There is no such thing as doing a pose “right”. There is only doing a pose in a way that feels “right” for that body, on that day.
Yoga poses are NOT one size fits all!
Therefore, when we talk about positioning the body for poses, teachers should be giving a “happy medium” invitation. In other words, maybe start with the traditional cues you’ve read in books, heard in classes, or learned in training. But know full and well, that those instructions will only work for about 50% of the class.
The other 25% may have to modify slightly in one direction, while the final 25% may need to move slightly in the opposite direction.
Think of alignment on a spectrum. Most students will find comfort in the middle, but there will be some students that are more comfortable slightly to either side of the middle.
As you hear alignment guidelines for yoga pose, remember they are just guidelines. They are not rules.
The only rule in yoga, is to listen to your body. Therefore, your job as a student or as an instructor is to empower yourself and your students to discover what works best for their body on any particular day. Each person is unique, so their pose will be unique to them.
In my experience, the best way to offer alignment cues is to offer the “middle”. From there, invite students to explore a little on each side of that average to find their “just right”.
It’s a little more work on your part, but in the end you are giving yourself and/or your students an invaluable gift. The gift to practice in a way that honors their body, not in a way that is basically a grown-up version of “Simon Says”.
