What's Your Yoga Nemesis?

[ZaraW]

I've been doing yoga for two years and am reasonably flexible however I have tight hips wide angle seated forward fold has been really uncomfortable and have made little progress. What's the pose you have found to be difficult and has it got easier through practice?

Mine would be the scorpion pose, surely only gymnasts can do that kind of thing? 😮

Mine is any back bends. I can forward bend OK but when I bend back I'm bending to about a 91° angle and look like I'm not even trying. My back just doesn't flex that way. Maybe in 10 years...

Warrior III, Half Moon, Tree, Dancer ... if it requires me to stand on one leg it all essentially ready Tumbledownasana to me.

By contrast, I'm reasonably okay with arm balances ...

Embarrassingly, as I'm supposedly an advanced practitioner and teacher trainee it's handstands. I just can't kick up. I've tried pretty much everything. I can get into forearm balance and headstand and other arm balances just fine, but handstands just don't work.

I think it's partly psychological and partly a weakness and imbalance on my right side, particularly my right shoulder and wrist.

I used to find triangle (type) poses exhausting, but now it's easy-peasy.

Anything balancing on arms is impossible as I've got tiny forearms and tendinitis so just don't have the strength crow and handstands :(

Lizzie have you tried baby crow?

I've been practicing my seated wide angle forward fold and now can get my forearms on the ground which is a huge achievement maybe in another ten years my chin will find its way to the floor.....

Thanks Zara - I haven't seen that done but google image leads me to believe it could be possible as the strength seems to be in the biceps (& my biceps are okay, just the forearms that are messed up & too small to take my whole weight).

Lizzie, lots of downward dog will help to strengthen your forearms - try it with your hands against a wall and then with your heels against the wall, or with a strap around your elbows.

Crow and tree pose. Balance is ok but I really struggle to keep my foot at the top of the other thigh.

I do loads of downward dog and planks. My forearms and disproportionately tiny, literally the size of a 10 year old boys' (measured this when my boy was 10). Mostly it's the tendinitis though. Arms are angry about that.

One of my teachers said w tree to press your foot (in thigh) toward your leg and your leg toward your foot. Mostly I like tree, but if I'm having a wobbly day that helps.

I hear you :) I get wrist tendonitis too.

Arm balances aren't the be-all anyway - working with what your body is telling you, as it sounds like you're doing, is much more important.

Your teacher is right about tree, really pressing the standing leg back into the foot creates stability - also trying to keep the inside edge of your foot planted on the floor.

I'm 29 weeks pregnant and still doing yoga. EVERYTHING is difficult now. Even corpse pose is a pain to get out of because I can't sit up! I'm so tempted to give up for now but with pretty bad sciatica its the only exercise I can do.

My nemesis used to be headstand. If I tried to freebalance I toppled over backwards - very embarrassing in a crowded class! I set myself the goal of doing a headstand every day at the beginning of 2015, and two years later headstand is nailed, leg variations and all. I'm currently working up to holding it for 5 mins plus. Learning to 'make friends' with nemesis poses is one of the great benefits of yoga - with patient, persistent practice you can master almost anything.

My current nemesis is a variation on Vajrasana where you sit on your heels with your toes curled under. Sounds simple but oh.. my.. god it hurts. One of my teachers LOVES that pose. He calls it "toe torture."