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| I have a quick question regarding my overall tightness...I'm a 51 year old male...practicing two years. Sitting poses are still KILLING ME. The question is this. If I just practice sitting forward bends every morning, will this get better? Lastly, I finally got the message that you can't make yourself more flexable by trying harder..(a tough lesson for me), but a bunch of this tightness is emotional stuff we hang on to...is this true???
Thanks,
Bookbinder |
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Expert Yogi
Posts: 8442
    
| Short answers - yes and yes 
I wouldn't start a morning practice with forward bends. Do some standing poses and down dogs first or you might end up tighter than when you started. My DH is spending time each night sitting on the floor, which helps a lot, and is also working on lifting the upper body, which is also very important. Good luck and let us know how you are prgressing! |
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| Tourist - you're a lifesaver. I've been a bit stressed lately with finals and an art show, but didn't feel particularaly stressed ujntil last week...Every "negative" emotion goes straight into my hips, and I just remembered that every night last week I sat on the floor and starte the day with mini-forward bends. Duh! I was a cranky, crying, *****y mess, but now that I've been sitting on the couch again i've been fine! There's a connection not to forget! Hopefully you've fared better with DH on the floor!  |
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| Thanks a bunch. I'm off to the floor to see what progress can be made. It's sorta funny that if I'm standing I can "manhandle" my way through the pose. My head tells me that I'm doing o.k., but just as soon as we move to the floor, all bets are off. Strength alone won't get me through and I begin to see that I must re-adjust my head ...Maybe this is just a guy thing, but I don't think so...
Again, thanks for the comments.
Bookbinder |
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| Bookbinder - 2004-12-17 8:38 PM
but a bunch of this tightness is emotional stuff we hang on to...is this true???
Thanks,
Bookbinder
Yes !! in additions to what tourist said , I think practicing Bhaddha konasana will do the thing faster. But I dont know whether its easy to do at this age for a beginer.
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| Thanks! I'll look into the Konasana and see what's up. It's funny, (or sad) that I had been going to Yoga classes for almost a year...5 classes a week, and somebody FINALLY showed me an article in Yoga International about "letting go" and sinking into the pose...I had been trying to force myself into the pose (with that classic gym mentality)..needless to say, progress was slow and sometimes painful. Now a year later, I'm starting to re-evaluate my practice and am serching for a style of Yoga that is somewhere between Ashtanga/Power yoga and Iyengar....any ideas???
Bookbinder |
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Expert Yogi
Posts: 8442
| Bookbinder - you are at a key place in your practice! We often think that creating a "perfect" pose or mastering something very difficult is at breakthrough in yoga but honestly, it is these "aha" moments, these new ways of looking at the practice that bring the biggest internal changes. Yes, it is a "guy" thing to a large extent (although many women are also prone to it these days) and it is also the gym mentality. But you are moving beyond that. seeing yourself and your relationship to your "Self" in a new way. Yay!
Personally, I recommend Iyengar yoga but I am biased because that is what I teach and study. You can just do your home practice faster or longer if you want to get all aerobic about it. Iyengar is great for people with limitations (and don't we all have limitations?) because it gives so many variations and adjustments that help specific issues. Using blocks or straps for those forward bends allows you to work hard in the appropriate areas and release the tight areas so you make better progress and don't injure yourself.
Let us know how the konasana is working for you:-) |
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| Thanks y'all, I'm starting to look at my practice in a new light and with some renewed excitement too. Your suggestion to alter my home practice is a good one. We do have some good Iyengar instructors in this area and I'll see what I can rustle up. Here I go towards the unknown!!!!
Bookbinder |
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Hamstring/ hip tightness
