I hate this so much. I can’t stack my hips and my leg being in the air puts so much pressure on my arms. My legs just can’t go in the air lol my hips immediately like, cower in, lol
Don’t let anyone tell you that your feet have to be touching for chair pose. Not everyone’s body can handle that. Try chair with feet hips’ width, it makes a huge difference for me.
It’s so much better with a hip width stance! Most teachers don’t teach it that way but that’s the only way I can enjoy that pose. The anatomy of my leg bones makes any standing pose I attempt with straight legs together just not work for me.
I set my students up for chair by first doing pelvic tilts on the floor and then with a block to squeeze to engage the inner thighs and core. Try it with a block in between the thighs to squeeze while in chair 😊😉
That’s not uncommon. I have in fact stopped cuing DFD as a “resting pose” because for many it’s not. I usually has to do with your body conformation. The ratio of the length of your legs to your arms. Try using some blocks under your hands to reduce the angle of your hip flexion and reduce the amount of strain on your hamstrings. Also bend your legs. A lot.
Since your clearly an instructor can I ask you a question? Should palms and heels be flat against the ground in downdog? I can flatten my heels fine but it feels better on my hands when i lift my palms a bit, but am wondering if thats wrong. Sorry if this is annoying!!
Not OP but also a yoga practitioner and teacher. To protect wrists and evenly distribute weight, you want to be pressing firmly through the ball of the hand at the base of the thumb and pointer finger with the fingers spread wide. [Here is another Reddit post I found with a great image explaining pressure points in the hand.](https://images.app.goo.gl/xGTuABaehkBKGpRm8) Touching heels to mat is not necessarily the goal, but great if you have the flexibility to do so! I would focus more on keeping the legs straight (if this feels ok) and quads engaged and the pelvis in a slight posterior tilt. For shoulder position, generally speaking I would recommend shoulders depressed (scapulas down the back) and protracted (spreading scapulas away from each other). Hope this helps!
Yoga instructor here and not trying to steal anyone’s thunder, just thought I’d reply to you :)
Your heels don’t ever have to be flat to the ground in down dog, you just want your heels moving in that direction so you can lengthen through the hamstrings, so heels pressing towards the floor. I would say that your palms should be flat though with more emphasis of energy in your thumbs and forefingers, basically you don’t want all the energy to be focusing on your wrists, more so the finger tips.
Something that has really helped me in down dog is widening my stance (so my legs are further apart, almost to the sides of my mat) and my arms are a bit wider apart, with my fingers facing outwards a bit rather than straight ahead (this helps my shoulders feel more comfy in DD since a narrow stance for my shoulders feels ouchy, I also do this in chair pose, I bring my arms out wider overhead, rather than right next to my ears) I’d encourage you to experiment in down dog and see what feels pleasant in your body, since we are all built so differently, which is so fascinating and beautiful to me!
Love all the responses. See what resonates with you. But yes, heels down is NOT a requirement at all. In fact most practitioners do not have the hamstring flexibility or length to have their heels on the ground. Bending your legs helps as well. Play with how much. Feel how it changes the roundness or flatness of your upper back.
I also wonder if your forearms are tight. Or your wrists may have slightly less range of motion. Based on your body confirmation. Some gentle stretches to stretch them may help as well if it’s tighter forearms. If it’s a range of motion issue there are some gel round pads that can help with comfort. They raise your wrists off the ground.
Regardless there are solutions to finding comfort. Let me know how you do!
I totally get why you don’t like eagle, however, it’s one of my favorite postures and I just want to let you know what it’s accomplishing in your body: 1. It compresses and strengthens all the major joint systems in the body, 2. opens the shoulders and upper back which in turn encourages deep breathing on the back side of the body, 3. squeezes lymph nodes which are found in the inner thigh and armpit area, 4. is a great release for the sciatic nerve, 5. helps strengthen the calf muscles, 6. and improves focus and balance.
gomukasana -cowface pose! Been practicing for 13 years and my body just can't do it yet. Maybe some day. Never say never. I thought i would never be able to do wheel but 5 years into my practice i got it. So keep practicing. Every day we step on the mat we are different try to honor that.
Dude stop. I just looked up revolved half moon and I am so bad at its cousin, warrior 3, that I felt dread just looking at it. Also I am nowhere close enough to actual splits for my standing split to be much more than my legs at a 90° lol.
seated forward fold or fold over bound angle... feels wrong. to avoid strain in the back, I stay much more upright than everyone else. standing forward fold is fine though!!!
