Every yoga pose is like a house. A house has to have a solid foundation in order to stay standing. No matter how lovely the walls and roof may look, if the foundation is not built properly, the house will eventually fall down. In the same way, every yoga pose needs to be built from the ground up in order to assure proper alignment and stability.
Basic Principles of Construction
When a house is built, the foundation is set first, then everything else follows. Each yoga pose, whether standing or seated, follows the same basic principles of construction. This is a key component of your yoga practice that might be missing, either because the yoga class you attend moves through poses too quickly or because you have received inadequate instruction.
This concept of yogic ‘house-building’ is an essential way to deepen your yoga practice. Many times when we advance our practice we either skip important steps or lose sight of the basics in more complex ideas and poses. Revisiting the foundation of a yoga pose helps us pay attention to some bad habits that have most likely arisen out of routine, laziness and familiarity. This special attention also brings us into a deeper experience of our bodies and thereby of each moment.
A Few Ground Rules
Here are a few ground rules to help you build your yoga ‘house’. Try this during your personal yoga practice, so that you have enough time to explore the subtlety of every movement and adjustment. Notice the difference between how you first arrived in the pose and then notice how it feels and opens up after these simple steps.
Begin with your feet, or whichever part of your body is touching the ground. (For example: if you are in a seated pose, this will be your sacrum). Lift and spread your toes, imagining the soles of your feet softening and widening on your yoga mat. Notice if you are putting more weight and pressure into a certain area of your foot, like the inner or outer edges, and try to evenly distribute your weight across the base of both feet. Imagine growing roots down through your feet or sitting bones on each exhale. This will set your solid foundation.
Understanding Your Body
Now notice your pelvic alignment. In standing poses such as Tadasana (Mountain pose) or Virabhadrasana 1 or 2 (Warrior pose), your spine should be neutral. For forward folds such as Adho Mukha Svanasana (Downward Facing Dog), your pelvis should be in a dog tilt. And for back bends like Bhujangasana (Cobra pose), you should be in a cat tilt. Imagine your pelvis as a bowl filled with water; when it is in a neutral position, no water should spill out. A dog tilt means that you are pouring the water out of the front of the bowl. In a cat tilt, the water pours out the back. In every pose think about where the water should be and realign, if necessary.
Finally, bring your awareness to your shoulders. Draw the head of the humerus (upper arm bone), into the shoulder socket, draw your shoulder blades down and flat against your back and let your sternum open. You should build your yoga pose from the ground up by first establishing your feet, then the hips, and then the shoulders. This will ensure proper alignment, a grounded pose, and deeper introversion and understanding of your body during your yoga practice.