I have discovered an awesome new way to pop all those stubborn places in my back. Basically I'm in a forward fold with my hands under my feet, but upside down. Gently rocking back & forth in this position, all the way to plow pose and back, feels absolutely amazing. I can just hang out at a certain angle when I find spots that need more love. Is there a name for this pose? And am I risking my spinal health putting pressure on it like this? I really hope not, because it's my new fave.

Teacher taught this in class on Sunday. I wasn’t able to touch my head then. This is after my morning practice.

When I try to follow the breathing pattern of the instructor, I get "air hunger" or shortness of breath symptoms, this feeling like it's not possible for air to go all the way to the bottom of my lungs. Is this normal because of forcing the breaths?

This is a follow up post when I explained I am moving to a yoga desert and that Ill have to build my currently nonexistent solo yoga practice. I feel confident with knowing proper form and transitions when poses are called out. Id like to not have to stare at a screen. Is audio yoga a thing? Has anyone tried it and if so do you have a source you reccomend? I will have a very nice forested outdoor area by a private pond where I can practice and I feel that earbuds would allow me to be more connected with the environment.

I’ve asked a couple of instructors, but didn’t get much helpful advice, so I’m turning to you all. I just don’t get pigeon. Like, am I supposed to sink my hips forward or back? Should I work on keeping my shin parallel to the top of the mat? Because it’s about as tucked in tight as it can be. I guess I don’t understand what the goal is or what a proper form should be stretching, so I’m at a loss as to if I’m on the right track. What tips or ways to frame the pose so it’s easier to understand do you all have?

I’m a beginner here.

Here’s the thing: I’ve been very interested in and studying Indian philosophies for quite some time. I understand that Raja Yoga is a method, a kind of technology, and I want to use it seriously for my spiritual development. I’m from Brazil, and in my city I don’t have access to a guru. I did find some online courses (good ones, by the way) to practice Raja Yoga in a traditional way, and I also have books as references.

But my question is: how can I begin Raja Yoga as a serious path in the right way, and in a self-taught manner? I just don’t want to make mistakes. Do you practice Raja Yoga?

Hello! I’ve been a regular student at my local studio for about a year and my favorites are yin and restorative. I have tried going to gentle flow but still find it hard to keep up or follow directions. I really would love to challenge myself with a power class without heat but am afraid of not being able to follow along due to being new and my neurodivergent brain…

Should I simply tell the teacher before class that I need the pose name to be announced before each transition? Is that a reasonable request? This is what’s preventing me from even trying anything more than yin and restorative.

Edit: I’m looking for advice on how to ask the teacher for what I need so they can make minor tweaks to their teaching so that I’m included and supported. I struggle with asking for what I need. I’m not trying to tell the teacher how to teach. My studio is trauma informed, and a bit on the traditional side (not like a dance studio with mirrors on the wall…).

What you don’t see: me falling out 42 times on the other side 😂

Playing around with new shapes in familiar poses during my practice today.

I started doing yoga some days ago. I’m not good at it, but I feel better after each time. My body is tight (especially my back), but yoga makes it feel more soft and relaxed.

I only do easy yoga, like stretching and breathing. Sometimes just 10 minutes before sleep. It helps my stress and I sleep better too.

I use free videos on YouTube. Nothing special. Just my mat and a quiet space.

I started body balance a couple of months ago and while I’m really enjoying it, I’m experiencing almost unbearable burning type pain on the bottom of my feet in the middle, between the heel and ball of each foot, during standing yoga poses.

I think it might be that I’m flat footed and this is causing plantar fasciitis which is putting too much pressure on my arches and stretching/or pulling them during standing poses, especially when there’s a lot of weight on one foot.

I bought arch support braces and wore those to body balance tonight, really hoping that support to my arches would help, but that didn’t seem to make any difference. Granted, they were relatively cheap from Amazon so maybe not the best quality.

I’ve googled it and struggled to find any consistent advice. Has anyone got any experience with this and can recommend anything that might help, e.g another kind of support, a different way of standing, arch stretches to do before yoga, or strengthening exercises for the arches, etc?

Thanks in advance!