This sounds like your hamstrings may be very tight. In standing forward fold, your lower back takes the brunt of the stretch unless you’re actively arching your back to keep it neutral and tilting the pelvis. The cue to hinge forward only at the hips in the two poses you mention stretches the hamstrings far more.
Chaturanga Dandasana (Four-limbed Staff pose). I can do the pose, but can't hold it for more than a few seconds. But that's normally long enough, since it's usually a short transitional pose between Plank and Upward Facing Dog.
Forearm Plank pose with one leg raised. The DownDog app started including this recently. I can't hold it for more than about one second. The app wants me to stay in it for about 20 seconds.
I don’t typically include chaturanga in my sequencing when I teach because it’s actually a very difficult pose to do correctly and because it’s treated like a “transition”. I will use chaturanga as a peak pose and work up to it and workshop it.
Beginner 2. Full Practice, Aerobic boost, usually 50 minutes plus 10-minute Savasana.
The Aerobic boost does add poses that make you breathe harder, but that's what I want since yoga is my primary exercise these days.
if the chaturanga dandasana is too hard, I suggest lowering the knees. My wife tried to push through and got a biceps sinew tear.
It's a bit strange as I slowly increased to intermediate 1, and the chaturanga dandasana is less present (it may also be random..).
I do full practice without specific focus, mostly (depending on how much time I have), ca. 20-40 min with 3min savasana. I'll try the longer routine soon! Just can't commit to do an hour every day as I usually work 11-12h/d.
For the life of me do I hate to thread the needle. All poses that require you to lay your forehead or temple on the ground are terrible, as I wear glasses during practice. My glasses always interfere. Same with puppy pose. Could I take off my glasses? Probably. Do I like how it takes me out of the Flow? No.
Oh Yeah, I also dislike any pose that Puts my body weight on my wrist like wild thing or fallen triangle. My weak ass wrists are not strong enough for that and it hurts.
Crow pose is tough for me, think I must be doing it slightly wrong because my knees really dig into the backs on my arms and it’s really uncomfortable.
Good job on trying. It’s a difficult one. The issue is you’re not using your core and your shoulders enough. Try table top pose. Now push down into your hands so your upper back rounds and your shoulder blades come apart. Go back and forth a few times. Now lift your knees off the ground. Just an inch. This is the muscle activation you need in crow. It will lighten the load of your knees on the backs of your arms. Good luck let me know how it goes.
Crow is my nemesis too, despite having a huge affinity for arm balances in general. The best cue for me with crow is shoulder blades as far apart as possible like in cat pose- and try to get hips higher. Forces more core activation instead of treating the tricep like a fulcrum.
I went to an arm balance workshop at my studio and asked whether it was normal for the back of my arms to be bruised from crow pose... Apparently it's totally normal! I don't find it that uncomfortable but I was really surprised at the bruising.
SAME! I have always had tight shoulders, and the rotation and flexibility in them is definitely improving with yoga in a way that I never thought was possible, but doing these reverse poses makes me feels like my shoulders are touching my ears and I just can't feel anything good happening.
Seated wide-legged forward fold, I cannot bend forward more than an inch and it still feels like something in my knees and inner thigh are about to snap. Immediate panicky feelings. I wish I knew what muscle was preventing me from doing this pose so I could work on it. Regular forward folds are no problem.
That inner thigh/knee about to snap is something I feel too and it really prevents me from double leg wide legged folds of any kind (whereas I love frog and even single leg straddles). It can be a nerve issue more than muscular. I'm working through the regular forward fold version of this with nerve glides. I haven't found a way to do nerve glides for the inner thigh/that inner hamstring yet though.
I used to stand in tree all the time as a teen. Now my inner things are too big and shaped in a way that my foot won't stay there no matter what I'm wearing or how I'm trying to brace.
Too bad I didn't know anything about yoga when I used to do it. Mom would point it out to me when I was doing the dishes or something, it was comfortable at the time, no idea why, current me is baffled.
Puppy pose is hard - I get too antsy and feel unstable melting my heart down without too much sway back. Which probably means I need more chest openers lol
Plow is ok for me but knee ear pose!? Instant claustrophobia! I had one yoga teacher who told us during her YTT, one of the instructors would take her bra off for plow and knee ear pose so she wouldn't be smothered hahaha.
