Abdominal Muscle Strain, I think

[Guest guest]

I was starting to do my first surya namaskara on

sunday and as I jumped back into chaturanga dandasana, I

had a searing sharp pain in my lower abdominal muscle

(at which point I dropped to the floor holding my

guts in lest they fall out). I recall that at the time

I had just checked my bandas and possibly over

engaged the muscles for uddiyana banda. Any way, My lower

abs were already a little sore from an over-zealous

week where I had practiced the full flow every

day(except on the full moon and Sat.) whereas before, I'd

only been doing 2-3 days a week. I'm not exactly sure

what I've done to myself, but it especially hurts when

I cough, laugh, sneeze(excruciating!) or get up

from lying down. I don't want to abstain from ashtanga

practice, though I have decided to skip class tonight since

I also have a bit of a cold. I am not sure what to

do. Wait a few days and see? I don't know. Any

experience? All replies/suggestions appreciated. Namaste, K.

[Guest guest]

This happened to someone in a class I was in a

few years ago. On the first jumpback in the first

salutation she went to the floor in obvious pain. The class

went on. After she didn't get up for a while, the

teacher checked with her and she said she wanted to go to

the hospital. I volunteered to take her. They took

awhile to get to her in ER. I think they determined she

had pulled or torn a muscle. (Just where you

describe, lower abdominal). I don't think they had anything

to do for her but to advise rest, maybe they gave

her some pain pills. I think she was pretty much laid

up in bed for a few days. We didn't see her in class

again for about a year (I think she could have handled

it a lot sooner, she just didn't happen to get to

class for awhile). She was pretty fit and this seemed

to be a very painful injury. I'm no expert on what

to do for such things, but I would think resting for

a few days or weeks with only gentle stretches to

the area would be best. Probably anything that hurts

it is something you shouldn't do. There's always

plenty of yoga you can do in the meantime without doing

standard Ashtanga practice. Time heals.

[Guest guest]

Yes, I do understand your pain since I had one

myself just before christmas. It was my back and not my

abdominal. Anyhow my back was so bad after doing the first

surya namaskaras that I had to take pain killers for 3

days and then rest for nearly a month. I suggest you

rest with your abdominal and start gradually with 2 or

3 times a week first. I guess one just has to

listen to what the body has to say, right?