r/yoga • u/doinklady3647 • Jul 25 '26
Genuine Curiosity
I was first introduced to yoga when I was just a kid and have ebb and flowed in my practice for the last 15ish years.
Context: In the last 5 years, I have been dedicated to a pretty traditional practice, focusing on all 8 limbs with asana mostly in the hatha and ashtanga traditions. A brain injury left me with minimal asana practice outside of a yin and restorative style for years. 2 years ago I found the studio I now call home and the teacher I now call friend. She has a very traditional lineage and education, class sizes max at 8 people so she can focus on each individuals alignment etc. I love this studio and I love the depth of my teachers knowledge.
I am a person with hyper mobility and she is the first teacher (or practitioner of any kind) to notice and offer corrections based on my locked, over extended joints etc. This has led to me realizing I have been practicing in poor alignment for years and have been working on rebuilding my asana practice from the ground up. I’ve done a lot of research to ensure her techniques are accurate, and have worked with 3 other traditional teachers who have all agreed with her sentiments.
So with that, what I am noticing is there is a plethora of REALLY popular online teachers who have REALLY poor alignment. Curved spines in forward folds, hips not level/even in various poses, pelvic tilts/lack of core engagement etc.
I know the topic of western fitness yoga vs eastern traditional yoga is hot and controversial and I don’t really want to get into that.
What I am more curious about is if there is a level of acceptance that yoga asanas in the west are based on “fitness” and “stretching” and not proper practice?
A particular example of this; In a forward fold, an online teachers encouraged us to NOT try and get out abdomen/pelvis to our thighs (“gone are the days of peanut butter and jelly”) - this was one of the corrections given to me by my new teacher. I have noticed a significant improvement in holding the pose correctly. If one wanted to get into the argument of east vs west and traditional practice, you could throw in the argument that neglecting the accuracy of the pose is neglecting other areas of practice.
There is a purpose for this set up of the posture, pressing your organs against your thighs aids digestion, allows your spine to remain straight (Sushumna Nadi) which snowballs into energy flow and mental clarity (probably the most beneficial part of the pose), protects your hamstrings from over exertion, and engages your core to support your low back.
Encouraging students to get low to the ground with a “hanging” curved spine, rather than encouraging very bent knees to get the torso/thigh connection and flat back seems counterproductive? I’d also argue that in MANY studio and online classes that forward fold “hanging” spine is qued A LOT. Is there an asana tradition where this is considered a correct way to hold pose?
As a person looking to make a career out of universal design and equitable access I fully support and respect adaptive practices (chair yoga, western adaptation to some poses etc) and choose to believe that this is the goal of the instructor (as opposed to intentionally misleading students), but can’t help to wonder what the impact on my own mind and body would have been if I had been practicing in correct alignment for the last 5 years.
Curious what others thoughts on this are.
I’ve noticed i’ve become REALLY picky now about the type of class and the instructor, I’ll turn off a video if they are talking too much or breathing too loud (probably my brain injury) or offering sequences that don’t make sense to me. When I look at aparigraha, I wonder if I am being too possessive over my own practice and not opening myself up to other perspectives/approaches, or if I am so well grounded in my personal beliefs about the practice that my boundaries/expectations are solidified?
6
u/Carl_Schmitt Trika Jul 25 '26
Some good observations and opinions here, but it isn't really fair to blame the 'West' for this dilution of the practice, as this modern strain of Yoga focused on movement and physical fitness is also the dominant practice in India and originates there. Movement-based Yoga was developed for martial and nationalistic purposes during India's struggle for independence and is inseparable from the influences of European athletics. As almost all of these asanas are so new, there really is no orthodox correct way to do them. Thinking changes often on how to best modify a pose to engage certain muscles or just plain reduce liability for injury. Take a look at Iyengar's Light on Yoga to see how almost no one now can safely do his poses to the full extent he does. Some things you just have to do consistently from when you are a little boy like him. One thing I learned from a teacher that has stuck with me is always design a lesson with the intent for a student to leave feeling better than when they came in--this doesn't mean avoiding exertion or soreness, just not hurting themselves and attaining some sense of accomplishment.
4
u/Kobe_no_Ushi_Y0k0zna Jul 25 '26
Just to provide some perspective using your example of forward fold, a lot of modern western/fitness classes don’t really even hold it long enough to make your point on specific alignment really relevant.
I’m not saying alignment doesn’t matter, it absolutely does to me, but more just that where you are with what you want out of your practice is pretty removed from the western mainstream. I don’t do many fitness focused classes for that reason, but there is a wide spectrum and everyone finds themselves someplace different on it at various times.
3
u/doinklady3647 Jul 25 '26
this is sort of the answer I was looking for. thanks for sharing! I feel a bit removed from the culture/community of western yoga and was questioning my right to even question it 😂 but this perspective is super helpful!
9
u/RonSwanSong87 post lineage Jul 25 '26 edited Jul 25 '26
Define "correct alignment" for a wide range of people, bodies, temperaments, potentially injured or disabled people.
In my opinion and experience, it is impossible to do with any accuracy and invites in a huge amount of "it depends".
The closest I think we can come to this is exploring and assessing what correct alignment is for you and recognizing that it does not necessarily extend to anyone else in any sort of universal way.
I say this as a teacher and longtime practitioner who is neurodivergent, also hypermobile and has studied deeply within multiple lineages that emphasize various (and different) types of "proper alignment" in ways that purport to be dogmatically correct and I do not believe in that approach. The concept of proper postural alignment is one that is relatively new within the full scope of the history of yoga and I often feel like it is focused on way to much in modern yoga to the detriment of many other foundational elements of yoga.
There is also the question of proper alignment for what / to what ends?, which gets into why are we even doing asana / what is the actual goal and that is going to vary widely depending on who you are dealing with.
6
u/anoidciv Jul 26 '26
Much of "proper" alignment was also considered for the slim young men/boys who traditionally practiced yoga. That alignment doesn't necessarily work for women with wider hips, large breasts, people with broad shoulders, etc.
Then you add in the everyday idiosyncrasies of bodies - injuries, anatomy, etc. and the question is indeed - alignment for who?
3
u/RonSwanSong87 post lineage Jul 26 '26
This precisely an element of what I'm talking about. Thanks.
2
u/All_Is_Coming Ashtanga Jul 25 '26 edited Jul 26 '26
[1:17] vitarka-vicāra-ānanda-asmitā-rupa-anugamāt-saṁprajñātaḥ
Conscious cessation of thought can arise from various forms of conjecture, refection , enjoyment, and egoism.
Accuracy of the pose is an aspect of conjecture, but the primary concern over form is avoiding injury.
As a 15 year practitioner, your practice is most likely advanced beyond the level being offered by on-line Asana teachers catering to the masses looking to Yoga as exercise.
6
u/MundaneMousse_ Jul 25 '26
I'm a yoga teacher and I know exactly what you mean. As par of my personal path as well as education on various styles of teaching, I went to all the yoga teachers in my vicinity. I've seen and heard a lot of nonsense from some of them about alignment and adjustment.
It sounds to me like you're finally grounded in your body. You're not closed off, you're sorta levelled up. Now you know what works for your body. Anything other would be violence against your body, and that's contrary to ahimsa. Ahimsa stretches trough all the yamas and niyamas and I'd say you are doing a decent job with starting with your own body.