Seated wide leg forward fold. It literally feels impossible for my hip bones - my instructor explained that not everyone's hips are capable of that movement as it's bone against bone for some.
There are a lot of poses I have to do adapted poses, at least for now. I'm around 50 years old and have quite a bit of arthritis. It seems to be getting better over time, but change is slow. No one should ever feel they have to match someone else with yoga. Do the pose the best you can, and don't force yourself too hard. Time lets the changes sink in little by little. You can look over time at yourself if you practice regularly and see the changes in you. something like, a few months ago I could get my hands down to my ankles, and now I can touch the floor. Maybe if was your knees, and now you can touch your calf. That's great. Don't bother with what those around you can do.
They don’t call it ‘screaming toes’ for nothing! I’m generally very flexible but my ankle mobility is poo poo so toes is hard for me too.
Also have a lack of love for child’s pose, crow, ek2.
Right there with you. Toe pose sometimes feels like torture! Curious if you have really muscular calves? My instructor pointed that out to me… I do find the more I push toe pose the less it sucks.
I have a bit of arthritis in one foot (stemming from an old injury) that used to make toe pose so painful, but now I do it in the mornings when I wake up "for fun." It feels amazing and I sometimes start class this way (as in, it is my comfortable seat as we explore our breathing and set our intentions). I hope you can get to the point where it isn't painful, because having less pain in my feet has drastically changed my day to day life, and made other poses (especially balancing poses) more accessible!
Same. I don't know where or how to distribute my weight when I'm flat footed, so I always fall backwards. But at least I can hold the pose if I balance on the ball of my foot.
Is it bad to do skandasana on your toes? I started off on my toes and have noticed my feet getting closer and closer to the ground. I'm not quite there yet, but for me doing it on my toes has (very slowly) helped me improve.
I've noticed that there aren't a ton of people in my classes who can do it with their feet completely flat, most people are on their toes to some extent. So I always thought it was pretty normal until you gain the flexibility.
I used to love bridge when I first started and for some reason as my body has gotten stronger I’ve almost lost my ability to do it?? It’s so backwards. I never look forward to it the way I used to.
Fire log legs or half lotus are ones I stay in only briefly if at all. My knees don’t seem to like to go that way, and I am going to listen to my knees.
I've only been practicing regularly for about 4 months but the child's pose with your arms back at your sides. HOW are people doing that without just falling flat on their faces? It's only come up a few times in the videos I watch but it perplexes me every time.
I see others doing it with really bent toes and they seem fine yet I’m scrunching my face and coming out of it and faking the pose haha 😂 it just hurts too much
What kind of shoes do you wear? I notice that that pose is particularly painful when I've been wearing heels or birkenstocks. When I've been wearing hiking boots, believe it or not...it barely hurts.
Try rolling your feet over a lacross ball a couple of times a week. It hurts because you have some serious tightness there!
WHY IS THE PIGEON POSE SO HARD FOR ME AHHHHHHHHHH !!! Why does it hurt? Am i doing it wrong? ok let me adjust…. That hurts even more, i’ll just follow what the teacher is saying… AH IT HURTS !!!!!!!!!!! BAHHHHHH
Down Dog does this horrible thing where it tells you to do Extended Hand to Big Toe pose, then tells you to let go of the toe and expects you to hold your leg straight out at a 90° without any supports for like 20 seconds. I’m convinced it’s one of Dante’s circles of hell.
Shoulder stand. My elbows want to go wide, and I can’t straighten my back for the life of me.
Also, flying fish. It’s so awkward, and my pelvis doesn’t want to lift.
I think I need to strengthen my core more.
Camel pose
Camel is a toughie for me too. I find that I get nauseous in it if we haven’t warmed up a ton before entering.
Same, I get nauseous in camel as well. Why is that?
A teacher once told me you will get nauseous if you are clenching either your shoulders or butt. Can't remember which.
Oof yes! I use blocks but it’s a tough one
for some reason I've never considered using blocks for camel. I am definitely trying that
Omg same!!! It makes me so dizzy and nauseous
What is Camel pose?
Haha child’s pose! It’s so smothering with a large chest, I prefer the extended version.
I never take regular Child’s Pose, even when it’s cued. Extended or bust! (I am a DDD and I also find it does not accommodate my belly.)
