Many Right Ways To Do A Pose and a Few Wrong Ones

by Timothy

Branches and Roots by Brad Gibson

I got involved in a conversation the other day with Nina after class with our teacher Donald Moyer. Another student was wondering about the “correct” way to do forward bends. She’d just read an article in Yoga Journal by a highly respected teacher who said that the only correct way to do forward bends was with a concave lower back, that is, maintaining a normal inward curve of the lumbar spine. Although Donald sometimes prepares for forward bends like Uttanasana by doing the pose with a concave lower back, in the final pose, he suggests we allow a nice, even rounding of the spine, that is, completely reversing the lumbar curve.

Inherent in the student’s question is the notion that there is only one correct way, that everybody in all circumstances, should do any pose. The reality is that it always depends. What are you trying to achieve? What poses have preceded it and what do you plan to do after it in your practice? Are there contraindications you need to consider? Are there quirks in your anatomy or injuries you need to work around?

We could do this analysis for any pose but, since we’re on the topic, let’s stick with forward bends.

There are times when it is definitely not a good idea to fully round the spine. If you have a herniated lumbar disc, for example, rounding is generally contraindicated. When you round forward, the front surfaces of adjacent lumbar vertebrae come together which tends to push the disc material toward the back of the body, near where nerves exit the spine. This rounding the lower back could lead to nerve compression and sciatic pain.

For a similar reason, rounding the back in forward bends is generally not recommended for those with osteoporosis. Compression fractures of the spine happen when the front surface of one vertebra collapses under pressure from a neighbor. But forward bends done with a concave lower back can actually be therapeutic for those with thinning bones, and were part of the routine Dr. Loren Fishman used in his ground-breaking research (still ongoing for those interested in enrolling in the study) that is documenting yoga’s powerful ability to increase bone mineral density.

For those who lack such contraindications, rounding the spine the way Donald teaches may lead to deeper relaxation and more quieting of the nervous system. When looking at students from an Ayurvedic standpoint, long holds of rounded forward bends can be deeply calming to the vata dosha (the imbalance often tied to stress and over-activity). Long holds of such forward bends are part of yin yoga, and can be a wonderful way to open tight hips, for example, to prepare the body to sit comfortably for long periods of time in mediation.

So my way of thinking is that there is more than one correct way to do forward bends, all depending on the overall situation and what you are trying to accomplish. But that said, there are also certainly wrong ways to do poses. In my mind, any way of doing a pose that unduly increases the risk of injury, or which puts the joints or other bodily tissues in compromised positions is wrong. In forward bends, one common incorrect method is to bend from the waist rather than hinging from the hips. Although not all yoga teachers would agree, I also advise against any knee locking in the poses.

Of course, this just begins to describe all the thinking on forward bends found among different yoga teachers. Some people sit up on folded blankets or other props, which allows them to get more forward tipping of the pelvis, but not everyone needs to do this. Some people hold their toes, some hold a strap looped around the soles of their feet, and some place their hands alongside their legs. Ultimately, good teachers learn to look at students, ask them questions and determine a reasonable approach.

To me the final arbiter of whether a yoga technique is right or wrong is the breath. If you’re able to do the pose and the breath can remain smooth, deep and even, more than likely you're doing it a right way (though probably not the right way).

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Thoracic Outlet Syndrome and Yoga

by Baxter

For many of you out there, Thoracic Outlet Syndrome, abbreviated TOS, is one you may not have heard of. Yet, it arises most commonly in people who have been in traumatic accidents, typically in car accidents, or who do repetitive jobs, such as computer work at a non-ergonomic workstation, so that is potentially a lot of people. In addition to the two causes mentioned already, there are other less common causes of Thoracic Outlet Syndrome, like the presence of an extra small rib that can compress nerves and blood vessels near the lower side of the neck.  Regardless of the underlying cause, folks who develop Thoracic Outlet Syndrome often complain of a host of symptoms, which can include, but are not limited to, numbness and pain in the affected side of the neck, that is, in the arm, front chest and neck. There can also be weakness in that arm or hand. Symptoms often come and go, and in some situations can be positional in nature, only arising when the affected side arm is lifted and held overhead for a little while. 

