I stumbled upon this piece in the LA Times today. Not exactly sure how old it is, but it has some basic, useful information (link here). Look at your knees, shoulders, elbows, wrists and hips as part of a free body diagram (FBD) and don't over-load them accordingly.
Picture 9 helped me to keep good knee alignment today as I did yoga by the pool and lavender, and picture 10 helped me to lower my shoulders. Useful for people like me who don't like to do things in a class room with others, but who also don't want to hurt themselves.
I've found that Yoga instructors and videos rarely give specific instructions on how to move or settle into a pose.
ReplyDeleteThe instruction I had in martial arts classes was far more specific and detailed - by something like an order of magnitude. It was common to get instructions that gave specific finger and body movements, along with timing and weight shift in martial arts classes.
In yoga classes, you'll get instructions like "breathe through your nose" or "relax your shoulders". I think I could spend 10 minutes walking a beginner through downward dog or triangle, but you won't get that much detail from any professional instructor.
for example, In downward dog, I suspect that you're supposed to relax your hamstrings in such a way as to feel like your legs are getting longer from your heels to your sit bones. This requires letting your lower back to hang slightly, as though it was suspended from the sitbones, or as if you were doing a moderate backbend. Also, I think your chest should feel like the ribcage is expanding to the sides and is being suspended from your spine - and this can only be done if your shoulders and upper back are at least in line and preferrably in a bit of a backward arch.
However, I don't know if this is the case. Nobody has ever given me instructions on this level of detail.