Alignment in Yoga Postures: Are You Making This Common Mistake?

A common mistake in yoga practice and teaching is to ignore the limitations imposed by the bony structures of the body, and as a result, potentially inflict harm in our own body or that of our students.

The bones of the body exhibit tremendous variations from person to person, and we tend to forget that just because one person can do a pose with perfect external rotation it doesn’t mean that that variation of the pose is a desirable variation for other people in the class.

In this video, yoga therapist and P.T. Marlysa Sullivan, Assistant Professor in the Masters of Science in Yoga Therapy program at Maryland University of Integrative Health, offers an example of what happens in Warrior II when we follow the common instruction to square the pelvis to the front.

Marlysa demonstrates how forcing pelvic alignment in Warrior II can lead to joint compression and SI Joint issues. Click the link below to practice along with Marlysa and learn how to reset cueing to avoid this all too common issue!

To see the anatomy demonstration of how this alignment affects the bony structures in the body, skip to around the 4:30 minute mark. 

This video is a preview of Marlysa’s course on developing observational yoga teaching skills in our upcoming Yoga Wellness Educator program.