Thank you for this! I got back into yoga recently, as well as group exercise classes, and I was just talking about how anxious I feel because I am always anticipating that the instructor will correct me. I can understand why this may be helpful sometimes, but most of the time, it seems unnecessary. As a result, I can never really relax. I had avoided yoga for the past several years because of this. I would rather raise my hand or something if I need help.
thank you for saying this, Stephanie. it's something we, as teachers, really need to hear. because i am 100% sure that no yoga or movement teacher wants their students to feel anxious about coming to class or moving their body!
teaching online has actually helped me, as a teacher, let go of the need to constantly correct. i'd already started letting it go before transitioning to online teaching, but once i was teaching almost exclusively online, i realized how unnecessary so much of the postural "corrections" i was giving were for my students.
i really hope you find a teacher who allows you space to relax into your body while you're doing yoga. always happy to recommend a few (online mostly), if you need.
Yes yes! Can relate 100%. It’s been equal parts learning and unlearning in my own movement journey. The myth of body fragility and the gatekeeping of knowledge is such a wide cultural phenomenon in the western world too. It is insidious. Feels all the more important to encourage my son to question absolutist statements and rules.
yes! i think that's also one of the trickiest things as a parent (unrelated to body movement). wanting them to question absolutist statements while also sometimes just wanting them to do what we ask them without questioning so much because it's exhausting. at the end of the day, i would rather have kids that question. but still so hard sometimes.
One aspect I didn’t see mentioned but would love to hear more about is the tilt of one’s hips and the effect that can have on the lower back. I have low back problems and also love Pilates, and I’ve found awareness of whether my hips are pitching forward or back or “neutral” can make a big difference in how my back feels. I’d love to hear your thoughts.
thanks for asking this question! you're right, i didn't mention it and the orientation of the pelvis is actually a big one within yoga instruction. i think the first thing to know is that neutral pelvis is relative -- everyone's neutral is going to be slightly different. however, using it as a landmark is a really good, general instruction. i teach the idea of neutral pelvis in my classes, as well as in the healthy hips and core courses i offer.
to answer you question about tilt, yes if your pelvis is tilted forward or back, that absolutely can impact how your body feels -- which is also compounded by the natural direction your pelvis tends to go in.
tilted slightly forward can offer relief to folks who tend towards a more natural "backward" or posterior tilt, while tilted slightly backwards can give more support to those who have a naturally forward (anterior) titled pelvis.
bringing your pelvis into a more evenly "aligned" place can also help engage your core muscles more effectively, which is a nice bonus.
another way of thinking about this is that an anterior or forward tilt can create more freedom of movement for your spine and hips, and there are times when that can feel really good -- like if you've been sitting for awhile, as an example.
a posterior or backward (i also tend to think of it as downward) tilt can offer a little more stability, which can feel really good if you've been walking for awhile, as an example.
both have their benefits and knowing how they support you helps a lot. also knowing the tendency of your own spine (towards arching/forward tilt) or flattening (towards tucking/backward tilt).
Just wsnns point out how Eds ehlers danlos syndrome snd especially its cousin hsd hyper mobility spectrum disorder ❔ sre incredibly common despite there bs gatekept by eds society and other groups wanting to make it seem rare.
Hyp access is s wonderful group teaching snd compiling research on this history snd hopefully improved future but for now it seems like s vast majority of us with these conditions remsin undiagnosed well into adulthood and do not receive diagnosis til we’ve already done damage. In childhood snd adolescence the diagnostic rates are even lower.
Thst said while I take some umbrage with the idea that edsers won’t be in s vinyasa class m
Sidenote I wss for yesrs with hyper mobility soectrum disorder I critique this to problemstize it snd ssk you or someone who has capacity snd contacts to study this in more detail.
Your overall point here may hold true even for edsers snd hsders snd it may be that the gentle more holistic flexibility snd strength snd stability trsining helps us. Or maybe my old acupuncturist wss right re their rx for me to focus more on Pilates bc it’s more focused on strength and stability. Sidenote the instructions were to find a geriatric Pilates clsss for my dissbled sss which I never found sccessible.
And msny yesrs later I’m a severe me cripple with long COVID snd probsbly antiphospholipid issues on top of severe dussutonomis snd dizziness tjst smothers my every move. This snd especially the muscle disease endemic with most cases of mecfs snd long COVID which slmost entirely prevents me from self care much less yoga practice s would be the disability equivalent of nuclear detonating some of these ridiculous traditional claims you confront.
