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| I began yoga about 2 months ago. I LOVE the class but after the class and the rest of the day I feel like I can't pick up anything or do anything for that matter. I am very sore for 3 or 4 days afterward too. I guess this is good but I have two kids and I need to be able to function afterwards. I tried eating better and more before the class today and it helped but my arms are just dead. My neck gets really sore too and I'm weak all over. What am I doing wrong? |
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| Hello Connie,
Would you provide us with a more robust picture of your current practice please?
All I know from your post is that you're doing yoga and you're sore. I doubt you're doing anything "wrong" but I can't make a determination at all if I don't know what you are doing.
Description of the class in terms of pace and duration, then some bits about you including age and fitness background, you know, the things that would be relevant for any health consultation.
Once you add that we'll have stew.
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| Don't eat before yoga class. Wait about 3-4 hours at least. (unless you have a medical reason)
I like to practice in the morning or lunchtime when my belly is more empty.
Also, it could be that you are going at it 100%. Try more like 80%.
It could be that the teacher isn't teaching a very good sequence. The wrong sequence without counterposing will make you feel terrible the next day. |
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| I'm 29, female, not overweight but not in shape. I've been out of real exercise for 4 years but now that the kiddos are bigger I joined a gym and I'm back in the swing of things...running and yoga mainly. Before kids and in college I was very active and worked out quite a bit but never yoga.
When I started the class I had no problems but lately it has gotten increasingly difficult for me. As I am a beginner I will be speaking in beginner tongue here.....we do a lot of this sequence (maybe 8-10 times in one class): plank to chaturanga to cobra to down dog. I don't know all the names of the poses but some of the other ones are....half moon, lizard, revolved side angle, revolved triangle, extended side angle, warrior 1 & 2, crescent lunge, bridge, and some other ones that I can't remember. I'd say the class is in between beginner and intermediate. I don't know if it's a particular "kind" of yoga as the class is just describe as "yoga" and I am not familiar with any of this.
Maybe I don't know where to draw the line between over doing it and just pushing myself a little harder to get better. |
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| Sounds like the usual suspects (postures).
I think that for some people the yoga is hard and then it gets easier and for others it is easy and then gets harder. As my practice got stronger, it presented new challanges. The postures you name are excellent foundation postures.
Given your background, soreness isn't that unusual. Practice as much as possible and try not to get ahead of yourself. It takes time. Mostly, you want the soreness to be in the belly of the muscle, not so much the joints.. |
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| I've been practicing yoga for a few years now and find that when I'm fatigued, irritable, and overly sore after a session, it's usually because I've overdone it. You can ask your teacher to show you some modifications to make poses less intense for you. For example, complete chaturanga from your knees (like a girl push up!) instead of doing the full pose.
It would also probably help to do more frequent sessions at a moderate intensity for long-term learning and improvement. Best of luck, and don't give up! |
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| swincon - 2007-06-26 1:04 PM
What am I doing wrong?
From what you wrote, you are not getting enough rest. In other words, you are stressed out. |
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Expert Yogi
Posts: 8442
    
| Connie - it sounds like you are doing a "flow" sort of class where the poses go from one to the other in a sort of choreographed way? This is very popular right now, but not the only way to practice. In Iyengar yoga, for example, you would not be doing some of those poses as a beginner. They are very challenging and can easily be done incorrectly and cause soreness and/or pain. As you have children and presumably a job and are also running, this style of yoga may be not exactly right for you at this time. You might want to check and see what else in happening yoga-wise around you and experiment a bit. Good luck! |
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| Hi Connie,
thanks for getting back in to the thread with more info.
There's valuable feedback being offered here by others.
And it certainly does sound like you are doing a vinyasa, power, or flow class though you do not mention the actual pace of the class.
Can you tell me where the soreness is living in your body?
This would be helpful. Is it a general ache all over or are there specifics?
One of my concerns with new students (and some not new students) in the sort of class you outline is what I consider to be an overabundance of Chaturanga Dandasana. In some forms or disciplines of yoga this is done quite a lot and it is, within said branch, "universally accepted". Not teaching or practicing in that branch I am not bound by a universal acceptance.
In looking at the human body the concern is that the muscles in what is called the Rotator Cuff are small and somewhat delicate muscles. Should they be worked and used, yes absolutely. However when we do this sort of action, and we do it repetitively, and we do it poorly, and we do it with more adipose tissue than a 19 year old we subject the supraspinatus, infraspinatus, teres minor, and subscapularis to excessive and sometimes deleterious demand.
It may simply be that at this point in your practice you need some movement but you do not need jumping around. And perhaps your body is trying to dialog with you about this. It is also possible that you are simply getting back into shape after a sedentary period and this will pass. Only you and your mindful awareness will discover the proper answer for you.
Edited by purnayoga 2007-06-27 3:38 PM
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Weakness after yoga class....
