Alignment Cues

Alignment cues

Those who have been to other Yoga classes led by other teachers may have noticed a difference in some alignment cues. Those who have been to many different studios, teachers and classes will know that there is a personalised style to how and why we teach what we teach.

Let me start with one of my most frequently asked questions in Exhale studio’s Terms and Conditions; why don’t I allow Headstands on site? (You’d be surprised how many people have asked this!) I don’t believe the cervical spine (the neck) is a weight bearing part of the body, let alone your entire body weight through it for repeated periods of time. On top of this, it is extremely hard to know every single person’s spinal history and injury list that will affect how your own body will cope. Then on top of that, the length of time you should (or shouldn’t) hold this pose is totally up for teacher’s interpretation.

If you disagree with this principal; firstly, find someone you know who has NEVER had any niggles, or injuries through their spine. Then find a friend to lie on the ground, ask them to be completely limp, then pick up both their legs with your arms and hold them for 30 seconds, or more. Legs are heavy! And that’s without all your torso muscle and internal organs on top of that.

With my degree in Strength and Conditioning, Rehabilitation and Sports Massage, I have found areas of conflict with Eastern and Western sciences. There are some neck flexion poses in traditional Yoga then I don’t feel can be safely carried out by the general public, without more screening and more one on one time.

Some studios throughout the world teach Cobra and Upward Facing Dog to have full throat extension, taking your face to the sky. Yes, it encourages our chest and heart space to become fully open, but I find people start to ‘cheat’ in the pose and hinge their heads back onto their upper back muscles (trapezius), compressing the neck vertebrae and losing the integrity of their shoulder girdle. In other words, you may sacrifice part of your physical body with the aim to open a different part of your body- why not compromise, open both a little and be biomechanically sound?

There is a lot to be said about the pelvis. The pelvis has so many different angles and accomplishments to manage. How to open your hips, without causing instability, when every single person has a slightly different hip make-up? When we come through lunges, Warrior poses we are initially opening through the front of the hips- but what happens when we keep broadening and expanding at the front? We can start to pinch the Sacroiliac joint (SIJ) at the back. So, when I offer small tweaks that move away from what feels like the traditional posture, it’s to offer a more balanced hip position. Let your body adjust into it’s own shape, which will help you find the truth in the posture for you. It might not look quite like other peoples, but then neither does your body, your injuries and your areas of strength and instability.

I don’t like the back foot turned out a little in Pyramid pose (I think it imbalances the hips), I don’t believe in poses that aim to ‘open’ the Sacroiliac joint (unless you are giving birth, I don’t think this area should have any angles introduced to it other than it’s natural design), I don’t feel that anything below 80 degree bend of the elbows in Chataranga Dandasana (low press up position) is necessary, as once again, we find a way to cheat our bodies and compromise our wrists and shoulders. But, and I re-iterate that but! These are just my teachings, my opinions. And I, like you, come to this Yogic table, with an open mind and a willingness to learn and keep learning.

I can only offer you what I have learnt through my learning curves. I might be the teacher in the class, but you are the student and teacher in your own practise. Worry a little less about what other people are doing in their practise, worry a little less about the gymnastic ability of the Yoga world on Instagram, don’t concern yourself with the authentic aesthetics of what the traditional pose might look like, just come into what feels good for you and your body.

Hari Aum Tat Sat