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| Untitled by Saul Steinberg |
We’re pleased to announce the return of our Friday Q&A feature, in which we answer questions submitted by our readers. The questions can be about yoga, about aging, or about how yoga can help with various medical conditions.
Baxter will be in charge of our Friday Q&A feature, and will be answering most of the questions. So you should direct all questions to him. You can either email him directly at baxterbell@mac.com. Or, if you leave a question as a comment on a post, Nina will make sure that Baxter sees your question.
Keep in mind that we can’t answer every single question that is submitted. For those with serious medical conditions or other problems, we may direct you instead to see a medical doctor or other health professional instead. And there may be some questions that we just aren’t qualified to answer. Finally, certain questions are of limited interest to a wider audience so it doesn’t make sense for us to do them as posts. But if we can’t answer your question, we will let you know why.
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Dear Drs Bell and Zolotow, Here's a question that I had asked some time back and which never got answered. I am 52 and suffer from RA. The RA is now under control but I can never say when the inflammation can set in resulting in stiffening of joints. And my question pertains to the joint stiffening. I have noticed that in the morning, after waking up I am tight all over especially in my hips, thighs and knees. So I do a lot of gentle yoga poses including hip openers, stretching the calf muscles, knees, quads and hamstrings. And then like a series of explosive fireworks, I hear a lot of popping noise in those regions. After the popping noise ceases, my entire body especially the lower half feels so light and energetic, I can jump, run and do any kind of stretches. But all this happens only after the pops. So what are these popping noises and what happens in those areas following it. My yoga teacher who also practices Ayurveda, says it is Vata or air escaping out, but it does not make sense to me. Can you please enlighten me on this? Is it something that I need to worry about? Thanks so much.
Dear Anonymous, with out examining you in person, I can not really comment on what your experiencing specifically. However, many students report popping sounds/sensations around various joints, and some also report that the areas feel OK to very good afterwards. It may be that the joints are re-aligning to a healthier position. So you are in good company! Baxter