These are fundamentally ableist claims interested in pushing a very particular western eugenicist ideal of the human body thst wss never accurate.
Overall I think this is a reslly interesting starting point you’re on that would hugely expand in conceptual clarity snd depth snd consistency if you’d study the history of ableism snd eugenics and how that shaped USian or western appropriation of yoga practices.
For tjst matter even the disturbing instructional tendency you deftly illustrate here along with how it undermines bodily agency of the yoga student ❔ thst too seems aligned lol for lack of s better word
with the prevailing capitalist eugenicist cultural regime.
Hsve we reslly undone that in this new age on heightened eugenics these last four snd half years ❔ or is what I sssume to be the predominately improved softened rhetoric thst reclaims bodily autonomy snd peace in lost yoga clsssrooms merely disguises snd bsndids on s deeper problem❔
How many yoga clssses have deeply melanated or old or fat or disabled bodies in them❔
I should say visibly disabled bodies. Yoga classes likely sbound with hypermobile snd invisibly disabled people as I used to be. Id like to challenge the assumption here that we aren’t part of the social body of yoga students or practitioners snd do not belong in yoga classes or that this exclusion is somehow separate from the core issue you’re tackling. Is there yet snywhere in most cities where my friends with cerebral palsy sn antiquated word for congenitally spastic muscles csn jump into yoga classes❔they have to exert up to seven times more energy to eg walk the same distance as a nondisabled person for those whose spasticity sllows them to walk bwhich to me holds s kindredness with the metabolic muscle disease now exploding in long covid snd mecfs.
Whst if mainstream yoga clssses recognized thst msny of their students sre likely experiencing these disease slresdy snd peovided sdsptstions accordingly to help folks tune in snd prevent overexertion❔
Whst if we hsd an inclusive society or st lesst some inclusive classes where people w more severe me like myself or cerebral palsy could go to do yoga ❔where msybe older arthritic folks were slso welcome along with those looking for less movement snd more meditation thst utilizes the lovely sensations of opening snd restoring thst yoga poses csn bring❔thst taught everyone to go deep snd tap in❔
What if becoming disabled wss recognized by dominant culture as a nudge from the universe to cultivate precisely this body awareness ❔ if disabled folks were seen as experts rather than disposable surplus bodies thst do not belong❔
Thank you for this! I got back into yoga recently, as well as group exercise classes, and I was just talking about how anxious I feel because I am always anticipating that the instructor will correct me. I can understand why this may be helpful sometimes, but most of the time, it seems unnecessary. As a result, I can never really relax. I had avoided yoga for the past several years because of this. I would rather raise my hand or something if I need help.
thank you for saying this, Stephanie. it's something we, as teachers, really need to hear. because i am 100% sure that no yoga or movement teacher wants their students to feel anxious about coming to class or moving their body!
teaching online has actually helped me, as a teacher, let go of the need to constantly correct. i'd already started letting it go before transitioning to online teaching, but once i was teaching almost exclusively online, i realized how unnecessary so much of the postural "corrections" i was giving were for my students.
i really hope you find a teacher who allows you space to relax into your body while you're doing yoga. always happy to recommend a few (online mostly), if you need.
Yes yes! Can relate 100%. It’s been equal parts learning and unlearning in my own movement journey. The myth of body fragility and the gatekeeping of knowledge is such a wide cultural phenomenon in the western world too. It is insidious. Feels all the more important to encourage my son to question absolutist statements and rules.
yes! i think that's also one of the trickiest things as a parent (unrelated to body movement). wanting them to question absolutist statements while also sometimes just wanting them to do what we ask them without questioning so much because it's exhausting. at the end of the day, i would rather have kids that question. but still so hard sometimes.
One aspect I didn’t see mentioned but would love to hear more about is the tilt of one’s hips and the effect that can have on the lower back. I have low back problems and also love Pilates, and I’ve found awareness of whether my hips are pitching forward or back or “neutral” can make a big difference in how my back feels. I’d love to hear your thoughts.
thanks for asking this question! you're right, i didn't mention it and the orientation of the pelvis is actually a big one within yoga instruction. i think the first thing to know is that neutral pelvis is relative -- everyone's neutral is going to be slightly different. however, using it as a landmark is a really good, general instruction. i teach the idea of neutral pelvis in my classes, as well as in the healthy hips and core courses i offer.
to answer you question about tilt, yes if your pelvis is tilted forward or back, that absolutely can impact how your body feels -- which is also compounded by the natural direction your pelvis tends to go in.
