Yoga Asanas: Anatomical limitation or inflexibility?

Yoga Discussion General Yoga
#1

Hi Everyone!

Although I’m a [I]newbie to the physical practice[/I] of Yoga asanas, I practice other limbs of Yoga including Yama, Niyama, vegetarianism (somewhat Ayurvedic), meditate etc…

I’ve decided lately I want to integrate the physical component into my daily life as well. I am 35, 5’10, 135lb skinny, and very sedentary due to both a career/home business in the ecommerce industry. I literally get no physical activity, other than occasional walks. (I did however book a trip to the Satchidananda Ashram in Virginia next week…so plenty of hiking in the woods will get the blood pumping!:))

My question is about physical capacity. I’m very inflexible; I cannot touch my toes while standing.

[B]Here are three foot/ankle issues concerning limited potential movements[/B]:

1.My left ankle is fused so it cannot move sideways.

2.My feet suppinate (walk on the outside causing calluses).

3.Standing with knees straight, my feet point outward. If I were to point my feet straight, my left knee points inward quite a bit.

Does any of this sound like an anatomical limitation that would make some poses impossible, or will gaining flexibility allow successful poses, or at least slightly modified ones?

#2

Hello Lux,

Interesting question. Thanks for posting it here for the community.
To me it is only the fusion issue that merits a very careful look. The other elements you mention are fairly common things we have as human beings as a result of our life choices, which include the work we do, the rest we get, the foods we eat, and the emotional experiences we elect to retain in the muscle tissue.

Without evaluating the ankle and the specificity of the fusion I could not speak directly to what is possible there. However, setting that aside, over time, inversion and eversion of the feet can be addressed as can the external rotation - which is most likely living in your hips, not your feet.

And, as I’ve written too many times to count, asana is not about becoming flexible. It is about moving some things and stabilizing others. Therefore it is mastery of stability and mobility and knowing which goes where that facilitates posture, not being gumby. That is merely contortionism and has nothing at all to do with yoga.

#3

Gordon,

Thank you for your reply…

[QUOTE=InnerAthlete;43266]
Without evaluating the ankle and the specificity of the fusion I could not speak directly to what is possible there. However, setting that aside, over time, inversion and eversion of the feet can be addressed as can the external rotation - which is most likely living in your hips, not your feet.
[/QUOTE]
I had new custom orthotics made last week and I recall them mentioning on the left (fusion side), the tibia is causing the feet pointing outward, on the right [I]it’s coming from the hip[/I]. In what ways in your experience have you seen these be addressed?

And, as I’ve written too many times to count, asana is not about becoming flexible. It is about moving some things and stabilizing others. Therefore it is mastery of stability and mobility and knowing which goes where that facilitates posture, not being gumby. That is merely contortionism and has nothing at all to do with yoga.

While I understand (from book knowledge) asana is not about being gumby…it’s about cleansing/stabilizing/strengthening internal body systems and subtle energy body systems, in preparation for advanced mental practices…it still feels like going into a class in this state would yield a high level of frustration for both student and teacher (who has tons of other people to attend to).

I am considering doing one-on-one instruction at a local ashram to gauge mobility and get advice, before doing a populated class. Your thoughts?

Jeff

#4

Hello Jeff,

I’ll try and take this bit by bit.

First of all who is the “them” you mention during your orthodics fitting and what are their background to make an assessment (beyond fitting you for inserts)?

Second, causality pointing to the left tibia is interesting and that would warrant much more information. In my opinion pointing to bone over muscle is highly suspect unless there is some malformation either from birth or due to man’s intervention (the fusion et al).

I have not seen the tibia as a causality so I cannot answer you question there. The hip is very “easy” to get at (from the teaching perspective) but requires much on the part of the student. It is simply a matter of determining the imbalances in the hip complex and crafting a counter to that THEN having the student actually commit to and do the work that’s been crafted - again, along with proper lifestyle, nutrition etcetera.

Yes, asana is about readying the body (a philosophy aligned with the Hatha Yoga Pradipika. As you know however, Patajali’s codified system (The Sutras) looks at the forest from a slightly different perch.

I have not been in your area for some time and so I cannot speak to the general skill level of teachers there - and that to me is your other question about taking your “stuff” to class. Frankly handling human beings and all that comes with them IS the job of a yoga teacher. That having been said, sadly some are not are of that while others don’t take it seriously enough to receive proper training and continue it.

Additionally, for those of us working the other limbs of the practice as you are, it is completely appropriate to confront situations which manifest frustration. Otherwise there is no point to having a practice at all. If we cannot take the practice and merge it into our living then it’s a complete waste of time.

If you are referring to the ashram in Altamonte Springs (a place where my practice begun) unless there’s been a radical 180? shift there then you’d likely not find someone able to assess you in terms of flexibility (of body), kinesiology, bio-mechanics or the like. But give it a go if it speak to you.

Though most of my time is already spoken for, I will be in Orlando the first week of December, if that sparks any interest for you.

#5

Hi Gordon,
Thanks for your time on this, replies below…

[QUOTE=InnerAthlete;43324]Hello Jeff,

I’ll try and take this bit by bit.

First of all who is the “them” you mention during your orthodics fitting and what are their background to make an assessment (beyond fitting you for inserts)?

Second, causality pointing to the left tibia is interesting and that would warrant much more information. In my opinion pointing to bone over muscle is highly suspect unless there is some malformation either from birth or due to man’s intervention (the fusion et al). [/QUOTE]

By “them”, I mean the person who fitted me at a specialized prosthetic/orthodics facility, from the precscription my orthopedic surgeon wrote. I am actually going December 1st for a full toenail removal on the left foot, and will also ask the doctor about any malformation.

I have not been in your area for some time and so I cannot speak to the general skill level of teachers there - and that to me is your other question about taking your “stuff” to class. Frankly handling human beings and all that comes with them IS the job of a yoga teacher. That having been said, sadly some are not are of that while others don’t take it seriously enough to receive proper training and continue it.

Additionally, for those of us working the other limbs of the practice as you are, it is completely appropriate to confront situations which manifest frustration. Otherwise there is no point to having a practice at all. If we cannot take the practice and merge it into our living then it’s a complete waste of time.

If you are referring to the ashram in Altamonte Springs (a place where my practice begun) unless there’s been a radical 180? shift there then you’d likely not find someone able to assess you in terms of flexibility (of body), kinesiology, bio-mechanics or the like. But give it a go if it speak to you.

You make a good point about confronting this head on. The ashram does happen to be in Altamonte, The Kundalini Yoga Center. The fantastic wooded location, serene feel, and blending of actual lectures on Yogic topics stands out to me, vs. gym based class in a strip mall.

Though most of my time is already spoken for, I will be in Orlando the first week of December, if that sparks any interest for you.

Yes, it does spark interest. As mentioned Dec. 1st I’m having a quick foot procedure done and I don’t know how that would affect this. Please PM me what you had in mind for a meeting. Many thanks. Jeff