Posture and alignment during yoga is not as crucial as most yoga teachers make it seem
Yoga is not a rigid practice with one right way to complete a pose
When I first started learning about yoga, I remember lots of cues for alignment. Things like, “tuck your tailbone,” “knit your ribs,” “draw you shoulder blades in and down,” “stack your spine,” and “don’t let your knees drop in front of your toes.” If you have attended a yoga or exercise class, you’ve probably heard cues and instructions, too.
In my physical therapy practice, it has been very similar. “Ears in line with your shoulders,” “keep your back in its natural curve when you pick up something from the floor,” and “squat with your knees lined up with the second toe.” “Tighten this, lengthen that. You should do it this way, not that way…”
What does all of this mean? Do these cues help us feel better? Move better?
I think that when we are learning new postures and exercises, yes, these cues can help us. If we don’t know what child’s pose is (or any other yoga pose), then cues and demonstration can help us learn what the shape can look like. They can help us orient our bodies in space, to help teach us how to initiate a yoga pose. Between the verbal cueing and watching someone do the pose, I think these cues can be beneficial in helping us learn a new way of moving.
Ultimately, though, our movement needs to be varied, dynamic and fluid. Not stagnant and rigid. We need to know that it’s okay to explore a posture or pose. It’s okay to modify based on what we need each time we practice. We may need different movements and postures depending on our energy levels, pain levels, or exercise tolerance at any given time.
We can encourage and practice varied movement within our bodies because we are designed to move. And, we aren’t designed to all move the exact same way. We all have asymmetries within our bodies. My body isn’t made exactly the same as yours. So, what may feel really good to me might not work for you. We all have our own unique structure and movement ability, so one alignment cue may work for you but not for the person next to you who is completing the same movement or pose. Rather than trying to achieve the perfect form or perfect pose, we can practice non-attachment to the pose and non-judgement of ourselves which are part of the yogic path of embodied living.
When we are learning, we may mirror what we see our teacher do in class. We listen to the cues and try to mimic what the teacher or others in the class are doing. I want to invite you to honor your own body when you go into a class whether it is online or in person. You know best how you are feeling on any given day. Don’t force to achieve a pose or position but instead, allow the pose to unfold within you. Peel back how you feel and what sensations come up for you when you practice. Know that how it feels today might be different the next time you practice.
When a position is forced or when we go beyond our comfort, then we can be more susceptible to injury. When we drive our shoulder blades down our back and pin them to our ribcage, we tend to cause compression in the lower back. When we tuck our tailbones down and under, we tend to be in a position of a posterior pelvic tilt which can cause our glute muscles not to work effectively. When we don’t allow our knees to travel over our toes, how do we squat or kneel down to tie our shoe?
Remember, cues for alignment are generalized and not specific to you. They can be helpful when learning a new movement pattern, but they are not meant to be absolute. You have agency to decide and determine what feels good in your own body. Use cues for alignment as a general guide but listen to your body for signals as to what feels good for you. Look for teachers who can guide you and offer a variety of cues. Be wary of teachers who tell you that a pose “has to be” a one way without modifications.