IslandStyle - 2009-04-27 7:58 PM

"I definately have tight hamstrings! I can't bring my legs/feet up to a 90degree angle when lying down."
Hi,
Sorry, we're gettting confused-hip flexors are the psoas muscles (plus others)-they do the opposite job to the hamstrings, which are hip extensors as well as flexors of the knee. But both sets of muscles will be shortened by sitting down-or often, dysfunction in one group will often 'encourage' dysfunction in the other group.

"In reference to your statement about students having this back soarness problem in corpse pose... I assume your also talking about AFTER a Yoga set, correct? Because I don't recall having any problems just lying straight, it's only after my incorrect forward bends. "
It happens both ways-both with yoga and without-but if you think about it, a forward bend brings the knee closer to the shoulder-this is hip flexion-maybe you need to learn how to use other muscles to block the excessive action of the hip flexor, and also to learn how to pull your lumbar spine towards 'neutral.' This will also give you much more stretch in your hamstrings. Pulling the spine towards neutral should help a lot-you use the abdominal muscles, and should feel that you can brace the entire abdominal wall-just like when you take a deep breath before you dive underwater, or sneeze. Talking of which, use your breathing to set up the contraction-then you have some of the principal core muscle groups activated-the diaphragm, the abdominals, the pelvic floor, plus others. This is an example of learning to contract other muscles and not the hip flexors (so much-they'll still contract, but the part they play is lessened).


"And I did narrow this pain down to forward bends, because some of the AM Yoga series I do such as "hip openers" and "twists" leave me with no pain afterwards. "
Might be best to stick with the twists for a bit

"I'm considering visiting a chiropractor just to get assessed because I'm really nervous that I might have done some damage. Only because days afterwards without doing Yoga, I would still wake up with horrible soarness, however it would TOTALLY disappear within a couple hours. But this went on for a couple months because I had just bought a new matress and the whole time I thought maybe it was the bed!!!!!!!! So here I was still forcing too much into these standing and seated forward bends the whole time. Now, I maintain the viniyoga back restoration set, and I have no pain... however, I can still feel the section of my back, almost like a "knot" (metaphorically speaking of course), and it follows me around all day and night."
You sound like an ideal chiropractic customer Just don't throw your money at them-talk to ther people who have used a good one who did the job in one/three sessions-I'm an ex-chiro, part of the reason I got out was because of this over-treatment which American chiros seem to be particularly good at

Nick

IslandStyle - 2009-05-01 11:14 AM

I thank you all dearly for the input. However, do you (anyone is welcome to their opinion) think I may have caused any serious / long term damage? Or based on the not-too-frequent times I'ves done Yoga over the past year, could my pain be temporary?

Or I should ask... IS there a such thing as temporary back pain (as in, is there something in the back/spine/lumbar etc. that can be either pulled/overstretched/torn etc) and this pain will go away on it's own?

[Obviously I have no health degrees or much knowledge on anatomy]

Thank you.