Comments on: Yoga Adjustments or Yoga Assists?

By: ARCreated

ARCreated — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 18:34:44 +0000

I find my "assisst" are generally less about "deeper" and more about alignment. In my classes I see students pushing themselves too far and I am often pulling them into more comfortable positioins. Lifting and lengthening, always supported by breath and communication. I do not enter "quietly" per se as I always ask questions…my goal is Always to help the student feel joy in the pose and to avoid injury. I teach very few people that have advanced enough pratices where they need deepening…for me it's about safety and helping guide people to being honest and listening to their physical beings.

By: Andy Benson

Andy Benson — Mon, 02 Aug 2010 22:57:41 +0000

Chris, I totally agree with Doug's rules! I often get thrown off too when instructors try to position me. In addition to following Doug's rules, I think it of course helps when you are able to confidently master the pose on your own. Leeann Carey has some free yoga videos that do this, & I think you'd especially liker her one on triangle pose. http://planetyoga.com/yoga-blogs/index.php/leeann...

By: charlotte

charlotte — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 22:33:19 +0000

In order for an adjustment to be non-invasive, the teacher needs to go into it from the perspective of joining in an inquiry with the student, rather than from the perspective of fulfilling his/her own alignment agenda. There are so many cues to look for besides how their alignment conforms to our concept of what it “should” be. How is the student breathing? What’s his/her facial expression? Sometimes a student whose pose does not conform to accepted alignment principles is actually feeling quite at ease. Every person you approach as a teacher is different in terms of alignment needs, psychological responses to adjustments and desire for them.

Doug Swenson’s adjustment guidelines make sense. Here’s another from Judith Hanson Lasater: Always ask permission before adjusting someone. Not everyone wants to be touched.

By: namastehon

namastehon — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 00:45:14 +0000

Doug and his brother David are both masters at assisting, as are many other teachers who were trained in the Ashtanga method (or those similar) which emphasize the assists. The real key to good assisting is to develop your powers of awareness – in our own personal practices we work on developing awareness of our own energy and balance in each pose (and the flow between) but as teachers we must learn to sense that in others so we can be truly sensitive to their needs and limitations. We must also be alert to ego (ours and theirs). A student of mine once took a workshop from a teacher he was attracted to. He had a great desire to bind his hands in supta kurmasana. She didn't know his history and he did not volunteer it. He ended up with a separated shoulder (six months to heal). While this injury was mostly his own fault, it is ultimately the responsibility of the teacher to recognize through touch when a student has reached his limit….

By: tobye

tobye — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 00:06:49 +0000

I'm a Karuna yoga teacher. We're taught to be very hands on…. senior trainees spend most of their time adjusting/correcting/guiding students and being assessed as they do so. My Guru Ruth White was a little worried about me at first as I'm built like a brick outhouse, She saw potential in my build for me to be too heavy handed but, the opposite was the case. It took a lot of practice (mainly on each other as trainees) to understand how peoples bodies work and what each person can take, but I found for myself anyway, that people always want a little more than I give…which I'm happy about… I'd rather be Mr softy than Mr achy breaky!
I do find also though, that I mainly am adjusting or correcting. Beginners often need correcting.. their egos push them further into the pose than they need to go, especially in asanas like janu sirsasana where they're trying to get their noses on their knees without pivotting at the hips and keeping a straight back! BUT….. experienced yogi/inis in janu sirsasana can be guided further into the stretch with a carefully placed hand on the lower back, that from experience just feels like pure bliss!
I have experienced teachers correcting for the sake of it when there was no need….. teachers pushing me over (a serious no-no in Karuna yoga… if you're adjusting and the student loses balance it's your fault!) and then scalding me for losing my balance! and I've also experienced frustration and anger at being adjusted out of a pose, but then learning a valuable lesson about myself in the process!
It's a joy to be corrected/adjusted/guided properly. Each touch has a different intention depending on the student. I'm aware (because they've told me) that my students feel safer in a class when I'm moving around paying attention to each one in turn….they don't feel safe if I just stay at the front.
The core of my love of teaching yoga is the hands on adjustments/ corrections that I help each student with. I prefer to call it guiding as depending on the student, it could be a correction, bringing them out of a pose if they've gone too far or an assist for experienced people, who with help can experience a far deeper stretch. Either way, it's about learning to be aware of where our bodies are right now and exactly what we're capable of!