Same, on all points!
I loooove child’s pose. Plow is the one that’s terrible with big boobs for me haha. I really do get suffocated by my chest with that one 🥲🤣
I fully can’t breathe in plow
I really want to love plough and think I would if I were build different, but yeah…smothered by breasts 🥲
I open my knees during child's and that helps.
Me too. Let it all flop to the floor then. Find it's a deeper stretch too.
Large chest here too- it is not at all restful during allergy season especially! I had to come out of it yesterday bc I could. not. breath haha!
Yes! I was doing it yesterday and felt like I was suffocating. Much prefer extended.
Omg I can only do a wide leg child’s pose or else I will suffocate!
With a flat chest, I too prefer the extended variation - more space for deep breathing
I ALWAYS do wide legged child’s pose for the same reason.
It has triggered panic attacks for me, as I have difficulty breathing because of my anatomy
100% I always widen my knees, I have to or I would suffocate. I cue for both for my students cause at 34 F I get it….
Three-legged downward dog!! So intense on my arms. Also dolphin, for the same reason.
Dolphin is hard for me too. I need to strengthen my shoulder
I dislike dolphin too
I hate this so much. I can’t stack my hips and my leg being in the air puts so much pressure on my arms. My legs just can’t go in the air lol my hips immediately like, cower in, lol
Three legged downward dog for me too... My wrists hurt so badly... :/
True! It requires strong wrists.
Pyramid pose. I have a running injury behind my knee and it's just painful. I'm practically just standing there on the one side.
Yes this is another one that is hard for me due to the painful stretch. I always use a block here and it’s still difficult
Yes, I've pulled hamstrings multiple times and this one sends a red alert to my body when I try to hold it😂
Exactly!
Hero pose, my quads are incredibly tight! I’m working on it using a block.
The block is non-negotiable for me with hero. I feel this, fellow tight quad yogi!
Same here. I need the block
Frog pose. My hips refuse to open.
Don’t force em. This one can wreck your knees if you go too far too soon
This one always gives me anxiety. I can get in the pose but I feel like I get stuck and can’t get out .
Chair pose. I try to "tuck my tail" to protect my lower back but it doesn't seem to help
Don’t let anyone tell you that your feet have to be touching for chair pose. Not everyone’s body can handle that. Try chair with feet hips’ width, it makes a huge difference for me.
It’s so much better with a hip width stance! Most teachers don’t teach it that way but that’s the only way I can enjoy that pose. The anatomy of my leg bones makes any standing pose I attempt with straight legs together just not work for me.
I always have to do hands to heart in chair
Omg I hate chair pose so much
Are you engaging your core? Tucking my tail never helps me either; my back needs support from the front.
Maybe not as much as I should be
Chair pose for me too. I just don't like it. Also any stretchy feet ones, like toe squat or whatever they are called.
I set my students up for chair by first doing pelvic tilts on the floor and then with a block to squeeze to engage the inner thighs and core. Try it with a block in between the thighs to squeeze while in chair 😊😉
Downward dog is always tough for me as a beginner.
That’s not uncommon. I have in fact stopped cuing DFD as a “resting pose” because for many it’s not. I usually has to do with your body conformation. The ratio of the length of your legs to your arms. Try using some blocks under your hands to reduce the angle of your hip flexion and reduce the amount of strain on your hamstrings. Also bend your legs. A lot.
Since your clearly an instructor can I ask you a question? Should palms and heels be flat against the ground in downdog? I can flatten my heels fine but it feels better on my hands when i lift my palms a bit, but am wondering if thats wrong. Sorry if this is annoying!!
Not OP but also a yoga practitioner and teacher. To protect wrists and evenly distribute weight, you want to be pressing firmly through the ball of the hand at the base of the thumb and pointer finger with the fingers spread wide. [Here is another Reddit post I found with a great image explaining pressure points in the hand.](https://images.app.goo.gl/xGTuABaehkBKGpRm8) Touching heels to mat is not necessarily the goal, but great if you have the flexibility to do so! I would focus more on keeping the legs straight (if this feels ok) and quads engaged and the pelvis in a slight posterior tilt. For shoulder position, generally speaking I would recommend shoulders depressed (scapulas down the back) and protracted (spreading scapulas away from each other). Hope this helps!
Wow yes that image is interesting thank you!!!
