How to Avoid Yoga Injuries : Yoga Lotus Pose

[ammachi3]

btw...to sit in padmasana you have to be able to hae a full range of motion in hte hips...which means being able to do the side and front splits...flexibility on the knees and ankles is very limited so the range of motion needed for this pose comes almost entirely from the hips. And the only why to get full range in the hips is to do the splits...

[mersylla]

@ammachi3 You also need to be able to bend forward completely on your straddle split while keeping a straight back I think

[ammachi3]

@mersylla Yes...you can do the straddle, while trying to get down to the floor with the splits. And I was doing both a few months ago (sometimes a straddle to warm up or a whole session of it). But to be honest, nothing stretches the legs like the side splits. I am few inches from the floor, and when I’m down there, then I’ll start to roll the hips forward, and also do this while working on over-splits. But to get maximun flexiblity in the fastest time, side splits are you route.

[mersylla]

@ammachi3 Yes I agree that leaning forward doesn't stretch the legs so much, I was just trying to point out that lotus pose isn't just about leg flexibility but also hip flexibility. Also what you said about passive is interesting, I'm having a hard time stretching my way to the splits, if I got you right, it means that once I get them, sitting passively on my splits will be all the maintenance routine that I will need to keep them ?

[ammachi3]

@mersylla Yes...splits can be maintained when you reach the floor by just sitting there and letting gravity do all the work and the PNF (a combination of passive stretching and isometrics contractions) that you used to get down there faster than you otherwise would have, may not be necessary anymore – unless you feel like you want to try over splits (beyond 180 degrees)

[ammachi3]

However, I do recommend not just passively trying to let gravity do the work for you when trying to get down to the floor. But, instead employ the use of PNF stretching techniques when you stretch. If you search the for the channel name: lrockwood

He has two or three really informative video on how to get the front and side splits using PNF. Good luck!

[mersylla]

@ammachi3 Ok thank you for your advice ! :)

[mersylla]

@ammachi3 Also what's the use of oversplits do you think they're necessary to do yoga poses ?

[ammachi3]

Yoga is a Sanskrit word which translates as union. Different Yogas as used to refine and transcend the different levels of our being. Hatha Yoga focuses on preparing/conditioning our physical body, ready for the higher yoga practices that take place while seated in mediation for extended periods of time – this is Raja Yoga, or union of the mind, a state of complete equilibrium. So Hatha Yoga is Union of the body – brining the body to a state of perfect balance.

[ammachi3]

@mersylla However, many people get side tracked doing all these fancy poses and routines, forever. But are they actually wasting much of their time with a practice which is only meant to prepare the body for mediation. Once you can sit fort hours and hours then the body will always be in perfect health. And the need for doing lots of poses lessens.

[ammachi3]

@mersylla

Sorry…so to answer your question…Hatha Yoga is really about creating maximum flexibility in the body (not muscles or being toned etc). And how do you do this? Well hips are health as they say…so all you need to do is only do exercise that will allow the hips to move through their full range of motion (this is what B. K. S. Iyengar says). And these exercises are simple: side and front splits and wide leg forward bend. Period.

[ammachi3]

If you notice, some people might have been doing so called Hath Yoga practices for years or even decades, but they are not able to sit for even an 15, 30 60 minuets. That’s fine if you want to do yoga to show how many poses you can perform or to be toned etc, but that’s not the aim of Hatha Yoga. And if you are not getting better hip flexibility then back flexibility will not increase either.

[ammachi3]

@mersylla Over-splits will allow you to achieve you maximum hip and back flexibility, like when you were a baby, and more importantly achieve maximum or perfect health.

[mersylla]

@ammachi3 Woa what you say is both fascinating and depressing lol. Getting to the splits is already such a long way to go especially the middle one, oversplits seem really far away. But how do you maintain them once you get them ? Is it as easy as maintaining regular splits ?

[ammachi3]

@mersylla They can take anywhere between 3 to six months to a year or more. But it should be greatly accelerated by doing PNF. I got a few inches from the floor in about 5 months...and apparently the last few inches is the hardest to get. But it’s been over 6 months now and my hips are opening more and more each time. I sometimes stretch for an hour to two a day just doing side splits and/or straddle, and I only miss a day if I am very sore from the previous stretch.

[mersylla]

@ammachi3 Over six months, you're patient. But I was told that progess that was made slow lasts longer when ( or if ) a person stops stretching for some reason. Straddle seem to be way harder to get than side splits, am I right ? Also I have a problem maybe you could help me : when I stretch my psoas muscles or go in a would-be split position, I can't straighten my torso back, I lean very much forward, why is that ?

[ammachi3]

@mersylla I will msg you a reply. Not enough space, and its digressing so much from the video thread...

[mersylla]

@ammachi3 Oops you're right !

[ammachi3]

@mersylla When you get to the floor, obviously it will not take anywhere near as much effort to stay in the pose than all the previous effort taken to reach that point. That’s one of the things that really motivates me to get all the way down, because when I am there I can maintain it easily into the old age of the body. But, again, you can make rapid progress by using PNF (static contractions of 30 to 6 seconds with a rest in between).

