68

april 2018

yogajournal.com.au

three an f

movement (sagittal, coronal, and transverse)

can help you recognise patterns and imbalances

in your body, allowing you to m

intention—in your yoga practic

AS YOGIS, MOST OF US ant to understand howw

move—and as we become more aware, we hea

down a path toward even more curiosity and

self-awareness. I see this evolution in my stude

all the time. The fi rst spark—maybe someone

realises she’s tighter in her left hip than in her

right—is often revelatory. Soon after, this stud

may notice that because of the tightness, she

favours her right side. Then she may discover it

causing her back pain. With each discovery thi

student makes about her movement, she becom

more conscious, inquisitive, and, ultimately,

more knowledgeable about herself.

Understanding how you move your body is

key to getting stronger, staying injury free, and

feeling more balanced, grounded, and (I would

argue) happy. And a great tool to help you do a

of this is to look at movement through the lens

of the three anatomical planes.

Once you know how to work with these plan

you’ll begin to recognise the ones in which you

feel most (and least) comfortable moving your

body. Then you may discover you’re missing

whole segments of movement in certain planes

knowledge that can then inspire you to start

moving in the directions where you need to wa

up. In doing this, you’ll ultimately learn how to

wake up in your life too, helping you navigate t

world more fully. Here’s what you need to know

to understand the sagittal, coronal, and transve

planes, and why it’s so important that you do.

TALK

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