By: Yogue

Yogue — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 16:51:11 +0000

thanks for posting this Chris. I think that the fear of assists also stems these days from a fear of intrusive touch in our society at large and some of that is seeping into the yoga community. I think there has to be a balance both of somatic insights and cuing that helps a student, especially new students in a class to feel their body at an intuitive level in a pose, but guide, assists can really really help a new student especially to feel how a simple, sometimes subtle and sometimes dramatic realignment in their body by a qualified, confident and compassionate teacher can open them up to a completely new realm / feeling in a yoga asana. Our YTT up here in Canada emphasizes not just philosophy and knowledge but an amazing hands-on practical approach to adjustments that attunes you to moving with your students. Also, like "Yoga for Cynics" above, I feel so grateful that my teachers have always been hands on with me. It has and continues to help me evolve my practice.

By: matthew j taylor

matthew j taylor — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 15:05:17 +0000

Excellent summary Chris. Just consulted with a friend that tore his meniscus being "deeply" adjusted by a teacher. That attitude of consciousness meeting consciousness is key vs "fixing". The way you described Doug's approach embodies the former and is an ahimsic approach to teaching. The actual "manipulation" of a joint or joints for therapeutic benefit is called for in some instances, but the level anatomical and manual skills training is better left to the professions (DO, PT, DC, ND, etc) that have adequately trained to do that....and its a great way to send out as a referral and generate new clientele back to the studio! Thanks for raising awareness around this important issue. http://www.drofyoga.com

By: Nancy

Nancy — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 11:09:14 +0000

Terrific article Chris! I work at three different places and notice that the assisting varies greatly. There is big concern in some studios that any assisting can cause harm and so it's discouraged, while at others it is not a a "class" without some seriously deep assists. I guess the middle road is where I fall. I definitely believe an assist can help a student out of a harmful position or be supportive and comforting, but am not really into the "get you deeper" kind. I've been hurt from assists that are too strong and my asanas have blossomed from assists that were perfect. Know your students, ask their permission and approach with reverence are my key guides. Thanks for the forum.. love it!

By: candice

candice — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 15:01:24 +0000

Great article Chris. People don't assist because (1) they lack the training (2) they aren't comfortable touching their students (3) their students aren't comfortable being touched (4) liability / fear of injuring someone (5) they have been injured in the past. I personally go back and forth and am very discriminating in my assists. The more body awareness someone has, the more likely I am to manually adjust them. Complete beginners will get few tactile assists from me (in essence, you have to kind of have an idea of what triangle feels like, begin to develop listening skills, before you will get what the manual assist is intending. ) And I almost never try to get someone into a deeper level of the pose, but rather look at where they are tense or lacking awareness and go for creating space or encouraging integrity within the pose, or even encouraging more effort in a certain spot. And over time I've realized that sometimes less is more. You can nit pick every little thing, or you can give them one or two really helpful insights. I prefer the latter!

By: YogaforCynics

YogaforCynics — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 13:29:42 +0000

As is often the case when I read articles like this, I realize how fortunate I've been in my teachers, since I don't think I've ever been given an adjustment that wasn't helpful and, despite my size (6'1, 220), I've never felt neglected. Actually, I know one advanced teacher who's somewhat "aggressive" in his assists, to the point that it could be a bit frightening, except for the fact that, consistently, he shows me that I'm capable of going further than I thought (meaning that, while my mind didn't feel ready for it, the body actually was).