In our Yin yoga teaching, we focus on the target of each pose, how to access that target, & what the pose intends to stress, rather than how it looks, using variations for each student’s unique bone structure.
An example is the hip sockets, which can vary in placement, orientation, depth & size, affecting a range of movement & show up in poses such as Straddle/Dragonfly. How far you come into a wide-leg splits position can depend on your hip sockets. Some will access a deeper wide-leg position if their hip sockets are at the side of the pelvis compared to the front.
Folding forward to access the groin also depends on the femur/hip socket; you may experience ‘a catching’ at the back edge of the hip affecting how far you can fold forward.
We can look at the feet to determine what the femurs are doing, but the feet themselves are not important they express the movement from the hip. We can move the feet to affect the femur to see if this creates more space, as the target area here is the Groin, so it doesn’t matter what angle the legs are in. For some people, a variation like Frog may be better.
It’s all about which hand & foot position supports the pose & this varies because of the individuality in our bones. If we don’t recognize this, it’s easy to make incorrect assumptions & “adjust” someone to look a certain way which could hurt or eventually cause injury.
The more we focus on where we place our fingers & toes, the more we potentially compromise the bigger joints of the body. Applying a functional approach, we use both the hands & feet in our own unique way that helps to access & stress the target area of our focus.
Our primary objective as Yin yoga teachers is to reach the FUNCTIONALITY of the pose; this means the Target & purpose of the pose we are asking you to perform. The Yin yoga ‘shape’ you take will depend on your own body mechanics & bone structure to achieve these goals.
Your bone structure is unique, & this includes its movement, & also includes how one side of your body may differ from the other side.
As we are all beautifully different, even as teachers, we may not always know what is best for your individual body.
Our role is to GUIDE you with optional ‘variations’, & to provide a safe space that allows you to try out what works best for your body, to tune into what you are feeling, to develop trust in your own ability to know how best to access a ‘target’, & to learn how to honor the messages your body offers; EMPOWERING YOU as the practitioner.
Love your body the healthy way.
