Corrections and Expectations in a Yoga Class

Last week, two different students--in two different yoga classes--made strikingly similar comments to me after class. Each student had stayed after class with some alignment questions about a few different poses.

After being shown some simple adjustments that would make the poses more stable and comfortable, they each half-jokingly gave me permission to correct them during class by saying something like, "Feel free to come by and hit me when I'm doing it wrong."

Clearly, I'm not going to go around hitting my students to correct alignment. (There is that little thing called ahimsa!) And I doubt they'd literally want me to come by and swat at them like a drill sergeant with a swagger stick. However, I think these kinds of requests for correction show that there can be a lot of uncertainly and insecurity in how to practice yoga well.

Despite what you may see on Instagram, yoga is not about looking a certain way. Your poses do not require a set depth or openness to be effective.

Instead, yoga is about creating a mind-body connection by practicing postures with steadiness and ease, strength and softness. As Pantajali recommends in the Yoga Sutras (2.46): sthira sukham asanam. To enhance meditation, postures should be held with stability and comfort.

Of course, alignment is certainly important to some degree during yoga practice. Alignment that is bad for a joint or otherwise causes clear instability is something worth correcting whenever it happens. The basic alignment of the pose (such as knee bent or straight) is also worth correcting so that you learn the shape of the posture correctly.

Yet the nuances of the poses, the small adjustments, only come with time and practice. I can offer guidance and suggestions, but my goal is not to correct every small detail until everyone in class looks picture perfect. Here are some reasons why:

1. I cannot see how a pose feels for someone else.

What looks to me like something in need of correction, might actually be an intentional modification. Maybe your gaze is to the side in Warrior II, instead of over your fingertips, because you have a sore neck. I can suggest a correction, but I know there may be a good reason if you choose not to take it. You know your own body.

You are always welcome to modify to do what's best for your body. If I'm unsure or concerned about the safety or intent of what you are doing, I may talk to you about it after class or address it in a private lesson.

2. I don't expect you to reach the full expression of a pose. Yet.

Even the most basic yoga poses have a lot going on. The full expression of a pose may also require a particular strength or flexibility that you simply don't have yet. But that's okay. When practicing yoga, we are working towards a shape. You don't have to reach it fully to be doing the pose correctly.

For example, in Warrior I, you are working towards squaring your hips beneath your shoulders, but building the strength and flexibility for that alignment is a gradual process. In the beginning, you may also be more focused on simply figuring out which foot is stepping forward, where to put your arms, and how to not fall over. Focus on those basics and the nuances will come with time.

3. I want you to become more self-aware and begin to self-correct more often.

When we've already talked about a pose and identified some adjustment or nuance that you are working on, I will try to find a balance of offering reminders when you forget and encouragement when you get it right. I also think that it's important to give you space to find the correction yourself.

If I were to stand beside you and either correct or praise you every time you took the pose, you may start to become more reliant on my feedback than your own. Imagine I'm watching, but also be aware of "watching" yourself. Give yourself corrections and give yourself praise. Remember that you are your own best teacher.

4. There's one of me and more of you.

As much as I would like to keep my undivided attention on every student, that isn't possible during a group class. I do my best to give everyone equal attention, but I can't be everywhere or see everything at once. Trust that more of what you are doing is right than it is wrong--otherwise I would be there to step-in and help.

If you're worried or have questions, talk to me before or after class. I'm happy to help. If I don't know the answer, I'll look into it and get back to you.

At the end of the day, your yoga practice is your yoga practice. Be confident in what you have learned, but accept that yoga is a gradual practice with shifting goals. It can take a long time to get the poses "right" and a lot longer to learn that there is no "right."