What is alignment and why does it matter in yoga
From the moment we are born our bodies are affected by the way we live. There are so many systems in the body that are affected which means not one person is the same. The jobs and environment around us. The exercise choices we make or lack of. Any accidents or injuries our thoughts and emotional physiological experience cannot be separated.
Alignment is a popular topic in yoga, the range of different approaches to alignment vary greatly. We may think that there is only one way to do a pose, or that a picture in a book is what we are trying to replicate. Stacking of joints, lines of energy, lengthening the spine, all of these phrases are common to yoga classes. The other side is no alignment at all, giving us too much freedom and therefor no fundamental base to start from. Does it make a difference? “Why does alignment matter?”
BKS Iyengar - Trikonasana from Light on Yoga
What is alignment?
The key to yoga is balance and that is the same case for alignment in yoga. Too much freedom and we lose shape and integrity, too much alignment and it becomes dogmatic and doesn’t allow for a bespoke understanding.
As B K S Iyengar, the founder of Iyengar yoga, puts it: “Most people take the word '“alignment” to mean body alignment. But let me explain the impact of what alignment means to me. For me, alignment is when I practice the asana, I feel the inner mind, touching and spreading evenly everywhere, including the remotest parts of the body, where the mind cannot normally reach. That’s how I study mental and intellectual alignment.” The mental state behind the extension of the body in the pose. He wanted to see harmony in the posture, beyond the physical expression.
How can my muscles become more intelligent?
The muscles need repetition of the precise movement to teach the body the way we want it to move in the yoga postures, while also noticing how the body wants to move. If you had a student in class with one shoulder stiffer than the other and therefore the shoulders looked uneven, first of all the student has to notice what the body is doing, observe through the yoga movements that one is responding differently. Once we start to observe ourself and notice these patterns we can start to transform and create more balance.
The Iyengar yoga method is known for its emphasis on precision and alignment. However it is often mistaken to be a one way approach, as a teacher of this style I teach the individual in front of me there is no one-size-fits-all alignment. It encourages the use of props, modifications, in the service of finding the safest and most beneficial way for each body to fully experience each pose.
We use alignment to teach you to understand your own body. understand the practical and therapeutic effects of the various yoga poses. This knowledge is used to create tailored and coherent sequences that impart specific physical and mental benefits.
WHY IS YOGA ALIGNMENT IMPORTANT?
If you had a car out of wheel alignment, you would find that the tyre tread would wear more on one side than the other, this would impact fuel economy and how quickly the tyres needed replacing. Well we only have one body and as fantastic as medicine in these days we want to avoid needing to replace parts.
We want to align our yoga poses from the base first. For example, placing the feet properly in standing poses will prevent placing undo stress on the knees and hips. When the bones are aligned the wear and tear of gravity is much less. We all have habitual ways of moving. Pain is also a pattern that tells you the pattern of movement is not healthy. Alignment based yoga for beginners is all about creating more intelligent action in the muscles, tissue and skin. it helps our different systems in the body to work efficiently today as an integrated approach.
Mr Iyengar said “later, with the alignment of the skeleto-muscular body, I began to align my mind, intelligence and consciousness which made me look within.” We align the body first because once you have created the alignment in your body it is automatically mirrored in your mind. That is why Iyengar yoga is meditation in action. The alignment of the body within the posture and space is just the beginning of our practice. .
Unfortunately all yoga is not created equal. General yoga classes do not focus on a systematic approach to create integration in the body. Instead its become about a fitness class, designed around moving to the front and back of the mat to a playlist and making sure you sweat. We love this because our western minds have been trained to work hard and play hard and to keep moving. Iyengar Yoga is asking students to slow down and pay attention. To learn to observe their bodies and minds while practicing. Of course this style of yoga will not appeal to everyone but for those who want to practice yoga for the rest of their lives it is a path that allows all ages to keep practicing and growing.