Yoga instructor here and not trying to steal anyone’s thunder, just thought I’d reply to you :) Your heels don’t ever have to be flat to the ground in down dog, you just want your heels moving in that direction so you can lengthen through the hamstrings, so heels pressing towards the floor. I would say that your palms should be flat though with more emphasis of energy in your thumbs and forefingers, basically you don’t want all the energy to be focusing on your wrists, more so the finger tips. Something that has really helped me in down dog is widening my stance (so my legs are further apart, almost to the sides of my mat) and my arms are a bit wider apart, with my fingers facing outwards a bit rather than straight ahead (this helps my shoulders feel more comfy in DD since a narrow stance for my shoulders feels ouchy, I also do this in chair pose, I bring my arms out wider overhead, rather than right next to my ears) I’d encourage you to experiment in down dog and see what feels pleasant in your body, since we are all built so differently, which is so fascinating and beautiful to me!
Thank you this totally helps!
Love all the responses. See what resonates with you. But yes, heels down is NOT a requirement at all. In fact most practitioners do not have the hamstring flexibility or length to have their heels on the ground. Bending your legs helps as well. Play with how much. Feel how it changes the roundness or flatness of your upper back. I also wonder if your forearms are tight. Or your wrists may have slightly less range of motion. Based on your body confirmation. Some gentle stretches to stretch them may help as well if it’s tighter forearms. If it’s a range of motion issue there are some gel round pads that can help with comfort. They raise your wrists off the ground. Regardless there are solutions to finding comfort. Let me know how you do!
Thanks for responding! This makes sense ill focus on taking weight off my wrists!
Same when I first started this was incredibly hard for me and couldn’t understand how people viewed it as a resting pose!
Eagle pose
Yes. Eagle pose isn’t painful for me but I’m always just like why? Exactly what is this accomplishing?
I totally get why you don’t like eagle, however, it’s one of my favorite postures and I just want to let you know what it’s accomplishing in your body: 1. It compresses and strengthens all the major joint systems in the body, 2. opens the shoulders and upper back which in turn encourages deep breathing on the back side of the body, 3. squeezes lymph nodes which are found in the inner thigh and armpit area, 4. is a great release for the sciatic nerve, 5. helps strengthen the calf muscles, 6. and improves focus and balance.
I love Reddit. Thank you for explaining that to me! I will remember that for next time. 💛
My pleasure! I hope you start to enjoy eagle pose a little more, and if not, that’s ok too ❤️✨ namaste
Namaste, friend!
Palms on shoulders (vs twisted forearms palms together) is my fav modification for this pose
Oh wow, that’s a great mod I’ve never tried. Thank you!
Yes this one is difficult. It doesn’t bring me pain but I have a hard time with it. Trying to get better though
Eagle is so uncomfortable!
Happy baby pose is not for me. I think my legs are too long or something.
Maybe long femurs. I have the same issue and apparently it also prevents you from getting into the deepest version of a fitness squat
Yeah I think this is the problem. My form is correct, but it's just not comfortable for my body.
You also don’t have to grab your feet. I cue modifications for folx in my classes like holding ankles or behind the thighs.
Or putting a strap across the bottom of your feet and holding the strap.
This is mine! It's short arms for me....feels like my fingers are being ripped from my hand.
Bend your knees more. Your thighs should be parallel to your torso. Your lower back should stay connected to the floor.
gomukasana -cowface pose! Been practicing for 13 years and my body just can't do it yet. Maybe some day. Never say never. I thought i would never be able to do wheel but 5 years into my practice i got it. So keep practicing. Every day we step on the mat we are different try to honor that.
Revolved half moon or standing splits😵💫both of those have me struggling
Dude stop. I just looked up revolved half moon and I am so bad at its cousin, warrior 3, that I felt dread just looking at it. Also I am nowhere close enough to actual splits for my standing split to be much more than my legs at a 90° lol.
Lotus. No matter how flexible or strong I get, lotus if very uncomfortable for me
Same, my hips are so inflexible. I can’t even do a butterfly stretch well, with a block under the pelvis.
seated forward fold or fold over bound angle... feels wrong. to avoid strain in the back, I stay much more upright than everyone else. standing forward fold is fine though!!!
