Mat Matters, Episode 6: Healthy Hip Alignment in Standing Poses

One of the things that I love most about teaching vinyasa yoga is the flow. I love teaching Surya Namaskar A & B, building heat, feeling the energy in the room grow, and moving with the breath, often quickly, from one pose to the next. It's a beautiful practice and it's very easy to get lost in the flow, but something else that can sometimes get lost in the flow is alignment--and I don't think that we should sacrifice alignment for flow; I think that they can go hand-in-hand.

Why do I say this? Because proper alignment keeps the body healthy. Coming into warrior 1 over and over again with improper alignment can lead to knee or ankle issues. Constantly moving through chaturanga incorrectly can cause shoulder issues, and wrenching the body through upward-facing dog can cause serious lower back issues. This is why we need to be mindful when we're in these poses--whether we're flowing through them quickly or holding them for 5-10 breaths--because we practice to help and heal the body, not hurt it. 

So today, I thought we should have a chat about hip alignment in standing poses, or more specifically, the difference between "open" and "closed" hips. It's something that's easily forgotten in flow, and easily misunderstood when holding poses, so I felt that a deeper conversation about it might help. I hope it does. If you have any questions after watching the video, feel free to post to comments!

Oh, and if you have any requests for upcoming videos, let me know. Thanks for watching!