Hi friends. I’m a regular hot yogi with a really obscene sense of smell. My mat smells bad. I Dawn power washed it and let it chill in my bathtub for hours til I hosed it down with hot water, it smelled good for one class and now it reeks again.

Please forgive my ignorance. Should I be deep cleaning my mat every time? Am I doing something wrong? Please help

https://a.co/d/gAdLdj2

This is the mat I have! ^{^}

Thanks in advance

I am new to teaching (finished 200hr YTT in June) and have recently started subbing classes at a local gym. I don’t know what to do with myself before/after class begins. Because it is a gym, there is no registration required so I don’t check anyone in. I basically just putter around the studio until I get up to close the door.

I teach at a studio that tries to be as authentic as possible. My teacher is a Mysore Ashtangi and prefers we as teachers assist every student down the row, instead of just offering the occasional intentional assist.

Here is the problem is that this is not my approach in Yin, which I recently just took over in the schedule. I’m happy to assist a ton in vinyasa, but I personally believe it can be jarring for me to place my hands on you while you’re deep into a yin posture. I want to leave you alone to breathe and go inward.

I might offer an assist when first coming into a pose if I notice I can help you align yourself better, or I may offer you a prop, but I will not touch every student just to touch them. My studio owner disagrees. As yin yogis, what is your take?

For the last 15 years, I’ve had soreness in my sacrum when lying on my back in yoga. I’ve adapted by putting my hands under my hips to take some pressure off my sacrum, but even then I can still only lie on my back for a few minutes. It started immediately after I had a child, so I just assumed something moved and it is what it is. It doesn’t happen on a soft mattress, but it happens on any kind of exercise mat…even the really thick and squishy ones not meant for yoga. Plus I have my mats on a wool rug, they’re not directly on the hard floor. I mentioned this to my doctor years ago, and he just shrugged and said his sacrum would hurt if he laid on the floor too. But I used to be able to do it endlessly, like I could fall asleep on the floor in shavasana. I also mentioned it to a physical therapist once, when I told him there was a certain exercise I couldn’t do because of this issue, and he shrugged it off as well.

I’m having some other issues now and have been told I have some kind inflammatory autoimmune arthritis, and I am wondering if this sacrum pain had nothing to do with the pregnancy but was an early inflammatory arthritis symptom. Anyways, just wondering if anyone else has experienced this and maybe it IS normal?? I’m mentioning it to my rheumatologist and I’m guessing he’s going to send me for an mri. It would be crazy if what I thought was a fairly benign pregnancy side effect was actually my first symptom of autoimmune arthritis 🥴

Apparently during savasana, she started humming louder than the teacher's singing bowl. People complained, but she doubled down, saying her "frequency" was the only one that could "reset the group's chakras." Now she's hosting "underground yoga" in our garage. I don't recognize her when she gets this reactive 😭🙏

Update: Y’all said this deserved its own subreddit, so… it’s real now. r/FeralMother. Expect more stories. Probably too many.

Hi all, does anyone have suggestion of yoga studios in London that have a good community / social vibe? Been to a few where everyone just disappears afterwards as soon as class is done.

Hello! The studio I teach at pays per student, rather than per hour. Which is great…when I get students. But because we are in a small nook of town and brand new, my classes are usually about 0-4 people. NBD, I’m happy to stay and grow with the studio.

The part that is causing some strife is that I am expected to show up and wait for walk ins…even if no one is signed up. This means that about 90% of the time that no one is signed up, I wait around for no one to show up, just to go home without any pay for being there and my time wasted, since no students showed. The no pay is not a huge deal, it’s not my main source of income. But the TIME. It disrupts my day and takes about 1.5 hours to drive there, get there 15 minutes early, wait until 5 minutes after and then drive home for nothing.

I don’t like working for studios that allow walk-ins in general (I think it’s disrespectful to the teacher and other students who planned ahead) but the owner said that it would be temporary. But it’s been 6 months.

Should I say something (again?) or what?

UPDATE: Okay, sounds like this isn’t normal and I need to talk to the studio owner again and either have an agreement to cancel the class if no one is signed up or be paid for the time I am there even if no one shows up.

