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| Do you think it is better to hold a pose for the whole time but not be as deep as you can go OR to go to deepest you can and run the risk of falling out?
Thoughts??? |
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| Very good question actually. Actually it's a bit of both. First set of every posture, I m usually not ready to go very deep. But during the 2nd set, I really pushed myself till the point I may not be able to take it. But usually, I try not to go as deep if my body cannot afford to. I rather learn how to start training my stamina from the start then to rush into a posture and fall out.
It can quite demoralizing. But there are certain postures where one shld really push themselves IMO. Suh as he standing bow pulling, standing head to knee. Balancing stick.
I guess at the end of the days, it's really up to individuals. Usually falling out is e first step of success.  |
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Extreme Veteran
Posts: 399
 
Location: Oregon | I agree it's both. It the posture is getting easy, push more for depth. If you're struggling and keep falling out, accept less depth and maintain. In my studio they often say something like (I don't think it's in the dialogue) first set is diagnostic, second set is depth. |
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| how long do you generally hold poses for in bikram yoga?
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| Andrew:
Bikram series holds postures for relatively short compared with some other styles. The longest poses are only a minute, and the second set of those poses are for a half a minute. The shortest poses are a mere ten seconds. And then most of them fall somewhere in the middle, like 20-30 seconds. |
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| Depends on the posture, but since you're talking about "falling" I suspect that you're talking about the balancing postures after eagle, right?
I think the first priority is actually a third option: "form." Basically, are you doing the posture the "right way"? If you hold yourself back TOO much in order to stay in the posture forever, I think there's a possibility that you never get into your true expression of the posture. Then you'll think you've been in the posture the whole time, when really your posture hasn't even started yet! If you get into your true posture promptly, and then find it too intense to hold for longer than 30 seconds, well, you still had 30 seconds!!
For example: in standing head to knee, it's better to REALLY lock your knee and hold it for as long as you can, even if it's only 10 seconds at first, than to do it wishy-washy and hold it for the whole minute. Your endurance will increase over time, and eventually you WILL be able to lock the knee for the whole minute, but only if you really go for it now! The other example is probably standing bow. (This one is near and dear to my heart.) I've heard a LOT of different things, but my favorite teachers have always said that it's ok to fall out, because at least then you are trying! (I once tipped forward out of standing bow and heard Bikram immediately say, "THAT WAS BEAUTIFUL AT THE END" - I peeked over, and he was looking right at me!) Getting the body down in standing bow really is part of the FORM of the posture - you get more benefits once your abdomen is down parallel to the floor - so I think it's better to do that right away and then hold it for as long as you can. If you fall, you fall. Don't avoid getting into the posture for fear that it might not last! It's still better than keeping your body up straight the whole time and never getting into the posture at all.
Anyway - I guess I would say FORM is first, and then it's a balancing act between depth and duration. Don't trick yourself into thinking that you can't have both! They can actually improve TOGETHER. That's where the mental strength comes in, too! I am so bad at that part sometimes, but I am trying.... |
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| I agree with thedancingj. I think there is a priority order. Form first, then going slowly as deep as you can go without compromising the form (through relaxation and focus, not force), and then holding it for the duration and identifying and relaxing the un-needed stress (i.e. the mental or physical stress that is not needed to hold the pose). You may not get it all the first time or every time, but that is why we PRACTICE yoga.
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Regular
Posts: 90
| It's important to keep the breath in mind when considering things like depth and duration. The breath shows to us how long and in what manner we should hold an asana, I think. I always think of my breathing as a way of bridging the ideas of depth and duration. If I cannot breathe with some level of normalcy, that indicates to me that I have strayed too far into the depth of an asana.
It is easy to push in Bikram yoga, so I always try to keep my ego in check when it comes to achieving greater depth by using the breath as my guide. |
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| I guess I am in one of those phases where I am starting to go reasonably deep but balance gets a bit wobbly - especially when you are trying to make sure that every part of you is in the right form.
At the moment my mental dialogue goes something like this in Standing Bow..."Right I am going to hold it this time at my full expression of the posture, go slowly, don't jerk down be smooth, ohhh my leg is looking good - hello back of knee, hmmm starting to feel a little bit tired, keep going, stretch forward, damn head not quite perpendicular, straighten it up, ohhh leg even higher now, knee stop popping out get back in line, blast moved to fast and balance is shot, arggh falling…”
My mental toughness is the area that I need to work on the most, so I will focus more on my breathing, focus on being precise then I am sure the duration will come at the same time as the depth. Will put into practice tomorrow morning.
Edited by crasey2000 2009-10-14 7:05 PM
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| Crasey2000 - I do this too, in standing bow! I have a bunch of check points that I think through to make sure I am in the right place, etc. Then my teacher said this the other day: FEEL the posture. Sometimes we are thinking about it so much that we don't FEEL it. This has helped me a lot towards staying in it - actually thinking about the feelings of kicking and stretching. Try it out! |
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Regular
Posts: 90
| Y'all sure sound like you think a lot in class. |
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| The monkey chatter is worse when I practice as night, which is why I drag myself to the 6.30am class.
I focussed this morning on even steady breaths, in and out, and managed to shut down a fair chunk of the mental dialogue that I normally go through. A big step for me and one which I will keep working on. |
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| Carlx - I needed that. Thank you. |
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Regular
Posts: 90
| jtho, I do too. I think we all do. |
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Depth vs Duration
