namasteph yoga blog

OK…first off, I take absolutely NO RESPONSIBILITY for your use of the following method. DO THIS AT YOUR OWN RISK!

As I’ve stated in an earlier blog post on Bikram, I just can’t see how I’d enjoy an overheated room while doing yoga. I’ve been taking some classes in 90 degree weather recently and I found myself staying towards the back where the a/c was. The heat just makes me feel a bit sick, actually.

But then I thought, hmm, if Bikram uses heat to loosen up the muscles, perhaps I could use applied heat to various locations to do the same thing. Notably, my tight hamstrings.

When I was in my 20s, I could not touch my toes. My hands would hover above my shins. Doing staff pose was downright torture. Then in my 30s I was finally able to reach my toes after a Sivananda teacher pushed my lower back during seated forward bend. Hurrah! But I’ve felt stuck since then. The best I could do in a standing forward fold was to barely get the tips of my fingers on the mat.

Today I tried my seated forward bend with a heating pad directly underneath my knees. I also did some leg stretches on my back, with the heating pad under my back.

I was very careful…I certainly do not want to sprain myself. But lo and behold…after one session with the heating pad I was not only able to get my fingers down on the mat but I could place my palms flat on the mat in front of my feet! A MIRACLE! HURRAH!

As the day has progressed I have stiffened up slightly, but most of the amazing progress I made this morning is still intact…and my legs do not hurt whatsoever.

I’m going to keep this up daily and see where I get. I’m feeling hopeful about my hamstrings for the first time in a long while!