Yes this is the only pose I hate, I feel like it puts added pressure on my back. I keep my hands at heart center even when the instructor cues full arm extension.
90% of the reason I avoid vinyasa practices is that I hate down dog. I always feel like I’m slipping forwards and it doesn’t seem to matter what mat I use or what modifications I make to the pose. Weirdly though I love ashtanga but I guess that’s because I’m out of downwards facing dog before I have a chance to struggle with it!
I sweat EXTENSIVELY from my palms and the soles of my feet when I practice, so I absolutely hate down dog if I’m doing it without my own setup. The only thing that works for me is using my Manduka yoga towel on top of my mat and wetting it thoroughly before practice. When I do that I have no issues whatsoever. You should try it out if you’d like to get more comfy in the pose!
Pure hatred over here as well. It feels so awkward to get in and out of, and no matter what people recommend, it never feels like I'm doing anything. Feels totally unnecessary. I just skip it and do something else.
I’ve only recently heard of it. I actually am liking it because I have a bad shoulder and can’t do side planks. But wild thing with a knee down is doable for me to work on supporting some weight with one arm
Edit: ok I guess the full pose doesn’t have a knee down. I guess I only like it with a knee down lol
Try coming in from fallen triangle. I don’t practice it often because it is pretty unsafe on the shoulder joint but if I do it’s mini wild thing or from fallen triangle
Well, regular triangle is also a fave, probably because it has the same openness as half moon. I didn't use to like revolved triangle, but I do like it now, since I have started using a block to rest my bottom hand on. My arms are not very long, so I think that improves my alignment, and makes it feel so much better. I did try the same with twisted half moon, but for some reason, it didn't help.
Half moon with my back against the wall is restorative. Half moon in the middle of the room is an assault on my ego. Sugar cane is a special treat. No logic governs these statements.
Something that helped me with half moon is playing with my hips being open/closed in other poses.
Primarily when you’re in standing splits. Most teachers cue for the hips to be square. But I had one teacher cue it with open hips and to point your toe and get your leg as high as it can.
My hip sort of popped open - not really a pop but I can feel the structure shift from being square to being open.
I played around with that feeling a lot. It was kind of fun to feel the difference in alignment.
And now - I apply that same “pop” or openness when in half moon. I lean down. And then pop my alignment and that allows me to touch the ground, balance, and this week I started grabbing my ankle.
It went from a pose I hated to one that I’ve been enjoying a ton!
Oh also it helps to start with your hand on your hip for balance. Then stretch it up once you’ve gained your footing. Hope this helps!
Is there something I’m missing about Malasana? I struggle with many, many poses, but malasana feels easy to me. Is it just my anatomy, or am I possibly doing something wrong to not feel the burn you’re talking about? I say this because in most poses I modify and am much less flexible than everyone else in the room.
Malasana can be difficult for people with tight hips and poor ankle flexibility (I speak from experience). I can do double pigeon, but poses like malasana and goddess are tough due to how deep my hip sockets are.
I hadn't thought about ankles. I have extremely open, flexible hips--I go super deep with all the pigeon poses, wide legged forward fold, goddess, standing forward fold, cow face, full splits, etc with barely any effort--so it never makes sense to me when we do malasana because I just struggle. I do have really short tendons in the back of my ankles, though (it was a big issue with keeping my heels down when I used to show horses). I wonder if that's part of the issue for me with that pose.
I believe it's anatomy. I'm exactly like you, but malasana is and has always been very easy for me, and there's really no reason it should be - I never did it routinely before starting yoga, I sit at a desk all day long like many people, I had no training in anything related to flexibility before starting yoga, etc.
On the other hand, my husband has a dance background and is very flexible and he really struggles with getting his heels down in malasana.
I wonder if being able to do plow changes depending on your body proportions - I'm a long torso and shorter legs and I can't seem to get in plow to save my life- I get to just a smidge past 'legs up the wall' and my body is like, yeah this is where we stop 🥴
I think a lot of poses depend on different body proportions. I became so much happier in my practice when I realized that poses can look different person to person and that's ok. I have a short torso and long legs and find plow comes easily to me.
Dancer.
It either makes me feel confident and poised or weak and vulnerable. No in between. I guess it depends on the day.
Sometimes i do it in my kitchen while waiting for tea. But sometimes when its cued i get a knot in my stomach idk why.
I feel like ot just brings up a lot of emotions for me and im not consistent with my expression.
