Yoga Flexibility Problems

[MM1988]

1. Lotus seat: Even though I sit in the lotus seat daily for months my feet begin to hurt after 10 minutes and I have pain when standing up. This doesnt seem to get better.

2. Maha Mudra: Cant stretch my legs and touch them. I do it with bending my knees but I feel thats too exhausting for yoga. Also doesnt seem to get better.

 

Should I just keep doing these or is there any other exercises I can do to accelerate the flexibility? How long does it take until someone becomes more flexible?

[Salvijus]

Sometimes rigidity is on many levels. It could be on your mental level and energy level too.

There's a story when one Yoga teacher came and said. i've been trying to bend and reach the floor all my life but I couldn't. Then the teacher said do it now. She said, what now? In front of everybody. Yes yes. Do it. She bent and she reached the floor with the palm tauching the ground completly so there many layers of rigidity.

I myself been practicing Yoga everyday for a year and there's one anasa that after a year I made 0 improvement. Then I asked my teacher about this. He said you need to be more connected with the earth. So i baught plants and started to take care of them and within a month i made a huge improvement it's miraculous. 

Everything is connected. Some area of life if it's not functioning. It will be seen on your body and flexibility.

 

Edited February 9, 2019 by Salvijus

[moon777light]

i am going through the exact same thing. Its a process. as Salvijus mentioned, its because you have a rigid mind. It will take a while , dont force it. Some people take like 5 years to properly do splits. 

One note: i do traditional yoga at a studio and our teacher told us that if you dont have your spine completely straight, you will gain no benefit. Theres no benefit in trying to touch your toes while having a rounded back and bent knees. Go slowly from where you are. Even if thats literally just sitting with your legs front with back straight. I still have yet to master that, because after a minute, my legs start spazzing and shaking like crazy. Practice Dandasana for 5-10 minutes daily. If you can sit like that (google pictures, your hands should touch the floor with back straight) then start moving forward, but ONLY with a straight back. Also this pose purges lots of emotions, so don't distract the mind, sit with whatever comes up and notice it. 

Its also shown that when people purge emotions through other means like therapy, breathwork, etc, they suddenly become more flexible. A good diet is also important. Make sure your not sitting all day, move constantly. 

[moon777light]

2 hours ago, Salvijus said:

I myself been practicing Yoga everyday for a year and there's one anasa that after a year I made 0 improvement.

which one?

[Salvijus]

3 hours ago, moon777light said:

which one?

I don't know the correct indian name of this asana but I found a picture, it looks like this. 

Edited February 9, 2019 by Salvijus

[Recursoinominado]

Loved this topic, i started hatha yoga recently and i am fucking loving it, a LOT of purging is going on, i feel lighter, clearer, more centered, more confident, calmer etc. I have a huge problem with dandasana, even if i cross my legs, if i don't put a cushion in my but, it is hard as fuck to keep my spine erect and i start to shake like crazy, lots of emotions bubble to the surface 

[Forestluv]

On 2/9/2019 at 8:02 AM, MM1988 said:

1. Lotus seat: Even though I sit in the lotus seat daily for months my feet begin to hurt after 10 minutes and I have pain when standing up. This doesnt seem to get better.

2. Maha Mudra: Cant stretch my legs and touch them. I do it with bending my knees but I feel thats too exhausting for yoga. Also doesnt seem to get better.

Holding a lotus posture for over ten minutes would be an extreme Yin Yoga posture and duration. I rarely do one posture for over five minutes. 

It sounds like you may be at the other extreme for leg flexibity. How long are you holding leg stretch postures? Are you fully relaxing into the pose and allowing gravity to extend your edge over a few minutes? Or are you actively engaging and applying force to the pose?

 

[Karla]

@Salvijus love all of this!!

[Karla]

@MM1988 Is your goal to increase flexibility? Or what is your goal exactly?

There are lots of other poses. Lotus is hard for many people, if you have never practiced sitting like this before so it’s okay to give yourself time. Is it for meditating?

Your yoga teacher would probably tell you to approach all moves with non-judgement and curiosity.

A few suggestions:

Drink water before and after.

Use a block, blanket, pillows, etc. to allow your body to situate and relax properly. I assume you may already be doing this but this can be extremely helpful.

Warm the body or stretch some of you tighter areas (hips and back of thighs perhaps) BEFORE going into longer/ intense holds.

Focus a lot on using your breath. Use your breath to inhale into any resistance (visualize breathing into your lungs and into the tightness where you feel resistance) then exhale your resistance. This is something to practice... and maybe helpful.

Try for the 10 minutes for awhile and increase only after you are feeling ready/ less pain.

Hope this helps.