Supta vajrasana

Yoga Discussion General Yoga
#1

Hi folks

Two questions in relation to supta vajrasana

I’ve been experiencing discomfort but not pain in the lumbar area while coming up in supta vajrasana. Is this normal and safe? This asana is quite new to me.

Secondly, I find it difficult to hold my feet while dropping back. My hands slip every time. Does anyone have suggestions as to how I might overcome this hurdle? There’s a ton of info written in blogs out there I’m sure but I’m in China and blogs are blocked!

Thanks in advance for any responses.

Y

#2

hi yonita,

generally speaking if you have discomfort with any yoga asana you should do an alternate
posture to slowly work you way up to the full posture.

your teacher should be able to show you the alternate options.

happy practice,
wim

#3

Thankyou for the response.

Yes one should consult a teacher however not everyone has the privilege of having a suitable teacher in the same city. I am one of those without the privilege and therefore opt for home practise rather than nothing at all.

I rely on books, dvds and occasionally, intensive workshops where I pepper the teacher with questions. However I’m not seeing a trip to India in the near horizon. I hope that someone can shed some light on my question.

For background, I have a daily ashtanga practise and know the standard precautionaries - ie, if there’s pain, back off ; don’t push yourself too hard; listen to your body etc…

Thanks again

Y

#4

when you say a daily asthanga practice do you mean asthanga vinyasa in the mysore school style, or asthanga in the general 8 limbs of yoga way?
just to get some idea of your practice yours in yoga

#5

I mean in the mysore style way.

Thanks
Y

#6

hi again yonita,

when searching images a few different looking postures come up with the same name.
(what's up with that anyway?)

is this the one you are talking about?

Yes one should consult a teacher however not everyone has the privilege of having a suitable teacher in the same city. I am one of those without the privilege and therefore opt for home practise rather than nothing at all.

i know what you mean, i live in the country and a good yoga teacher is not easy to find.

i did a quick google search on your behalf for yoga studio's in bejing and i found these two.

http://int.fine-yoga.com/
http://www.yogafinder.com/yoga.cfm?yogacity=Beijing&yogacountry=China

i hope you will solve your problem. please keep us updated on your progress.

thanks,
wim

#7

Thankyou Wim for taking the initiative to conduct a google search for me.

None of the teachers you’ve found are actually authorised or certified to teach ashtanga. Hence my preference for self study.

The first result displays lots of photos of Sherri with a handful of famous ashtangis. However, workshop attendance doesn’t make one a qualified teacher (otherwise I’d be well on my way to being a teacher myself).

In Beijing, the yoga market is young. Most women are frankly drawn to yoga in Beijing to lose weight. Most wouldn’t be able to tell you the difference between kundalini and Iyengar. Yoga centers that advertise ‘ashtanga yoga’ usually mean ‘some form of ashtanga influenced yoga’.

So, I still hold by my initial claim that there are no ashtanga teachers nearby.

The supta vajrasana pic you’ve posted is the same to that I’m referring to.

Thankyou

#8

ok, so no good ashtangi’s in beijing. :frowning:

do you have a copy of david swenson’s “ashtanga yoga, the practice manual” ?
here he has alternate options for this pose.

I’ve been experiencing discomfort but not pain in the lumbar area while coming up in supta vajrasana. Is this normal and safe?

to be on the safe side i would say; no. it’s not normal or safe, like you stated earlier when there’s pain you back off. you might be ok here, but to be safe don’t go so deep, don’t lie down a few weeks, then try it again and see if the discomfort is still there.

Secondly, I find it difficult to hold my feet while dropping back. My hands slip every time

the fact that your hands slip means that you are not ready to bind the feet. simply hold your elbows for now and try again later.

great post by the way, i can relate since i also have a daily ashtanga practice and i also am new to this pose.
i do not look like the yogi in the picture :), i have my knees under the couch and i hold my elbows instead of binding.

till later,
wim

#9

Hello Yonita.

This is interesting for me in that there are different terms for asana in different schools. In my practice and teaching Vajrasana differs from Virasana in that the legs and feet are together in the former and the sitting bones root into the heels. Ergo Supta Vajrasana would have the feet directly under the pelvis while Supta Virasana would have the feet just outside the hips. No matter though.

Discomfort in the lumbar spine in this particular pose is, to me, to be avoided. In this pose there is a tremendous amount of torque placed on the five lumbar vertebrae as well as the sacrum. This is exacerbated when the depth of the pose (reclining) exceeds the openness of the quadriceps. In that instance the pelvis is pulled anteriorly (forward) which obviously decreases the space from L1-5 and S1.

The materials you are using for study should contain directions, actions, etcetera to counter this shortening of the back side - this, presuming the student is not going back too far. I could not know that from what you’ve shared.

The pose is first explored with the mind and feelings in the quadriceps. Students should bear in mind that there are two natures to injury; the nature of injury in the moment and the nature of injury over time. Many people feel they are practicing “appropriately” only to discover ten years later that they are a candidate for hip replacement.

Wishing you well on your exploration.

#10

[QUOTE=InnerAthlete;27736] Many people feel they are practicing “appropriately” only to discover ten years later that they are a candidate for hip replacement.[/QUOTE]

hi gordon,

do you know (of) people who have had this happen to them?

thanks,
wim

#11

Thanks for the response Inner Athlete.

I’m using David Swenson’s Practise Manual, and Kino Macgregor’s Intermediate DVD, and Richard Freeman’s Intermediate DVD. They all have suggestions, tips and cautionary advice but not for the questions I’ve outlined.

The DVDs all show practitioners going back as far as the floor.

In many asanas I know how to slowly work towards the full asana even if I can’t yet get to it. For this one however, I’m stumped.

Thanks anyway and apologies for not thanking you sooner.

Happy practising.