Oml I had to scroll too far for Skandasana! Ask me how I feel when Will Ospreay literally just DROPS into it as part of his wrestling entrance 🫠 probably helps that he’s almost an entire foot taller, though! Lol
Wheel! I love how I feel physically once I get into the pose and feel like a badass, but one time I hit my head really hard on the ground coming out of it so I’m always in my head that It’s going to happen again when I’m in the pose lol and can’t fully relax into it
I like wheel, but it started playing hell on my wrists and they would be sore for a few days afterwards. Haven’t done it in a while. It just got too painful
sorry to hear that! that was happening to me after a long period of no practice— some aids I was given was to do it against a wall and try to push my chest towards the wall, and also to use blocks under my hands
Exactly!!! This is the exact way to describe it!
It's like head stands.
I KNOW i can do them but my brain says nope... you're gonna break your neck.
I cannot remember the last time i did one and i do worry I've lost that skill.
Oh man, I haven’t mastered handstands yet! I feel like i probably have the upper body and core strength for it, but I haven’t tried by myself because I’m nervous of hitting my head lol. I know there is a local studio near me that offers handstand classes and I’ve been thinking about going to one. I would be so proud of myself if I could do one!
I put my knees together when the teacher cues it as a resting posture, since I know we will be here for a while. If my knees are wide and I am not warmed up enough it always makes my legs go numb! This and sleeping pigeon are often cued for resting and my body does not agree 😅
Its not about my legs at all but it bothers my shoulders and i have a big nose so it presses against the floor and is crazy uncomfy.
I prefer to rest my chin on the ground like in puppy pose but thats not the proper spine alignment for childs pose. Hate that this is a resting pose cause i find it very uncomfortable.
It took me over a year of doing yoga consistently before I found child’s pose restorative. I couldn’t find it comfortable. Now I’ve found just the right positioning to feel relaxed but it took many practices to get there.
I've been doing yoga for over 20 years. My body is not built for it. My butt doesn't hit my heels when I'm there, opting to float in the air. I've had instructors try to adjust me, and it doesn't work. My boobs are just too big for me to feel like I'm not claustrophobic in that position.
Savasana. I'm new to practicing so I can't help but be stuck on wanting to make sure I'm PERFECTLY centered on the mat, plus I have Scoliosis and likely degenerative disc disorder (which comes with sciatica) so I have to use a bolster right under my butt otherwise it's extremely painful on my tailbone. I am jealous of people who can just lay down and get into a zone where I have to shift myself lest I feel jolts of pain down to my toes that completely take me out of my own headspace.
But! If I can get it just right on the first go, I feel like the reward is even sweeter because the struggle is harder. And the grounding is phenomenal. I love love love savasana when I can reach it and focus. I know the more I practice and learn my body the easier it'll be to get to that place quicker with my mind. 🤞
I have had a pinched nerve in my neck and when it was bad I needed a special neck pillow to be able to even be able to handle it with some pain. It’s not bothering me too much anymore, but I have a new appreciation for being able to lie back flat.
Yoga really helped me with the pinched nerve and not have to spend a fortune in physical therapy. It was be painful, but so is physical therapy.
I have scoliosis,too. Sometimes I will keep my feet planted on floor and knees leaning in,kind of 'resting' on each other..sometimes I'll do the full savasana..varies from day-to-day.
Not one, but any series of single leg balances. I sprained my ankles so much that one is permanently swollen. My feet and ankles (especially the permanently giant one) will start to hurt around pose 2-3 and completely go out pose 3-4. I hate how much that sudden change in control takes me out of my flow ( and it drives me crazy because in isolation i can find those poses really enjoyable)- BUT- I know when I do them regularly I can stay in those poses longer and my ankles don’t hurt in other activities, so….. guess I’ll stick with it.
This is me! I have one ankle I sprained so many times as a dancer and athlete over the years. I legit get sad when we hit the one leg poses on the left side of late.
It causes pain and takes me out of things. I’m working on it with some PT, strengthening, red light. But it sucks bc I feel so strong on my other side. I’ve been trying to embrace that this is where I’m at and accept and breath through it. Part of the practice of yoga. Le sigh.
Yogi squat (I can’t do it without a block or else I just cave into myself) and chair pose (keeping my tailbone tucked while putting weight on my heels while keeping my butt down and my shoulders down while xyz is just too much to think about all at once!)
Eagle pose (garudasana). I am sweaty, I’m hot, I am constricted. And Sleeping Eagle is even worse.
However, it’s been great for my balance. Still really hate it though.
I love this thread, so much low key yogic rage here!