What’s happening under the skin, so to speak, is that any of a number of structures could be getting compressed that should not be. More specifically, the cervical nerves that come out of your spine and come together to form the brachial plexus, (a kind of super highway interchange of different nerves from the cervical spine before heading down into the arm) can be pushed on by muscles and/or bones and lead to the symptoms described above. The same fate can befall the subclavian artery, the large blood vessel from the heart that feeds the arms, as it moves through the area of the side neck, under the collar bone, and out into the upper arm. 

A commonly cited aggravator of this condition is poor posture, which we have mentioned in many other contexts as contributing to other body pain conditions, and for which yoga is such a great antidote. In fact, most people diagnosed with Thoracic Outlet Syndrome will first be referred to physical therapy for postural re-alignment and stretches to open up the area of the neck and upper chest in order to create more space around the brachial plexus and arteries and veins to lessen or eliminate the symptoms associated with the condition. One muscle group that is often implicated in compressing the nerves and blood vessels is the scalenes, specifically the anterior and medial bodies of this three-muscle trio.

Muscles of the Neck

It would be worth your while to review an anatomy book if you are interested in understanding these muscles, which movements they normally create, and how one might stretch them to relieve tension on our delicate nerves and arteries.

Yoga could be a great adjunct to this healing process, since many of our sequences and poses address this area of the body nicely. Even simple warm up exercises like shoulder rolls, where you bring your shoulders forward, then up, then back and down, can start to improve this area immensely. I start class with this kind of attention to the upper chest quite often. Basic attention to Mountain pose and supported reclining backbends would be good starting places as well. And there are a few postures that directly affect the scalenes, such as the head positions in Bharadvajrasana seated twist in which you rotate and then side-bend the neck.

Conversely, since folks with Thoracic Outlet Syndrome often get symptoms when their arms are held overhead, some caution must be used when doing yoga poses with the arms ups, like Warrior I pose, for instance, especially if you intend to hold the pose for a while. I would not be surprised that a few people out there may have become aware of their positional symptoms after starting yoga due to the demands of the poses on the arms. (Yoga would not “cause” Thoracic Outlet Syndrome, but could alert you to its presence in such positions as Mountain pose with arms overhead, Urdhva Hastasana.) If such postures do bring on pain or numbness, it might be more prudent to experiment with dynamic versions of such poses, moving the arms up and down with the breath to see if the dynamic action precipitates symptoms. If not, you could continue to practice this way or even add in short holds as long as no symptoms arise. 

By moving and liberating held tension in this area, ultimately you may be able to relieve the compression that is underlying the Thoracic Outlet Syndrome. In fact, most patients with this diagnosis find some improvement with modalities like physical therapy and, I suspect, yoga as well, and very few have to resort to surgical intervention to find relief. 

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Satya: The Truth About Lies and Healthy Aging

by Ram

Sun Through the Clouds by Brad Gibson

In the Sadhana Pada of the Yoga Sutras by Patanjali we are introduced to the yamas that serve as moral, ethical and societal guidelines for a harmonious living. The five positive guidelines help us to behave and relate to our surroundings and environment and to achieve oneness with it. Patanjali considered the yamas as universal vows and preached that they be practiced on all levels: by way of thoughts, actions, and words. Thus, the yamas serve as prized guides to lead a conscious, honest and ethical life. Satya, meaning truth, is one of the five yamas in the yoga sutras. Verse 2.36 defines satya as:

satya pratisthayam kriya phala ashrayatvam

Being well grounded/established (pratisthayam) in truthfulness (satya), the fruits (phala) of actions (kriya) naturally result (ashrayatvam) according to the will of the Yogi. —translation by Swami Jnaneshvara

Satya is also defined in Sanskrit as “sate hitam satyam,” which translates to “The path to truth is ultimate truth itself.” Thus, one who is always truthful in actions, speech, and thoughts, his or her will is naturally fulfilled since such behavior allows a natural flow of goodness or positive feelings. Truth is considered divine and should be spoken to maintain righteousness (dharma in Sanskrit). Truth connotes purity and is superior to silence. If we start living in truth, we may not have to tell lies at all at any point of time. Truth keeps us free from all kinds of emotional turmoil.

Telling the truth significantly improves a person’s mental and physical health, and has a positive impact on health and longevity, according to a “Science of Honesty” study presented at the American Psychological Association’s 120th Annual Convention. Anita Kelly and LiJuan Wang of Notre Dame recruited a group of 110 people from 18 to 71 years old, and told them that once a week for ten weeks they’d have to come in and, in a lie detector machine, report how many times in the previous week they had lied. Approximately half the participants were instructed to stop telling both major and minor lies for the duration of the 10-week study. The other half served as a control group that received no special instructions about lying. Both groups came to the laboratory weekly to complete health and relationship measures and to take a polygraph test assessing the number of major and white lies they had told during that week.

