Just wondering if anyone can tell me why I struggle with Happy Baby pose and Legs up a Wall.
In Happy Baby I can hold onto my feet fine but I can’t keep my lower back on the floor. When I release my feet and push my back down, my legs cramp up and I cannot relax in the pose at all. It does not seem to be a flexibility problem but I just cant get my back straight and hold my legs in that position.
I also have similar struggles with Legs up a Wall… which I know is supposed to be a really relaxing pose. But when I do it, my legs push me away from the wall and even when I bend them I can’t relax my quads at all and it hurts to hold my legs up.
My yoga teacher is baffled and has just advised that I don’t do these poses, but I would really like to know what is going on if anyone has any ideas…?
That is a pure, simple case of tight hamstrings (and likely lower back too). If you find it difficult to sit with your legs straight without rounding your lower back, then your hamstrings are preventing that from happening.
The simple solution is to work on gaining more flexibility. You can do this by 1) relaxing the backs of your legs frequently throughout the day and 2) stretching them. We have many classes that focus on the hamstrings, such as Fiji’s Happy Hamstrings or my Deep Release for the Hips, Hamstrings and Lower Back.
Thank you for your reply and I know you’re right, it is just so frustrating. I did the 30 day transform your life challenge in January and am now trying the empower your life challenge. I am generally ok with the intermediate classes and am quite flexible except in my legs and lower back where I just get completely stuck. I am currently attempting firefly pose but I can’t do a wide-legged forward bend or straighten my legs in many poses. I have been working on this so much and nothing is changing.
I did love your Hip Flexor Heaven class and must try to do that more often as it did briefly help with my wide-legged forward fold.
I am not really looking for answers here as I know these things take time and I just need to keep practising, I just thought someone else might read this who is struggling in similar ways and they will know they are not alone in this.
Thank you for all your help and for creating this incredible website!
Oh yes, I’m sure others can relate to a certain part of their body being tight. Everyone has their own struggle. It can take a lot of time and patience to improve those areas, so the only thing I can say is stick to it and be ok with baby steps!
