Sometime you need some assistance to go a little further in a yoga pose.
Bob’s hands are almost there. They are so close he can almost feel his fingers touching. Bob is working on holding his hands behind his back in Marichyasana C. Bob has been working towards this goal for a long time.
His teacher comes up behind him. She reaches down and helps Bob’s shoulders to come a little closer together. Then she brings his hands together behind his back. This is the first time that Bob has been able to hold his hands behind his back in Marichyasana C.
There are three reasons that a yoga teacher will adjust you in a yoga pose:
- Safety
- Modification
- Advancement
The most important of these three is Safety.
Why does your teacher adjust for Safety
Bob’s Teacher is checking his alignment as he works on getting his fingers to touch behind his back.
To prevent Bob from injuring himself, his teacher checks the alignment of his joints. In a yoga pose it is quite easy to put uneven pressure on a joint. This uneven pressure due to misalignment of the joint can result in injury. It may happen right away or it may take a number of repetitions before the injury occurs.
How does your teacher adjust for Safety
To protect your knee you have to get your right foot in the correct place.
Your teacher will first check you out in your pose to make sure that your joints are well aligned. If they are not they will help you to move your body into a different alignment and protect your joints from injury.
The first time Bob did Marichyasana C he got his foot in the wrong place and this can cause injury to his knee joint when he gets fully into the pose. Bob had his right foot too close to his left thigh. His teacher helped him to move his foot further away from his left thigh until it was directly under his right knee. In this position the knee joint is protected from unequal stresses.
Once you get the Safety aspect taken care, your teacher may suggest a modification to the pose rather attempting the full version.
Why does a teacher provide a modification
Attempting to do a yoga pose if you do not have enough flexibility can result in misalignment and injury to your joints or muscles. Trying to force your body to move into positions that it is not ready for can be frustrating for you and dangerous for your body.
How to modify a pose
The stop sign modificaiton will help to develop flexibility in your back and shoulders.
Your yoga teacher can provide many modifications for a yoga pose based on the extent and location of your inflexibility. As your flexibility improves they will provide different modifications.
These modifications will take you from where your body is today one step at a time towards the full expression of the pose and minimize the risk of injury.
When Bob first started working on Marichyasana C he had limited flexibility in his back and shoulders. He could not twist enough to get his left shoulder in front of his right knee.
Bob’s teacher suggested that he do the “Stop sign” version of the pose rather than attempting the full version.
In the stop sign version he brings his elbow on his shin just below his knee and raises his hand like a stop sign. This variation will permit Bob to gradually develop the additional twist in his back.
Making sure you have good alignment and that you are doing an appropriate modification of the pose based on your flexibility, your teacher can tell when it is time to assist you to move on to the next stage of the pose.
Why does a teacher help you to advance
As your body increases its flexibility you will come closer and closer to completing the version of the pose that you are doing.
With a lot of yoga poses, the muscles have not moved in that direction before and you do not know how to wake them up and get them moving. Your teacher can help by moving your arm, leg, shoulder or back a little bit further teaching your mind and your muscles what needs to be done.
Sometimes showing you and your body once is enough and other times it may take several repetitions.
How to help you to advance
Eventually you move on to the next version and hold your hands behind your back.
Bob has worked his way through several modifications of Marichyasana C as his back has become more flexible. He has moved on from the “Stop Sign” version and is reaching the end of the next modification. He is almost able to touch his fingers behind his back. The next stage in this pose is for Bob to hold his hands.
Bob’s teacher looks at him in the pose and realizes that it is time to assist him to move that last little bit.
His teacher brings his shoulders a little bit closer together, lifts both his forearms a little higher on his back, brings his elbows a little closer together and then guides his hands to touch and hold.
It will take a couple of more assists like this before Bob is able to hold his hands behind his back on his own.
Once Bob is able to hold his hands comfortably behind his back it will be time to move on to the next stage, holding his wrists behind his back.
Summary
There are three reasons that a teacher adjusts you in a yoga pose.
The first and most important is for your own safety. Getting good alignment in a pose will protect your joints and muscles from injury.
The second reason is to provide a modification to a pose that is appropriate to the amount of flexibility that you have in your body. This will give you an appropriate level of challenge and protect you from injuring yourself.
The final reason a teacher adjusts you in a pose is to help you to advance from one stage of the pose to the next. The teacher will help you to move on to the next stage when you have developed enough flexibility.
Next Step
The next time you are working on a yoga pose ask your teacher to check your alignment, give you a modification or help you to move to the next stage. Your teacher will help you to do that safely.
Additional Reading
For another view on why and how a teacher adjusts you read Why you need a AAA yoga teacher.
Read How to follow the Romance Novel pattern and complete Marichyasana C for more detail on how to work with Marichyasana C.
Your ego can take over when you are working on a yoga pose. The article Why you should avoid the Volcano Zone in your yoga practice will help you to avoid this problem.
