TEACHERS
IT’S TIME TO ADJUST OUR ADJUSTMENTS
A discussion around fine-tuning
hands-on adjustments
by Sarah Ezrin // Photos by Scott Mitchell
a student in a forward fold or use their foot to ground a body part that
is lifting, for example stepping on a person’s back outer foot in virabha-
drasana 1 (warrior 1). Adjusting is a privilege. It involves coming into
someone’s personal space and manipulating their energy by way of the
body. It can be very intimate!
There is a common assist where the teacher will lower the student’s
front rib cage. This means touching someone’s stomach, an area that
some people do not even let their lovers touch. When we place our hands
on another being, we need to be fully present. We need to feel that per-
son’s breath as if it were our own. Helping someone find space and bring-
ing breath to their body is a gift. A good adjustment can literally feel like
you have brought someone to life.
With the onslaught of controversies coming to light these days around
physical touch, both in the yoga world and our greater culture, some
yoga teachers are learning to be trepidatious about putting their hands
on students. The #metoo movement has given forum for sexual assault
victims and yogis around the world to finally speak up about inappropri-ate adjustments and encounters. Gone are the days when we treated our
teacher’s word (and adjustments) as authority. Instead, we are entering a
new phase. A phase where people are saying something when things do
not feel right. Where people are learning to say, “No, I do not want to
be touched today,” and more importantly, where the student is the one
who holds the power. It is an empowering thing to be able to say “No,”
whether you are the receiver or the giver of an adjustment.
But what of those teachers who still believe in adjustments as teaching
tools? How do we navigate these delicate waters of not knowing who to
adjust and who not to? How much pressure is too much, and how do we
know when and if we should take a student physically further? I believe
that some of the most informed and healing work I do as a teacher is
by placing my hands on another. For the kinesthetic learner, a physical
adjustment may be more easily understood than any verbal cue. It is
precisely because adjustments are such powerful teaching tools that they
should not be taken lightly. Instead of dismissing all adjustments as scary
or dangerous, let us instead adjust our adjustments.