Hi Mimiron and Jono,
I agree breathing is really the key to it. You can start each yoga session with pranayama exercises, and finish in deep Savasana relaxation or in meditation.
Variations of some asanas can help you to find one that feels most viable to your own body. With some postures, exercising for example a couple of different ways of entering it makes you more confident and relaxed once you’re there even when you enter it the difficult way.
Try vegetarian/Ayurvedic cooking, and consume 1-2 teaspoons of turmeric a day (also, soaked fenugreek for ladies).
In wintertime, drink Vatta-balancing aurvedic herb-tea blends. Gradually minimize or avoid toxins (coffee, alcohol, drugs, additives, meat etc.), white sugar, white wheat flour. Drink often, and as clean water as possible.
If you’re in Western sports too, then:
add swimming to your training (various strokes)
in a yoga class, don’t watch the others. No matter if the person next to you is an expert or an absolute beginner. Let your your inner go-getter or competition freak hibernate as soon as you’re on the mat; go for awareness, patience, enjoyment. This is almost as key as the breathing.
Last but not least - practise, and all will come
Enjoy !
Here’s what I know about stretching which I have been studying with experts for a couple years:
Always warm up the muscles first that you will stretch, or they won’t go as far, and you can injure them.
Do stretches that you can relax into, preferably using gravity.
Hold them for 30 seconds or 45, come out of them, and repeat three times or more.
Skip days in between but you can alternate back and legs for example if you want to do something every day.
If you do the same stretch every day, you will not progress as fast.
Hold a stretch to the point of discomfort, but not pain, or it will slow down progress.
Lengthen and extend your whole body, arms, legs, back, neck as you do stretches to avoid pinching nerves.
Don’t do ballistic, bouncing, or any quick movements if you want lasting results. The spinal column will initiate a stretch response without even going to the brain, which causes muscle contraction.
Bouncing creates small muscle tears that heal but leave scar tissue that is less flexible.
Balance your stretches. If you do backbends, do front bends too.
RELAX the muscles that you are stretching! In other words, be conscious of what muscles are tight when you are stretching, and try to relax them.
There are several ayurvedic spices with remarkable health effects; these 2 are useful for all 3 doshas, and Western medical research (US, Sweden, Switzerland) seems to focus on these.
Curcumine, the key substance in turmeric, is a powerful antioxidant. 1-2 teasp. of turmeric powder a day (boiled or in fried dishes) prevents inflamations (sinus, bronchae, muscles, joints) and some types of cancer.
Yogis use it mostly to keep joints flexible.
Fenugreek (both the seeds and the water after soaking overnight) is a purifier helping bile (gall) and liver, and a hormone-balancer for the female body.
HathaTeacher, I must thank you for your tip about the turmeric. For anyone else here reading this, it seems to be a bona fide wonderdrug for sore joints!
I’ve had a sore knee for a little while now, and today after taking a teaspoon of turmeric in a glass of milk this morning it has felt better than it has done for a long time! I’d be interested to hear if anyone else could verify the effects of this, it seems almost miraculous to have taken effect so soon. Amoux, would you like to add anything? I do eat a little turmeric whenever I make dal once or twice a week, but only a pinch as opposed to a full tsp, not enough to feel the soothing effects perhaps.
Thanks once again
Is it possible to stretch the hamstrings if you are over 30 years old? I mean… Right now I can touch my toes with my hands but I cannot put my head on my knees during Paschimottanasana.
I am willing to make the necessary effort but I want to know if at least is possible to put my head on my knees.
Thank you.
Of course it is possible to stretch when over 30. I decided to learn hanumanasana (splits) for my 50th birthday. I practiced twice a week and was able to make quite a bit of progress though not completely to the floor with comfort
Yes, you can definitely become more flexible, even after age 30. I’m 39.
I find that gentle, persistent stretching has enormous benefits. It really helps to go gently into the stretch, and then take a moment and really listen to the body. Then gently put the attention on the uncomfortable areas. I find that if I listen with the in-breath and then put attention on the area with the out-breath, it works even better. And now that I’m doing asanas every day (well, nearly every day) those tight areas are slowly relaxing and the posture is slowly improving.
