Every body is unique and different, which sounds so cliche, and yet we forget. How many students think their yoga pose should look like the one on the cover of Yoga Journal? We forget that there is no ‘perfect pose’, and no ‘one pose that fits all bodies’. Students come into yoga with a spectrum of suppleness: those whose bodies tend to be more flexible and those whose tend to be more stiff and tight. How do we address these different bodies, and keep the integrity of a pose? This is a challenge for sure, but not mission impossible. It is critical to give instructions (using precise language) and cueing for different types of bodies so that you create a safe yoga class, and the use of props helps. To quote Richard Freeman, “In teaching Trikonasana, I try to show students all the different ways they can adjust the pose, so they don’t have a static model. I give them a variety of tools so they can tease out what works for them.” (Yoga Journal, The Right Triangle, by Todd Jones)
Leslie Peters, the director of the Los Angeles Iyengar Yoga institute, says it well, “Your intention determines the fruit of your practice. The point of yoga isn’t to tie your body in a knot; it’s to use the body to purify and study yourself, beginning with what you can see – your leg in Trikonasana – and progressing to what you can’t see – your breath and the movement of your mind,” (Yoga Journal, The Right Triangle, by Todd Jones). Can you be present, pay attention & then take skillful action? Whether that means taking childpose for the rest of class or bending your knee to a true right angle. Recognizing that your body is different on any given day – sometimes tighter, sometimes looser, sometimes asking to go deeper, sometimes asking to back off – when you come to the mat. Going inward, and listening to our body, we are able to see just what our body needs, and find the Trikonasana of today.