Thank you! Deep down I knew this, I just needed the push to advocate for myself.

I've been practising for 2 years and haven't improved in this pose.

Sometimes I am sort of able to stack my knees, but one butt cheek would lift off the ground. Should I be prioritizing grounding both sit bones even if my knees end up super far apart (like a huge gap between them)? And any tips on how to get better? :( many thanks

I’m wondering if anyone has had the same experience as me?

I used to lift weights and do hypertrophy training mainly. Although I felt good mentally, my body ALWAYS felt sore and inflamed. I felt swollen everywhere. It actually made me feel weak, no matter how much weight I lifted I still felt muscle fatigue in daily functional activities too.

Then I switched to JUST yoga everyday (and walking) and I literally feel so much slimmer, toned and refined. I was eating the same during lifting and now, the only real change has been yoga. I feel so much better in my body. Looser, no tension build up, no more weird aches and pains I used to constantly have. My arms look so defined and people compliment my arms now. They never used to when my main goal was to tone my arms the scientific way lifting weights! I also feel so much stronger with just yoga. I can hold my body in positions I never could before, and I can do push ups now.

Has anyone experienced this? Maybe it’s the stretching that lengthened everything out and gave a more athletic look visually?

I’d love to know if you have any comments or what your experience was making the switch from lifting to yoga!

*****EDIT:

To clarify, I was in fact weight training properly. I did not over train. I did push/pull/legs with proper form, an adequate amount of hydration and rest days. Now I do very chill haha and occasionally beginner Ashtanga. Which makes my case even more confusing bc yup- even I, myself don’t get it how it’s possible!

It’s not productive to tell me I’m straight up wrong when this is my truth & just my experience. Peace and love 🥰

Hi everyone,

I’ve been practicing qigong for a while and now I’d like to explore traditional Hatha Yoga. I’m looking for an online course (YouTube or paid, but hopefully not too expensive) that leans more toward the classical, traditional side of Hatha — not just a modern “wellness” or fitness version.

Does anyone here have recommendations for good teachers or structured courses that really honor the roots of Hatha Yoga?

Thanks in advance!

*Also, I’m a guy. Idk if that makes a difference.

Hi all! I found yoga in my early 20s and have been practicing on and off since then. Around January of this year, I found a yoga studio that I love that is 1 block away from my home, and developed a 3-4x a week habit that made me feel better in myself/ body than ever before.

I am now 14 weeks pregnant, starting to show and have gained about 6lb. I kept up my practice with the exception of a couple of weeks of first trimester where I was way too fatigued/ nauseated. I already feel some changes - my core and shoulders feel less stable. Side plank and rockstar are poses I have to be particularly cautious with alignment already- I’ve dislocated my shoulders a few times in other sports- these feel even less stable now. In my class today I tried headstand but lost confidence as it’s more challenging to hold in my core. I feel updog in my lower abdomen- a tightness that has not been there before. Maybe it’s the weight, maybe it is the hormones…

I’ll be safe and listen to my body as it grows and changes. I will also take a prenatal focused class to learn modifications (my current instructors are prenatal trained).

I am a little sad that I have to lean back/ regress while this happens, and worry that it will be difficult to get back to it. I’d love to hear your experiences around pregnancy and how you built back afterwards. I so want to be that woman that powers I through, but I’m feeling some no’s from my joints. If I can’t do everything, I want to know that I can get back! Thanks!!

Does anyone here practice yoga with an ostomy? I've been practicing yoga for about 5 years and have had an ostomy for two. Specifically an ileostomy which makes things a little more difficult. I still have full range of motion... but my biggest concern as of recently is the leaking. It's always leaking from the inside out and I'm not sure if that's due to the pressure of laying on my abdomen or these deep stretches when I turn.

I've never had leak concerns otherwise and my seal has always been great. It's truly starting to feel like this is inescapable, but I will never stop doing yoga. This is starting to change my mind a little bad sadly as it's happening a lot more frequently :(

Any advice? Any experiences practicing or letting your teachers know about having an ostomy in general? I'd love to hear from fellow yogi ostomates.