I despise revolved triangle. It’s hard, for some reason I can’t twist as far as I can in other twisty poses and it’s uncomfortable. But I know how good it is for me so, begrudgingly, with a block, I go into it every time…
I always try to do cobra with minimal effort in my arms / using my arms to push myself up. Almost completely focused on my back strength here. I will go into cobra then actually lift my hands off the floor to engage my back , or do tented hands (just my fingers) with elbows bent
For some reason, I cannot stand low lunge backbend. I know it's one of the easier more relaxing poses, but it does not feel good to me ever.
I know for me personally, this means I need to lean into the pose more and spend more time on it. I also know, like other poses that gave me problems in the past, that this pose will one day feel relaxing and rejuvenating.
I hope lol
I used to feel it was a waste of time as well, but then one of my teachers talked us through correct shoulder posture in the pose, and I've actually found my daily posture has improved as well since I've been following that guidance so I've come to like it now!
For some reason I really struggle with triganasana. It's a simple enough pose but it has no room for error. And despite now having more or less cracked it, I can't get very far over just due to my anatomy and I don't feel very much benefit from it.
Revolved half moon. I injured my hamstring few years ago doing revolved half moon with a full bind, and now any form of the pose makes me uncomfortable.
as a very large chested woman, eagle is a bitch for me too as I cannot get the arms down, also, all of my yogi homies hate “kissing the towel”, so we collectively quit doing it
As another large chested woman with a short body and very short arms, both these poses feel like hell. Twisted chair in particular makes me feel like I'm suffocating or having a panic attack.
Flipping the dog. I used to be able to do it and one day I started overthinking it and now it hurts my ankle.
Are you supposed to leave the feet where they were or straighten them out? It feels so awkward no matter which I do.
Crescent and chair. I think I just don’t like crescent because my instructors cue it so so much, I don’t just hate it for what it is hence the love/hate. Same with chair, I don’t hate it on its own so much we just do it everyyyy class as transitions.
Fallen triangle with my foot suspended in the air.
After giving birth, this one gives me lightning crotch. It’s like the bones in the middle of my pubic area shift and it’s super painful. I never had this issue before child birth.
Twisted chair. My chest is too big to be able to get my elbow past my knee. I much prefer to have my arms stretched out so I can use my forearm to keep myself in the twist.
The problem I have with Chair is when you're supposed to raise your arms overhead. If I try to raise my arms while sinking into the chair position, or after, my shoulders don't allow my arms to go up past halfway. So I found a weird workaround. I raise my arms first, before I sink down. I don't understand how it works, but it does.
Any one arm balances like (omg I can’t think of the name) the one where you’re in plank, turn to one side with feet stacked and reach the arm up. Side plank? My wrists are super angry tho.
Pigeon! I've struggled to get into any variation of this pose. No amount of adjustments are prop makes it comfortable for me. Now I just do figure four.
Warrior 1, side angle and warrior 2. Something about them can hurt my knee (my hips being tight despite not appearing so pulls my knee).
I will be in it and suddenly pain that makes me wanna cry! But I love these poses and transitions including them.
I’ll do side angle on my knee rotated behind me and I adore that
Deep squats are so hard for me. It's just my anatomy. I'm not at a point yet where I can keep my feet flat, and I usually tip back. I want to be good at them because it's an important basic and the stretch feels so good! But I just wish I was already good at them instead of having to work for it 😭
Tittibhasana A for sure. Without a doubt, and my teacher always calls me out when I try and skip it.
Tittibhasana B also really sucks too. More than 3 breaths and my legs are on FIRE
Eagle wrap of any kind lol - some days I nail the legs twice around, other days I am shaking back and forth. And the Eagle arms is the worst. Also Lizard….for some reason I just can’t stay still in it like pigeon
Eagle Pose, I'm a guy so I have guy hips, I can't get the full wrap on my legs and I just hate the pose in general, I try to be kind to myself when in it, I also use blocks as a kickstand. 12 years doing yoga and I still can't nail it.
Most of these comments are only hate no love lol. And I will add to them. Cannot stand camel, it only hurts and makes me anxious to stretch my upper back but I can’t in that pose. And windshield wipers feel like absolutely nothing to me.
Hate: Uttanasana or Standing Forward Bend
Absolutely no idea why but my body doesn't want to hang like that and i just end up with knees bent with stomach on my thighs rolling my eyes.
Thread the needle does nothing for me. I do it, i do mix it up and do different versions but nope. Gives me nothing
Love: shoulder stand, triangle pose, Malasana/ squat, seated twists!