The results were astounding. Participants across both groups who lied less in a given week reported their physical health and mental health to be significantly better that week. Participants in the no-lie group reported improvements in their relationships, less trouble sleeping, less tension, fewer headaches, and fewer sore throats. Telling three fewer minor lies a week translated to four fewer mental health complaints, and three fewer physical complaints. According to the authors of the study when you are honest, you feel good about it and life gets better. Associated with this, there is less stress and fewer physical and mental problems.

Research on how lying affects health is scant, but lying is thought to trigger the release of stress hormones, increasing heart rate and blood pressure. Stress reduces the number of your body’s infection-fighting white blood cells, and over the years, could contribute to lower-back pain, tension headaches, a rapid heartbeat, menstrual problems, and even infertility. Moreover, research has linked telling lies to an increased risk of cancer, increased risk of obesity, anxiety, depression, addiction, gambling, poor work satisfaction, and poor relationships (see The Prevalence of Lying in America: Three Studies of Self-Reported Lies. According to these studies, lying and its negative effects are a two-sided problem: liars create physical and emotional problems for themselves and people with these underlying problems are more likely to lie. Lies not only imprison an individual, but the more we lie, the harder we have to work to protect those lies from being discovered. As a result, all the physical, mental and emotional energies are diverted into protecting those lies, and we live in constant fear that can lead to chronic stress, health problems and unhealthy aging

One method that has been suggested for cutting back on lies and telling the truth is to surround yourself with like-minded, honest folks who will encourage you to be a truthful person. There’s an adage “Truth hurts for a little while, but lies hurt forever.” So tell the truth and protect yourself from the insidious damage of chronic stress, as it will help you live healthier and even longer lives.

Satyameva Jayate
(Truth Alone Triumphs)

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Friday Q&A: Peel Method in Bridge and Other Poses

Q: Is the Peel Method (flexion) for Bridge pose also contraindicated for students with spinal osteoporosis?

A: If the peel method you are referring to is the technique Baxter's described in his post To Peel or Not To Peel of slowly rounding the spine into flexion, then the short answer is yes, this version of the pose is contraindicated for students with spinal osteoporosis. Students with spinal osteoporosis should not generally move their spines into a flexed (rounded) position one vertebrae at a time. But I have to qualify this statement. If you are flexing vertebra by vertebra while standing as if you are going into Standing Forward Bend (Uttanasana) this would definitely be contraindicated, because the force generated through the vertebral bodies will be very high. However, if you are talking about the movement of going into Bridge pose as Baxter described, then the answer might be “maybe.” In Bridge pose, gravitational forces through the vertebral bodies are less because the load is not vertical loading. However, if the muscular contractions to round the vertebra are very strong and maybe propulsive then this would potentially cause load forces greater than the vertebral bodies can sustain (see info on Wolfe's law in the post What is Osteopenia?). So how do you know how much force is transmitted through the vertebral body? Unfortunately, you can’t really tell. So my general recommendation for all people with osteoporosis is to stay on the safe side and avoid all flexed asana positions, including the flexed position of the spine created by Peel Method of entering and exiting Bridge pose. I hope this helps!

—Shari

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Writing to Us

by Nina

The Love Letter by Johannes Vermee

All of us here at Yoga for Healthy Aging (Baxter, Brad, Nina, Shari, Ram, Timothy and Bridget) love hearing from you! Getting feedback from you about our posts helps keep us inspired and provides us with interesting topics to address that we might not have come up with on our own. And, of course, we love fan mail!

One way you can contact us is by leaving a comment on any post (even an old one). See the "How to Comment" tab at the top of the page if you are confused about how to leave a comment. You can be sure your comment will be seen! I, Nina, read all the comments as they come in, save all the questions in a file so we can address them in the future, and forward comments of interest to the authors of the respective post to ensure they read them. However, comments are seen by the general public and you may wish to send us a private message.

To send us a private message, use the "Contact Us" tab at the top of the page. The email address you will be using is mine, so I, Nina, receive all the messages. Again, I read through all of the messages and if there is a question, I store it in a file so we can address it in the future and forward any messages of interest to the author of the respective post. And, of course, all the authors read the messages that I forward to them.

