When is pain not ok?

When is pain not ok

The ashtanga yoga system is one that you practice with a teacher guiding you.  This style of yoga is one in which you receive adjustments from the teacher.  This means that they help you into the postures more deeply.  These adjustments are very gentle to begin with, the teacher places a little bit of pressure on the body.

Paschimottanasana (seated forward bend pose), this is one of the first adjustments that as a student you begin to experience.  Sitting straight, legs outstretched,you inhale up, gazing to the heavens, lengthening through your spine and opening through the chest.  Then you fold forward, attempting to bring your chest down onto your legs. 

At the beginning that is enough.  The teacher comes and places a gentle hand on the back, resting your body forward.  As you become more practiced and proficient the teacher comes and lays their body down upon yours. This places gentle pressure to help the torso fold down toward the legs.

Now someone like me that has been practicing for some time and with really quite open hamstrings (muscles on the back of the legs).   I can lie my chest full length down upon my legs.  The teacher comes and lies their body face down on top of my back and for someone like myself, who is reasonably experienced they place their entire body weight upon mine.  This enables me to let go to the breath.  To lengthen through my spine and fold forward stretching the back of my body.  This feels lovely to me and beautiful. 

At the beginning of this process my hamstrings used to scream at me very loudly.  So when do you stop and listen to the pain.  When do you begin to become used to it and actually to start to enjoy this pain?  Good question"¦..

This ashtanga yoga system needs the practitioner to take responsibility for themselves, in every way.  If you push rather than fold, if you push yourself forward and pull yourself forward this produces a pain that is not beneficial to either the soul or body.   This is the type of pain that will snap the muscles, pulling them off the bone.  Ouch!!!  We don't want pain, we don't want to ignore the muscles screaming so much that the next day you cannot walk.  We want to gently stretch the muscles, providing them with oxygen and blood.  This allows the muscles to grow in flexibility and tone easily. 

So when is pain not ok?  When it is too much.  We are adults now, we need to learn to listen to our own bodies. 

Backbends are another one where people often chose not to listen to their bodies.  Most people like the idea that they can do this as it looks so good.  Even my children want to do it, but they are children are they not?  They know no better, they are learning about their bodies.  We are adults and have had enough time inhabiting our outer extremities that we should know.

Lubricating the spine is where it is at. This is the best place to start, but still some of us want more straight from the start.  A gentle rolling up through the spine, bringing your feet hipth width apart and parallel, close to the buttocks.  Keeping the knees above the ankles and gently lifting the hips, shoulders staying on the ground until you make a straight line with your body, head to the knees.  This for some people is enough.  Pressing down through the feet and keeping the hips elevated in this position for 5 breaths is enough.  Most beginners to yoga find that lubricating the spine is extremely beneficial.

Once your body has become used to this, your chest will begin to open and the spine will also become used to bending in this manner, the backbend begins.  Placing the hands underneath the shoulders and pressing into the hands to lift into the backbend position will slowly become possible.

Udianna Bandha (energy lock in the lower belly) is the biggest help a backbender can have.  This will enable the verterbrae to have space to bend, otherwise as they push up the veterbrae will crunch together and create pain.  This will feel painful during the backbend but also very painful for the rest of the day.  Not what we want from our yoga practice.  

Breathing through an intense yoga posture will help to alleviate the discomfort.  Never hold your breath if you are feeling strong sensations during yoga.  This only increases the sensation of discomfort.  The breath keeps us alive.  Yoga keeps us alive and young, work them together.  Holding your breath is not what human bodies are made for.  We need to breathe. 

I have been practicing for some time now and I have learnt to listen and respect and care for my body.  As I continue through the second series of Ashtanga Yoga each posture the teacher delivers to me, at the beginning brings some form of pain.  I need to take it gently at the start.  My body slowly learns to firstly, recognize and understand the sensation of this new posture.  For my ego, this is tricky as I want to get it straight away.  I want to learn every posture the next day but this is just not possible. 

I am learning to slow it down and listen.  I received a new pose yesterday.  Very exciting for me and this made me very happy.  My teacher, bless her, did not push me into the full posture.  She gave me a little taste of what it felt like.  I felt to rush into it but she would not have it.  Thankfully I understand why.  Ego, be quiet now please. 

Give me a couple of months and Ill be banging that posture out like there is no tomorrow but today, baby steps.  This style of yoga for me is like learning to gain control over myself.  I have always been someone who rushes in and makes mistakes before I give myself a chance to think.  Ashtanga Yoga is teaching me to stop and look and think and then act.  This is proving to be an extremely important life change and my lifestyle is thanking me.  My husband is thanking me and my kids are feeling the benefits.

Delightful"¦"¦