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| Dear Friends,
Due that the most near center is aprox 750 miles from my city, I've started to practise (very "light") with the book of John Scott, and the DVDs of David Swenson, to learn "Ujjayi Breath" theory, Vinyasa transition, and the goals of the practice, and too the Mark Darby DVD, that shows two windows, one for advanced and another for beginners.
I'm just trying to understand at all at first, and when I can, I will made a trip to an expertise Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga teacher.
But just starting, I have some fundamental questions that this books and DVD don't explain (or just I don't understand):
1. A beginner, must practise only one day, another rest. If the day of practise coincide with one of the moon holyday days, must rest this day too?
2. In some postures, I must to see to my nose. But this way, I see "double" and can "to get seasick". Must I close a little my eyelids, or can I close them totally?
3. With the exercice, must I do stops to drink water?
4. I've seen the advanced teachers muscles, and exercices. There are no exercices to biceps muscles, is it?
And nothing much for now.
I'm very sad because there are not teachers near to me. 
Best Reggards. |
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| Dear Yogui-bubu
I have trained with John Scott and David Swenson. They are both excellent teachers and their books and dvd's are great tools for the practise of ashtanga vinyasa yoga, suitable for beginners and advanced practitioners alike. Remember that as good as they are, there really is no substitute for training with an experienced teacher.
In answer to your questions:
1. Listen to your body. If it needs rest, then rest or shorten your practise (maybe 3 xA and 2xB Sun Salutations). The most important thing is to work within your breath. It should be continous and not forced. If your breathing becomes heavy or difficult it is a sign to slow down or rest until you are able to return to the breath.
The tradition of refraining from practise on moon days is only found in ashtanga and some practitioners follow it and some dont. Personally I'm comfortable practising on full and new moons and nothing really bad has happened to me yet!!!
2. Gazing at specific points in your practise is called drishti. There are nine in total and the nose is one of them. If it causes you to feel uncomfortable or sea sick then dont do it and just let your gaze move in the direction of the stretch. During your practise always keep your eyes open (except for the final relaxation). You may find it useful to then practise the nose drishti outside of your yoga practise and gradually build up a tolerance for it.
3. Traditionally we do not drink water during ashtanga practise because we are trying to build up an internal body heat and water will cool it down. Though again, my advice is to listen to your body.
4. Yoga works the whole body! As Sri Pattabhi Jois is keen to say "practise, practise and all is coming"
I hope this helps.
Jonathon
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| I think it's important to not overdo it when you start Ashtanga especially. It's not uncommon for people to be blown away by it and want to practice all the time. When you first start doing ashtanga, the body goes through many transformations, both physical, mental and chemical. Due to this the body needs time and space to recharge. doing the sun salutation every day (just a couple as suggested by jonnie above) is good. Doing more is fine, just no more than 30mins every couple of days or so. After a couple of months you can increase and then progress from there.
Don't eat or drink anything 2-3 hours before you practice as your internal organs get massaged as well and if they're working on digestion or something it can make you a bit sick and isn't great for the body. It's usually said that you should wait 1hr until after the practice to eat, but you should drink a lot afterwards, as you would when you have a massage, because you have released a lot of toxins.
The whole body gets a workout, there are definately postures for biceps! You'll find some in the sun salutations for a start.
You have good advice from jonnie above, I wish you much enjoyment in your practice 
(p.s: I've also studied both with john Scott and David Swenson and they are amazing teachers)
Edited by DownwardDog 2006-10-04 4:25 PM
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| Hi yogui-bubu,
Build up slowly don't jump into the ocean at once, in india they first start with the sunsalutations and slowly build up the practice (you only get a next pose if you can do the pose before)
On the moon days you don't practice, that is because if you get an injury it wil be a deeper one and it takes longer time to heal, this is because the effect of the moon's gravety on the water on this world, and we are made up of more then 95% of water (i forget the exact percentage) so moon days have also influence on us.
If you start adding more poses, listen to your own body, you can use the adjustments david gives in his book, but you also should realise that if pattabhi jois teaches he prefere you to try the original pose and not the adjustments that david gives you.
So try to forget the adjustments as quick as possible and at least try every week if you can do the original pose you would be suprized how much deeper it wil get you into the practice.
