Don’t Lose the Grip
Bikram used to joke about the grips in his sequence. Actually, I’m not sure it was a joke.
“If you lose the grip, you will lose your man, ladies.”
It wasn’t exactly those words, but the meaning was clear: lose the grip, lose the relationship.
And in yoga, that is 100% true.
If you’re a teacher, you know the dialogue takes great pains to describe the exact grip for each posture. From the very start – Pranayama breathing – we’re told: “All ten fingers interlocked nicely under the chin, full grip; always your hands touching the chin like glue.” Then:
- Half Moon – “Keep a nice tight grip, don’t lose the grip.”
- Hands to Feet – “Please don’t lose the grip.”
- Standing Head to Knee – bold in the dialogue: “Please don’t lose the grip.”
- Standing Bow Pulling – “Nice and tight grip, don’t lose the grip.”
- Wind Removing – “Nice and tight grip.”
- Bow Pose – “Please don’t lose the grip.”
- Camel – in caps and bold: “PLEASE don’t lose the grip.”
- Rabbit – ALL CAPS: “PLEASE DON’T LOSE THE GRIP.”
- Stretching Pose (2nd set) – “Don’t lose the grip.”
If I missed any, teachers, (Sarah, I’m looking at you 🙂 let me know – but you get the point.
Today, I want to zoom in on Camel and Rabbit, because the quality of your grip in these two postures changes everything.
Camel
As a teacher and practitioner, I can’t overstate how important this grip is. The dialogue says, “full grip with hands/palms.” That means a full palm-to-heel connection – no air space, no fingertip pinch, no lazy thumb hook. That’s not a grip – that’s a hint of one.
Why does it matter? In both Bikram’s Beginning Yoga Class and his “Orange book” (Bikram Yoga: The Guru Behind Hot Yoga Shows the Way to Radiant Health and Personal Fulfillment), he explains:
“Camel’s concentration is on the area from the top of your thighs to your waistline. There’s no pulling on the heels – you’re just holding them. All the power comes from exhaling and pushing the midsection forward.”
Without the grip, “nothing happening,” as I can hear Bikram say.
I get it – Camel can feel intense. You might be dizzy, nauseous, or just trying to survive. But if you’ve been practicing a while and you’re steady in the posture, there’s no excuse. The grip is your leverage. It’s what allows the stretch – bones to skin, fingertips to toes.
Rabbit
Rabbit is the maximum extension of your spine. Bikram Yoga works the entire spine – not just the comfortable spots your body naturally favors.
In workshops, Rajashree would measure students and show that Rabbit can add 9 to 14 inches of extension from coccyx to neck – but only with a tight grip.
Without it, you’re just rocking back and forth, often too far forward onto the back of your head, compressing the cervical spine. I know because I did it for years – until posture clinic (thank you, Craig Villani) revealed my loose grip was the problem.
Bikram Yoga’s central focus is the spine: Healthy spine, healthy life. The sequence – nine years in the making – and every detail in the dialogue is there for a reason.
So, study the grips as a teacher. Study them as a student. They’ll change your practice – which will change your spine.
And here’s the bonus: the more you train yourself to keep a nice, tight grip in class, the more you’ll notice where in life you need to secure your hold, too. Because when you pay attention to what matters most, you don’t lose the grip – and you don’t lose the relationship.
