Lack of flexibility

[Jarreddo]

Well, my problem goes like this. I've been doing yoga daily for a month now, but I have this problem that just doesn't seem to be improving. I absolutely can't straighten my legs and bend my waist at the same time.

When my legs are straight, it's like my waist is locked in place; when my waist is bent, trying to straighten the legs causes major pain behind the knees. I realize many people can have problems like this, but mine is severe and keeps me from doing even simple yoga poses. I try double leg raises and can't lift them more than a couple inches without bending at the knees; I tried the plough pose a couple days ago and very nearly injured my neck because my feet couldn't reach the floor.

Could this just be the way my body is built? Or do you think stretching daily will improve my problem? Any specific stretches for this sort of thing, besides sitting forward bends etc.? Thanks for any help you can give me.

[ssandra]

I have no experience whatsoever with yoga or being flexible but here are my 2ct.

If your pain comes from your muscles (in the back of your legs for example when trying to touch your toes) stretching every day will help, but it will take a lot of time if you are not used to it.

If the pain is in your joints (or your knees as you say) it might be something different and I would suggest seeing a doctor about it. This is not really normal as far as I know.

[rocksupreme]

It's very likely the case that you have tight hamstrings from sitting in chairs a lot. I do, and so do most people who work at desks or use computers for long periods of time.

There are lots of ways to go about improving matters, but none of them are quick or painless. The thing to keep in mind is that muscles do no "stretch." That is a misnomer. The just tense and release. When you release the tension in a muscle, it elongates.

Some things that can help loosen the hamstrings: stretch the calves first, massage the bottoms of your feet with a tennis ball, do some very light leg swings to the front and back (at a low speed and height) until you feel some release.

There are a lot of things you can try. Do you have a yoga teacher who can help you work on this, or are you practicing alone?

[Shane]

You might want to have a look at Resistance Stretching. I did a personal experiment on this, that you can find on my blog.

I didn't get totally extraordinary results, but I improved my flexibility somewhat, with relatively short stretching exercises.

These are the cornerstone-posts of my series:
Explaining Resistance Stretching
Explaining the Experiment
Before-After Results

[Tristan Bull]

It sounds like your hamstrings are extra tight.

Basically stretching is the best way to fix this over time.

I would get a stretching DVD that just focuses on stretching and do it every day.

There is a really good one in the p90x workout program but that is a complete training program and I don't think they sell the dvds individually but I would looking into getting a dvd that stretches your body for about an hour.

Hope that helps
Tristan

[ginkgo]

I have been doing yoga since I was 12 years old. Miyagi said in that movie (Karate Kid) "there are no bad students, only bad teachers."

I have read articles in yoga magazines that people that did not have a perfect neck have caused serious problems from the plough pose. Maybe you did something harmful while doing it.

Bikram's yoga does not have it. Also Bikram yoga people would say it is too cold. They keep their room at over 100 degrees. They feel that this is important. But you are doing OK for a room too cold. Also their order of postures loosen you up more and more.

Try different positions that stretch those muscles. You can always see a doctor to make sure that you do not have a medical problem like lockjaw. "Tetanus often begins with mild spasms in the jaw muscles (lockjaw). The spasms can also affect the chest, neck, back, and abdominal muscles. Back muscle spasms often cause arching, called opisthotonos."

It is up to you to figure out if it is a serious problem or you just need more patience. If you do a search for danger of plough position maybe you can find something, but this magazine had an article about it with bad stories from yogis. Here is a book on yoga from a medical doctor for under $15. Amazon.com: Yoga as Medicine: The Yogic Prescription for Health and Healing Timothy McCall

[rocksupreme]

Originally Posted by ginkgo

...Also their order of postures loosen you up more and more...

Hence the suggestion to loosen up the bottoms of the feet and the calves before attempting to stretch the hamstrings. The muscles along the backs or the legs (actually from the feet to the mid-back) are all part of one connected system. Tightness in any muscle leads to tightness in the related muscles.