able to relax more into them. I have to be really concious about using my uddhyana badha to strenghthen and lenghten my lower back. So you see, I really have a lot to work with now! Lucky me I stop in Marichy C!
He recommended me to do some yinyoga like 1-2 times a week instead of my ashtanga. Since the ashtanga practice is very repetative, and you only stay 5 breaths in every posture, you might partly miss areas that really nead strechting, and partly overstretch and irritate areas that really need to relax. This is something I´ve been thinking about alot. I might sustitute one class per week for a hatha class. When you read what Krishnamacharyas son Deshikachar writes about how the yoga should be therapeutic, and be appropirate for your age and condition, thoughts arise whether or not this yoga is for everyone. For me? It´s a journey. I hope the answers will come as I continue the path.
What are your thoughts on this fellow yogi?
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I think you definitely have to listen to your body to see what type of asanas that are suitable for you to do. And that the practice is not static but changes over time quite a lot.
Before I got pregnant I was a bit scared of letting the asanas go because I thought I'd loose my yoga practice. As it turned out I feel it was rather the opposite. By taking out some of the asanas and slowing down I got more focused inwards and got more aware of how my body felt and the changes it was going through.
Hope your new practice will help you to work better with your body and mind.
I have the impression that most people who get into ashtanga is more bendy than people in general. I started yoga after 40 and I can sometimes feel I would need more warming up, like when it´s cold and moisty wheather. I go by bicycle to the shala so that helps to keep the body warm. I´ve been to a workshop this weekend with Tim Feldmann.He told me to stay in Kurmasana for 50 breaths :-P (I have very tight hamstrings) Varying the number of breaths is a way to vary your practice which I seldom use and I believe it can make the whole practice seem quite different. I´ve tried yinyoga now and then and find it very good as a complement. Let us know how you proceed with this!
Yes!! Exactly what I have been thinking. I stopped yoga due to complications from childbirth - and that lead to 4 years of not being physically able to do anything. Having finally healed and returning to Yoga, I found I couldn't grasp my hands behind the back, my hip joints are so tight - half lotus is a struggle, my knee pops constantly. Ashtanga - I love the flow of it but I struggle with the poses and feel sore and painful after whereas Iyengar gives me props to get into the poses while ensuring that I don't injure a joint (and I feel good afterwards) and Hatha flow gives me the feeling of similarity and breath but not the intensity of Ashtanga. I watch the videos of Ashtanga - and those people are very flexible so I've decided to explore other yogas as I'm not so young anymore (40+) and still get benefits. Maybe someday - my body will be flexible enough to get back into Ashtanga again.
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