Is bad shoulder blade alignment doing your back in?!

I've had such a bad back over the past 4 weeks, at the joint between the lumbar and thoracic vertebrae. Even resting from loads of deep kapo and hanging back hasn't really helped, which I thought was a bit weird...  So I've been a bit standoffish when it's come to back work recently. 

Today I had one of those 'I can't be bothered to practice' days but dragged myself onto the mat as soon as I got home. I'm so glad I did. I decided when I got to end of standing I'd do second and went straight into it. I've only been practicing second a couple of times a week recently. Despite the recent lower back pain kapo was relatively easy and keeping the knees pressing down and thighs completely engaged was working to get me deep very quickly. Where was the pain? What was I doing differently? I scanned my body and it was the shoulder blades....they were pulling right down my back and close into the spine..everything felt perfectly aligned. I was engaging something that I had never engaged before. So I got up and re-created the feeling in urdhva dhanurasana and again, felt completely stable. 

Now, whilst I can drop back, I confess I normally do the 'Lino' style taking my hands down the legs then letting go and rotating them inwardly to land. It feels safe! I've always had a feel of not being able to open the thoracic spine enough and when I go back with hands in prayer I feel terrified and somewhat claustrophobic, like everything around the chest is closing in. (Image from ihanayoga.com.au)

Plus, the hands in prayer position looks so much nicer doesn't it?! 

So I raised my arms towards the ceiling, palms facing forward thumbs touching overhead, looking up and drawing the shoulder blades down the back and sucking them towards the spine, I placed my palms together and drew them into the heart centre, with engaged thighs I arched back and without any problems dropped back! So what has been the problem? I was so worried I'd drop onto my head my shoulders were somewhere round my ears and the shoulder girdle lifted, closing the heart area at the front of the body.

Kapo has also been awful because my right shoulder goes back effortlessly but my left just doesn't want to engage in any way at all, which means when being adjusted, normally with the right first, I get the right heel then my left arm/shoulder just won't rotate properly which puts me into a panic that I'm gonna put the joint out...and I fail miserably! It's as if without correct engagement of the back muscles, the front won't open. 

So the muscles of the shoulder girdle, the trapezius and the deltoids are contracted to keep the shoulder blades in the correct position whilst entering the postures, then once you're in the back bend, release these by engaging their antagonists, the pectoralis and the latissimus dorsi. The erector spinae and quadratus lumborum also need releasing by engaging the abdominals, especially rectus abdominis. It's important to release the erector spinae once in the back bend as their contraction will pinch the spinus processes of the vertebrae together which will prevent any further movement in the bend. 

So there you go. Some tips on working on urdhva, kapo and dropping back with hands in prayer. Hopefully now my left shoulder will build up strength correctly and over time will balance out with the right... :) Hallejulah!

Coming up to stand from Urdhva Dhanurasana 'just happened'!

For a few weeks now my teachers have told me that 'they've hardly had to do anything' when assissting me to come up to stand from dropping back. I obviously didn't believe them, you never do, do you? But last night it actually happened and was completely unexpected. Firstly, it happened in a class (Mysore) situation; see previous blog post on dropping back and the ego for my thoughts on this. Secondly I tried it when most people had gone or were in savasana (see previous ego post ;) 

I stumbled the first time, Digby (my teacher) walked back into the room as stumbling was happening and asked 'what was that?!'. And I yelped with glee - 'I've just come up to stand!!!' Gave him a big hug and he then said, 'well I missed it so you'll have to do it again'. Great! So I did, and the second time I did it even better, not a stumble in sight. Hooray! I was amazed. 

Now, I'm not sure whether my back was more open and that made it easier, but it seemed that it was finding a 'sweet spot' engaging around the pubic area which allowed me to come up kinda effortlessly. Suffice to say I'm excited for my next practice. And I'm gonna be trying it at home every time now and also at the shala. No more ego, just more right intention... :)

When is it the right time to begin second series?

So my teacher James said I should start the intermediate series next week. I panicked a little as I can't even jump back properly (when I say properly, I guess i mean 'float' back) and still cannot jump through with straight legs (I can do crossed legs now).

I'd been held back for over a year with knee pain, knee clicking etc. but once it seemed to have got a lot better (they're not perfect and don't think they ever will be)  my practice has just taken off! Thinking about what I've achieved in such a short space of time seems amazing... padmasana, mari d, supta kurmasana, tittibhasana, bakasana with jump back and drop backs, all within 9 months. I can't come up to stand from back bend unassisted, (I managed it once but it has evaded me since :) but I'm dropping back at home most practices, the Lino Miele way (walking hands back down legs then letting go). So my question is am I ready for the second series?

