and no single cue that will defi nitively work for
everyone, every time—yoga students need their
teachers to create the space that allows them to
fi nd their way into their own experience of asana.
The challenge for students is to notice the subtle
shifts in breath and alignment that can, over
time, expand their practice.
Amy Matthews has been teaching anatomy and
movement since 1994. She is a Body-Mind Centring
and yoga teacher, and a somatic movement
therapist. Leslie Kaminoff is an internationally
recognised specialist with 36 years’ experience in the
fields of yoga and breath anatomy. He is the founder
of The Breathing Project in New York City, where
he and Matthews produce and teach their live and
online courses. They also co-authored the bestseller
Yoga Anatomy.
A Practice of Discovery
HOW TO EXPLORE
Sacrococcygeal fl exion
Isolate the tailbone and flex it forward?
When you hear the instruction to “Tuck
your tail,” it could indicate the very specific
movement of flexing at the sacrococcygeal
joint, flexion that’s created by engaging the
muscles of the pelvic floor. Sit on a hard surface
where you can clearly feel your sitting bones.
Explore moving your tail without moving
your sitting bones or spine. You might have to
drastically diminish your muscular effort in order
to find these movements—it’s definitely not
about working harder! Notice how these small
shifts change the organization of the entire
spine, travelling up from the pelvic floor.HOW TO EXPLORE
Counter-nutation
Move the bottom of the sacrum and tail
forward
Stand up so your pelvis and lower spine are
freer to move. Find sacrococcygeal flexion
again. Do you feel other movements where
your sacrum meets your two pelvic halves
at your sacroiliac joints? That is nutation and
counter-nutation or nodding, tilting backward
and forward. Place your hands on the top of
your pelvis, and imagine your pelvic halves
remaining stationary as your sacrum and tail
tilt into counter-nutation. How does this affect
your breathing, the rest of your spine, your
nervous system? You may feel an unfamiliar
combination of efforts in your pelvis and
abdomen.HOW TO EXPLORE
Posterior pelvic tilt
Move the top of the pelvis backward
Think back to when you attempted counter-
nutation. Did you feel your entire pelvis wanting
to participate? If you allow the movement to
expand and include the whole pelvis, this is
called posterior pelvic tilt. You’ll discover that it
not only moves the pelvis, sacrum, and coccyx,
but also generates movement in your hip joints
and lumbar spine. This action flattens your
lumbar curve, extends your hip joints, or both,
depending on your position and which other
movements you allow or inhibit.POSTERIOR
TILTCOUNTER-
NUTATIONPOSTERIOR
TILTSACROCOCCYGEAL
FLEXION81
august/september 2015yogajournal.com.au