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| Hello, I am new to this group so if these questions are repetetive please excuse.
I have been practicing yoga by myself for a 2-3 months. I would like to join a class and make sure I am learning the right way. I have the following problems:
1. Left knee problem - By doing yoga so far, I have realized that I have weak and tight hams on the left side. Also gluets, back are weaker, tigher on the left side. Getting some flexibility through yoga in the last 2 months has already helped my knee problem
2. Weak lower back - chronic but mild problem for the last 10-12 years.
3. insomnia (recently)
I am wondering what style of yoga class I should join that will best address my needs to start with. I am thinking Iyengar as it stresses teh standing poses which should help with the knee problem etc, and also help me stabilize/strngthen my core to help with the back/abdominopelvic strength.
I took 3 individual lessons from a sivananda instrcuctor last month, but I found there was less emphasis on standing and core strengthening poses and the practice was more adhered to the "sivananda cycle".
Any comments/ suggestion? How about Ashtanga or Vinyoga, I dont have much knowledge about them.
Also, I was wonderign if there were any asymmetric poses for strengthening the hams, that is only using one leg at a time. I have found many stretching ones, but no strengthening one in particular so far.
Thanks!
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| those are pretty good questions...
and a pretty good way to go about choosing a practice.
i think iyengar would be an excellent choice for you.
the emphasis on standing poses and alignment makes it an excellent choice for a beginner
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or a highly seasoned practitioner.
everyone needs standing poses and alignment 
ashtanga is a pre-set series of postures you flow through using sun salutations and powerful breathing.
i don't have much viniyoga experience, but what i have seen is a form that emphasizes flowing from different movements within a single posture.
either of them could be excellent choices for you as well.
as you mention chronic knee and back problems, iyengar would be helpful in raising your body awareness and correcting imbalances.
after this, any number of yoga styles would still be open to you.
that said, i have heard that viniyoga highly emphasizes therapeutic application of asanas.
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whichever you choose, find a teacher you like/connect with.
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| Thanks for the advice! I will try finding an experienced Iyengar teacher, actually there is a teacher in my area who combines Iyengar with viniyoga, maybe hers might be a good style for me..
Still wondering if anyone has any advice for asymmetric hamstring strengthening.. I am searching google but no luck so far...
Thanks! |
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| the forward bending movement stretches the hamstring, while the backbending movement contracts the hamstring...causing it to strengthen i suppose.
one thing you might do is lay on your stomach, and lift one leg slightly off the ground at a time.
think about lifting through extension.
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Edited by dhanurasana 2008-02-11 10:52 AM
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| Hi Shavian,
Welcome to the forum.
Both Iyengar and Viniyoga will meet your requirements, though you may find Viniyoga a little easier. Personally, I would avoid an Ashtanga practise.
Regarding strengthening the hams, standing poses will do that for you.
Jonathon
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| ...and regarding the insomnia, I would suggest avoiding practicing back bends in the evening.
Jonathon
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| Hello my new friend. Welcome aboard.
Yes there is a new style of yoga I am creating. It is based only on my own experiences and has no foundation in any classical system whatsoever.
The practice is an elixir and thus it is good for all ailments. It cures everything and it is "the best" yoga there is. You will be very happy taking this yoga.
Classes are held in a room that is chilled to 32º and I'm calling it Frozen Yoga.
And while that fantasy is slightly amusing it is in fact a sort of parody of "modern" yoga offerings.
There is no particular yoga that is good for hamstrings. And there is no particular yoga that is good for the quadratus lumborum. Yoga is not an ala carte offering.
That having been said, and with all due respect to our new friend Shavian, in this case the student is very focused on some specific anatomical goals and gains. And in that context, with that mission and that mission alone, there are some sorts of yoga practice that may have less efficacy (for those goals). But frankly there's no reason - with those goals and only those goals - to take up yoga at all.
Now I'm all for everyone on the planet having a yoga practice. But I think it's prudent to point out that the choice of having a practice to loosen hamstrings, or strengthen erectors may come with it's shortcomings. And one of those shortcomings is "what "yoga" should I do for my legs.
Perhaps a sound answer to that particular question is "go to a personal trainer at the gym and work toward muscular balance there". Why bother with yoga at all?
