The Myth of ‘Safe’ Alignment in Yoga

Remember years ago, when we never would allow our knee out past the toes in poses? Or how about making sure we aligned our shin with the edge of the mat in pigeon? Or, my personal favorite, never let your hips shift in Reverse Triangle? Like some magical formula, if only we followed the alignment precisely, we’d be healthy, strong, and injury-free forever. The trouble was, that in the real world not all bodies can easily or safely follow the alignment cues.

It’s time to set this alignment myth straight.

One truth is the body was designed to do a whole bunch of really cool things that don’t consider “proper” alignment. Have you ever watched dancers? Have you seen the crazy things they do with their bodies? Or how about gymnastics? Much of gymnastics seems super-human. Weightlifters, Ballers, and Rock Climbers are all pushing their bodies to the max, and taking their knees way out past the toes. So, as yoga practitioners we can allow the body to do things slightly outside of the scope of perfect alignment and still be okay.

Another truth that we can see in athletes that translates to yoga practice is the importance of preparation and progression. Warm up the body with range of motion. Then, start slow and small, and work up to more difficult and complex poses. Only push the body when it is ready for more.

I believe most important truth is mindfulness. Luckily, a good yoga practice meets our bodies exactly where they are. Also, the mindfulness cultivated in yoga helps us to gauge, vary, and modify our practice depending on our experience any given day. I dare say mindfulness is more likely to save you than alignment. In the scenario where you push yourself into a pose your body wasn’t prepared to do, ignoring all the preliminary pain signals, then you will end up injured no matter what kind of alignment you use. But mindfulness will stop you from pushing into pain every time if you let it.

When it comes to progressing your yoga practice, the best thing to do is assume if your body does it freely and easily without force, and if your breath remains at a comfortable pace, then you are a-okay in your alignment. Don’t force yourself into a certain aesthetic, and certainly don’t sacrifice your body to try and look like others in the pose.

We all have different faces, different eyes, different noses, so doesn’t it also make sense that we would have different looking Warrior poses? Our bones aren’t shaped the same, we have different body histories and preferences, so let’s agree we will have to find our own way into yoga poses. Use your mindfulness, add some variety, and keep yourself properly prepared instead of properly aligned.