What is causing my hip/legs problem?

Yoga Discussion General Yoga
#1

Hi everyone

I have a slight curvature in my spine and a slight misalignment in my pelvis/sacrum. I have been doing yoga exercises and strengthening exercises for approximately 6 months now to try and correct my postural pattern and alleviate my misalignments. I have had help with this from an instructor.

I realise that it may take years before I notice any significant difference. However I am starting to become more aware of my body,

Lately I have noticed this, When I stand up or lie flat on my back legs stretched out,. my right leg seems longer than my left leg. As I slowly sit up using my arms for support and legs still stretched out in front of me I can see how the leg length evens out and everything seems fine. As I lay back down again my left leg shrinks back into being 1,5 cm shorter.

I wonder if anyone can help me understand what is causing this to happen, and what muscle or group of muscles need extra attention in order to achieve a more healthy balance.

Thanks for reading this post. Lots of love
//David
Sweden

#2

getting control over my imbalances and poor health is my main priority, I would really appreciate some advice if somebody might have suggestions and ideas,.

#3

It’s complex David and as such requires a sound teacher to actually see you and assess. Too many muscle synergies to sift through using text over the internet from several thousand miles away.

There are two types of leg length discrepancies; structural and functional. The former is rare and that is where the actual bone length is different. A functional difference is one that can be approached in the way you seem to be approaching it.

As I mention above, the pelvis is a complex structure with muscles pulling on the back and the front - or not pulling on the back and the front. For many people - but not all people, there are asymmetries in the hip flexors. And this can be seen in a variety of postures and corrected with a certain attention, commitment and effort in a variety of postures.

Have your current teacher assess you deep hip flexors.

#4

Hi Davidiot.

I’m with IA. Studies i have read say that actual leg length discrepancy is actually rarer than many professionals credit.One study showed that of a sample of folk that had this diagnosis only a tiny amount actually had structural difference, like something like much less than 5 % perhaps even 1 or 2 and then they were involved in autoaccidents or had suffered severe trauma, i’m thinking more physical, of one kind or another.

I started yoga practice with a slight imbalance which ended up getting worst through an overly zealous and improper practice. I started looking at hip flexors , the psoas muscle then beyond asana at a complete practice. Specifically i would point you to pranayam and meditaiton in addition to just stretching which if things have’nt changed much is unlikely on it’s own to solve this riddle.You need all 8 limbs, trust me.

If you look at alot of the posts i’ve authored here in response to these kind of Q’s you’ll see me harp on again and again about the imporatnce of a full and therfore effective practice.One that is efffective at bringing about lasting balance.It’s a bit of learning curve and for that the guidance of a highly experienced teacher might provide some short-cuts.

From a yogic perspeective most folk , and i was one of them when i started, get hung up on muscular anatomy and it offers some explanation but does’nt provide a complete picture. The muscles are like the tip of the ice-berg. To get at these issues you need to understand how the body or subtle bodies are viewed , and relate,from a yogic perspective, and i know this sounds esoteric and will do if it’s foreign and not something that mainstream western science views, and then use the many tools available to address this.You may also need to make lifestyle or dietary adjustments aalthough that just depends say if your current choices are not so optimallly conducive to healing. This might mean if you’ve got stress in your life or even any vices you want to get rid of these as soon as possible and when you are ready.

The yoga perspective is holistic; that’s to say we are more than lumps of meat but then you know that.

#5

Thanks both of you very much for sharing your thoughts on this,. I live in a remote part of Sweden, the assessment that I have had done by an instructor has been by remote sessions where I have had pictures and descriptions of an individual program that I follow each day.

I will look into the possibility of being present with an instructor to see if that can give us some more clues.

The way I interpret what you have written is that, besides stretching and exercising I need to find ways to make my subconscious realise that my holding patterns are incorrect, that I carry tension etc. And the way to do this is to eat healthy and be as relaxed as possible to provide my body and mind with the best possibility of achieving this. Is this somewhat correct?

I do the typical runners stretch (on one knee ) on my psoas everyday, is there some other good way of stretching and relaxing this group of muscles?

Thank you so much

#6

Core789: I understand then that you have managed to heal your imbalances which were manifested in a similar way to what I am describing as my condition?

#7

Have you considered YIN? Gets to the deep connective tissue. Great one for your issue is Drangons. You can google YIN yoga and find a good description.

In addition to appropriate suggestion from IA and Core, if you can find a physical therapist who specializes in myofascial release it may compliment a complete yoga practice.

Good luck and let us all know how you are doing!

#8

Thank you lotusgirl, I certainly will look into your suggestion

#9

I had lower back and hip pain and was recommended by a friend to have myofascial release. She assessed and measured me and found that my right leg was a bit shorter than my left. A right Anterior upslip. She did a very mild, unique massage/manipulation of my leg and psoas and then went in deep into the belly of the psoas to facilitate release. Proper breathing is very important as you want to be relaxed as they do this. So a holistic approach is the best, combining meditation, pranayam, asana and myofascial release.

#10

I will try to find a person who can offer the kind of treatment you are suggesting. What is proper breathing?
thank you

EDIT: I have found a person residing in Stockholm who offers what he refers to as myofascial release. The main method he is working with seems to be something that is called “Rolfing” Has anyone here experience from this,

Thank you all

#11

Oh yes, rolfing! Wonderful, but not for the faint of heart. The owner of the studio I teach at is a rolfer, so she gives me a discount and I do take advantage of it! But myofascial release can also work with rolfing. I’ve done both simultaneously with good results. Rolfing is similar to deep tissue, but a rolfer will concentrate on more specific areas with the goal being to release deep seeded emotions thereby reducing pain and bringing about balance. I could never go back to a Swedish massage again!

