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| I know there has been a little discussion on this board regarding the position of the arms in Bikram's Locust potentially being harmful. Thought I'd share something noteworthy.
One of my massage clients has been experiencing problems with his elbow for a couple months now. He injured it playing tennis. We've tried ice, anti-inflammatories, myofascial release but nothing has seemed to help much. Last week, I asked him to try bringing his arms under his body with the palms face down, arms straight. I told him to just rest his weight on his arms like that for about 1" each day and slowly work on getting the arms closer together.
I saw him last night and asked him how the elbow was. "It's working!" he said.
Maybe this Bikram guy knows something after all 
Peace,
Gwyn |
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| Good application of scientific testing with empirical evidence Gwyn--first hand application and observation of results. Appreciate it. |
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| Good suggestions. Have you tried facing the palms up while the arms and elbow are under the body? For the last part the student should do fists with the hands, palms facing up. This will stretch the area without straining it and provide a stable environment for the shoulder to release. After some time your students should be able to do the palms down rather soon! |
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| Do you think that modification gives as good a stretch? Or are you saying that it gives a good enough stretch, therapeutically, and that it's worth modifying to reduce strain long term? Are you saying there is potential strain initially but later (after a period of modification) the pose can be done with palms face down without strain?
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| The goal is really about safety. You are trying to provide an environment where you can stretch in the same basic manner without having the student strain. This type of modifcation takes the pressure off the wrists and elbows while providing an effective stretch while putting the joints in stable position to release. The student should be working towards doing it the regular way, but by modifying the exercise for sometime to take away strain. It may take slightly longer for the student to flip the palms, but when they do they it will be much easier over the long term for the joints. By forcing them into an unstablized and straining postion, I believe that you may force microtears in the muscles. Over time it could lead to advanced problems.
The best way to see what I mean is to try it out next time you practice. Think about the body and how the modifaction would aid someone with hand, arm or shoulder issues. Once you have tried and know what it feels like, suggest it to your student if you think it has something positive to add to their practice.
I would also suggest the you pick Tony Sanchez's Yoga Challenge I DVD. I believe that he has all the basic modifications for injury, physical restriction and pregnancy. You can pick it up at www.usyoga.org.
Have them try it for a couple of weeks and see if they improve. Them let us know what happens! |
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| Is the DVD different from the video? I have the video but don't remember them discussing modifications. |
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| It should be the same. I know that they do give some of the modifications. I will try to find my copy of the tape. It has been awhile since I've watched it. Tony does cover them in his teacher training though. |
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| From what I remember, he has himself + two others doing the asanas. The others modify sometimes but I don't think they actually talk about the modifications. I have a copy of the video my friend made for me, so maybe she didn't tape it all. I should buy the DVD.
One of my friends is seriously considering going to Tony's training. I would love to go someday -- maybe in a couple years when things settle down. I did the Bikram training 2 years ago and need to space things out a bit, financially & timewise speaking. |
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| I would highly recommend Tony's training. It will be time and money well spent. Tony teaches from a space of experience. He can do everything he teaches extremely well. He has a effective teaching style when it comes to teaching the exercises. He also has an affordable training. If you can try to do to on of his 84 asanas workshops. |
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Locust, aka Elbow Killing Posture
