Read part one, part two and part three.

Finding Neutral

Becoming a yoga teacher can be challenging.

Most of us have attended a teacher training and have been given a basic program of how to teach and cue the common asanas. We receive minimal anatomy and physiology training. Then we graduate and step off our mat to begin teaching—yikes!

I found myself questioning what it was I was teaching with each cue. Eventually, I began integrating my training and experience in structural integration bodywork.

The primary difference is that structural integration—or the “fascial perspective”—is an anatomy of wholes and relationship, instead of parts. It is a fundamentally different way to teach how the different parts relate to each other in an asana.

For example, in downward facing dog, if we cue “press the thighs back” and do not relate it to the superficial back line, our students may not feel the connection from the base of their feet to the top of their heads. If the student is locking his or her knees and  hyperextending to press the thighs back, we are in trouble. We are incorrectly teaching them how to find a neutral alignment!

What I have found is that I love “neutral” in any asana.

Each asana has a natural alignment that does not force change but rather invites change through subtle movements. When our body is in a neutral alignment, we are able to prevent injuries and allow the fascia to create healthier patterns.

To find neutral, it is helpful to understand that we have primary and secondary curves.

The primary curves are defined by the shape of the bones such as the heel, sacral curvature, thoracic curvature and the back of the skull. The secondary curves are held in place by the muscles.

The knee (a hinge joint) is a secondary curve. Unfortunately, a lot of people hyperextend the knees back, thus locking them and turning the knee joint into a primary curve, which tilts the pelvis forward, creating strain on the lumbar and cervical spine.

A great way to get to know the primary curves is in corpse pose (savasana). When you lay on your mat in corpse pose your primary curves are what touch the mat!

Rotate the picture vertically, and you have your mountain pose (tadasana) in a neutral alignment. Another way to understand it is to stand in mountain pose with your back to a wall. This way you can create a sensory awareness of stacking up over the ankles correctly.

It can be humbling as a long-term practitioner to learn you are leaning forward (an anterior shift of the pelvis relative to the floor) or backwards (posterior) in mountain pose.

The next exercise I love to teach involves tennis balls:

While standing in mountain pose, place a tennis ball under the middle of the right foot just in front of the heel.

Gently pour your body weight onto the tennis ball until you feel a slight ache (not higher then a 7 on the pain scale of 1 to 10), then breathe deeply for at least 60 seconds.

Move the ball to the lateral and medial aspects of the base of the foot and repeat.

Then do the opposite foot. This action lengthens the plantar fascia of the foot, which lengthens your superficial back line.

Now take a downward facing dog and notice the change from the bottom of the feet, up the calves, hamstrings, erector spinae muscles and over the top of the head. You can also feel a shift in a forward fold pose, which stretches the same line.

The real trick is to walk off your mat naturally and maintain your neutral alignment throughout the day.

Asana is an incredible medium to shift who we are and prepare us for other pathways in yoga and meditation.

With each breath and sustained hold, we can create more space in our bodies and free ourselves from pain. We have the freedom to be fascial yoga astronauts!

 

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Assistant Editor: Michelle Margaret/Editor: Bryonie Wise

{Photo: Courtesy of the author}