I find backbends taxing

Yoga Discussion General Yoga
#1

Hi,

I’ve discovered yoga this summer and been doing a mixture of vinyasa and
anshtanga almost daily in good studios in Paris. I’m a 46 year old guy
1.88m tall and weighing 86kg.

After a few classes I finally was able to do the full backbend with
extended hands and feet (chakra) but I still find that posture pretty
taxing. When I get out of it I feel spent (but great). Maybe that has to
do with having had a bad lifelong posture? Not standing straight enough
and having shoulders hunched and forward? (I was a couch potato for too
long before taking up various sports)

Is that a normal adjustment phase? Will my body change to adapt to that
posture?

Is the fact that a posture is taxing a sign that it is important for my
body type and posture?

Oh, and another slightly embarrassing question: I sweat a lot during
class. Much more (it seems) than other yogis. What does that mean?

Thanks,

#2

Do not worry about the sweating…just make sure you are keeping your self well hydrated…we all sweat different amounts…some people have more sweat glands than others. The amount of sweating seems to have little coloration with fitness/lack of fitness.

Backbends are difficult for some body types…some people seem to be natural back benders and some more natural forward benders…
Yes your life style/posture/height/diet/every thing else has an impact.

Yes your body will change.It will get easier.

Go slow.

This series of supported backbends maybe useful…http://www.youtube.com/user/yogacambodia1#p/a/u/1/IECCl-JAEWM…take it slow…if you cannot breathe easily in any of the backbends…STOP…and do a less intense version.
Be sure to include some shoulder openers in you practice.

Take your time…enjoy your practice.

#3

Is this the pose you are referencing Zafu?

And am I to understand that you’ve been practicing since June (ergo two+ months)? And you are taking vinyasya and ashtanga classes (one or the other) every day of the week?

Most students that are not already very open/mobile/hypermobile do not have the requisite opening in the shoulders and hip flexors for the pose I believe we are talking about. I would be surprised if a student in that state would be anything but spent.

This begs the question of what backbends you ARE doing (on a regular basis) HOW you are doing them and what is the residue of the doing (called yoga)?

The fact that a posture is taxing means that it’s taxing. It does not necessarily mean it is one “for” your body. Though that is certainly one possible indication.

Generally speaking, we live in a forward bending society. We bend to keyboard, to drive, to wash, to clean, to pick up, to garden, to properly trim our toe nails…all forward bends. Over time one side of the vertebral discs become mushy while another side becomes brittle. Therefore, for most people appropriate backbends done correctly are not just helpful they are downright necessary!

#4

HI Zafu,
Don’t get afraid, it is natural to have such type of thinking for beginners, it will take some time, am sure that after few months you will be ok.
Sweating is natural tendency for every life, sweating helps to remove toxins from your body and makes your skin more smoother.
So don’t hesitate with lot of sweating, it is good. Just make sure that you are taking good quantity of liquids[in form of water, juices, soups etc] so you don’t feel exhausted after doing yoga.

#5

@yogacambodia: I am relieved to learn it will become easier as I
sometimes bang my head coming down from the pose after staying a bit too
long :slight_smile: Thanks for the video link. Supported backbends are definitely
useful and maybe necessary for my alignment issues. I found the few
Iyengar classes I took wonderful, if austere.

@InnerAthlete: yes, this is the pose. Is it not called the wheel
(shakra)? And indeed, I am doing vinyasa or ashtanga every day (rest
sunday) but I also was able to sample other styles (Iyengar, Anusara,
Jivamukti). The backbends I do (or try) are those from the ashtanga
primary series. As a computer geek myself I can certainly relate to your
"forward bending society" and testify to its damages.

@raman9788: thanks for your reassurance, bit by bit I am already feeling
progressions and sometimes slight regressions at each class. I know the
latter are normal and mean work is in progress.

Cheers,

#6

In the Ashtanga system (and others) that pose is called Urdhva Dhanurasana which I believe loosely translates to “upward bow”, though I am not a Sanskrit scholar.

In following the Ashtanga primary series you are thus doing;
Urdhva Mukha Svanasana & Virabhadrasana I (or “a”)
Purvottanasana (slight)
Setu Bandha
Urdhva Dhanurasana
and Matseyasana

How one is doing the poses is often far more important than what poses they are doing. But of course the investigation has to start somewhere. I much prefer a student do things appropriate for their level of practice. However a static sequence doesn’t cater in such a way. Someone who needs more backbend work would not be fully served by the complete primary series - IMO. The practice should be tailored to the nature of the student just as a suit should be tailored to the body.

#7

What many people do not realize about back bends is that its also a front stretch. So, if your abdominal and intercostal muscles are not accustomed to stretching, you will be fighting them in the pose. Some people ease into backbend routines by using props for passive poses. Laying supine over bolsters or using blocks under the shoulder blades, or folding chairs, etc.

Word of caution, I once staying in a passive backbend for too long, with too much of a bend in my back and I injured my psoas muscle. I had discomfort for almost 4 months. If you injure your psoas, it takes a bit of nurturing to get it back to a supple state since it’s not accessible for palpation or massage. Be careful.

#8

Many men find backbends difficult, especially at 47. I’ve been practicing for years.

Backbends are tough for men, not only physiologically, but also psychologically and mentally as well. In full wheel my jugular, heart, and genitals are exposed and vulnerable - not something that comes easy in the male instinct. Add that to the muscular a d skeletal challenges men have in this pose and it’s no wonder backbends are taxing.

#9

One of my students recently commented to me that it seemed as though Urdva Dhanurasana got her heart racing more than any other pose - and she’s a very flexible woman who’s been practicing for over a decade. It is probably one of the most taxing positions you can put your body into and for some people will always feel that way. But since you say you feel wonderful when you come down, this might not be such a bad thing.