Don't skip poses if you think they are to difficult, the serie is build up to open your body, with all the poses before you open your body for the next pose in the serie, so don't leave ardha baddha padmotanasana out of it because you can't do that, just try to do it as good as you can.
Even if you don't understand why they are helping with the next pose, after time, (think in years) you will suddenly find out more how your body and muscles work and see that it is true.
Drishti and ujjayi breathing are difficult in the beginning, don't stare and try to hard, when your doing yoga for a longer time, like 6 months or longer you will find out that the puzzle becomes clear and you suddenly understand what ujjayi is, and you also find out that if you look at the drishti points you get more concentration.
What i recommend is that you try to understand what the bandha's are, mula and uddiyanana bhanda are in the beginning more importaint for a good practice.
Stop drinking water during the practice, its activating your digestive system, and its shut down during yoga, so you will loose energy and concentration if you drink water during practice.
Even grabbing your bottle wil make you loose your concentration.
You do yoga because you like it, and it makes you feel great, if you start doing it for your muscles its a good thing, because its always good to start doing yoga, and after a while you don't care for your muscles anny more, so i would say, yes, its good for your biceps, because you don't think of them anny more after a while.
by the way where you live, that there are no teachers?
Namaste.
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| Consider the very radical idea of studying the Yamas, Niyamas, and the Kleshas first.
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| Although many people begin their yoga jouney with Asana. Something awakens often which opens up the other branches of yoga.
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| follow your breathing
slow deep breathing should be the rule
Your body should remain relaxed throughout the practice, breathing deeply
You may perspire profusely, but, do not neglect your breath
Breathe deeply and slowly and remain relaxed.
Good Luck |
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| some good advice there. but which poses actually work the biceps and the back for that matter?
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| Oh THIS is where this belongs. It's on the board as a new thread and I responded there.
Basically biceps work by pulling. A most useless muscle primarily for the ego
Unless you are working with a wall rope system and a knowledgable teacher you're not getting much pulling in your asana practice.
As for the back muscles could you specify? Are you asking about the entire back body?
That would be many, many asanas.
dragonfly - 2006-10-06 8:57 AM
some good advice there. but which poses actually work the biceps and the back for that matter?
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| Dear Purna yoga,
Your right (regarding the practise of Yamas, Niyamas and Kleshas first). All to often we neglect the mental for the physical!
I like the website as well.
Jonathon |
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Location: London, England | Hi there,
Only one thing-we often consider exercising the biceps in the open kinetic chain-where the hand moves. In yoga we often work in a closed kinetic chain, such as in much of the sun salute.
In the closeed kinetic chain, the biceps probably co-contracts, acting as a stabilizer. There is plenty for the biceps to do in yoga postures! In this case, the biceps acts not to pull, but to slow our descent-much like the hamstrings, the correspondent muscle of the leg, whose job is not just to pull the foot towards the buttocks, but is also to slow down our lanidng after we jump.
Take care
Nick |
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| Not sure if you guys are following me here, but just trying to follow on yoqui's point to get a more specific answer. hopefully quotes below might help. Reason I'm asking is so that I can compare how muscles are used in contrast to gym work - not that I do much there.
Yoqui-bubu
4. I've seen the advanced teachers muscles, and exercices. THERE ARE NO EXCERCISES TO BICEPS MUSCLES, IS IT?
DownwardDog - 2006-10-04 9:24 AM
The whole body gets a workout, there are definately postures for biceps! You'll find some in the SUN SALUTATIONS FOR A START.
Dragonfly
some good advice there. but WHICH POSES actually work the biceps and the back for that matter?
I meant which specific poses in sun salutes, which has many, or any other specific poses.
Purnayoga
Oh THIS is where this belongs. It's on the board as a new thread and I responded there.
Basically biceps work by pulling. A most useless muscle primarily for the ego
Unless you are working with a wall rope system and a knowledgable teacher you're not getting much pulling in your asana practice.
As for the back muscles could you specify? Are you asking about the entire back body?
That would be many, many asanas.
