Hello yogis,
Quick question. I am having a difficult time understanding why my core (which is quite strong despite having had two kids) can support me so well in some poses, yet fail to support me in others.
For example, I find Bakasana very easy, no problem, very enjoyable. I can jumpback to Chatarunga. I can do all inversions with ease and it feels wonderful when I am there. I enjoy doing Koundinyasana 1 and 2 and it feels nice and easy and makes me very happy.
However, for some reason, I for the life of me cannot do a one legged Crow. Or Eka Pada Galavasana, the Flying Pigeon. It seems like when one only side of my core is required to do more work, there is some disconnection going on and I cannot get into the pose.
Am I right in guessing that when both legs are squeezed into the center, like in bakasana and tripod headstand, the two sides of the core are almost squeezed together and connect more?
Why is it that I am so strong unless one leg is up in the air? Could it be due to childbirth and the fact that being pregnant causes the diastysis recti? Maybe both sides of my core are not as connected as I thought…
Would be very grateful for any tips and insight.
Thanks in advance.
Namaste.
That is pretty hard asanas you are trying to do, are they important for your mind to achieve? If you dont have same muscle strength despite practicing asanas everyday it seems that your style maybe is not the best one and not suited for u. If you stretch is the one side also stiffer?
I tend to avoid the “C” word at almost all costs. It’s frequently used by another modality and since it is overused, misused, poorly defined, and misunderstood it tends not to convey in the way a well trained yoga teacher should convey (without being misinterpreted).
In Bakasana the hip flexors are shortened and working in order to keep the femurs lifted and drawn toward the torso. In Eka Pada Galvasana the hip flexors must be open and lengthening while the hamstrings and quadratus lumborum must be working to lift and stabilize. Completely different actions. Perhaps you have strong hip flexors that are not at all opened.
What is your experience in Dwi Pada Viparita Dandasana, Urdhva Dhanurasana, and Eka Pada Supta Virasana?
I was going to add Also that normally 1 side is always little stiffer due to one side is dominant.
[QUOTE=fakeyogis;77800]That is pretty hard asanas you are trying to do, are they important for your mind to achieve? If you dont have same muscle strength despite practicing asanas everyday it seems that your style maybe is not the best one and not suited for u. If you stretch is the one side also stiffer?[/QUOTE]
Hi, yes the asanas are quite hard but strangely, i find great peace in doing so. My dosha is very Pitta and these asanas make me feel like I am in my element and i feel very balanced and happy doing something that requires strength, both mentally and physically. But yes, my left side of my body is signficantly stiffer than my right, something that i am really trying to work on, its very challenging though! 
[QUOTE=InnerAthlete;77828]I tend to avoid the “C” word at almost all costs. It’s frequently used by another modality and since it is overused, misused, poorly defined, and misunderstood it tends not to convey in the way a well trained yoga teacher should convey (without being misinterpreted).
In Bakasana the hip flexors are shortened and working in order to keep the femurs lifted and drawn toward the torso. In Eka Pada Galvasana the hip flexors must be open and lengthening while the hamstrings and quadratus lumborum must be working to lift and stabilize. Completely different actions. Perhaps you have strong hip flexors that are not at all opened.
What is your experience in Dwi Pada Viparita Dandasana, Urdhva Dhanurasana, and Eka Pada Supta Virasana?[/QUOTE]
Hi,
Thank you very much for the reply. Yes, i agree with your comments about the use of the word core. By core I am referring to my transverse abdominis, lateral obliques, rectus abdominus and psoas.
But to follow on from your comments, it really made me think about my psoas, my hip flexors. They are actually quite weak. Possibly an artefact of improper practice prior to my teacher training, not to mention appalling posture at my day job at my desk, slouching for years and not engaging this area at all.
I am trying to work on strengthenign my hip flexors with Navasana with straight legs and then lowering up and down several times, i do this every day. But I predict this area will take a long time to develop to catch up with the rest of my body.
I really noticed the poor hip flexors in the following sequence: Downward dog, lift your right leg up, then shift forward into high plank with right knee drawn into chest, then drop right foot in between hands at front of mat. Basically, my feet drop quite far away from my hands, my hip flexors can’t seem to contract enough to bring my feet to the front of the mat. I dont’think its a range of motion issue because if i lie down on my back, and drag my knee into my chest with the other leg straight, I can interlace my fingers around the outside of my knee and completely connect my thigh to my torso. So in theory I have the ability to bring my thigh close to my torso but lack the power in the hip flexors to do this unaided.
As for Dwi Pada Viparita Dandasan, i cannot do this at all, i have very tight rotator cuff muscles in my shoulder, also to the point that I cannot get into a full Urdva Danurasana. If i do, I feel terrible wrist pain, so i tend to stay on the crown of my head and just do upside down push ups, if you will, just to build upper body strength.
i have tried to rectify this shoulder tightness with dailly Puppy Dog stretch (knees on ground, hips above knees, walk hands out and allow torso to drop towards the mat), but this really is a work in progress. To open up this area of my shoulders is likley to take a long time but i am happy to wait and be patient for my body to open.