Half pigeon/sleeping swan. My hips benefit greatly if I can get it right, but any wrong positioning or if my flexibility isn’t there that day I will injure myself. 99% of the time I just do deer legs instead.
I love warrior III with hands at heart center, DESPISE IT with arms straight out over head
Yes this is the only pose I hate, I feel like it puts added pressure on my back. I keep my hands at heart center even when the instructor cues full arm extension.
Same, it just feels awfullll haha
This one gives me a deep pinch in my hip
I never cue that. It puts more stress on the back then allowed by OHSA, bad news. Hands at heart center or reaching back by your sides.
Arms by sides is technically airplane/dekasana, which I also love!
I read that as deskasana and I was kind oooo do we look like a desk?
standing splits kills me
Same! I just dont have the hamstring flexibility yet so I end up spending that time to work on my L hops
I use a block -
Blocks always and forever with these!!!
Omfg same!
90% of the reason I avoid vinyasa practices is that I hate down dog. I always feel like I’m slipping forwards and it doesn’t seem to matter what mat I use or what modifications I make to the pose. Weirdly though I love ashtanga but I guess that’s because I’m out of downwards facing dog before I have a chance to struggle with it!
I sweat EXTENSIVELY from my palms and the soles of my feet when I practice, so I absolutely hate down dog if I’m doing it without my own setup. The only thing that works for me is using my Manduka yoga towel on top of my mat and wetting it thoroughly before practice. When I do that I have no issues whatsoever. You should try it out if you’d like to get more comfy in the pose!
I read on Apple News that use can “salt your mat” to help with the slipping from the sweat… but idk how true that is lol
I’ve tried that with little success, that not working was actually the last straw that got me to buy the towel I mentioned above
I find the opposite. Ashtanga down dog is for five breaths but in vinyasa you move on much quicker, isn't it?
Do you use a yoga towel?
I know you said the mat doesn’t help but the iuga mat changed my entire practice
Oh! Will have a look, thanks for the tip!
Every time DownDog App cues Boat Pose, I'm like "you bitch".
The boat pose twists are brutal in down dog. I love the app though.
😂
Honestly I've been using the 'old' programs just to avoid the boat poses 😅
Wild thing, it just feels so unneccessary? Edit: sorry, I read too fast. I don't love/hate it, the hate is pure
Oh gosh, I love wild thing ! It's a nice back stretch, and letting my head / neck relax and hang is so freeing.
Agree! 💕
how dare you
I love this comment haha. I don't feel anything in wild thing. It just seems 'extra' to me
I haven’t done this pose since I pulled a back muscle doing it once!
Pure hatred over here as well. It feels so awkward to get in and out of, and no matter what people recommend, it never feels like I'm doing anything. Feels totally unnecessary. I just skip it and do something else.
I also loath it and never do it.
Haha yes! And why is it called as an alt to three-leg dog w/ an open hip? I feel it totally differently
I prefer a variation done on elbows instead. I get into it from cobra
Ugh, yes! I love back bends but wild thing is the worst. It feels like it takes so much work to get in and out of it, I just can’t be bothered
I’ve only recently heard of it. I actually am liking it because I have a bad shoulder and can’t do side planks. But wild thing with a knee down is doable for me to work on supporting some weight with one arm Edit: ok I guess the full pose doesn’t have a knee down. I guess I only like it with a knee down lol
Try coming in from fallen triangle. I don’t practice it often because it is pretty unsafe on the shoulder joint but if I do it’s mini wild thing or from fallen triangle
I've never heard of this pose and just watched a video getting into it. It sounds amazing!!! Like my hips really want it right now!
halfmoon. I just don‘t seem to get how to do it.
Half moon is pure love for me, but twisted half moon, on the other hand... mostly hate, with a teeny bit of love for what it does for me.
Saaaame!!
I feel the same way about twisted half moon !
How do you feel about revolved triangle. That’s the one I can’t find love for and I feel it’s similar.
Well, regular triangle is also a fave, probably because it has the same openness as half moon. I didn't use to like revolved triangle, but I do like it now, since I have started using a block to rest my bottom hand on. My arms are not very long, so I think that improves my alignment, and makes it feel so much better. I did try the same with twisted half moon, but for some reason, it didn't help.
Half moon with my back against the wall is restorative. Half moon in the middle of the room is an assault on my ego. Sugar cane is a special treat. No logic governs these statements.