Thanks for your reply, sorry I pressed on new post instead of reply and only realised later but then couldnt edit my post due to some 30 minute rule. I know biceps work by pulling and would disagree that they are a useless muscle. Any way the point is about ansana for biceps, but you don't give any particular poses, so you agree with yoqui-babu's asertion that there is no asana for biceps? I didn't know that there was a rope pull system in ashtanga can you tell me more about this please? for the back i mean main muscles like rhombs and lats.
Nick
Only one thing-we often consider exercising the biceps in the open kinetic chain-where the hand moves. In yoga we often work in a closed kinetic chain, such as in much of the sun salute.
In the closeed kinetic chain, the biceps probably co-contracts, acting as a stabilizer. There is PLENTY FOR THE BICEPS to do in yoga postures! In this case, the biceps acts not to pull, but to slow our descent-much like the hamstrings, the correspondent muscle of the leg, whose job is not just to pull the foot towards the buttocks, but is also to slow down our lanidng after we jump.
Thanks nick, but your talking a lot of jargon that i'm not at all familiar with like open and closed chain. Could you give any specific poses from sun salutes? I'm still a beginner with ashtanga but have become a lot more aware about my body and individual musles than I used to be. When I next practice I will try to see what's going on in sun salutes but sometimes I'm going quikly or focusing on breath, so knowing which poses to look out for would be useful. |
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Expert Yogi
Posts: 8442
 
| purnayoga - 2006-10-06 10:21 AM
A most useless muscle primarily for the ego
I have had this discussion before, I think. I find my strong biceps tremendously useful, thanks! I don't know how I would carry 25 lb. toddlers, bags of groceries or big heavy laundry baskets without them. Maybe they are ego boosters for men, but we women use 'em!  |
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Location: London, England | Hi Dragonfly,
"Thanks nick, but your talking a lot of jargon that i'm not at all familiar with like open and closed chain. Could you give any specific poses from sun salutes? I'm still a beginner with ashtanga but have become a lot more aware about my body and individual musles than I used to be. When I next practice I will try to see what's going on in sun salutes but sometimes I'm going quikly or focusing on breath, so knowing which poses to look out for would be useful."
Sorry-the open kinetc chain is when your muscles create an action which moves your hands or feet. A closed kinetic chain is what happens when your hands or feet are fixed, and so muscular contraction produces movement of the body. An example of a open kinetic chain would be lifting your arms above your head, or cycling. A closed kinetic chain would be lifting into a handstand.
A mixture of the two can be seen in the transition from chaturanga dandasana to urdvha mukha svanasana-the legs are in an open kinetic chain (OKC), and the feet slide over the floor, whilst the arms are in a closed kinetic chain. Muscles behave completely differently in both circumstances, and the action of biceps in the open kinetic chain, that of bringing the hand to the shoulder, becomes more complex in the CKC. The insertion of biceps into the forearm becomes the fixed point, or the origin, and the insertion in the shoulder causes biceps to become a mover of the torso and legs-I'm talking about lifting into a handstand or the lifts of the vinyasa. So there is potentially masses of work for the biceps-by using our own body weight as resistance, rather than a dumbell, it all depends how you do the postures-lifting, rather than jumping seems to be the key.
Sorry for the jargon, hope that makes sense-or if it doesn't get back to me or ignore!! 
Nick |
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| I think I'll just give what you ask relative to the back muscles butthe very question itslef "what asanas work the back..." is sort of a pragmatic, slightly less yogic, slightly more fitness center sort of query.
Please asume proper actions in the pose....
Sarpasana
Bhujangasana
Urdhva Mukha Svanasana
Salabasana
Sirsasana
Adho mulkha svanasana
Chaturanga dandasana
Adho mukha vrksasana
Vasisthasana
dragonfly - 2006-10-06 8:57 AM
some good advice there. but which poses actually work the biceps and the back for that matter?
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Location: London, England | Hi Dragonfly,
Just to help understand:
"for the back i mean main muscles like rhombs and lats"
The rhomboids and lats are not back muscles-they are muscles of the shoulder girdle and arms, and as such will also get plenty of opportunity for exercise within the sun salute and various positions of yoga. Of course, in some yoga positions, the lats become movers and staqbilizers of the spine, as they attach to the lower back and pelvis.
Nick |
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| thanks will chew on that  |
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Questions of a beginner