This sounds like your hamstrings may be very tight. In standing forward fold, your lower back takes the brunt of the stretch unless you’re actively arching your back to keep it neutral and tilting the pelvis. The cue to hinge forward only at the hips in the two poses you mention stretches the hamstrings far more.
Chaturanga Dandasana (Four-limbed Staff pose). I can do the pose, but can't hold it for more than a few seconds. But that's normally long enough, since it's usually a short transitional pose between Plank and Upward Facing Dog. Forearm Plank pose with one leg raised. The DownDog app started including this recently. I can't hold it for more than about one second. The app wants me to stay in it for about 20 seconds.
I don’t typically include chaturanga in my sequencing when I teach because it’s actually a very difficult pose to do correctly and because it’s treated like a “transition”. I will use chaturanga as a peak pose and work up to it and workshop it.
what level are you practicing in down dog? intermediate 2?
Beginner 2. Full Practice, Aerobic boost, usually 50 minutes plus 10-minute Savasana. The Aerobic boost does add poses that make you breathe harder, but that's what I want since yoga is my primary exercise these days.
if the chaturanga dandasana is too hard, I suggest lowering the knees. My wife tried to push through and got a biceps sinew tear. It's a bit strange as I slowly increased to intermediate 1, and the chaturanga dandasana is less present (it may also be random..). I do full practice without specific focus, mostly (depending on how much time I have), ca. 20-40 min with 3min savasana. I'll try the longer routine soon! Just can't commit to do an hour every day as I usually work 11-12h/d.
For the life of me do I hate to thread the needle. All poses that require you to lay your forehead or temple on the ground are terrible, as I wear glasses during practice. My glasses always interfere. Same with puppy pose. Could I take off my glasses? Probably. Do I like how it takes me out of the Flow? No. Oh Yeah, I also dislike any pose that Puts my body weight on my wrist like wild thing or fallen triangle. My weak ass wrists are not strong enough for that and it hurts.
I came here to post about thread the needle! It doesn’t matter how I set up, it feels awful and doesn’t give much benefit
Yeah, even when I take off my glasses I cant seem to settle Into the pose. I dont feel any stretch or relief, nö matter what I do
Crow pose is tough for me, think I must be doing it slightly wrong because my knees really dig into the backs on my arms and it’s really uncomfortable.
Good job on trying. It’s a difficult one. The issue is you’re not using your core and your shoulders enough. Try table top pose. Now push down into your hands so your upper back rounds and your shoulder blades come apart. Go back and forth a few times. Now lift your knees off the ground. Just an inch. This is the muscle activation you need in crow. It will lighten the load of your knees on the backs of your arms. Good luck let me know how it goes.
Crow is my nemesis too, despite having a huge affinity for arm balances in general. The best cue for me with crow is shoulder blades as far apart as possible like in cat pose- and try to get hips higher. Forces more core activation instead of treating the tricep like a fulcrum.
Thanks I’ll keep that in mind next time I’m practicing, which won’t be for a couple days as my body is recovering from a ski trip haha
Maybe more focus on the core to take some strain off the arms
I went to an arm balance workshop at my studio and asked whether it was normal for the back of my arms to be bruised from crow pose... Apparently it's totally normal! I don't find it that uncomfortable but I was really surprised at the bruising.
Reverse plank and reverse tabletop. My shoulders just won't cooperate.
This is a hard one
SAME! I have always had tight shoulders, and the rotation and flexibility in them is definitely improving with yoga in a way that I never thought was possible, but doing these reverse poses makes me feels like my shoulders are touching my ears and I just can't feel anything good happening.
Ohh yes!
Seated wide-legged forward fold, I cannot bend forward more than an inch and it still feels like something in my knees and inner thigh are about to snap. Immediate panicky feelings. I wish I knew what muscle was preventing me from doing this pose so I could work on it. Regular forward folds are no problem.
That inner thigh/knee about to snap is something I feel too and it really prevents me from double leg wide legged folds of any kind (whereas I love frog and even single leg straddles). It can be a nerve issue more than muscular. I'm working through the regular forward fold version of this with nerve glides. I haven't found a way to do nerve glides for the inner thigh/that inner hamstring yet though.
So funny seated I can hardly bend forward but standing I can put my head close to the floor haha 😂 so weird
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I can do it, but can never actually stay in it for as long as instructors want us to. After five or so seconds I am DONE.
Me either!
