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| Hello. I am new to the forum, though I've been reading for a while. I am into my 2nd month of Bikram's and I absolutely love it. I do have a ton of questions, but I'm going to pace myself based on frustration level. 
In Rabbit, when I pull on my heels, my feet come off of the ground. I don't feel anything in my hips at all and I certainly don't see how my hips will come up. Any suggestions? Is this another one of those postures where "your body will tell you when it's ready"? |
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| Whoa! Keep your feet on the ground please!!!  Feet should actually be pressing INTO the floor in this pose.
You shouldn't be pulling UP on the heels, you should be pulling FORWARD towards the mirror, if that makes sense. The goal of the posture is to round the spine as much as possible. You should feel it first in your upper back and shoulders, and then eventually in the middle and lower back as well - not really in the hips, although the hips do come up. Make sure you are following the dialogue step by step - get a tight grip, suck in your stomach, glue your chin to your chest, round forward, get your forehead to touch your knees if you can... then, hanging on to your heels, try to roll forward like you're doing a somersault, but hang on to those heels so you don't ACTUALLY do one. See if you can start to feel the stretch in your upper back.
Check out http://bikramyogales.com/index.cfm?section=aboutbikram&fuse=postures&id=29 for another good description - that website is one of my favorite references.
This pose was IMPOSSIBLE for me when I started - couldn't roll forward much, couldn't lift the hips, couldn't straighten the arms - but somehow within a month it sorted itself out, and now, a year later, I can do a very respectable rabbit. |
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| I have a little trouble with this posture also. Have no trouble at all straightening my arms, but when i try and close the gap between my head and knees extra weight transfers into my head and I can't quite figure out how to keep the weight in the knees/feet. This feeling of too much weight on my head freaks me out a little also, so I am tending to stay in my comfort zone with this one at the moment; any suggestions welcome!
Lisa |
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| I also have trouble with Rabbit. It doesn't seem like my forehead will ever get to my knees. My teachers tell me the best technique for this is patience. As long as I'm going into the posture according to their instructions, it will happen. They also hint that the progress will likely come as I shed off some more pounds. Today, I thought I might even get there, but alas...
Of course, for me, alot of the series now is a continuing lesson in patience. And it seems like the main point of standing head to knee, for me, is to teach me humility and how to let go of frustration.
Duffy |
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Regular
Posts: 66
| When i started rabbit was my least favorite pose due to the discomfort it produced. Now in my advanced state of yoganess (3 weeks heh) I actually look forward to it as i can feel the stretch has moved from upper back and throat to middle of my back and heading to lower back.
I have a different problem with it from those posting above, in that I can get my forehead to knees, with almost no weight on top of head, but I cant get my shoulders away from my ears. When i try to stretch my arms as long as possible and pull my shoulders away, my head either pulls away from my knees or it rolls onto the back of my head as I look up at my stomach. I'm not sure what I should be doing to pull with my arms but keep my form.....do i let my head roll onto back of head (think bald spot on some men) or maintain top of head to floor? |
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| My head actually touches my knees quite easily, but I almost feel like my arms are too long to straighten them. When I grab my heels there is a lot of slack and I can't get my hips very far up. Of course I'll keep working on it, it just feels like I'm doing something wrong. My instructor says I'm doing great, though and I trust her.
Duffy, I COMPLETELY agree with you about standing head to knee teaching humility. It is my MOST frustrating posture and I know that half of it is mental. My legs are getting MUCH stronger, but I still can't lock my standing leg in that position. |
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| I think more people "fear the rabbit" then most poses mabe outside of standing head to knee.
It is a very difficult but very important pose. After doing all those back compressions you finally get to treat the back like an accordian and stretch it out.
Be very carefull with your neck in this pose. No weight on your neck!!! Other wise its a work in progress for most people. Ease into this pose and over time it will feel better. And carefully listen to the instructions on this one. |
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| LOTS of questions about rabbit!! Heh... it is a troubling one sometimes.
Jar - it is totally ok to roll forward onto your "bald spot" area of your head. I've seen pictures of very advanced people with almost the BACK of their head on the floor, which I actually DON'T agree with - seems like too much stress on the neck. But a little bit of a forward roll on the head is totally natural in the full expression of the posture, so give that a try.
Delania, sounds like you are doing exactly the right thing. I had the same slack in my arms for quite a while, until one day it went away.
Lisa, if your head and knees are separating, make sure that you don't move your head, but instead walk your knees forward to meet your head. No more than 20 percent of the body weight should go onto the head, the rest is in the legs and ARMS. Maybe try going into the pose more slowly and keeping the contact between your forehead and your knees? I think that the head-to-knees part is more important than having straight arms. If you keep practicing that, then eventually you'll be able to round your spine more deeply and the arms will correct themselves.
I like the rabbit! |
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| So, listening to your advice and encouragement, I went into rabbit with renewed determination. I got a more solid grip on my feet, pushed my feet into the ground, and PULLED. I felt a fantastic stretch in my upper and middle back. After the posture, the instructor said that, had I done that in competition, I would have gotten a 10! Woohoo! Thanks so much for all of your help. |
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| YAY!!!!!! 
Next question, please! |
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Question About Rabbit