Although the messages you email to me are private, I assume any yoga questions you have can be used for the Friday Q&A (although I always remove the name of the person who asked the question) or as the basis for a new blog post. However, if you state in your message that you want the contents to remain completely private, I will respect that. So you can feel comfortable sending something personal.

The one thing I cannot promise is that any of us will conduct a private correspondence with you. I say this because once in a while we receive messages with personal questions or concerns that request a personal reply. To be honest, it’s really an issue of time. All of us have other kinds of work we’re doing (such as full-time jobs or busy teaching schedules!) so taking the time to write a single person about his or her personal yoga concerns is time away from working on the blog itself. This just doesn’t make sense because all the writers for this blog are unpaid—it’s a labor of love for all of us—so we need to focus our free time on providing high-quality content for the general public. Also, as I put it to Baxter when he received a detailed request for advice regarding a reader’s physical problems, the writer would essentially be getting free private coaching, which is obviously not something we can offer to hundreds or thousands (our following is growing!) of people. I sincerely hope you understand and keep this in mind when you write to us. Again, I do promise to read all your messages, and if you write to a particular person, I’ll make sure that he or she reads your message as well.

Namaste.

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Mixed Feelings About Yoga Poses

by Nina

Crying Girl by Roy Lichtenstein

When I first started practicing yoga at home, I had no idea how to sequence poses. I mean, I had a basic idea that there was a warm up pose or two, then some standing poses, and then some seated poses (or backbends). But within those larger categories, I didn’t really know how to put the poses in order. So for my standing poses, what I would do—ssshh! true confession!—is alternate between poses that were difficult for me (I had some intuition that I should practice them so they would become easier for me—befriending them, you might say) and “treat” poses, the poses I always looked forward to and enjoyed doing. So there I was telling myself, okay, if you do a pose that’s hard for you (let’s say Extended Side Angle pose), then you get a little reward by doing a pose you really enjoy (let’s say Triangle pose).

These days, having completed a three-year teacher training program, not to mention having more than 20 years of practice under my belt, I know a lot more about how to sequence poses. However, I still find that I have a similar mix of feelings about the poses I practice. Various thoughts go through my mind as I move to the next one (or, if I’m in class, when my teacher announces the next one) from "uh-oh, not this one", to "oh, boy, my favorite!" As my practice has matured and my body has changed (there’s that bit of arthritis in my right hip), some of my attitudes toward particular poses have evolved, but there are still some poses I love, some I feel neutral about, and some that, well, are just not my favorites. Then, because our minds are a little quirky sometimes, I have other thoughts, too. One of the thoughts I often catch myself having always amuses me, and it goes something like “Whoa, I haven’t done that pose in so long it’s going to be so—wait—I think I actually did it yesterday!” Then I smile and think, “What’s that about?”

I’m telling you all of this because yesterday in her post When to Stop Practicing Yoga, Shari made reference to the “flurry of self-judgments and criticisms” we experience when doing yoga poses:

Each time we move into a yoga pose there are a flurry of self-judgments and criticisms—”Oh no, not this pose again, I can’t ever do this, I hate this…”—the internal psychological dialogue can be unending. It takes a lot of mental discipline to quiet the mind to be fully in the asana. But then the actual physical body starts its own chorus of complaints—“This is making my knee hurt, or my back or my shoulder.” The mind can and does ignore a lot of this noise, “strong arming” the body into submission. But that cranky joint knows when to strike back and it often does. So, when should we listen to the body over the noise of the mind?

I don’t know about you, but this experience that Shari describes is one that I have had before. And I think she was writing this in the spirit of compassion for those who are struggling with chronic pain or fear of movement. However, I think it’s important to emphasize that there probably isn’t a flurry of self-judgments of and criticisms every time we move into every pose. Sometimes there is contentment and pleasure, maybe even joy. Some days practice is easier than it is on other days. And whether it’s a challenging pose like Headstand or a delicious restorative pose like Reclined Cobbler’s pose, just about everyone has some poses that they enjoy—and maybe even love—doing on a regular basis. And in my home practice, I still make sure to include some of my "treat" poses in every sequence that I do. In fact, it’s my love of the asana practice and the pleasure it brings me that has kept me for practicing for all these years. (Sometimes—another confession—I have so much fun during my practice, I dance around a little between the poses.)