I'm trying to think back to when I started the primary series... did I think I'd never be able to do them? Yeah, I guess I did, I certainly didn't think I'd ever jump through to sit, let alone get into supta kurmasana and dropping back into a back bend. I remember watching the teacher demonstrate jumping through and thinking, 'yeah right!!'. lol. It's funny how quickly things change. The time's gone by in a flash.

Kino MacGregor says that if you can hold UHP without any stumbling, bind in mari d, bind and get legs behind head (with help is fine) in supta k and drop back and come up in your backbends, then you may be ready for intermediate series.

So now I find myself here with the David Swenson practice manual open half way through and feel like a complete beginner. Again. But it's exciting. Very exciting. A new journey! New postures to work out, new pain and discomfort to experience!!! So today I finished purvottanasana then began the intermediate section. It all seemed to be going fine until laghu vajrasana.
 

OMG, it was hilarious, 3 options to choose from from David's book, and I still couldn't work out which one to do!! I think that'll be one to do with a teacher. It was like, 'if I bend here? No. If I do it like it this? No, that doesn't work. Maybe like this? No never going to happen!' LOL.

Kapotasana I managed to do option D I think, taking the hands back to the wall, but oh dear, I think my back has a LOT of work to do! I have a very flexible lower spine, but my upper/thoracic spine is so stiff it's unbelievable. The back bends left me thinking, will I EVER be able to do them?!

I guess I just have to look back and remember seeing tittibhasana or supta kurmasana for the first time!!

When I started ashtanga I really didn't know what I was letting myself in for. Before I'd even finished, sorry, even seen the whole primary series I was already booked up for David Swenson's retreat in Goa! It wasn't until I got there and was half way through the first morning's practice when I thought, wow this is long, I don't remember this posture...or this one for that matter! Complete shock. This time, I know exactly what I'm letting myself in for, I have books, DVDs and practice manuals and sheets to remind me! To remind me of how far I have to go, how long the journey's going to be and how much work I will have to put in every practice.

Luckily for me I can do the first 8 postures, I can even bind in Pasasana! And I'm looking forward to getting to grips with all the rest!

Kukkutasana - what?!

So although I've been practicing for the past four years, I've only managed to nail padmasana (lotus posture) in the past 10 months. It's getting easier, very slowly mind you, but it is, the hips are working more on their own accord to move the knees closer together, feet staying on tops of thighs. I was in class today and B noticed that he'd never seen me do kukkutasana, although I've recently been doing garbha pindasana  (only the rock and roll bit) in padmasana.

Why have I never even attempted kukkutasana? It's just never been part of my so called "full" primary series! So B demonstrated how to slide the arms through. He said that sliding the arms through diagonally also makes it easier. So I gave it a go and managed to get both arms through quite easily, albeit with my leggings on, think I will have to start wearing shorts now, (damn, note to self - must start shaving / tanning legs more) and wetting the arms for an easier entry, as it were! Apparently kukkutasana is a great posture for releasing the hips but protecting the knees by keeping the pressure off with the arms inside. It kind of makes sense. It felt a bit strange but great at the same time.

Backbends are getting deeper all the time, the drop backs definitely speed up the process somehow. Today I managed to move my hands in towards my feet three times, about 2.5 hand spans. I came up onto my toes, but it felt right to do that, like it gave me more momentum to come up on the inhale. Bendng the knees sure helps too when you walk your hands in. I will have to play with that on my own, I've only managed coming up once on my own, haven't given it much time since. Whilst I love the morning practice, I still feel like I'm rushed, even though I have a good 1:45 if need be. I might try Sharath's led DVD tomorrow morning. That's if I can walk by tomorrow morning....

Yesterday I went to a dance mets yoga workshop where the woman was getting us to prance across the room in a style which was akin to the warm up we had to do called "corner to corner" at gymnastics when I was young. My body is not used to doing things like this. It didn't like it and by the end I'd pulled my right calf muscle badly and my left shoulder!! I am also bruised head to toes from rolling around on the floor like I was ten. Safe to say I don't think I will be partaking in any further yoga meets dance performances, even if you do get to perform at the Olympic torch ceremony in Birmingham in July! I've been hobbling around all day like old man Steptoe. Great.