With Eka Pada Supta Virasana, I am in agony. I cannot do it. Terrible shooting pains in my knee, I am assuming due to the sartorius muscle which is so tight and exerting the stress at the point of insertion. I tend to use a bolster to modify. So yes, my quads and hip flexors and sartorius are very tight due to triathlon training and weight training in my 20’s. Somethign I am really trying to work on, but its very very challenging.
Perhaps i should strive to do a bit more yin yoga to open myself up.
But thank you for your attention to the action of the hip flexors in Eka Pada Galavasana and the quadratus lumborum as well, I never really thought about these muscle groups in that particular pose.
Thanks again for your time, much appreciated.
Regards,
Sophie
Sophie are you having lots of abdomen and back asanas in your program ? if not you should implement it. if we only stretch some muscles and do not make them stronger will not make the problem go away as strenght is more important when we are flexible. Otherwise if your standing /walking posture is not correct muscles will contract to keep them in place.
Ive had the same problem and till has but its getting better and better 3 years ago if i flew abroad 6 hours on a plane would make my neck so stiff and i had to go to massage but now that problem is history. IF your lower spine is weak i.e. that will make your whole body misaligned. You will know if you try to sit in meditation posture and get tired quickly your spine is not strong enough.
Ive invented some own stretching to attack my stiff muscles which work very good for me . I guess that you could do the same. But at the same time you should work on your abdomen and spinestrenght to strenghten them.
Btw is your stiffness whole side? or like lower left and then the necks right side?
I guess if you ask innner athlete he will tell you which asanas you should do to be able to achieve those postures. And if these asanas make you feel good try to do them. As well as try to balance your both sides.
[QUOTE=fakeyogis;77871]Sophie are you having lots of abdomen and back asanas in your program ? if not you should implement it. if we only stretch some muscles and do not make them stronger will not make the problem go away as strenght is more important when we are flexible. Otherwise if your standing /walking posture is not correct muscles will contract to keep them in place.
Ive had the same problem and till has but its getting better and better 3 years ago if i flew abroad 6 hours on a plane would make my neck so stiff and i had to go to massage but now that problem is history. IF your lower spine is weak i.e. that will make your whole body misaligned. You will know if you try to sit in meditation posture and get tired quickly your spine is not strong enough.
Ive invented some own stretching to attack my stiff muscles which work very good for me . I guess that you could do the same. But at the same time you should work on your abdomen and spinestrenght to strenghten them.
Btw is your stiffness whole side? or like lower left and then the necks right side?
I guess if you ask innner athlete he will tell you which asanas you should do to be able to achieve those postures. And if these asanas make you feel good try to do them. As well as try to balance your both sides.[/QUOTE]
Hi,
Actually I try to engage my core muscles as much as possible in all of my asanas, but to be totally honest, I find the back bending very challenging. I incorporate them into my daily asana practice, but it seems to be taking a long time for this area to open up, and I think a lot of it stems from my tight shoulders. Also I find it hard to lengthen my quadratus lumborum muscle. I still enjoy the back bending sequences, as my alignment is pretty good, so the pose feels nice but the depth is very little and sometimes I feel like a rusty stiff old bicycle that desperately needs some engine lubricant. If only that would work, hah hah! I wish.
I think you are right about my lower spine, very weak. When I sit in sukhasana to meditate, my lower back begins to hurt after about 5 minutes. The first couple of minutes is fine, then my hip flexors begin to hurt, which means my back starts to arch outwards and then it starts to hurt.
Oh the yoga journey is a long one, no?? But still fun.
My stiffness is greater on my left side in terms of left hamstring, left hip, left shoulder, left neck, left everything! One day I will find pure balance, and it doesnt’matter if it takes a long time as I enjoy the journey.
Thanks again and I am happy to hear your neck is fine, that is promising to hear that yoga can really work.
Take care,
sophie
Its not really that bizarre. Eka Pada Bakasana/Galavasana are much more demanding than eka pada kindinyasana. Just keep practicing and eventually the back leg will float up in those poses.
Practicing lolasana could help build similar actions. For lolasana, come sitting in sukasana, place your arms along your side palms on the ground(probably on blocks) and lift your hips and legs off the ground. Draw the knees closer together, on ankle over the other, and swing back and try to lift your hips to the level of your shoulders and hold and keep lifted/lifting. Check google images for a picture of the pose.
Well i dont mean you should activate your core when doing asanas , more like doing asanas to strenghten your spine. You should do spinal twists and lots of leg lifting 1 and 2 legs. As well as cobra pose and leg lifting when lying on stomach.
Incidentally, Sadie Nardini talks about this issue on Himalayan Institute’s webpage:
http://www.himalayaninstitute.org/2012/08/01/sadie-nardini-on-core-strength/