So if you’re having negative thoughts about a pose, know you’re not alone. Be compassionate with yourself when you catch yourself doing it and try to be present in the pose. And, as Shari recommended, listen to your body to see if it’s trying to tell you something important. But also take the time to notice your positive thoughts and the enjoyment you take in certain poses (or maybe, at times, in all the poses). This will not only teach you about your mental habits but you’ll be learning about your particular body type and emotional temperament. It might even provide you with the information you need to make some of the poses you find difficult—and, trust me, everyone finds some poses difficult, though the particular poses people find difficult differ widely—easier and more enjoyable to practice.

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When to Stop Practicing Yoga

by Shari

Swan at Rest by Brad Gibson

Sometimes we do things that we think are healthy or beneficial for us, but which are actually not. Even practice of yoga, whether at home or in a class, can occasionally be problematic. Have you ever gone to a class feeling a “bit off” and then walked away from the class feeling drained or in actual pain? Or, have you ever gone to a class feeling a “bit creaky” but hope that the “kinks” will work themselves out, but instead of feeling in less pain, you are in more pain after class? I don’t think this is a situation that only I have experienced in my over 30 years of practice! And I have begun to think of this topic as a means of exploring self-empowerment and non-judgment.

So, why do we continue to participate when we know we should stop? All of my fellow bloggers have addressed this issue in slightly different ways, whether it is in our approach to eating, sleeping, or basic life stressors.

I think we can explore this idea on a psychological /emotional level or on a gross physical level. I will start this discussion with the gross physical level of the body. First off, the practice of asana is not just a physical body moving through space following the commands of our central nervous system. Each time we move into a yoga pose there can be a flurry of self-judgments and criticisms—”Oh no, not this pose again, I can’t ever do this, I hate this…”—the internal psychological dialogue can be unending. It takes a lot of mental discipline to quiet the mind to be fully in the asana. But then the actual physical body can start its own chorus of complaints—“This is making my knee hurt, or my back or my shoulder.” The mind can and does ignore a lot of this noise, “strong arming” the body into submission. But that cranky joint knows when to strike back and it often does. So, when should we listen to the body over the noise of the mind?

I often tell my students that it is extremely important to understand our own physical as well as mental limitations and to respect them. Pushing beyond one’s actual abilities does lead to injuries (see Baxter's post Getting Clearer on Yoga and Risk of Injury). So when and how do we improve our abilities without causing injury or damage? We have to know when to stop!

With that in mind, here is a list of physical warning signs that would be important to acknowledge:

1. Pain progression in both intensity and location. A back pain that is located centrally in your spine that starts to spread outward or downward is a warning sign to stop that activity. Another warning sign is when the area of pain totally changes location from back (spine) to arm or leg.
2. Pain intensity. Pain is usually quantified on a 0-10 point scale where 0= no pain and 10 is excruciating intense pain. Any pain that moves from negligible, like a 3, to a 6-7, is not something you want to encourage. 
3. Loss of sensation in a limb, an increase of numbness, a tingling, or burning that doesn’t stop once the position is changed.
4. Increase in a sense of “unease.” You don’t know why this activity is making your nervous, unsettled or agitated, but it would be wise to stop the activity and ask your teacher afterwards.
5. Any sensation of dizziness, nausea, double vision. These are not symptoms that are a healthy benefit from asana.
6. Any signs or symptoms of heart racing or feeling that your heart beat feels irregular.
7. Physical exhaustion. Instead of feeling better as the class progresses, you start to feel more and more exhausted.
8. Mental exhaustion.

If any of these events occur during a class it would be wise to stop and sit leaning against a wall. Sometimes closing your eyes or going to get a drink of water will be helpful. Other times just stopping and lying down in Savasana will work. Finally, there may be times actually leaving the class is necessary. If this occurs, quietly get up and leave the room. Your teacher may or may not come to talk with you. If he or she does approach you, briefly let the teacher know what is going on with you. If you are concerned about discussing medical issues in front of the class, only discuss what you feel comfortable with. Then, especially if this is a regular class that you attend, consider contacting the teacher afterward to give him or her the complete information. Having complete information about your condition will help your teacher do a better job of making your next experience in class a good one.

For information about what you might want to tell your teacher before a class, see What Your Yoga Teacher Really Wants to Know.

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