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alignment based yoga

Let’s Stop Saying “Square the Hips”

We aren’t ever really “squaring the hips”. Your two hips are on either side of your pelvis, where the pelvis and upper leg bone (the femur) meet. On the mat, what we mean if we are using the words “square the hips”, is to “square the pelvis“. This more accurate phrase typically means bringing the […]

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Is Navasana a Core Pose? 

Is Navasana (Boat Pose in yoga) a core pose?

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Yoga Anatomy Academy (@yogaanatomyacademy) As an avid student of yoga since the mid-90s, I have heard many yoga teachers say that boat pose, also known as navasana or paripurna (full) navasana, was a core pose.  This always confused me because, in my own body during navasana, […]

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All the Tea About Tucking the Tailbone

Let’s talk about “tucking the tailbone”.  “Tuck your tailbone” is a cue that has circulated in yoga asana classes since forever. (I can confirm it was used in the 1990s.) The cue is intended to reduce the position of anterior pelvic tilt and / or lumbar lordosis. To put it another way, “tuck the tailbone” means […]

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There is no Universal Alignment in Yoga

blog header reading "there is no 'universal alignment' in asana"

Thoughts on Universal Alignment cues, Ableism, fitness and exclusion on the yoga mat. Something I cherish about being a physical therapist* is the opportunity I’ve had to work with patients of all ages (pediatrics to 99 year olds), and in all sorts of conditions (literally from a cardiac transplant ICU to sports medicine settings). Although […]

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Why You Cannot Square Your Hips in Warrior I or Warrior II

Older White Female Yoga Teacher in Warrior II

From my earliest days of practicing yoga, I heard teachers instructing “Square your hips” in Warrior I (virabhadrasana I) and Warrior II poses (virabhadrasana II). [Scroll to the video at the bottom of this page to see the essence of this blog post in video format]. I repeated this phrase in my own yoga teaching […]

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Malasana: How to Overcome the Struggle in the Deep Yoga Squat

how to get into garland pose deep squat butt to heels

Here’s a comprehensive guide to getting more comfortable in Malasana Plus, if you scroll down far enough, 7 Steps to Better Ankle Mobility We at Yoga Anatomy Academy love malasana and are on a mission to make this deep squat more accessible to more humans. The motivation is this: a large chunk of what we […]

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5 Actions to Get Your Foot Up Between Your Hands

stepping your foot between your hands in yoga, from downward facing dog or down dog

The Instagram is full of fluid movers, yogis who can gracefully place a foot between their hands in slow motion, usually on the way down from a single arm hand balancing feat with a glass of wine between their toes. Not a drop spilled. What is less common: actual instructions in yoga class on how […]

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Two Tips for Rotator Cuff Strengthening in Yoga

The rotator cuff (RTC) is a well-known group of muscles that are important in stabilizing the shoulder, basically no matter the activity. When it comes to keeping the arm bone centered in the “socket”, these are the guys for the job. The larger the weight or force that an arm lifts, the more important the […]

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How to Avoid Destroying Your Hips in Yoga

yoga hip injuries, hip injuries yoga, hip injury, hip injuries in yoga, yoga mentor, yoga mentorship, yoga podcast, yoga anatomy, yoga injury

Francesca Cervero kindly invited me to be a return guest on her podcast, The Mentor Sessions: Support and Strategy for Yoga Teachers to talk about HIPS, specifically yoga hip injuries. (If you missed the first episode on anatomy-informed yoga, you can listen here). Francesca and I both experienced major hip injuries, as in the kind […]

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Balancing the Science & the Mystery in Yoga

Teaching anatomy for yoga practitioners is about much more than relaying the nuts and bolts (muscles and bones). In order to understand anatomy in the context of the vastness of yoga, we must understand how yoga, yoga classes, and yoga teaching influence bodies and fit in to a larger conversation about the intersection of yoga […]

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