Yoga poses look different to different people.
From an anatomical point of view, your posture will never look completely “perfect” for two reasons: muscle limitations and bone limitations.
Let’s talk about these two limitations briefly, so that you can see your practice from a different perspective: not “how deep can I walk?” but “where am I best?” muscle limitations take the following dog pose as an example.
When the muscles in this pose are too weak or too tight, they will call adjacent joints and muscles to let you enter the posture (compensation) – this may be an unsafe way.
The trouble with being a “perfect” downward dog is that many of us have tight hamstrings and waist muscles and weak quadriceps and spinal extensors.
When we try to press our heels on the ground, the lumbar (lower) spine becomes round.
Many times, landing your heels on the ground will be the goal of this pose.
In fact, once your spine is extended, be sure to add the hamstring stretch when your heel touches the ground, but don’t sacrifice the alignment of your spine.
In addition, if our shoulder extensors are tense, our shoulder external rotation muscles are weak, and the shoulder brachial rhythm function is abnormal, you will encounter “neck blockage”: the shoulders contract to the ears and the elbows bend to both sides, which will lose the effect of posture.
When practicing downward dog pose with good alignment, you will see four natural curves of the spine.
The fingers and palms are evenly rooted on the ground, the shoulders are aligned with the ears, the inside of the elbows is at a 45 degree angle to the ceiling, and the legs help pull the pelvis away from the head.
Practicing in this way, this posture has many benefits for the spine, including strengthening the spinal extensors (the muscles that keep us upright), creating space between the intervertebral discs, and offsetting sedentary discomfort.
These limitations will ease with mindfulness practice, and professional teachers can help you adjust downward dog pose (or any other position where muscle tension or weakness makes you feel difficult) – respect your body.
By carefully observing alignment and using specific muscles correctly, you can practice full posture faster than you think without injury.
Bone limitations are different from us, and these subtle changes affect the way each body moves.
Bone limitations are another factor that must be considered when practicing yoga.
When it comes to our bones, our structures are slightly different, and these subtle physical changes affect the way each body moves.
Taking wreath pose as an example, the difficulty of Yoga squat depends on the shape of hip joint, which is composed of pelvis (acetabulum) and ball (the joint protruding from the top of thigh bone, called femur).
The position of the superior pelvic fossa and the mechanics of the ball will determine whether you can sit very low.
You may be able to lower yourself barely, and your knees collapse inward, feeling “stuck”, rather than enjoying stretching.
Then no amount of practice or struggle will bring you closer to the ground, which doesn’t mean you can’t find some form of balance and flexibility in your posture.
As with your muscles, any bone limitations should be respected, so please practice posture (modify and adjust) as needed to ensure the integrity of your personal practice.
Experienced teachers will help you explore posture in a challenging way while still safe for your body.
Yoga is about consciousness and being.
To really practice yoga is to fully accept your position, muscle and bone limitations, etc., so accept the uniqueness of your practice.
Stop comparing and focus on the only body that matters right now: yourself…
