Why alignment cues can cause injuries
There is no such thing as correct alignment
As each body is different, correct alignment varies drastically from person to person. Many “universal” alignment cues are just not right for all the students. For example, did you know “lift up your knee cap” can actually cause knee damage for some people? Or that “ground your feet” or “push your feet into the ground” can cause uneven and imbalanced weight distribution?
There are 101 ways to interpret alignment cues
“Open your chest”. “Breath into your lower back”. Many alignment cues are great for bringing the students attention inward but they do not explain which muscles need to be engaged and which need to be relaxed, how deep or far to go, when to stop and why.
Each of your students can interpret the cues differently, and many of yogis find themselves unconsciously:
Leaning their weight on their joints instead of using their muscles - causing the joints to get worn out
Initiating their motion from superficial muscles instead of deep ones – causing fatigue and muscle cramps; constricting future movement and creating a pattern of unhealthy muscular imbalance.
Easing their body into its comfort zone by engaging muscles which are already strong, not strengthening the weaker ones and deepening patterns of unhealthy movement when there is skeletal or muscular imbalance.
When following alignment cues, yoga students believe that they are practicing safely – even when the cues aren’t suited to their specific bodies.
Yoga students follow instructions – some of which just aren’t right for them. Being sure they are keeping themselves safe by following the cues, they don’t put energy into learning to understand their bodies and what’s actually good for their specific structure.