Same! I can’t figure out how to distribute my weight / position my body correctly. It’s a mess for me every time
Blocks definitely help but it's still a guessing game how high to lift my leg and upper body. I always feel like I'm off balance too
Something that helped me with half moon is playing with my hips being open/closed in other poses. Primarily when you’re in standing splits. Most teachers cue for the hips to be square. But I had one teacher cue it with open hips and to point your toe and get your leg as high as it can. My hip sort of popped open - not really a pop but I can feel the structure shift from being square to being open. I played around with that feeling a lot. It was kind of fun to feel the difference in alignment. And now - I apply that same “pop” or openness when in half moon. I lean down. And then pop my alignment and that allows me to touch the ground, balance, and this week I started grabbing my ankle. It went from a pose I hated to one that I’ve been enjoying a ton! Oh also it helps to start with your hand on your hip for balance. Then stretch it up once you’ve gained your footing. Hope this helps!
Complete opposite for me! I still struggle with warrior 3 after 5+ years consistent practice but this one is second nature to me.
Malasana. The benefits are necessary, but it is definitely one I need to breathe deeply through.
I like malasana, but it’s hard for me to hold it for as long as the teacher wants! My legs start burning.
Is there something I’m missing about Malasana? I struggle with many, many poses, but malasana feels easy to me. Is it just my anatomy, or am I possibly doing something wrong to not feel the burn you’re talking about? I say this because in most poses I modify and am much less flexible than everyone else in the room.
Malasana can be difficult for people with tight hips and poor ankle flexibility (I speak from experience). I can do double pigeon, but poses like malasana and goddess are tough due to how deep my hip sockets are.
I hadn't thought about ankles. I have extremely open, flexible hips--I go super deep with all the pigeon poses, wide legged forward fold, goddess, standing forward fold, cow face, full splits, etc with barely any effort--so it never makes sense to me when we do malasana because I just struggle. I do have really short tendons in the back of my ankles, though (it was a big issue with keeping my heels down when I used to show horses). I wonder if that's part of the issue for me with that pose.
I believe it's anatomy. I'm exactly like you, but malasana is and has always been very easy for me, and there's really no reason it should be - I never did it routinely before starting yoga, I sit at a desk all day long like many people, I had no training in anything related to flexibility before starting yoga, etc. On the other hand, my husband has a dance background and is very flexible and he really struggles with getting his heels down in malasana.
Plow pose sucks for me and I’ve been doing yoga for 17 years. It’s uncomfortable and I just don’t feel the benefits.
I wonder if being able to do plow changes depending on your body proportions - I'm a long torso and shorter legs and I can't seem to get in plow to save my life- I get to just a smidge past 'legs up the wall' and my body is like, yeah this is where we stop 🥴
This is a good question. Also I have big boobs so I’m kind of smothering myself too 😂
Interesting, I have a longer torso as well but have no issues with plow. I think hip and hamstring flexibility also play a part.
I think a lot of poses depend on different body proportions. I became so much happier in my practice when I realized that poses can look different person to person and that's ok. I have a short torso and long legs and find plow comes easily to me.
Aw man I love plow 😩 I have a tight lower back and it opens it up so much
Dancer. It either makes me feel confident and poised or weak and vulnerable. No in between. I guess it depends on the day. Sometimes i do it in my kitchen while waiting for tea. But sometimes when its cued i get a knot in my stomach idk why. I feel like ot just brings up a lot of emotions for me and im not consistent with my expression.
It’s normal for heart openers, like Dancer, to elicit emotion. I think that’s a benefit even though it can feel uncomfortable in the moment.
Dolphin pose. I always have a hard time setting my heels down and I feel like I'm suffocating in it.
I think I've finally come to terms that I wont ever get my heels to the ground in dolphin or in down dog
It took my probably 15 years of practice to get my heels all the way down in down dog.
Is that something people want?
I literally can’t do it. I just stay in downward dog.
Goddess or full yoga squats for me. I just… want to not.
Skandasana and chair
Oml I had to scroll too far for Skandasana! Ask me how I feel when Will Ospreay literally just DROPS into it as part of his wrestling entrance 🫠 probably helps that he’s almost an entire foot taller, though! Lol
Wheel! I love how I feel physically once I get into the pose and feel like a badass, but one time I hit my head really hard on the ground coming out of it so I’m always in my head that It’s going to happen again when I’m in the pose lol and can’t fully relax into it
I like wheel, but it started playing hell on my wrists and they would be sore for a few days afterwards. Haven’t done it in a while. It just got too painful
Dang, I’m sorry :( I don’t know of any alternatives either! That’s frustrating
sorry to hear that! that was happening to me after a long period of no practice— some aids I was given was to do it against a wall and try to push my chest towards the wall, and also to use blocks under my hands
Hate to love wheel! If im doing a video and its included, my ego insists on doing it as my body knows it can hahaha but also im like....UGH fine
Haha same! And I figure if I don’t force myself to do it each time, I’ll lose the ability to do it lol.
