Ignore Alignment

I have been in hundreds (thousands??) of yoga classes with a large variety of teachers from many different lineages preaching a wide range of beliefs. I used to cling onto what some of these teachers said as The Truth. Looking back, I wish I had questioned more.

There are some teachers who focus heavily on physical alignment. They have strong beliefs around what is right and wrong and how a pose is supposed to look. While I do believe that knowing the traditional alignment of a pose can be a good foundational place to start, I no longer resonate with these strict rules.

Now I believe - alignment is in the person, not the pose. We all have different alignment.

You have to use your muscles to position your bones in a safe way for you, and that is your proper alignment. Different peoples bodies are naturally not able to do certain poses and that may never change. For asana to be a part of your Yoga practice in a truly healing way, you have to tune in to what is right for you. You have to listen to and feel into your body. If you continuously try to force your body into alignment according to a pose, you are forcing your body somewhere it is not meant to be. Ultimately this will alter your body detrimentally.

There is NO universality. That is why you cannot compare your practice to anothers practice, your body to anothers body, yourself to another.

Let yourself try different things to see what works for you. Experiment, get curious, be open. And most importantly, FEEL. Feel how the pose exists in your body

Yoga is about correcting patterns and challenging habits in order to be your best self - physically, mentally and spritually.

The posture is here to serve you, you are not here to serve the posture. How can you correct patterns and heal your body if you are forcing it into shapes that do not serve it?

Your body is working so hard behind the scenes to keep you alive and thriving as best as possible. It wants you to be as healthy and whole as possible. We need to listen to it, trust it and work with it.

Going to Yoga classes and learning all that Yoga teachers have to share about alignment and proper form and structure, etc, is a beautiful journey to go down… but always check in with yourself. Check in with your own body and don’t be afraid to change a pose to suit what feels right for you. Follow your body’s guidance with confidence. Your body is your greatest teacher.

This is one reason why I find it so hard to teach group yoga classes. I want to make sure that each person is getting what they need, and everyone needs something different. This is why I value working 1 on 1 with clients. We can go deep. We can truly work on what alignment means for you - physically, and spiritually. We can work on bringing your awareness to how this feels for you, so you can strengthen this knowing for yourself.

You are your own healer.