tilted slightly forward can offer relief to folks who tend towards a more natural "backward" or posterior tilt, while tilted slightly backwards can give more support to those who have a naturally forward (anterior) titled pelvis.
bringing your pelvis into a more evenly "aligned" place can also help engage your core muscles more effectively, which is a nice bonus.
another way of thinking about this is that an anterior or forward tilt can create more freedom of movement for your spine and hips, and there are times when that can feel really good -- like if you've been sitting for awhile, as an example.
a posterior or backward (i also tend to think of it as downward) tilt can offer a little more stability, which can feel really good if you've been walking for awhile, as an example.
both have their benefits and knowing how they support you helps a lot. also knowing the tendency of your own spine (towards arching/forward tilt) or flattening (towards tucking/backward tilt).
thank you!!
Just wsnns point out how Eds ehlers danlos syndrome snd especially its cousin hsd hyper mobility spectrum disorder ❔ sre incredibly common despite there bs gatekept by eds society and other groups wanting to make it seem rare.
Hyp access is s wonderful group teaching snd compiling research on this history snd hopefully improved future but for now it seems like s vast majority of us with these conditions remsin undiagnosed well into adulthood and do not receive diagnosis til we’ve already done damage. In childhood snd adolescence the diagnostic rates are even lower.
Thst said while I take some umbrage with the idea that edsers won’t be in s vinyasa class m
Sidenote I wss for yesrs with hyper mobility soectrum disorder I critique this to problemstize it snd ssk you or someone who has capacity snd contacts to study this in more detail.
Your overall point here may hold true even for edsers snd hsders snd it may be that the gentle more holistic flexibility snd strength snd stability trsining helps us. Or maybe my old acupuncturist wss right re their rx for me to focus more on Pilates bc it’s more focused on strength and stability. Sidenote the instructions were to find a geriatric Pilates clsss for my dissbled sss which I never found sccessible.
And msny yesrs later I’m a severe me cripple with long COVID snd probsbly antiphospholipid issues on top of severe dussutonomis snd dizziness tjst smothers my every move. This snd especially the muscle disease endemic with most cases of mecfs snd long COVID which slmost entirely prevents me from self care much less yoga practice s would be the disability equivalent of nuclear detonating some of these ridiculous traditional claims you confront.
These are fundamentally ableist claims interested in pushing a very particular western eugenicist ideal of the human body thst wss never accurate.
Overall I think this is a reslly interesting starting point you’re on that would hugely expand in conceptual clarity snd depth snd consistency if you’d study the history of ableism snd eugenics and how that shaped USian or western appropriation of yoga practices.
For tjst matter even the disturbing instructional tendency you deftly illustrate here along with how it undermines bodily agency of the yoga student ❔ thst too seems aligned lol for lack of s better word
with the prevailing capitalist eugenicist cultural regime.
Hsve we reslly undone that in this new age on heightened eugenics these last four snd half years ❔ or is what I sssume to be the predominately improved softened rhetoric thst reclaims bodily autonomy snd peace in lost yoga clsssrooms merely disguises snd bsndids on s deeper problem❔
How many yoga clssses have deeply melanated or old or fat or disabled bodies in them❔
I should say visibly disabled bodies. Yoga classes likely sbound with hypermobile snd invisibly disabled people as I used to be. Id like to challenge the assumption here that we aren’t part of the social body of yoga students or practitioners snd do not belong in yoga classes or that this exclusion is somehow separate from the core issue you’re tackling. Is there yet snywhere in most cities where my friends with cerebral palsy sn antiquated word for congenitally spastic muscles csn jump into yoga classes❔they have to exert up to seven times more energy to eg walk the same distance as a nondisabled person for those whose spasticity sllows them to walk bwhich to me holds s kindredness with the metabolic muscle disease now exploding in long covid snd mecfs.
Whst if mainstream yoga clssses recognized thst msny of their students sre likely experiencing these disease slresdy snd peovided sdsptstions accordingly to help folks tune in snd prevent overexertion❔
Whst if we hsd an inclusive society or st lesst some inclusive classes where people w more severe me like myself or cerebral palsy could go to do yoga ❔where msybe older arthritic folks were slso welcome along with those looking for less movement snd more meditation thst utilizes the lovely sensations of opening snd restoring thst yoga poses csn bring❔thst taught everyone to go deep snd tap in❔
What if becoming disabled wss recognized by dominant culture as a nudge from the universe to cultivate precisely this body awareness ❔ if disabled folks were seen as experts rather than disposable surplus bodies thst do not belong❔
Absolutely loved this - thanks!