Such a great use of imagery: the floodgates burst and fresh oxygenated blood rushes through you, everywhere! Its cool how you actually enjoy seeing how "stuck" you feel when you begin Garudasana, Brittany, and how deeply you can loosen drop into the set up; how hard you can squeeze to get the more of an energy rush after. The contrasts of this pose are endless and they really deepen the enjoyment of the benefits.

Dani...never teach any hot yoga poses out of sequence with the exception of Savasana and perhaps Arda Kurmasana...and always have the heat on.

Yes, I personally experienced shortness of breath in Garudasana when I first started practicing: swinging the arms too vigorously can do this, as can bending over when you swing, and squeezing while not breathing properly.

But most importantly it is the SEQUENCE of the poses that balances out the breath and the movement, the yin and the yang, the effort and the relaxation poses with one another. These must be part of a full sequence which is why you are learning to script in sequence

Also, you are not yet ready to teach. Be patient

The combination of poses out of context (I have heard about people wanting to show off for friends and doing Standing Bow Pulling at a party after a few drinks and blowing out their shoulders, backs and knees) being taught by a non certified teacher (one not fully trained in the sequence and not trained to handle emergencies), and doing the poses in a cold room wreaking all sorts of havoc.

Be patient - you will be an excellent hot yoga teacher and then you can hold full classes at your dance studio as an adjunct to their dance classes, to help your dancers be more limber and lithe and light in their dance movements

And really = 18 is old? I turn 60 today lol!

Haha Lisa....now take out all the statements about what you "cant do yet" are "not able" "would probably feel like dizziness" "dont stay horizontal yet" and feel what you're left with: just basking in the feeling of what you can do...isnt that better? The better it feels, the better it gets. That's what it means to line up vibrationally which is the MOST important part of hot yoga...and everything else.

We teach alignment in your scripts which are full of subtle alignment cues...but those cues are NOT just about alignment of body, hint hint. (another reason why memorizing your scripts is key)

Hey Dani - I think you and I discussed this on FB but lets put it here too:

You had mentioned that you showed a dance student this pose outside the context of the hot yoga sequence and without the benefit of heat....so yes indeed, this pose can cause issues if not properly taught and under the right conditions.

The hot yoga room is the right conditions.

The heat will dilate the blood vessels allowing for increased blood flow. Without the right heat, you may be dealing with blood vessels too constricted to allow for the fresh rush of oxygenated blood. As I also mentioned, sequencing is also key to keeping students safe in all these asanas - physically and otherwise. We discussed this week how the chakras are affected by the poses and sometimes that dizziness comes from chakras not being cleared enough for an asana as powerful as Garudasana.

The short story: never teach these poses out of sequence or outside the hot yoga room, where, under the guidance of a certified hot yoga teacher, they are safe and extremely beneficial.

But you did get a small glimpse into how POWERFUL these asanas are, despite how simple some of them "look."

Sounds like you found your own anatomical answer, Stephanie, with the shifting of the weight into your heels.

I love anatomy - its like seeing behind the curtain of a spectacular light show - so dont get me wrong when I say this in answer to your question about whether your tightness is from your knee joints or its more of a structural issue: who cares!

If you spend your time focused on your flaws, thats what you're creating more of. You think you're dissecting and wanting to get to the bottom of the problem and that will solve it...but there is no bottom and the solution is vibrational! So spend more time feeling yourself grounded, strong and stable in the pose....and let your body catch up with your vibration (which it must)

Finally, Maria, it pays off to be short lol!

The sitting on a throne feeling is positively regal. And its your own thighs that form the seat of that throne, solid and parallel to the ground - you are literally holding yourself up!

I also love feeling that fresh rush of oxygenated blood - have you also noticed the white marks all over your body where the blood supply was dammed up? Look for it next time if you havent already - its way cool

Soon enough you will have no "less flexible side"....there is only one You.

Nicely felt Jeanne....as long as "gaining on this pose" means gaining more joy, and "feeling improvement" means feeling your vibrational energy lift higher (joy, again).

It is fun to feel your anatomy ... its just not a contest lol! Some people like to tell me that they are very competitive and then quickly add, "I just compete against myself." - as if that;s any better! Think about those words: competing AGAINST.

In a vibrational Universe there is no "against:" what you focus on gets larger.

So noticing that you are "improving" sounds positive...but really its measuring where you were and where you think you've gotten "better."which implies that something is wrong and needs to be changed

Wouldnt it be lovely to do hot yoga from a starting point of feeling that all is well, there's and that we are all just here exploring ways to have more and more FUN? Flying like an eagle sure sounds like fun to me (a Native American Shaman once told me the Eagle is my spirit animal...)

I sure do like that story and I'm sticking to it....

Erica, here's a tip for aligning your fingers below your nose (eventually): pull your collarbones wide apart and notice how your shoulders get pulled down, your trap muscles loosen and your hands come down lower. And here's a tip for aligning your vibration; Dont talk about what you LACK, or how you "TEND TO LOSE BALANCE" or how getting fingers below the face is a challenge. This is focusing on what you CANT (supposedly) do. That is throwing you out of alignment in ways way more powerful than physically! If you were to tell the story of you in this pose by what you CAN do that feels wonderful and how you FEEL when you are in the pose, what would that story sound like?

Glad the tips are helping, Lisa! Here;s one more: "I have been isolating my deltoids and neck to hold my arms on my body like they would fall off if didn't hold on to them." No need to do this; position yourself in the pose by following the instructions and relax into the pose. Let the pose move through you rather than "holding on" to anything that tightly!