I have been practising Iyengar yoga for approximately three years and have always had a ‘good’ side and a ‘bad’ side. I have always thought that this is natural and would be with me forever.
However lately my right/bad side has started to develop some particular aches and pains.
My right shoulder is has always had pain after gomukasana and now seems to be getting stiffer so much so that now I have to use a belt to catch hands whereas I could always catch hands. This has been coupled with a repeated twisted facet joint on the right side, although I don’t know the associated vertebra, which I have had osteopathic treatment for. This treatment was very specific though and not at all holistic. The more I try and get to the bottom of the problem the more I am sure that my right shoulder is more rounded than my left. I have tried doing daily shoulder exercises but have made little or no progress.
My feeling is that the problem is somehow linked to my right hip. This hip has always been much stiffer than my left which is very free in comparison to many others in the classes that I attend. It seems to be the Satorius that has much of the restriction. My plan is to see whether the Sartorius responds to focussed stretching. The additional symptoms are sciatic/sacrilliac discomfort and hamstring pain. I rested my hamstrings for three weeks and the pain came back instantly even with gentle stretches. Incidentally I think the affected hamstring is the Semitendinosus. If I get encouraging response from the Sartorius I was then intending to focus more on the Piriformis.
The asana which illustrates the problems that I have best is Ardha Baddha Padmasana when the right leg is bent the knee is pointing up into the air whereas on the left side it is on the floor. Also though in Virabhadrasana II to the right I can do a good pose with leg bent to 90 degrees but on the other side I need more distance between the feet and don’t achieve the 90 degree angle.
Can you advise whether I appear to be on the right track with my interpretation and course of action?
It is difficult to say from your writing what is tight in the shoulders as you do not reference clearly which arm position you are feeling limited range of motion. My guess is that the lower arm is restricted in internal shoulder rotation as that would correlate to the other findings you report about the hips. A common postural change is increased internal shoulder and hip rotation. This is a common sign of students who have locked in stress via a neurological reflex called the startle response. In this relfex we internally rotate our extremities and contract the pelvis to protect the vital organs. More specifically the lower arm in gomukhasana and the sartorius would react puling the thigh upward in ardha padmasana - half lotus (even if you don’t do the binding of the arms for full bound pose). Though tight adductors could also contribute to this problem.
I suspect you also have an underlying sacroiliac dysfunction and that could be corrected by following the asymmetric exercise sited here on the site under sacroiliac mobility exercise. If left uncorrected the deeper muscles of the pelvis and spinal column cannot be freed.
To do an accurate assessment complex poses do not help much for there is such a combination of motions that one cannot separate the specific joint motion that is restricted. Learning how to isolate each joint and each motion, each muscle is a sign of advanced yoga practice. More flexibility is not a sign for me of advancing.
namaste mukundaI have been practising the exercise that you recommended and immediately I felt some benefit. I have also been working on freeing my hips joints more which has helped.
I would like to thank you very much for your help and advice and for taking the time to answer all of the questions posed on this message board. It is touching and heartening to see the spirit of Yoga so clearly demonstrated.
Namaste
Marcus
You are most welcome. This is a side of yoga i enjoy very much. Karma Yoga - selfless service is beneficial to all as it is giving without seeking a reinforcement of your own value. The value is in the service not the advice. Another way this concept is rendered is to call it Guruseva. That is the term my spiritual teacher used for “service to the Guru”. The guru is the inner teacher who speaks to us gently nudging us into taking the right course of action so that our activities benefit all concerned. This side of yoga is one that comes naturally once we learn of the proper attitude involved in surrendering to the inner teacher. It always results in a quiet mind and a replaxed body. that is how we know good practice regardless of what yoga we call it.
blessings. mukunda