I can do the splits with the left leg in front. I can’t quite get down all the way with the right leg in front, but I can get pretty darn close. And my hips are sloooowwwly starting to turn out a bit more. I’m knock-kneed and pigeon toed. Sitting cross-legged is still something of a challenge. Siddhasana is out of reach at the moment, but I’m getting there.
Don’t forget backbends in your program. Practice opposite bends before and after Paschimottanasana. THe longer the sustain, the slower the entry and the exit (release).
Aging makes forward bends easier, so people often concentrate on those as years go by, but bending in a variety of ways keeps the spine younger.
I agree with Maheswari and HathaTeacher. First, it’s not about getting the pose perfect; it’s about awareness. You may be surprised to know that it doesn’t actually matter how far you can stretch. It is how the pose makes you FEEL inside. Extend your awareness into that tight muscle; don’t fight it, just feel it. Secondly, the breath is the key. In HOY, the system that I teach, although not in AYP, we use ujjayi breath along with the asanas. But even if you are not using ujjayi breath, it is crucial to let the breath guide the movement. Think of it as the breath moving the body. On reaching up or back, we inhale deeply. On bending forward we exhale completely (and in more advance work the bandhas come into play). We do not push the asana beyond what the breath will comfortably allow; if the breath becomes short or ragged, you’ve gone too far. Continue to breathe deeply and relax into the posture. Think of breathing into the tight muscles. When your awareness is really focused this becomes incredibly pleasurable, even ecstatic; asana becomes a form of meditation (or depending on your orientation, prayer) with the whole body. And that is the whole point - not whether or not you can reach your foot. As you continue to practice you will indeed become more flexible. But don’t look at it as a “goal” to be reached; rather, ENJOY your practice in the moment! (of course the other suggestions on diet, herbs, etc. are also useful)
Thanks Markern and Kahlia,
VERY interesting. I looked up Grilley's site
http://www.paulgrilley.com/
and there are video clips from "Anatomy for Yoga" of him talking about how different physiologies change yoga postures. I love it!
dear Radha
it is amazing how HOY is exactly like Sivananda yoga…we teach asanas exactly like you described in your post…
but ujjayi is not used in asanas…nor bandhas
the breath takes you to the pose
and reaching the toes can or can not happen…it is not really the goal
Love
Yes, I want to get anatomy and “yin yoga” also; he says popular yoga emphasizes stretching muscles, but yin is about connective tissues like ligaments and tendons. The poses are held a long time. Sounds interesting.
I got a book, “Prasara Yoga” (“Flow beyond Thought”) by Scott Sonnon. So far it has very good information about flexibility that I have never read before. I don’t do asanas, but am very interested in flexibility, and the concept of flow beyond thought.
It has much in common with Grilley. He says you are only as young as your connective tissues and spine. Conventional athletic stretching can be harmful, and he teaches to flow through a maximum stretch point, combining silence in action with functionality.
I am reading this because I’m trying to find where inner motivation for movement comes from.
but ujjayi is not used in asanas…nor bandhas
the breath takes you to the pose
and reaching the toes can or can not happen…it is not really the goal
Love
Yes, the approach is VERY similar! Which is part of why I recommended to Mark that he include you in his Peace Project. Still have not heard anything back regarding that...
Now as to the differences, yes, in HOY we use ujjayi with asana; we are among the only school to do that. Also, we receive the inhalation from above and exhale from below, which as far as I know, nobody else does.
As for the bandhas, Krishnamacharya points out that some asanas create bandha automatically; the more advanced students take conscious advantage of this. E.g., doing mulabandha and uddiyana bandha upon exhale while in mahamudra is quite ecstatic... :slight_smile: But I should point out, these are not AYP practices (the type of breathing and bandhas with asana).
HathaTeacher, I have a question about turmeric and fenugreek, about the benefits of which you informed us in an earlier post.
I often make dhal, but still need to find another way of getting 1-2 tsp of turmeric a day. Ditto for fenugreek.
Could you please share ways in which one could take the required amount? (e.g. what to mix with, in what proportion, etc.)
I am going to the spice shop tomorrow and will buy massive bags of turmeric and fenugreek.
