I have been recently begun experiencing a burning arm pain in my mid upper bicep while doing Chaturanga. I noticed it at first in my right arm, and now it in both. It is really limiting my practice. I don’t really notice it in another positions. Though keeping my arms raised at shoulder level for the warrior positions can make it worse after a while. I cant tell if i am just getting stronger or if i am injuring myself. Thoughts?
How many sun salutes do you do per day?
I would need far more information about you and your practice in order to answer soundly. Intake for therapeutic questions is critical unless you merely want a shot in the dark.
gordon
I was doing three one hour practices a week. I think I would do 15-20 sun salutes a day. I did this for one month. This is my main source of exercise. I never had this pain before. I had not done yoga on a regular basis for about one year prior to this. I am tall and skinny. i modified to doing Chaturanga from my knees instead of full plank but it did not seem to help. What other info you do you need InnerAthlete?
Are you 20 or 60?
Is Chaturanga a part of the Surya Namaskar (Sun Salutation) that you are doing? There are about 18 versions.
Is the practice you are citing an alignment-based practice?
In what style are you practicing?
Who is your teacher? If there is no teacher what is your source of learning?
[QUOTE=danes33;59466]I was doing three one hour practices a week. I think I would do 15-20 sun salutes a day. I did this for one month. This is my main source of exercise. I never had this pain before. I had not done yoga on a regular basis for about one year prior to this. I am tall and skinny. i modified to doing Chaturanga from my knees instead of full plank but it did not seem to help. What other info you do you need InnerAthlete?[/QUOTE]
I had the same problem with my shoulder. I just stopped doing ANYTHING that can agrivate the pain. It took two months to heal.
I would say just do something else. Rest you bicep:)
Thank you.
I am 28. It is part of a sun salutation vinyasa flow practice. The instructor says to do Chaturanga keeping the elbows in, then upward dog, then back to downward dog. I do not know the other answers to your question. It is a pretty basic yoga class at Lifetime Fitness with various teachers who have not offered any suggestions. I think i am doing the posture wrong because i am not feeling the posture in my chest muscles but feeling burning pain in my upper biceps.
Oh I see. Thank you, that is helpful information.
The pose is commonly repeated in some, but not all, asana practices. And of course I’m referring to different styles rather than what you or I fabricate in our home practice or divine through connection with our source or the Universe - just to be clear.
While some practitioners can do certain things over and over again with no ill-effects this doesn’t make the doing appropriate (for all). Further, many of today’s students do not practice frequently enough, do not have enough education for the doing, or break down in the doing as a result of speed and repetition.
Chaturanga is a pose that is very demanding on some small muscles surrounding the shoulder joint. Additionally, when the pose lacks alignment (forearms perpendicular to the floor, for example) then ligaments and tendons can be enlisted to do things they should only be doing in an “emergency” (failure of muscle). And while you may simply have some muscle fatigue or muscle adhesion, we simply can’t know.
If you must do the pose (insist) and you must do it over and over again as a requisite of your current choices, try keeping the hands planted but drawing them back toward your toes. This will free your biceps (but engage your triceps) and may minimize the experience you are currently having.
In my personal practice when I incorporate this pose into my sequence I do it once just as the others and my surya namaskar is classical and therefore devoid of the pose. You can of course do some other pose and your teacher should be able to modify your Sun Salutation based on your dialogue with he/she regarding your arm issue.
gordon