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| I am one of the flexi ppl that can get my arms behind my ears, and I was hoping some of the other flexis like this would be able to give some advice. In the dialogue somewhere - half moon maybe? - it says to put your arms behind your ears. Is this something that we are really supposed to do, or it is the intention so that those with arms in front of the ears work on getting them with the ears?
So what I am wondering about - I tend to put my arms behind my ears in all the poses with arms overhead - half moon, balancing stick, standing separate leg head to knee, half-tortoise. However, I have been noticing lately (I think, since I can't see myself from the side), that when I put my arms back that far, I am going into a bit of a backbend. I can't figure out what muscles to use to have my arms that far back but also my spine straight.
Should I be putting my arms back that far in any of those poses? Should I just leave them with my ears?
Thanks!! |
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| Hey! The dialogue for half moon is actually, "arms always TOUCHING WITH the ears, NO GAP between biceps-arms and ears." I know that the dialogue will also remind you to lean your upper body back a bit, which is where confusion can come in, but don't overdo it. Arms should ALWAYS touch the ears, and then (still in the set-up) you also take a nice deep breath and stretch up to the ceiling to make a long, straight spine. (You are 100% right that you want to avoid going into a backbend during the side bend. That's a good instinct.)
Balancing stick is the same idea; arms touch the ears, and you want to end up with your arms and your leg exactly parallel to the floor, no lower, no higher. You know how they always say it shouldn't look like a "broken umbrella"? Picture what an umbrella actually looks like when it's been blown inside out. The broken umbrella curves UP. (I had practiced for 2 years before this occurred to me. And actually, someone had to tell me.) So don't do it like that.
I'd have to check for the other two. I suspect that you might be ok in half tortoise, cause you really just kinda want your arms out of the way so that your forehead can touch the floor before your hands.
Edited by thedancingj 2009-10-07 6:36 PM
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| I have heard many teachers say "arms behind the ears" - so either it is something that they say to encourage the in-front-of-ears ppl to work towards being with-the-ears ppl, or maybe it says it somewhere else in the dialogue and I am getting it confused with half moon?
Good visual on the umbrella, dancingj - I am the same, never actually stopped to think about it and realize a broken umbrella is an upwards shape. I'll start working on that next class. Half moon is my nemesis at the moment, but keeping my arms with my ears (not behind my ears) is a good place to start working on it. Thanks!! |
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| I have a lot of shoulder flexibility, and I put my arms up with the biceps touching the back of the ears or slightly behind in half moon and the other "arms up" poses, and I do not feel any backbending. In fact, I am sitting here at my computer trying it, and I am getting my arms all the way behind my head without bending my back, so I would say you maybe have room to achieve a bit more flexibility. I would ask the instructor to check you out. I see a lot of people with whacky backbends in half moon. You really can't tell from the mirror what is going on back there.
Ferret |
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| Yeah, I believe you. I'm pretty sure that "behind the ears" isn't in the dialogue at all, but I wouldn't be surprised if you've heard correctly. It is something I've heard teachers add in to encourage the in-front-of-the-ears people, (as you so accurately put it,) in the spirit of "well, if I SAY behind the ears, then maybe they'll actually get their arms to touch the ears." But THEN you end up with a handful of poor confused flexies whose arms are going all the way to the back wall!!! Precision...
Glad you like the broken umbrella bit. You're welcome!! |
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| Ferret - I've already had an instructor tell me I am backbending a bit in half moon sidebends, which is what prompted my thinking about the arms! I am not able to just think "okay, stop backbending" on this one (because I don't feel like I am, though I do believe her when she says I am), so I am trying to figure out how all the other parts of my body are contributing to it, and that got me thinking about arms-behind-the-ears, and then I noticed I was doing it in all those other postures, too. I think it has been making me fall out in balancing stick, as well. Either way - I will start practicing arms with the ears, as it sounds like that is what I should be doing! |
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| The Dancingj is spot on! Every official dialogue I have ever seen has the term ARMS WITH THE EARS. The behind the ear thing was a bad habit started by I believe someone here in San Francisco. Very bad for the half moon. It will kill your cervical spine and look aesthetically unpleasing.
This subject is great example of how the "dialogue" is a game of telephone. As maybe one the reasons Bikram wants to try to start cracking down on studio that are not teaching strict dialogue. |
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| Alright, concentrated on arms with ears in class this morning. Helped a lot in balancing stick. I didn't fall out today. (I used to be able to do this one okay, and then a couple months ago one of my teachers told me I need to look forward more (I was more or less looking down at the floor below me), and ever since I started looking forward, I fall out. Today I didn't. This is good. Did this in half moon as well, but my half moon side bends are a trainwreck right now, and I didn't really feel any closer to fixing that. However, I will keep my arms with my ears as it is a good piece of the puzzle to have.
Brian - I will think about the cervical spine in half moon next class. Thanks for the tip. |
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| Thanks Brian. 
Hooray! for balancing stick.
Half moon is so difficult when you're bendy. It used to be my worst nemesis, and it took me ages to get it figured out, but I finally love it. The best hint I can give you (from my computer anyway) is to focus on making your spine really long in the beginning, and then keeping it that way. Take a deep breath, stretch up out of the waist, TOUCH THE CEILING, and then keep reaching OUT as you go to the side. Another helpful trick is to do the pose before or after class and peek in the side mirror (or have a teacher or friend look at you!) to find out what "straight" really feels like. (If there's a spot in your studio where the front and side mirrors come together in a corner, that is a good place to stand to get a side view of the posture. Tricks of the trade...) |
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| side mirrors?
i play with it at home. i also find that if i slide my rib cage over then i tend to go over vertebrae by vertebrae and i get length and depth in the pose. i LOVE the way it makes my back feel.
i mess with the sequence though. do side, side, back, stick, side, side, back, stick, back, knees bent chest-to-thighs, then twist each side, then the forward bend. ah, feels SO good! |
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| oh, and i can do arms behind ears and straight spine, but once i move (left, right, front or back), then i have to draw them to the ears. otherwise, shoulders get in the way (how do i explain that feeling?) |
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| I have been setting up closer to the side mirrors, but still need to turn my head to look, and then I lose some of the form and can't tell what I was doing when I had been looking forward! I will try to set up right next to the side mirrors today and see if that helps. I know in my old studio, there was a spot where the side was reflected into the front, so I could see both at the same time. Maybe I can find the same angles here. Rib cage and shoulder concentration today then. Thanks! |
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Arms behind the ears