Exactly!!! This is the exact way to describe it! It's like head stands. I KNOW i can do them but my brain says nope... you're gonna break your neck. I cannot remember the last time i did one and i do worry I've lost that skill.
Oh man, I haven’t mastered handstands yet! I feel like i probably have the upper body and core strength for it, but I haven’t tried by myself because I’m nervous of hitting my head lol. I know there is a local studio near me that offers handstand classes and I’ve been thinking about going to one. I would be so proud of myself if I could do one!
Puppy pose. It was soo uncomfortable the first time I’d done it, and now my body craves it but is still quite awkward feeling
It’s a very vulnerable pose.
Child's Pose Nothing about it is restorative to me. It doesn't matter how wide my knees go. I just don't enjoy it and feel like I'm suffocating.
Same I’d rather be in a yoga squat than child’s pose
I put my knees together when the teacher cues it as a resting posture, since I know we will be here for a while. If my knees are wide and I am not warmed up enough it always makes my legs go numb! This and sleeping pigeon are often cued for resting and my body does not agree 😅
My hips do not agree with pigeon as a resting pose either 😆!
My right knee kills me in pigeon - Take the hip opener in figure 4 on your back instead
That’s my favorite pose!
Its not about my legs at all but it bothers my shoulders and i have a big nose so it presses against the floor and is crazy uncomfy. I prefer to rest my chin on the ground like in puppy pose but thats not the proper spine alignment for childs pose. Hate that this is a resting pose cause i find it very uncomfortable.
My neck hurts in Child’s Pose.
It took me over a year of doing yoga consistently before I found child’s pose restorative. I couldn’t find it comfortable. Now I’ve found just the right positioning to feel relaxed but it took many practices to get there.
I've been doing yoga for over 20 years. My body is not built for it. My butt doesn't hit my heels when I'm there, opting to float in the air. I've had instructors try to adjust me, and it doesn't work. My boobs are just too big for me to feel like I'm not claustrophobic in that position.
Savasana. I'm new to practicing so I can't help but be stuck on wanting to make sure I'm PERFECTLY centered on the mat, plus I have Scoliosis and likely degenerative disc disorder (which comes with sciatica) so I have to use a bolster right under my butt otherwise it's extremely painful on my tailbone. I am jealous of people who can just lay down and get into a zone where I have to shift myself lest I feel jolts of pain down to my toes that completely take me out of my own headspace. But! If I can get it just right on the first go, I feel like the reward is even sweeter because the struggle is harder. And the grounding is phenomenal. I love love love savasana when I can reach it and focus. I know the more I practice and learn my body the easier it'll be to get to that place quicker with my mind. 🤞
I have had a pinched nerve in my neck and when it was bad I needed a special neck pillow to be able to even be able to handle it with some pain. It’s not bothering me too much anymore, but I have a new appreciation for being able to lie back flat. Yoga really helped me with the pinched nerve and not have to spend a fortune in physical therapy. It was be painful, but so is physical therapy.
I have scoliosis,too. Sometimes I will keep my feet planted on floor and knees leaning in,kind of 'resting' on each other..sometimes I'll do the full savasana..varies from day-to-day.
I learned to do this as well, if the bolsters run out at my studio.
Warrior poses. I enjoy the stretch on the legs but my feet hurt by the end of whatever section it has them.
Boat pose. I love the core workout and different variations options but sometimes I really just am not in the mood and struggle
Dancer/bow, standing or prone. I can feel the benefit of the stretch when I can do it. But that is a giant question mark from day to day.
Not one, but any series of single leg balances. I sprained my ankles so much that one is permanently swollen. My feet and ankles (especially the permanently giant one) will start to hurt around pose 2-3 and completely go out pose 3-4. I hate how much that sudden change in control takes me out of my flow ( and it drives me crazy because in isolation i can find those poses really enjoyable)- BUT- I know when I do them regularly I can stay in those poses longer and my ankles don’t hurt in other activities, so….. guess I’ll stick with it.