Proper breathing meaning slow deep breathing, in and out through the nose, exhalation longer than inhalation, expanding belly and lungs (inhale) and navel to spine (exhale). Not forceful. Just smooth and rhythmic. Very calming and relaxing. Never hold the breath during either of the above 2 mentioned.

#12

that sounds wonderful, however the drive to and back from Stockholm is 5 hours total for me, and the price of just one rolfing is quite a lot. I will take the trip to have the myofascial release, and ultimately if I feel that it is necessary I will invest the money and time because this is so important too me. However I have believed that the answer was working everyday with this myself.

#13

I have booked a session next week for the release massage treatment, in the mean time, does anyone know of a good website with basic instructions for meditating? starting now I will be very serious about eating healthy. Seeing how this will cost quite much and include seriously long day trips (and I also keep doing the exercises everyday and have done for a long time) I thought that I really don’t want to compromise with it.

thank you all for your suggestions and the support, it is much appreciated

#14

Hi Davidiot,

The keys to unlocking the muscular system directly are found in & through , ie. via the nervous system.The tools of pranayam and meditation can indeed get directly at the nervous system, the inner worlds,certainly these tool-sets combined are for this reason very powerful.You display classic patterns where tensions manifest in characteristic ways. You could in fact categorise them broaddly speaking into a number of types- yogis who speak of prana more than muscles may couch in terms of your unique matrix of obstructions. Other healing modalities certainly do compliment a classical yoga practice like deep tissue massage,acupuncture( chi is a similar concept) etc.

Sounds like you have a side-tilt and possibly compensating twists and de-rotations in the spine accompanying. These are classic reccuring patterns that i have read about.Often one hip APPEARS higher than the other only because the tensiong on that side of the body are such that the hip is literally hiked up, a tight posas is often considered a main culprit.If you wish to teach yourself an introduction course on advanced yoga practices on the intricacies and subtleties of pranayam & meditation then i would direct you to www.aypsite.org IF you are serious.How determined are you in correcting your problems?- Alternatively find the most experienced teacher you can(like in your area) or one who teaches a full practice like Satyananda Yoga, or like a Swami or an exprienced therapist that know their stuff and is’nt afriad to teach powerful techniques slowly that do actually work. Remember to be patient and don’t expect instant results. You say you’ve been doing yoga 6 months stretching which is’nt really that long to be honest with you.Simple pranayam & meditation will likely get you out of this pickle as it is more powerful and gets directly at the nervous system, the source of these mixed-up tension lines in your muscular anatomy,if asana alone is not doing much.

And sometimes you get major breakthroughs in practice, like big openings so you just want to be wary of those as well. It can be a fine line But if you are sensible and use some common-sense and are armed with the knowledge you should be fine. Just keep on practicing a full practice slowly but steadily regularly enough and these things should fall away on their own.

Don’t give up.

#15

[QUOTE=core789;42987]Hi Davidiot,

The keys to unlocking the muscular system directly are found in & through , ie. via the nervous system.The tools of pranayam and meditation can indeed get directly at the nervous system, the inner worlds,certainly these tool-sets combined are for this reason very powerful.You display classic patterns where tensions manifest in characteristic ways. You could in fact categorise them broaddly speaking into a number of types- yogis who speak of prana more than muscles may couch in terms of your unique matrix of obstructions. Other healing modalities certainly do compliment a classical yoga practice like deep tissue massage,acupuncture( chi is a similar concept) etc.

Sounds like you have a side-tilt and possibly compensating twists and de-rotations in the spine accompanying. These are classic reccuring patterns that i have read about.Often one hip APPEARS higher than the other only because the tensiong on that side of the body are such that the hip is literally hiked up, a tight posas is often considered a main culprit.If you wish to teach yourself an introduction course on advanced yoga practices on the intricacies and subtleties of pranayam & meditation then i would direct you to www.aypsite.org IF you are serious.How determined are you in correcting your problems?- Alternatively find the most experienced teacher you can(like in your area) or one who teaches a full practice like Satyananda Yoga, or like a Swami or an exprienced therapist that know their stuff and is’nt afriad to teach powerful techniques slowly that do actually work. Remember to be patient and don’t expect instant results. You say you’ve been doing yoga 6 months stretching which is’nt really that long to be honest with you.Simple pranayam & meditation will likely get you out of this pickle as it is more powerful and gets directly at the nervous system, the source of these mixed-up tension lines in your muscular anatomy,if asana alone is not doing much.

And sometimes you get major breakthroughs in practice, like big openings so you just want to be wary of those as well. It can be a fine line But if you are sensible and use some common-sense and are armed with the knowledge you should be fine. Just keep on practicing a full practice slowly but steadily regularly enough and these things should fall away on their own.

Don’t give up.[/QUOTE]

Thank you!

I will not give up ever. I will study the website that you have recommended and I will explore my options. I am very serious about this, it is one of my top priorities in life to make this more manageable and less obvious. I do not believe in quick fixes and I realise that frequent hard work is the only thing that has a realistic chance of paying off,

#16

Yes,life does’nt dish out short-cuts. You just do what you can do.

It’s Effort that counts, not results.Don’t get too hung up on results.Just practice faithfully and it will al work itself out eventually.God loves a doer, a tryer.