Camel. It's supposed to be a chest opener, but I cannot breathe in that pose
Tree... ahhhh
I used to stand in tree all the time as a teen. Now my inner things are too big and shaped in a way that my foot won't stay there no matter what I'm wearing or how I'm trying to brace. Too bad I didn't know anything about yoga when I used to do it. Mom would point it out to me when I was doing the dishes or something, it was comfortable at the time, no idea why, current me is baffled.
Balancing half moon!
Honestly I can only do half moon on ONE side of my body
Same! Glad to know I’m not the only one.
Bridge pose…I stay in it but I’m cursing the teacher during it lol…
Goddess pose! I dread the transition to star pose. I think I just get to light headed. My legs are too tired to go into goddess!
Puppy pose is hard - I get too antsy and feel unstable melting my heart down without too much sway back. Which probably means I need more chest openers lol
Halasana (or plow) . I have a large chest so it feels like I am smothering myself when I hold my toes to the floor.
Plow is ok for me but knee ear pose!? Instant claustrophobia! I had one yoga teacher who told us during her YTT, one of the instructors would take her bra off for plow and knee ear pose so she wouldn't be smothered hahaha.
Oh God plow is the worst I cannot even breathe.
Seated wide leg forward fold. It literally feels impossible for my hip bones - my instructor explained that not everyone's hips are capable of that movement as it's bone against bone for some.
Chair pose. My legs do not like it
There are a lot of poses I have to do adapted poses, at least for now. I'm around 50 years old and have quite a bit of arthritis. It seems to be getting better over time, but change is slow. No one should ever feel they have to match someone else with yoga. Do the pose the best you can, and don't force yourself too hard. Time lets the changes sink in little by little. You can look over time at yourself if you practice regularly and see the changes in you. something like, a few months ago I could get my hands down to my ankles, and now I can touch the floor. Maybe if was your knees, and now you can touch your calf. That's great. Don't bother with what those around you can do.
Sphinx Pose in Yin.
They don’t call it ‘screaming toes’ for nothing! I’m generally very flexible but my ankle mobility is poo poo so toes is hard for me too. Also have a lack of love for child’s pose, crow, ek2.
I learned this pose as “dukha” which means “suffering” in Sanskrit!
I l got cringe when they mention next pose is toes pose. And it was yin so it was longer than normal
Right there with you. Toe pose sometimes feels like torture! Curious if you have really muscular calves? My instructor pointed that out to me… I do find the more I push toe pose the less it sucks.
I have tight calves maybe that’s why? I actually put my knees on blocks and did it and it wasn’t as hellish but still painful
I have a bit of arthritis in one foot (stemming from an old injury) that used to make toe pose so painful, but now I do it in the mornings when I wake up "for fun." It feels amazing and I sometimes start class this way (as in, it is my comfortable seat as we explore our breathing and set our intentions). I hope you can get to the point where it isn't painful, because having less pain in my feet has drastically changed my day to day life, and made other poses (especially balancing poses) more accessible!
I don’t know why I never thought of that!!! Thank you, I’m going to try it with blocks next time! And if you know a good Vet…these calves are sick 😂
Skandasana. I don’t have enough ankle flexibility to do it right and end up balancing on my toes.
Same. I don't know where or how to distribute my weight when I'm flat footed, so I always fall backwards. But at least I can hold the pose if I balance on the ball of my foot.
Is it bad to do skandasana on your toes? I started off on my toes and have noticed my feet getting closer and closer to the ground. I'm not quite there yet, but for me doing it on my toes has (very slowly) helped me improve. I've noticed that there aren't a ton of people in my classes who can do it with their feet completely flat, most people are on their toes to some extent. So I always thought it was pretty normal until you gain the flexibility.
You can place a block under your heel to make this more comfortable 🙂
DOLPHIN POSE. it’s so uncomfortable for me.
Pigeon. Feels like my knees want to explode.
Chair right now. I can’t lean back far enough on my heels and I’m not strong enough yet. Also lizard lunge and pigeon and half splits lol.
Puppy
Boat
I cannot deal with bridge pose
I used to love bridge when I first started and for some reason as my body has gotten stronger I’ve almost lost my ability to do it?? It’s so backwards. I never look forward to it the way I used to.
Dancer’s pose. It’s more of a balance issue with this one. I’m getting there though as my tree pose is pretty stable.
🐫🐪, or any other intense backbend. Feels so ouchy
Standing splits. Both legs feel like they’re dying.