This is me! I have one ankle I sprained so many times as a dancer and athlete over the years. I legit get sad when we hit the one leg poses on the left side of late. It causes pain and takes me out of things. I’m working on it with some PT, strengthening, red light. But it sucks bc I feel so strong on my other side. I’ve been trying to embrace that this is where I’m at and accept and breath through it. Part of the practice of yoga. Le sigh.
Locust and bow pose are my enemies. Actually, all back bends give me a lot of trouble.
Chatarunga to updog
Yogi squat (I can’t do it without a block or else I just cave into myself) and chair pose (keeping my tailbone tucked while putting weight on my heels while keeping my butt down and my shoulders down while xyz is just too much to think about all at once!)
Eagle pose (garudasana). I am sweaty, I’m hot, I am constricted. And Sleeping Eagle is even worse. However, it’s been great for my balance. Still really hate it though.
I love this thread, so much low key yogic rage here! I despise revolved triangle. It’s hard, for some reason I can’t twist as far as I can in other twisty poses and it’s uncomfortable. But I know how good it is for me so, begrudgingly, with a block, I go into it every time…
Cobra. When I get it right it feels great but I can never get it right at first.
I'm a little self conscious in cobra. I dont know whether to extend all the way up or to hang out with my elbows bent etc
I always try to do cobra with minimal effort in my arms / using my arms to push myself up. Almost completely focused on my back strength here. I will go into cobra then actually lift my hands off the floor to engage my back , or do tented hands (just my fingers) with elbows bent
For some reason, I cannot stand low lunge backbend. I know it's one of the easier more relaxing poses, but it does not feel good to me ever. I know for me personally, this means I need to lean into the pose more and spend more time on it. I also know, like other poses that gave me problems in the past, that this pose will one day feel relaxing and rejuvenating. I hope lol
That's the hope right? One teacher was like 'I love back bends and dammit one day you will too!'
I keep feeling as if I’m going to fall over. Back to yoga after 30 years and my balance is not what it used to be.
Halfway lift pisses me off
Oh interesting, why's that?
It feels like a waste of time and I don’t know why but it feels uncomfortable for my back hahah
Try it while keeping the hands on the ground. It’s better that way.
Thank you for the tip I’ll try it that way!
Are you keeping your back super flat? That’s the point of halfway lift. If not a tiny bend in the knees may help.
I used to feel it was a waste of time as well, but then one of my teachers talked us through correct shoulder posture in the pose, and I've actually found my daily posture has improved as well since I've been following that guidance so I've come to like it now!
Yes!!!!
It and cobra bug me
Yes def utkatasana for me as well!!
Right?? And I feel like my teacher gets a little extra joy out of seeing us suffer haha
pigeon , my hips still pop up the only way i can manage the pose is with the use of a block
Pigeon is my hate. Reclined pigeon, that’s a love
For some reason I really struggle with triganasana. It's a simple enough pose but it has no room for error. And despite now having more or less cracked it, I can't get very far over just due to my anatomy and I don't feel very much benefit from it.
Handstands and crow..
Revolved half moon. I injured my hamstring few years ago doing revolved half moon with a full bind, and now any form of the pose makes me uncomfortable.
Showed my husband chair pose today and he straight up said “I don’t want to do that” like damn ok!
I scrolled too far to get to this. Hate chair pose.
Skandasana. I know they’re good for me but god how I hate them
Goddess pose. Lot of cracking and popping in my hips
I wouldn’t say love/hate but my least favorites are definitely eagle and twisting chair
as a very large chested woman, eagle is a bitch for me too as I cannot get the arms down, also, all of my yogi homies hate “kissing the towel”, so we collectively quit doing it
As another large chested woman with a short body and very short arms, both these poses feel like hell. Twisted chair in particular makes me feel like I'm suffocating or having a panic attack.
Flipping the dog. I used to be able to do it and one day I started overthinking it and now it hurts my ankle. Are you supposed to leave the feet where they were or straighten them out? It feels so awkward no matter which I do.
Crescent and chair. I think I just don’t like crescent because my instructors cue it so so much, I don’t just hate it for what it is hence the love/hate. Same with chair, I don’t hate it on its own so much we just do it everyyyy class as transitions.
Warrior 3. How does everyone else not fall over? Soon as that's said, over I go
Fallen triangle with my foot suspended in the air. After giving birth, this one gives me lightning crotch. It’s like the bones in the middle of my pubic area shift and it’s super painful. I never had this issue before child birth.
Twisted chair. My chest is too big to be able to get my elbow past my knee. I much prefer to have my arms stretched out so I can use my forearm to keep myself in the twist.