But I will answer all the same:-)
A rigorous flowing practice may do the job however I have yet to see or do the practice in such a style where a teacher observes student imbalances and can make the time within the pace to attend to that which is witnessed. So I would lean toward a practice where the teacher has assessment skills AND enough training to do something about what they see.
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| so what would be the ideal reason for coming into yoga practice?
wanting to integrate mind body and spirit in order to live more fully in the present moment, free from all the excess baggage of the past and not projecting wildly into the future.
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yeah that might be a pretty good one.
if i had been so lucid when i started my practice, perhaps i would already be a fully realized god-man.
however, i came to yoga for similar reasons: my knees hurt, my back hurt, and i was going crazy.
yoga seems to start out as a need based practice in this culture.
it's hard for us to see the necessity for breaking down the walls around us until they are high enough to block out the sun, hmm?
and after we've seen the freedom we gain through loosening our hamstrings, strenghtening our abdomo-pelvic relationship, then we have a little more insight into the 'true' aims of yoga.
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i'm sure we've all had this discussion before, yoga practice vs. asana practice.
sometimes you need to start with what you can see.
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people who grow up with it (yoga and asana) must be very fortunate indeed. |
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| I think there are layers here Andrew and I wasn't necessarily thinking one should come to yoga, even idealistically, with the "enlightenment" paradigm securely in tow.
However one might contend that coming to it only for a strong left hamstring begs the question of "why yoga?". And while there doesn't have to be an answer to that, a yoga teacher should at least present the question in the interest of the student's growth as a yogi.
If I were merely a basketball coach then I'd have given a different answer. As my responsibilities are different, I gave one based on those and this student's question. One may come to yoga any way at all and all of them are valid and welcome. But that is the reply to the question "why should I come to yoga?" not "which yoga should I do for my levator scapula?"
From previous experience with you I know you already know all this so apologies for redundancy. In some cases the text is for all. In others it is just for you:-)
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| purnayoga - 2008-02-11 4:05 PM
From previous experience with you I know you already know all this so apologies for redundancy. In some cases the text is for all. In others it is just for you:-)
likewise, my dear. i miss your picture with the raised eyebrow, it was classic.
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| purnayoga - 2008-02-11 2:10 PM
Hello my new friend. Welcome aboard.
Yes there is a new style of yoga I am creating. It is based only on my own experiences and has no foundation in any classical system whatsoever.
The practice is an elixir and thus it is good for all ailments. It cures everything and it is "the best" yoga there is. You will be very happy taking this yoga.
Classes are held in a room that is chilled to 32º and I'm calling it Frozen Yoga.
Oh wow! I am ready to join, please let me know as soon as you have some celebrity clients 
Perhaps a sound answer to that particular question is "go to a personal trainer at the gym and work toward muscular balance there". Why bother with yoga at all?
Good Question, the simple answer is I want to go beyond my bodily limitations (knee/back problems) in the longer run a SAFE manner, be able to do all the asanas which are there in the BKS Iyengar book , and use the asana practice as a means to get closer to the essence of yogic philosophy etc.
The problem is, as Mr. Iyengar repeatedly tells us in his Light on Yoga, yoga is like a penumatic tool and if done injudiciously, it can destroy the person and the tool ...
For example whenever I do shalabhasana, I have pain the lower back .. I back off and attempt it after a while thinking my muscles might have become stronger .. but so far they havent .. so doing the asanas for which I am nor ready might hurt me and discourage me which is the last thing I want even though I would like to think that I am pretty determined..
and its easy to get confused with the plethora of styles on offer and selecting a good guru on top of that .. cant exactly go to a yogi in the woods (yet)  so I ventured into these forums seeking help. |
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| actuallly even if my goals were restricted to just correcting my alignment, hams, back etc, I would still have bothered with yoga, simple reason being I have done enough to know that the poses done correctly are more effective than physiotherapy .. they urge to use our body's natural feedback mechanism, and they work muscles and tissue that are not stimulated oterhwise .. I could go on and on .. but I think these alone might be good enough. |
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| I smell a resident of the UK.
Are you in England now?
If so you might google Drew Stallcop and see if he's close enough to study with. If not, call him and ask him what he suggests in your area. |
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Which Style 4 weak hams/back?
