From time to time, I get asked questions by email. I prefer to have the questions posted here so that others can help me answer the questions, and everyone can share in learning something, hopefully, new and interesting. Here is a recent question I received...maybe you would like to share your thoughts?
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Thanks for all the work you are doing and sharing with the community. I love your book and the thoroughness of your approach.
I've been through some periods where I've practiced yin yoga but it has never been a steady practice. I've been re-inspired lately and have picked up the practice, but not everyday. My main practice right now is in the Iyengar style. I'm also hyper-mobile, so I hadn't been sure whether the yin style might be dangerous for me. I do enjoy it a lot.
Anyway, usually I find the practice really easy. However, currently I am finding that I have less range of movement the day after the practice than before - most especially in the groin muscles. I am much tighter in sleeping pigeon/sleeping swan and straddle. I have pain in the left groin muscle. What might I be doing wrong? Do you have any suggestions?
Thanks in advance for your response.
Warmly,
Amy Mandel
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Hi Amy ... thanks for the questions. These are ones that I hope others in the Kula will also help answer. I am especially interested to hear what other "hypermobile" Yinsters think of the benefits of yin to them.
Regarding Hypermobility first, we must first ask what you mean by the term. Some people are called hyper only because their range of motion is greater than most peoples, but being hyper by itself is rarely a concern. Having pain is always a concern. If your lumbar spine, for example, has an extreme range of motion and you feel unsupported when you go to your limits, this could be called hypermobile, but the concern isn't the range of motion but rather the lack of strengths/support or pain when you go to that limit. In this case, you will want to work on strengthening the tissues that support your lumbar at the limits of your movement, not try to reduce your natural ROM. You could do muscular work there, or yin work there, or both, depending on what you need.
It would be dangerous for me to diagnose your situation remotely. If you actually feel pain in the extreme limits of your movements, then you should see a pro and figure out your best approach. To strengthen the muscles, baby cobra poses (hands off the floor) may work well. To work the ligaments, some easy yin spinal work may be ideal (sphinx, seal, snail, dangling...)
In general I don't believe yin is dangerous for joints that are hypermobile, as long as they are healthy and there is no pain. Yin will help to strengthen the ligaments, and thus support the joint.
Regarding your feeling of pain the day after your practice: you say that this is muscle pain? If so, then it would seem that you are going too deep into the muscles. Straddle fold can really stress the adductor muscles, and that could be causing your sensations. I would back off on going to your full ROM or even avoid those poses until the muscles are fully healed. Once healed, work slowly over a few weeks into your limit.
Oops...sorry, you said Saddle pose. Hmmm...Saddle, for me, doesn't really affect my adductors, more my quads and iliopsoas. I am not sure why you feel this in the groin the next day. Same with Swan, this is more an external rotation and a hip flexor pose. Are you doing other poses along with these that are targeting the groins?
As to feeling stiffer a day after the practice, again that is a muscular reaction. Usually the feelings for Yin Yoga come right away and go away right after the practice, while muscular (Yang yoga) causes sensations the next day or two. Can you describe what you mean by "tighter in sleeping swan"? What is the tightest like?
Cheers
Bernie