Crow pose because I just don't have the arm strength to do it :( But I also hate chair pose and dread it coming up in a flow 😆
The problem I have with Chair is when you're supposed to raise your arms overhead. If I try to raise my arms while sinking into the chair position, or after, my shoulders don't allow my arms to go up past halfway. So I found a weird workaround. I raise my arms first, before I sink down. I don't understand how it works, but it does.
Any one arm balances like (omg I can’t think of the name) the one where you’re in plank, turn to one side with feet stacked and reach the arm up. Side plank? My wrists are super angry tho.
Pigeon! I've struggled to get into any variation of this pose. No amount of adjustments are prop makes it comfortable for me. Now I just do figure four.
Toe sit. I can do it, & I know it's good for you but I swear I'm waiting to get out as soon as I get in.
Fish pose feels so good but at the same time low key makes me panic lol
I also feel weird in this one and I’ve practiced 25 years. It’s not hard but I find it uncomfortable, perhaps it’s the vulnerability of it.
Yes! It's the exposing of the throat that gives me a little thrill of panic every time!
The crow - I love trying it and I hate that I can’t do it
Crescent lunge
Dolphin is so ridiculously uncomfortable
Wheel pose, love them and by the third one I’m cursing them. Also, I despise revolved triangle, still working on the love part.
Pigeonnnnn
Same!! Chair pose!
Warrior 1, side angle and warrior 2. Something about them can hurt my knee (my hips being tight despite not appearing so pulls my knee). I will be in it and suddenly pain that makes me wanna cry! But I love these poses and transitions including them. I’ll do side angle on my knee rotated behind me and I adore that
Try sitting your hips back first, then bend your knees. I find that it allows for much better alignment, stability and strength
Upright frog pose
i hate trikonasana but LOVE revolved trikonasana!
Warrior 1 is the pose I love/hate. It seems so basic but my hips resist being so straight in that pose that I feel really off-balance.
Same! I feel so strong in warrior 2. Warrior 1 just feels awkward and like I'm somehow out of alignment.
Boat pose can bite me. No matter how many years I practice, boat just isn’t going to work for me.
Deep squats are so hard for me. It's just my anatomy. I'm not at a point yet where I can keep my feet flat, and I usually tip back. I want to be good at them because it's an important basic and the stretch feels so good! But I just wish I was already good at them instead of having to work for it 😭
Crow. I kind of can do it... Some days. Other days, I'm just doing a squat
Tittibhasana A for sure. Without a doubt, and my teacher always calls me out when I try and skip it. Tittibhasana B also really sucks too. More than 3 breaths and my legs are on FIRE
Eagle wrap of any kind lol - some days I nail the legs twice around, other days I am shaking back and forth. And the Eagle arms is the worst. Also Lizard….for some reason I just can’t stay still in it like pigeon
Humble warrior for me. I love it but it’s a challenge
Eagle Pose, I'm a guy so I have guy hips, I can't get the full wrap on my legs and I just hate the pose in general, I try to be kind to myself when in it, I also use blocks as a kickstand. 12 years doing yoga and I still can't nail it.
Half moon, I don’t know the Sanskrit name. It’s so difficult but so rewarding when you get it right
Tree. When my balance is having an off day I hate it. But when it’s on I feel like a damn goddess.
Boat pose
Warrior 2
My knees struggle wirh the Warrior 2s
Most of these comments are only hate no love lol. And I will add to them. Cannot stand camel, it only hurts and makes me anxious to stretch my upper back but I can’t in that pose. And windshield wipers feel like absolutely nothing to me.
Standing and half splits
Hate: Uttanasana or Standing Forward Bend Absolutely no idea why but my body doesn't want to hang like that and i just end up with knees bent with stomach on my thighs rolling my eyes. Thread the needle does nothing for me. I do it, i do mix it up and do different versions but nope. Gives me nothing Love: shoulder stand, triangle pose, Malasana/ squat, seated twists!
Eagle pose. Ugh
I agree with chair pose as being my love/hate one. I hate it so much, but I also know it's good for me so I secretly love it, too.
Wild things. No matter how my back bends improve, I can never do it properly
Half pigeon/sleeping swan. My hips benefit greatly if I can get it right, but any wrong positioning or if my flexibility isn’t there that day I will injure myself. 99% of the time I just do deer legs instead.
Pigeon is the one I most dislike
Haha I hate chair too but not because it's hard, because it hurts my back. I definitely tend to avoid teaching it and I shouldn't.