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Extreme Veteran
Posts: 338
 
| Ok, This always bothers me and I never remember to ask.
Why do many (not all) teachers say that the first back bent (in the warm up) will hurt. It has never hurt me. Even if it usually hurts, it makes no sense to tell someone that it will hurt, thereby causing tension in that person.
Usually the wording in Bikram class if pretty good, but this wording always confuses me. Oh, I also don't know why they insist upon talking about japanese ham sandwiches. not that many non-japanese, know what they really means (although we can guess). Why not just a ham samdwich, isn't all ham pretty thin.
peggy
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| Don't know about the "hurt like hell, don't be scared" portion of the dialogue. I've always focused on the "don't be scared" part of that instruction.
We've talked about the Japanese Ham Sandwich before. I don't even know if they eat ham in Japan. My guess is that there is no such thing as a Japanese Ham Sandwich. I've looked on the internet and found nothing. I'd love to be proven wrong. In our studio, there's a picture of a "Japanese Ham Sandwich", but its just a ham sandwich on a website that's using mostly Japanese characters. |
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Regular
Posts: 69
| Some teacher the other day said 'quesadilla' instead of Japanese ham sandwich seemed to be a more clear analogy for Americans in the Southwest. :0 |
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Extreme Veteran
Posts: 338
| Its a much better analogy, or a peanut butter sandwich. |
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| If it doesn't hurt, then you are lucky and that is great. 
For most people (including me!) I think that the first backbend is usually very uncomfortable. For the beginner, this will be perceived as pain, and they will think "oh no, this doesn't feel right, I shouldn't be going back like this," even though what they are doing is actually very safe and beneficial. The dialogue says "your back is going to hurt like hell, don't be scared." This isn't intended to create tension - it's just going to acknowledge the tension that is ALREADY there in 99% of people and let them know that it's ok to feel that way. I've heard some teachers say "your back MIGHT hurt like hell, don't be scared," which I almost like better...
As for sandwich, well Bikram DID start off teaching in Japan, where they knew what he was talking about... these days I feel like he usually just says "sandwich"... must have gotten tired of explaining what Japanese ham sandwich is... hehe... as long as you get "no gap anywhere" out of it, you're good to go! |
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Extreme Veteran
Posts: 399
Location: Oregon | One of my issues with the dialogue is the choice of words at times. Pain isn't Yoga, so hurt, even metaphorically, shouldn't be in there. The dancingj an Duffy both touch on the important distinctions that I think people often miss... the difference between being uncomfortable and pain/fear. |
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Veteran
Posts: 149
| W/ bikram i think people can forget ... ITS YOGA!! not a 20k kill yourself run or any other hard core workout. You should feel warmth breath stretch and peace, not pain or struggle. It is SO easy to get competitive or push too hard (which is a lesson in itself ) I have to remind myself all the time ..... its just stretching so RELAX ! |
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| In my classes (non-Bikram, but the principle is the same for all styles since all styles are practiced with the human body) I always say: "If you feel pain, you are hurting yourself. Don't! If you feel intensity in your muscles (not your joints) great, but never cross the line into pain as you will injure yourself."
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back bends painful
