Make your yoga yours.

3 ways of forward bending*

Many times after class someone will come up to me and say how I must have ESP because we did exactly what they needed.

I take that to mean that the person did a great job of customizing the class for themselves. They were able to apply my instructions to address the needs of their body, and thus got what they needed.

That’s another way of saying that they’re good at modifying.

We are always modifying, whether in yoga class or not. Modifying is simply adjusting your positioning to make things work. In other words, prioritizing safety.

And safety begets calm.

Every time you close your kitchen cupboard door you are modifying to keep from hitting your head on the corner of it. If you grab a stool so you can reach something high up you are using a prop to modify your space so you can reach it.

Every time you adjust your car seat you are modifying.

In yoga, every time you feel a twinge in your body you make a little adjustment to address it, that's modifying.

Move. Notice. Respond.

Modifying is a skill everyone can improve. In every posture figure out what joint/muscle/emotion is at risk and take extra care to protect it.

Here's an example: Very few people have 180-degree external rotation in their hip joints. In dance it’s called "turn-out". It’s when you can stand up straight and your toes can point all the way to the walls on either side of you without twisting your knees or ankles. (like a ballerina)

So, for example, if you’re moving into Warrior 2, (Virabhadrasana II) and you do not have 180-degree turn-out, then it is structurally impossible to have your forward knee bending in line with your forward toes and have your hips facing the long edge of the mat. If you try, you are putting the forward knee at risk, or poking your butt out behind you and probably putting your low back at risk. Same goes for triangle pose (Trikonasana).

The pelvis is slightly turned toward the front knee. **

How then do we modify when you're told to put your pelvis parallel to the long edge of the mat? First, don’t. Don’t even try. Let the pelvis turn slightly towards the front leg, and keep the back heel anchored down as you rotate the back leg externally in the joint. There's an oppositional pull between the forward knee and the back hip opening as much as it can (without pulling the front knee with it). It's as open as it can be. Try it. Yes, it’s still an “open hip” pose because both of your thigh bones are rotating away from the midline. Even though it may appear as if the back leg is not.

From here, the ribcage can rotate toward the long edge of the mat, so the shoulders are parallel to it and the chest is open.**

 This kind of thing goes on constantly in yoga. If your shoulder hurts to have the upper arm bones parallel to the ears overhead, then by all means, bend the elbows, or open them wider.

We modify to break counter-productive habits (such as leading from the chin or hiking up our ribcage).

Please remember that Ahimsa (non-harming) is the cornerstone of yoga philosophy. Once you commit to not harming yourself it’s a matter of staying in the safety zone and out of the danger zone. There is so much to learn inside of our comfort zone, that we don’t even notice how that comfort zone expands with time. This, with steady awareness of breath and the ground beneath us, is how we progress in our yoga.

This all came up because I got an email from a new student who asked if it would be ok for her to modify for a particular condition. She was concerned about distracting me. It’s kind of like asking me if it’s ok if she can’t do a split. No two bodies are the same.

If she only knew that pretty much every student is modifying for something. I regularly have someone in class with various joint replacements, shoulder/wrist/elbow issues, tricky knees, etc. One student doesn’t put weight on her knees so she does table position over a chair.

Often, the person I am saying, “good job” to in class is the one NOT doing what I’m saying to do.

I encourage you to modify anything! I am here for you, not the other way around. So, use class to further your practice, however it works.

Remember that pain is your body’s way of prioritizing healing, so back off when needed!

And hopefully, all of what we learn in yoga translates into life. Modify for safety, modify for ease, modify for learning, modify for joy.

*Photograph taken from Vital Yoga, by Meta Chaya Hirschl

**Photographs taken from Yoga Mind, Body & Spirit, by Donna Farhi