Yoga Myths Busted: The Expectation Of Perfect Alignment

Let's have a look at the great alignment myth. This is where, unless you are perfectly aligned in a pose, you are somehow doing the pose incorrectly.

The alignment nazis descend on you with their straighten this, tuck that mantra. The sky falls on your head, and your incorrect pose is responsible for the next world war.

The one that always gets me, is the feet facing out in wheel pose.

Now, being able to instantly hit this pose perfectly, if you are a twenty something, female, yoga instructor is no biggie.

But for us <cough, cough> year old, inflexible guys. Well, this is a near impossibility, without about 30 mins of dedicated warm up. And even then.

Our feet may face outwards slightly.

Now, some people will say, that unless you can do the pose with perfect alignment, then you have no business doing the pose.

This is absolutely incorrect. And I'll prove why...

Who, when they started yoga, could hit even a single pose with perfect alignment? A big fat nobody.

So, according to the alignment nazis, nobody should ever start yoga. Because you shouldn't be doing poses incorrectly.

Now, obviously, this isn't true.

When people start yoga, their alignment is out in every pose. Over time, the poses gain alignment.

So too with hard poses like urdhva (wheel). Guys feet face outwards slightly, and over time the feet start to straighten.

Poses are a journey from imperfection to perfection. Which means, we must practice poses imperfectly.

We only perfect asana as we practice it imperfectly, J.