[ammachi3]

@mersylla But, saddle does have a different focus. Its passive for a start (well so is the side split once you get to the floor and are working on over-splits). Saddle/wide leg forward bend really works the small deep hip muscles and ligaments surrounding the joint. But at a certain point side splits and straddle can become almost a single stretch – when your split reaches the floor you can just lean forward to shift the focus from the abductors to the adductors.

[ammachi3]

@ 56 "sits bonner" WHAT!!! thats great...remember yoga is not about ego...but look at me i can sit in padmasana!

[fatfrabbit]

thanks for the tips, I am not that flexible

[slysystem]

thanks for the tip !

[lightworker2011]

I agree this was misleading.. there is a good reason for doing the full lotus. I heard you should open up your hips as much as possible, that's part of the secret. People who do full lotus gain serious energy, it is a special pose. But everything special has risks.. just be careful and try not to force it too much. Open up the hips.

[danijmay]

@lightworker2011 Yes, I was disappointed. I recommend Esther Ekhart's video on Padmasana.

[jahlove111]

i can't do the lotus pose :( my ankles and knees hurt so much when i try

[theletter23]

this video did not match its description.

[BradRamsay]

Are there any negative long-term effects of sitting like this?

[genericusername337]

I got it, but it hurts like a mother! doesn't anybody else's anklebone jab their thigh??

[genericusername337]

I got it, but it hurts like a mother! doesn't anybody else's anklebone jab their thigh??

[yuriazevedo1]

"Skip off padmasana"

[ColorMeNinjas]

i can auto-lotus, doing the lotus without using my hands :D

[Tullaris666]

@ColorMeNinjas well, I've seen people auto-lotus while performing handstand or human flag :P

[jacktamoata]

She is hot!

[Forseti6288]

It's true that you shouldn't sit in lotus before your ready, but flexibility can also be improved upon and eventually you can sit like that after some yoga practice....

[Rofny]

I train brazilian jiu jitsu, there is a possision called the "rubber guard"

I need to do the lotus well before I master that !

[JiuClaw22]

@Rofny stretch at work , at school always shoving your foot in your arm pit like in double bagger. Youll get it.

[emerica1909]

@Rofny You at 10th Planet?

[ChocolateJewels]

@ZaphodUk1: You must have really open hips so that you can externally rotate your thighs, and then gently fold the leg. So, if it's 'only just' that you can fold your legs into Padmasana, practice hip openers regularly (every day) - the key is patience and consistency in your practice. It's not about some grand prize at the end of the road, it's about the journey along the road. Erich Schiffmann has a wonderful hip openers DVD exactly for Lotus Pose.

[trmjr]

Carolyne still looks good, I remember her from her time as an MTV VJ in the late-80s.

[ZaphodUk1]

how is lotus position on the knees long term? i can do lotus posture, but only just, there is still a lot of tension in my knees, particularly the right knee

[ChocolateJewels]

@ZaphodUk1 : you must have really open hips, so that you can externally rotate your thighs, and then gently fold the leg. so, if it's 'only just' that you can fold your legs into Padmasana, practice hip openers regularly (every day) - the key is patience and consistency in your practice. It's not about some grand price at the end of the road, it's about the journey along the road. Erich Schiffmann has a wonderful hip openers DVD exactly for Lotus Pose.

[flamethrower1411]

i don't do yoga, i do no physical exercises of any sorts... yes, my legs are somehow flexible enough for this position (and i do as this woman says, NO use of arms/hands)

[MrChickenFajita]

i can do the lotus, but it hurts, will this go away with time or what? what can i do so i can do the lotus? anything helps

[keypointist]

Great public health warning. I started yoga recently and I'm resisting the temptation to over stretch myself. Patience is a virtue.

[yuansin]

i cant even do half lotus why is this i want to learn yoga but cant even figure the lotus out its so annoying i want to do the lotus so bad

[Hupellan]

Its basicly because you got a tight ass :-) Or contractions in the cross sectioned muscules like m. piriformis. Pile up with cusions under your thighs and go for short time, but often practise. Standing up with toes pointing in and heals pointing out also helps to stretch out the muscles in your butt.

[styrtvejr]

Nice explanation. I like her

[x0GothicMe0x]

You can put one leg up first, bent your whole body forward and sit like that for a while. then you do the same thing on the other leg. after doing that a couple times, you should be able to get into the lotus position ;)

[Diegocauac]

I cannot do it...is there an exercise to be capable for that??

[yogikanna]

she is doing it wrong. But atleast she is right that people who are not used to it should not do it.

[ddoggsttarr]

damn it sucks! you need to know what to do before you do that

[aikidorules73]

What a friendly woman! I'm impressed. Good tips.

[TheRealJJJ]

Wow... I remember when she was a VJ on MTV. It's awesome to see her as a yoga teacher now! :-)

[combax]

good to know before trying any of this!!