Tips on Easing Strain and Pain by David Pumo
The truth about long poses for me is that if the pose is at all interesting, or gestural, or dynamic, or reflects any kind of character, emotion or story, there are bound to be moments when even the most well-thought-out pose becomes painful in places. And once you’ve discovered those places, the pain will likely reoccur mid session the next day, and the day after, and the day after. The only pose that is completely painless for endless hours is the one I call “High School Nightmare”; I’m sitting for my yearbook picture and suddenly realize I’m naked…
Obviously, the most important thing is to learn over time what poses you can hold and for how long so you don’t get into a bad situation to begin with. For me, to make the class interesting, I like to push myself; do one and two-minute poses that I couldn’t hold for five, five-minute poses that I couldn’t hold for ten, etc. Do the max work I can do for each time span (more or less), which means knowing my body’s rules for each time span. Examples of my personal rules are these:
- Arms overhead for ones through fives.
- Arms overhead for tens if I’m touching a wall.
- Arm extended parallel to the ground for up to five.
- Same position for ten or twenty if holding a pole balanced on my shoulders.
- Plank variation (one arm/leg or both extended, feet on chair, etc.) for one, two or five, depending on the exact pose and my exact mood that day.
- Seated on a chair or floor with legs extended off the ground for up to five depending on how high.
You get the idea. Learn your own body limits and make your own rules. And if the teacher asks you to break your rules, remember Nancy Regan and JUST SAY NO!!
A slight shakeout and adjustment in the middle of an ongoing long pose is perfectly normal to me, especially near the end of a class. I ignore a teacher or student who has a problem with it. Even a pose that seemed fine for a five-day, four to six-week sculpting or painting class might start accumulating stress as the weeks go by in parts of your body you hadn’t anticipated. By this point the class has truly captured the essence of my face (which apparently is the love child of Mr. Clean and Uncle Fester), so I certainly don’t want them to have to rethink the position of my left hamstring. When you’re at that point where you’re locked into a pose, there are little things you can do while you’re posing to make it easier:
- Tighten the core—lower abs and glutes—to relieve the lower back.
- Briefly shift the weight/pressure of the stance from one foot to the other without moving (good for contrapposto). I do this all the time when standing. Just press down on the more relaxed foot and relax the foot and leg in pain.
- In certain positions—all fours, knees on floor with hands on chair, standing and leaning on stool, etc.—you can relieve a hand by putting the pressure on the knee, relieve a foot by putting pressure on the hands, etc.
- Relieve the pain in an arm or shoulder muscle that’s facing up by pressing the shoulder joint down and stretching out the tensed muscle without moving or lowering it. I press down for five seconds or so and release. Do it a few times. Can use this for arms and shoulders in different positions as well. Just press the joint in the direction that elongates the muscle in pain.
- Sometimes I also just contract a muscle without losing the position at all. Squeeze it as tightly as I can. The pressure is like a massage or acupressure, and when you release the squeeze/contraction, the blood will flow and it will feel more relaxed.
- Pull the shoulders and shoulder blades back and together, compressing and contracting then releasing the traps and rear deltoids to relieve pain in the upper back and neck.
There are many more possibilities. And, of course, use your five or twenty-minute breaks to do slow, deep stretches on the problem muscles. Stretch “to the point of gentle tension” (as Jane Fonda used to say) and not past that. Hold for a minute and slowly release a few times.
I’m sure there’s a lot I left out. I hope this got you thinking about your own bodies and ideas. Hit me up if you have other questions. I am a former fitness trainer, AFAA, IDEA and NASM certified, so I’m not just making things up. In addition, I worked for the late Richard Simmons as an instructor eventually becoming manager of his fitness clubs in Beverly Hills the Anatomy Asylum and Slimmons. I taught at the Jane Fonda Workout, Sports Club LA, Sports Connection and West Hollywood's Athletic Club. I’m happy to help you think through particular issues.
Contact David via Text/WhatsApp (917) 837-6501 or via his Instagram account @davidjerome629.