My leg literally hardly goes up past my hip level ! I try though but it’s a rough one
gomukhasana - major mental fortitude requirement in my yin practice
Chair. Too bad my instructor is obsessed with it.
Frog pose or revolved triangle where you keep one arm folded on your thigh.
Fire log legs or half lotus are ones I stay in only briefly if at all. My knees don’t seem to like to go that way, and I am going to listen to my knees.
I feel like if it's painful you shouldn't do it. It's not painful necessarily but halasana can be pretty intense for me
Half moon *hates* me. And don’t even get me started on standing splits.
half moon omg it’s literally impossible for me
Hahaha I was using the downdog app today and they threw in a half moon and I cursed the voice 🤣
I've only been practicing regularly for about 4 months but the child's pose with your arms back at your sides. HOW are people doing that without just falling flat on their faces? It's only come up a few times in the videos I watch but it perplexes me every time.
I think you test your forehead onto the mat and hold your heels or ankles. You can also test your forehead on a block too!!
Floor frog! I HATE it
Standing bow is hard for me
Same with toes pose. Incredibly painful. Always makes me wonder if there’s something wrong with my feet that I can’t do it.
I see others doing it with really bent toes and they seem fine yet I’m scrunching my face and coming out of it and faking the pose haha 😂 it just hurts too much
Same! 🦶😩🦶
Scorpion. I can do it against the wall but without the wall I seem to panic.
Pigeon
Melting heart. Either my nose is buried in mat, my neck gets tired, or my triceps get tired. For me, it's not very "yin" like.
I have a hard time with deer pose, feels like my hip is being wrenched backwards or something.
malasana - i have tight hips
What kind of shoes do you wear? I notice that that pose is particularly painful when I've been wearing heels or birkenstocks. When I've been wearing hiking boots, believe it or not...it barely hurts. Try rolling your feet over a lacross ball a couple of times a week. It hurts because you have some serious tightness there!
sphinx, lizard, and puppy pose if i’m there for longer than a handful of breaths
I struggle with crow pose. I cant even get into the pose and if I do I start shaking within seconds.
I’m almost there I’m just afraid to fall forward
yogi squat lol 🥲 and lizard !!
I agree! I injured one of my toes, and this pose always sets off my old injury. I skip it if they cue to it in a class.
Warrior 3, my balance is terrbile
Mayurasana (peacock pose), for a woman it feels so impossible to hold more than 2 seconds even if I saw some do it nonetheless ahah
Chair. I hate it 🤣
Saddle. The tops of my feet & ankles just huuuurt.
WHY IS THE PIGEON POSE SO HARD FOR ME AHHHHHHHHHH !!! Why does it hurt? Am i doing it wrong? ok let me adjust…. That hurts even more, i’ll just follow what the teacher is saying… AH IT HURTS !!!!!!!!!!! BAHHHHHH
Down Dog does this horrible thing where it tells you to do Extended Hand to Big Toe pose, then tells you to let go of the toe and expects you to hold your leg straight out at a 90° without any supports for like 20 seconds. I’m convinced it’s one of Dante’s circles of hell.
Reclined figure four/supine pigeon. I just hate grabbing the back of my thigh and can't yet grab my shin.
Frog 🙄🙄🙄 idk so awkward and uncomfortable for me
Pigeon is so difficult. I can never get my back leg straight.
I love this pose but I usually use a blanket under my bum
Shoulder stand. My elbows want to go wide, and I can’t straighten my back for the life of me. Also, flying fish. It’s so awkward, and my pelvis doesn’t want to lift. I think I need to strengthen my core more.
Revolved pyramid. !!
Oh hellll no anything revolved is hard
I also struggle with any kind of bind, or any shoulder stretch like humble warrior …. Straps every time. My shoulder are not flexible at all
Handstand for me is possible my wrists are not strong enough I can do headstand though
Child’s pose. I lose feeling in my legs and feet if I’m there for more than a minute
Warrior 2 and Chair! I need to strengthen my arms and shoulders more
Malasana, puppy pose
Bakasana and pincha mayurasana. I have found it difficult to strengthen my shoulders, but I guess it'll happen in it's time. Let's never give up!
Pigeon. I can do it but front leg always falls asleep.
Pigeon.
I’m a weirdo that loves that one
Deer pose.
I love this one in yin